Government

Officials Mull Current Use vs. Cost of Town-Owned Buildings

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As officials discuss town-owned buildings such as Irwin House, Gores Pavilion, and Vine Cottage, residents are raising questions about the town’s responsibility to maintain those structures and how their use can be measured—factors expected to help determine their futures. The topic was heavily discussed at last week’s “Forum on Public Buildings,” starting when a resident asked why, in the report issued in December by the Town Building Evaluation & Use Committee, Mead Park Brick Barn is only being given a six-month window for proposals to be submitted and presented when all other buildings were given one full year. One panelist, Penny Young—a Town Councilman who served as co-chair of that committee—answered that new Canaan is “looking at very different economic times.”

“We are looking at every single line item in our budget with a critical eye and, also, looking at it from a perspective of ‘What’s the town’s responsibility and the provision of services and is the town’s responsibility the preservation of building, or is it community response to those buildings?’ ” Young said during the forum, held April 26 at Town Hall. She continued: “The Carriage Barn and the Powerhouse [agreements] were done years ago before those kinds of thoughts were being exercised. What is also being considered [for] those two building and others, like the Nature Center buildings, [is] how many New Canaan residents are utilizing those buildings?

News

Historic Ferris Hill Home To Be Rented, Back on Market in ‘Several Years’

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Now that the property has been safely transferred, volunteers spent several hours Tuesday afternoon cleaning up a historic farmhouse on Ferris Hill Road in order to make it rentable in the next couple of months. Tom Nissley, who holds title to the property with his wife, Emily, said his long-term goal is to sell the 1735-built house at 8 Ferris Hill Road, though it could be “several years” before it’s ready to go on the market again. “Somebody who loves history is going to have to buy the house,” Nissley said. “My theory is that everything sells. There is always a buyer for things, and there are a lot of people who are interested in history.”

That’s a major reason why the historic farmhouse still stands.

Government

Planned Demolition of Historic 1735-Built Home Pushed To End of May After Public Hearing

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The historic home at 8 Ferris Hill Road will not be demolished until at least May 31, following a public hearing Thursday that saw a handful of residents speak passionately in favor of its preservation. Members of the Historical Review Committee voted 3-0 in favor of a 90-day delay (from the date of an application to demolish—in this case, March 2) after finding, as per the Town Code, that the 1735-built farmstead holds “historical, architectural or cultural significance” to New Canaan. The decision at the hearing—itself triggered by a formal letter of objection to the planned demolition— follows the mobilization and work of preservationists eager to spare what’s known as the Hoyt-Burwell-Morse House from the wrecking ball. It remains unclear whether the stay of demolition will garner a buyer for the home and 2.14-acre parcel, which appears to be the only viable alternative to its razing, despite the urging of planning officials to develop the property in a way that could allow for the antique’s preservation (more on that below). Max Abel, who identified himself as “the unlucky owner of this property”—drawing some laughter from the crowd of more than 50 attending the hearing, held in the Town House at the New Canaan Historical Society (the first location of New Canaan’s municipal government)—asked the committee to deny the 90-day delay.

News

‘Consonance’ on Carter Street: Owners of Historic Silvermine Home Seek To Re-Assemble Barn

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Charles Robinson, owner and resident of one of New Canaan’s oldest and most prominent homes, has a ready analogy to explain the philosophy that he and his wife Sarah embrace as they make improvements to their property. In the nearly 20 years that the Robinsons have owned the 1737-built classic Connecticut saltbox at 4 Carter St.—long known to scores of New Canaanites as “the pumpkin house,” for its former painted color when clapboarded—the couple has taken great pains to respect the antique’s craftsmanship, heritage and aesthetic, preserving and achieving a harmony and consistency with the home that Charles refers to as “consonance.”

“Let’s say you are given a Bentley and it is a 1968 Bentley, the real deal, and it comes with all its flaws but there is also the original leather and handcrafted Bentley engine and all the panels are hand-beat it has been painted with real lacquer,” Robinson said on a recent morning, standing in a clearing on the south side of his property where, until last year, an irreparably sagging barn had stood. “When you have that and you are going to go to put new tires on it, instead of just saying, ‘I am going to go down to Mavis Discount Tire,’ you will stop first and say, ‘I at least better find out what kind of tires were original, and does it pay to do that from the standpoint of value, or am I better off from a safety and utility perspective to get radials and, if so, what radials?’ When you have something that is genuine and you know it is valuable, you stop before you just go paint it pink. You catch yourself and say, ‘With every move I make, I can hurt this if I do not do it as close to right as possible.’ ”

With that in mind, the Robinsons on Tuesday night will seek a Special Permit from the Planning & Zoning Commission that, if granted, will see them erect with some slight modifications an antique barn from Hancock, Mass., that they purchased and had disassembled and which now sits in a weather-protected pile in their yard. Technically, the permit they’re seeking is for a detached “garage” that will exceed 1,000 square feet—see page 53 of the regulations here.