Dan Radman

‘We’ve All Endured Four Years of Agony’: P&Z Gives Formal Approval for 102-Unit Affordable Structure at Weed and Elm

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Bemoaning what the Planning & Zoning Commission’s chair characterized as the failure of a local developer and legal “intervenors” to negotiate an alternative project, the appointed body this week voted to approve a 102-unit affordable housing complex at Weed and Elm Streets, as required by a state Superior Court judge. In upholding an appeal last summer that had been filed on behalf of developer Arnold Karp after P&Z denied it, the court gave the town, applicant and intervenor neighbors the ability to negotiate a different project at 751 Weed St., a vacant 3.1-acre parcel. On Tuesday night, P&Z met to follow through on the court’s order and approve the original project, filed with the town under a widely criticized state law known by its statute number, 8-30g. Before the formal vote at Tuesday night’s regular meeting, P&Z Chair Dan Radman said, “As I have made clear, there have been ongoing discussions with the applicant and the intervenors—the neighbors who are part of the intervenor group—that have been going on a for a number of months with potential alternatives and compromises discussed and reviewed. But … they did not come to an agreement as to what a potential alternative can be.

Amy Souchuns

‘Our Purview Is To Protect the Town’: P&Z Opens Application for 14-Unit Affordable Project on Parade Hill Road

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Members of the Planning & Zoning Commission called on those behind the proposed redevelopment of a Parade Hill Road lot for a 14-unit affordable housing complex to obtain a traffic study as part of their application. Addressing the developer behind the project, Richard Freedman, as well as his attorney, Amy Souchuns of Milford-based MacDermid, Reynolds & Glissman, P.C., P&Z Chair Dan Radman noted that although the proposal sets aside one parking space for each unit, it’s not a guarantee that its residents will drive. “I want a traffic study, including pedestrian traffic,” Radman said during a March 9 special meeting where Freedman and Souchuns gave a preliminary presentation to P&Z on the project. “I think the last thing we want to avoid is placing someone in an affordable housing unit that has no vehicular transportation and is forced to walk down roads and streets and [Route] 123 that has no sidewalks, and put them in harm’s way,” Radman said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Asked why there’s no formal parking study, Souchuns said, “It’s 14 units and a site plan.

Charter Revision Commission

Charter Review: Town Officials Weigh Elected vs. Appointed P&Z

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Town officials charged with recommending possible changes to New Canaan’s founding document are hearing from residents on both sides of a divisive question, namely, whether the Planning & Zoning Commission should change from an appointed body to an elected one. Noting that towns such as Darien, Westport and Wilton already have elected P&Zs, those in favor of the change say it would bring greater accountability to commissioners, would make them more likely to listen to neighbors and those directly affected by decisions and would bring another layer of checks and balances to local government. Advocates for an elected P&Z say the question of a change should go to the town’s electorate. Those opposed to the change say it would draw single-issue candidates, would disrupt P&Z applications mid-review, would place financial and time burdens on prospective members that would limit the pool of commissioners, would undo the strong mix of backgrounds and technical expertise now in place and would amount to overhauling a system that works well as-is. Opponents say the electorate isn’t informed enough to make a decision on such an important change.

Anne Wagner

P&Z Approves New Entrance Sign for NCHS

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The Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve a new ‘New Canaan High School’ sign at the entrance to the Farm Road campus. The NCHS PFA is paying for the estimated $30,000 sign thanks to “the success of our annual appeal fundraising efforts and the generous giving community the past several years,” Anne Wagner, a co-president of the PFA Executive Board, told members of P&Z during a special meeting. “ It was actually inspired by the New Canaan Library site that sits at South and Maple,” Wagner said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “The proposed new entrance site will measure three-and-a-half feet high by 20 feet long by two feet thick, and will be built in a gentle curve of stacked Connecticut stone. It will feature 10-inch-high architectural metal letters in a font that matches the existing lettering on the school building.

Affordable Housing Committee

Affordable Housing Committee Elects Officers, Hears from Town Officials at First Meeting

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A newly appointed committee charged with identifying properties in New Canaan where affordable housing units could be built, among other responsibilities, on Monday voted to elect a seasoned and widely respected municipal volunteer as its chair. At its first meeting, members of the Affordable Housing Committee voted 9-0 to elect former Planning & Zoning Commission chair John Goodwin to lead the group. 

In nominating him, Committee member Krista Neilson said that Goodwin’s time on P&Z “gives him a lot of insight into the work that we’re going to be doing here.”

“He sat in on approving Canaan Parish and Millport, I’m sure he probably dodged some 8-30g applications that didn’t come to us,” Neilson said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “So he’s seen the whole gamut, at least, of how it comes to the town. And also, I think he has great experience being the chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission, which—those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of attending our meetings, can be quite long, quite contentious. I feel if you can chair that, you can chair most anything.