NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters from readers.
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I support New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission’s efforts to find a way to incentivize the New Canaan Library to preserve and incorporate the 1913 Library, including the 1936 gallery, in situ, into the design for a new New Canaan Library. Over 1600 signatories have signed the “Save New Canaan’s 1913 Library” petition, demonstrating the broad support in the community for preserving New Canaan’s historic library, which is supported by New Canaan’s Plan of Conservation and Development and Village District Design Guidelines. An appeal of this application would only delay breaking ground for a new library and my hope is that the library can present a new design that achieves the preservation of the full 3600 square foot, 1913 Library in situ. Planning and Zoning needs to enforce our town zoning laws which protect the 1913 Library in situ and our community’s interests. I write to urge each of you to take whatever action is necessary to require the Library to take broader steps to incorporate the entire 1913 structure into the design for a new library.
It is simply not true that preservation of the 1913 structure would necessarily come at the cost of the Library designing and building a modern facility that serves the needs of our population. As the owner of an historic 1750s home on Silvermine Road, I faced a similar choice: either to demolish it (as happens to too many of our historic buildings) and build a brand new house, or to preserve the historic structure by building an addition. I chose the latter, despite the fact that starting from scratch would have been easier, and found creative ways to combine history with modern amenities and comfort. I know I am not unique among the taxpayers in this town in my appreciation of New Canaan’s history and desire to see it preserved where at all possible. Mine was an individual decision, affecting a private dwelling. I have no doubt that you, our elected and appointed public officials, feel keenly the responsibility you all bear as stewards of the public structures in our community. Providing for the present needs of our community does not have to come at the cost of demolishing a historic structure that defines our downtown streetscape — preservation and progress are not mutually exclusive, and I am certain the architects, engineers and other professionals involved in the library project are creative enough to find a solution which does not require you to sanction the irreversible loss of another example of what makes New Canaan unique and beautiful. It will be too late to regret the loss of the library structure in hindsight. The loss of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station, demolished in the 1960s, is widely regarded as an example of short-sighted, impulsive decision making. I fervently hope you have the courage and foresight to insist on the preservation of one of the few landmarks in our diverse and charming downtown.
Sincerely,
Arthur Zinn
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The 1913 + 1936 Library is a three-dimensional 3,600 square feet building and cannot be “memorialized” by a pediment, a terrace of its scattered stones, or a bronze plaque.
Our appointed members of the Planning and Zoning Commission are now confronted with the task of following the Guidelines in the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development and the Guidelines in the Town’s Village District description.
The Library’s application, after some 12 years of development, has finally been submitted at the last minute – “we plan to break ground in June, prices of materials are going up, so please hurry, etc.”
That’s not how it works. The Library’s application does not follow the Guidelines mentioned above. Period.
The Village District outlines were drawn to include Town Hall at the north end of Main Street and the 1913 Library at the South end. The application creates its own “Guidelines” by taking the existing Library out of the Commercial Zone, with its Village District designation, and arbitrarily placing it in a new “Library Zone. We used to call that “spot zoning” when I served on the P&Z: a new zone created to allow a developer to build what he wanted without following the Guidelines or existing zoning regulations.
It is not complicated: the application should be denied and sent back to be corrected, to include the existing very historic 1913+1936 Library. The Library board has had 12 years to figure this out. The architects, if so directed, could have come up with a solution years ago. Meanwhile….
Keith Simpson has prepared a very detailed, landscaped two-building solution, which has been published and studied. It would allow for the 1913+1936 to exist in a landscape with terrace for public use. It would eliminate the proposed problematic above grade water detention system at the corner of Cherry and Main, and not push back the sidewalk into the existing lawn. So let’s go with that, to make everyone happy.
Sincerely
Mimi Findlay
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I support New Canaan’s Planning and Zoning Commission to find a way to incentivize the New Canaan Library to preserve and incorporate the 1913 Library, including the 1936 gallery, in situ, into the design for a new New Canaan Library. Over 1600 signatories have signed the “Save New Canaan’s 1913 Library” petition that clearly demonstrates the groundswell of support to preserve New Canaan’s historic library, which is supported by New Canaan’s Plan of Conservation and Development and Village District Design Guidelines. An appeal of this application would only delay breaking ground for a new library and my hope is that the library can present a new design that achieves the preservation of the full 3600 square foot, 1913 Library in situ. Planning and Zoning needs to enforce our town zoning laws which protect the 1913 Library in situ and our community’s interests.
Thank you for your sincere consideration,
Ken Oxman
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