Government

Court Filing: Zoning Board Erred in Upholding Neighbors’ Appeal of Driveway Gate Permit

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The owners of a Pastures Lane home last week filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a recent decision regarding the issuance of a permit for a driveway gate. The town in July issued a permit for the owner of 78 Pastures Lane to install an automated driveway gate. Later that month, neighbors filed an appeal with the town regarding the permit itself. In their appeal, they didn’t voice concerns over the driveway gate, pointing instead to what they described as an overly tall and insufficiently screened deer fence on the same property. 

Running south off of Silvermine Road between Canoe Hill and Valley Roads, Pastures Lane is a cul-de-sac of seven homes and one undeveloped lot. The gate in question is located on the cul-de-sac.

Government

Fitness Stations at Waveny To Be Removed Next Month, Making Way for New Equipment

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The broken and outdated equipment in a fitness area located on a grassy, tree-shaded island across the Orchard Field parking lot in Waveny will be removed next month, officials say. Set for a widely anticipated replacement, the 60-by-60-foot all-abilities fitness area often draws children who mistake it for playground equipment, according to Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll. “Multiple times, men and women are trying to use it, and it’s swarmed by kids,” Murphy Carroll said during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

She added that no one is blaming the kids for doing so. “I know the actual equipment has little signs on it, which every kid in the world would ignore,” Murphy Carroll said. “And the parents probably don’t even see it, to be fair.

Government

Town To Purchase Additional License Plate Readers, Security Cameras for NCPD

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Municipal officials this week approved a $67,500 contract to purchase five license plate readers and eight security cameras for the New Canaan Police Department, to be installed around town. The contract with Flock Group Inc. will “supplement what we currently have” at NCPD, according to Police Chief John DiFederico. “We currently have 10 cameras,” DiFederico told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “This is to get into a contract for five more and eight video cameras. This will be in addition to the 10 we currently have with the company.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. 

The funds are coming from a state grant that the town’s grant writer, Greg Reilly, was able to secure, DiFederico said.

Board of Finance

‘First Pitch Is April 1’: New ‘Coppo Field’ Baseball Facility at Waveny on Time, on Budget

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A widely anticipated project to create a new baseball facility at Coppo Field in Waveny—an area that appears to passersby as massive piles of dirt behind Lapham Community Center—is on time and on budget, officials said last week. 

The approximately $5 million job—$2 million of which is coming from the town, while the nonprofit New Canaan Athletic Foundation is paying the roughly $3 million balance—started in earnest last month following the approval by municipal funding bodies of a $4,977,685 contract with Canton, Mass.-based Atlantic Sports Group or “ASG.”

“It was actually a very, very tight bid and they [ASG] hit the ground running from day one from the time the selectmen approved it,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told members of the Board of Finance at their regular meeting, held Nov. 12 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “If you’ve been out there, you can see that almost the entire footprint is starting to be leveled off. They’ve put in foundations for both dugouts, home and away. Poured those. The breaks started coming back from the concrete testing and they came back well.

Government

Town To Impose Fee for EV Charging Station Use in Town Hall Lot

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Town officials last week approved a fee of 53 cents per kilowatt hour for the electric vehicle or ‘EV’ charging stations in the Town Hall parking lot. The figure is expected to cover the cost of electricity for the town at the stations, according to Public Works Senior Engineer Joe Zagarenski. The Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting also approved what Zagarenski called a “parking fee equivalent” of $1.25 per hour. “I say ‘equivalent’ because it’s calculated based on a charge rate of 7.2 kilowatts per hour divided by $1.25 an hour,” he said during the Board’s regular meeting, held Nov. 4 at Town Hall and via videoconference.