Government

Owners of Valley Road House: We Won’t Demolish It, But the Land Is Still Not for Sale

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Though still unwilling to sell the entire 4-acre parcel it sits on, the owners of an historic 18th Century house on Valley Road on Wednesday pulled their application to demolish the antique structure. Officials at the First Taxing District of Norwalk Water Department said they had “explored demolition because of concerns regarding liability and insurability of a vacant house that is not rentable” but found out from their insurance carrier that “liability coverage was not an issue.”

According to a press release issued by the department’s general manager, Dominick DiGangi, the owner of the property at 1124 Valley Road therefore has pulled its demo application and vowed not to raze the house. The property also has been formally transferred to the District from an attorney who held it as trustee, according to DiGangi. “The District wishes to thank the First Selectman and the New Canaan Land Trust for their cooperation in this matter,” DiGangi said in the press release. Frank N. Zullo, chairman of the department’s Board of Commissioners, said in the press release: “It is our belief that the current solution achieves the goals of both the Town and the First Taxing District.

News

Owners of Valley Road Antique Slated for Demolition: We Will Sell House with Some Land, Not Entire Parcel

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The owners of a prominent, antique Valley Road home that’s slated for demolition say they’re confused by a letter that New Canaan town officials sent Monday, urging them to work toward preserving the house. That’s because the owner of 1124 Valley Road—Norwalk’s First Taxing District—on March 27 met with New Canaan’s highest elected official and others and proposed selling the house and property it sits on to a local organization for a price that group has said it can afford, according to Dominick DiGangi, general manager of the First District Water Department. Specifically, DiGangi told NewCanaanite.com, he proposed a lot line reconfiguration that would bring the 18th Century home onto an adjacent New Canaan Land Trust parcel for less than $1.2 million while then also adding some land to the existing 4-acre parcel at 1124 Valley Road so that it still meets setback distances under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations. The 4-acre property itself is no longer for sale as such, DiGangi said. “We are not going to change our mind about the land,” he said.