Republican Candidates for Town Council Face Off in Second Debate

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Republican candidates for Town Council offered their views on on some of the town’s most controversial planning and zoning applications during the Republican Town Committee’s second candidates’ debate held at Town Hall Wednesday.

Currently there are six Republican candidates for Town Council: Roy Abramowitz, Tom Butterworth, Mike Mauro, Rich Townsend and incumbents Penny Young and John Engel. They are jockeying for seats opening up on the Town Council this fall and thus are seeking party backing.

When asked for his opinion on the Planning & Zoning Commission’s recent approval of the Merritt Village redevelopment downtown, Engel, who missed the first RTC debate in June, said, “Real estate is what I do—and I have a deep understanding of the Merritt Village project.”

“Number one, I respect the process,” he said of the recent approval. “We heard earlier that the Town Council doesn’t get involved in what P&Z should do—just like the first selectmen doesn’t tell them what to do—and I don’t think we should have a thumb on the scale with P&Z. I think they’re doing a real good job on most of the controversial applications facing our town, including Merritt Village. I will say that [the Merritt Village project] answers a need that is not currently being served—and as a Realtor I think it could be beneficial to increasing our grand list.”

Townsend said in his opinion, “Merritt Village wasn’t a choice—the moratorium [on affordable housing projects under 8-30g] wasn’t in place—it was more like damage control.”

“If it was up to me I wouldn’t have approved it,” he said.

“When I think about Planning & Zoning, I think about town government as a whole,” Townsend said. “And part of town government’s role is to setup the game board that everyone plays on. P&Z has the zoning setup around town—and everyone expects that game board to stay in place, So, when P&Z changes the game board – like, approve something radical—that’s a pretty big deal because it reduces everybody’s [property] value in their mind, because now they are thinking ‘Maybe it could happen to me. Maybe my neighbor will subdivide.’ ”

When asked to comment on the closely followed application from Grace Farms now before P&Z, requesting changes to the New Canaan Zoning Regulations as well as the organization’s own zoning permit, Abramowitz said, “I think Grace Farms is doing a marvelous job and service to the community. We’re all concerned about bettering New Canaan and I think Grace Farms has done that. It is an internationally renowned architectural feat—and it brings people here.”

“As far as the zoning permit change goes, the problem with zoning changes is that I don’t see consistency in application,” Abramowitz added. “What I would like to see is the rules applied the same way to everybody. I’m not saying that I support their application—I would support it if they could reach agreement with the neighbors—that’s what we need up there.”

Mauro said although he feels “Grace Farms is an outstanding facility,” with respect to the zoning application, “the fact is, I haven’t read it.”

He added: “I think that overall they should be able to expand what they do there—but on the other hand I think it should be restricted. It is a very large parcel of land. It needs to be balanced against the needs of the residents.”

When asked for her thoughts on the proposed development at Roger Sherman Inn, Young said P&Z faces “challenging decisions” on such applications and “we have to be careful of slippery slope.” Worried about precedent, she said if too many special permits are issued, “What will that do to the applications we’re facing in the future?”

“I think homeowners have every right to assume that their neighbors in the same residential zone [will be required to abide by the same zoning rules],” Young said.

She added: “I think if we want to maintain the rural quality of our community, we’re going to have to be careful about multifamily housing.”

Butterworth said although he has not studied the application, “at face value, I agree [the proposed development] was a dramatic departure for the neighborhood.”

“There may or may not be a valid argument that [homes] are less objectionable [than a restaurant and inn],” Butterworth said. “[But] that’s a legal theory that I wouldn’t root for, because as an outcome, I think it would be better for that neighborhood to not have homes bunched together.”

When asked to comment on the “unrest” on the Town Council in the past year, Abramowitz said, “I think it is a dichotomy between new ideas and …when you have too much of a cozy relationship between members … and everything is a rubber stamp. And the younger generation of Town Council don’t want it that way. They have new visions – and it creates tension.”

Engel said he thinks it is just as important to consider how the Town Council is coming together on certain issues as it is to focus on where there is disagreement.

“Let’s talk about specific issues—the Town Council came together and voted 12-0 to support the audit committee—and when there was pushback from other boards and organizations that didn’t agree with it, we came together,” Engel said. “So there are some examples where we worked together very well. As far as the discord goes… there were some members who felt they weren’t being heard … with regard to the Waveny roof [project] and the teen center—and those issues were resolved.”

Mauro, who is new to town and to the local political scene, said although he has been “made aware of some issues” on the Town Council, he sees it all as healthy debate.

“Look, it is a deliberative body and it is made up of personalities who are very strong and passionate about their positions, and that’s OK in government, be it Democrat or Republican,” Mauro said. “It’s OK to have the storm and stress.”

Townsend said although he, too, is “not that close to the issue,” he believes that the audit committee and the treasurer, in both cases, “are new to the organization—and they’re trying to establish their position and power and understand exactly what they’re supposed to do. So, I think it is more about growth than it is about power.”

Turning a negative into a positive, Young said that perhaps out of the discord “comes a greater understanding and respect for each other—and what our role is as a Town Council.”

“If we are getting into a little bit of mission creep, then maybe we need to come back and understand who we are and how we serve the community,” Young said.

The lively and well-attended debate was moderated by Michael Dinan of NewCanaanite.com and Greg Reilly of the New Canaan Advertiser.

Earlier in the evening, separate debates were held for the Republican candidates for First Selectman and Board of Selectmen. For coverage of those debates, click here and here.

For coverage of the first RTC candidates debate, held June 12, click here, here and here.

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