News

‘We Are Listening’: Talking Parking with the First Selectman [Q&A]

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The changes to parking in downtown New Canaan—where the one-way stretch of Elm Street and part of South Avenue are now paid, while the entire Park Street Lot is now free—went into effect in October. Following a grace period through year’s end where the town issued warnings to motorists not paying for newly converted spaces, ticketing violators is now underway. That, combined with calls for further refinement among some local merchants, has pushed the parking situation to top of mind for many locals. We put some questions about the parking changes to New Canaan’s highest elected official, Dionna Carlson (who’d publicly stated her plans nearly two years ago). Here’s our exchange.

Government

Take Two: ‘Scene One New Canaan LLC’ To Operate Playhouse Movie Theater

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Town officials this week approved a lease with a Delaware-based limited liability company to operate The Playhouse. The Town Council and Board of Selectmen both voted unanimously in favor of a five-year lease with Scene One New Canaan LLC. Joseph Masher, representing the company, told the selectmen during their regular meeting Tuesday that he is sole owner of Scene One Entertainment, formerly Bow Tie Management. “For 20 years I was the chief operating officer of Bow Tie Cinemas,” Masher said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So I have extensive experience with the old Playhouse and I’m very excited to be back, and what you’ve done with the Playhouse—making it into its current iteration—it’s amazing and my goal is to make sure that it is a centerpiece, is the centerpiece of town and the beacon of Elm Street.”

According to the Scene One website, the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company currently operates six movie theaters in four states, including New York.

Board of Selectmen

Board of Selectmen Approves $186.9 Million Budget

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The first of New Canaan government’s three funding bodies voted unanimously last week in favor of a spending plan for the town for next fiscal year. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of a budget of about $186.9 million for the 12-month period starting July 1—an approximately 3.3% increase over current spending. The budget “does not consider projected revenue that we will have greater visibility into during the Board of Finance and Town Council reviews,” according to First Selectman Dionna Carlson. “The Board of Selectmen’s approved budget reflects a commitment to holding the line on spending while maintaining services for town residents and continuously seeking improvements and efficiencies,” Carlson said in a statement. “While we have a strong start to the budget, reduced revenue from financial instruments is increasing the amount to be raised by taxation to 5.3% and a year-over-year mill rate increase of 6%.”
As it stands, the spending plan for fiscal year 2027 includes a Board of Education operating budget of $118.3 million (up 3.9%), town operations expenses of $35.3 million (up 2%), debt service of $18.2 million and tax-supported capital projects of $1.4 million.

Government

Parking Downtown: Town Weighs Changing Main Street to Paid Spaces

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Town officials say they’re thinking about installing eight more parking kiosks in downtown New Canaan, on Main Street and possibly part of Locust Avenue. An expansion of the new paid system that took effect on Elm Street and South Avenue in October, the kiosks on Main would cost $90,774, officials said during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. At first, the town didn’t think it would be able to convert Main from two-hour to paid spots, according to First Selectman Dionna Carlson. “We didn’t think we could do it on Main because it’s a state road, and then in further discussions realized that you can, because it’s not part of the roadway,” Carlson said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So it’s just a discussion to start and if we even want to potentially pursue those, we’d have to have it in the budget.”

If added to the budget, the approximately $90,000 cost for the kiosks would be bonded, town Budget Manager Ryan Stacy said. 

The comments came during a discussion of capital projects in the area of “general government”—namely, the Affordable Housing Committee ($225,000 proposed for professional fees), Information Technology and Parking.

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.