Government

‘It’s on the Horizon’: Town Council To Look at New Restrictions on Real Estate Signs

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Members of New Canaan’s legislative body said last week that the town is still looking at a proposed trial period banning real estate signs so that residents can have good first-hand information prior to deciding whether they want a permanent ban. The new language in New Canaan’s ordinances or Zoning Regulations could be wrapped into an updated policy that covers other types of commercial signs, such as for home services, members of the Town Council said at their June 19 meeting. During a future trial period, locals would be able to compare what New Canaan looks like with ‘for sale’ signs and without them “and the public can weigh in and say which they like better,” Councilman Steve Karl said at the elected body’s meeting, held in Town Hall. “What we are talking about so far would be a temporary experiment,” he said. Co-Chair of the Council’s Bylaws and Ordinances Committee, Karl said the group is seeking feedback from local Realtors, too.

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Town To Consider New Approval Process for Naming Rights

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Members of New Canaan’s legislative body said last week that they’ll consider adopting a formal process for naming public property after individuals—for example, to honor local philanthropists. No such process currently exists, according to Town Council Chairman John Engel. “There is no formal price, there is no formal criteria,” he said during the elected body’s regular meeting, held June 19 at Town Hall. “How we feel about naming Mead Park, an enormous asset, versus a smaller asset may be different. So one set of criteria might not fit every eventuality.”

He referred to a former swamp on Park Street that the town in 1915 designated as a park named for Benjamin P. Mead, who had died two years earlier.

Alexandra Harte

NCHS Students Weigh In on Proposed Ban on Thin Plastic Bags

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New Canaan High School students last week voiced support for a widely discussed proposed ordinance that would prevent local retailers from using thin plastic bags. 

Though the NCHS Student Coalition typically sticks to tasks such as “planning Homecoming and our annual prom, we recently decided to come off the sidelines and begin discussing this,” the group’s president, senior Chase Pellegrini de Paur, told members of the town’s legislative body during a public hearing Feb. 6. 

“And while I can’t speak for every student at the high school, I can speak to my own experience in the Coalition talking about this,” Pellegrini de Paur said during the Town Council Bylaws and Ordinances Committee meeting, held at Town Hall. “Because when we began discussing this issue, I thought we would have a passionate debate with fiery arguments on both sides. But instead, there was this attitude of eerily quiet confusion. It wasn’t that students didn’t care about the issue, but rather that they were confused by the opposition to an ordinance like this.

Bill Oestmann

Plan To Remake ‘Irwin House’ As Office Space for Nonprofits Stalls at Town Funding Bodies; Public’s Input Sought

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Members of New Canaan’s legislative body said last week that they need more information and public input prior to committing an estimated $400,000 to a renovation of Irwin House as a base of operations for local nonprofit organizations. 

Though rent from three nonprofit organizations that have shown an interest in relocating to the Irwin Park house would come to about $46,500—exceeding the annual cost of maintenance—the town first must gauge whether taxpayers would prefer to tear the structure down, members of the Town Council said during their regular meeting. Chairman John Engel said the three nonprofits interested in moving to the Weed Street property—New Canaan Land Trust, New Canaan Community Foundation and Staying Put in New Canaan—also should have an opportunity say how important such a move would be for them, what alternatives they’ve seen and how hard it is to find a workable space. Councilman Penny Young said, “There really are a lot of questions. This is indeed the cart before the horse. I mean way before horse.”

The comments came as the Town Council discussed a possible investment of $80,000 for architectural, engineering and other services that would be needed prior to the physical renovation work.

Cristina A. Ross

‘We Are in Uncharted Territory’: Town Council Debates Future of ‘Mead Park Brick Barn’

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Though the Town Council on Wednesday night once again raised the specter of the “Mead Park Brick Barn” and its pending demolition, some members of the legislative body said their ongoing discussion only offers the false hope that it can be spared the wrecking ball. During a meeting attended by preservationists who have been working for months on a plan to preserve the century-old structure on Richmond Hill Road, Councilman Tom Butterworth noted that the Council already voted on an appropriation of demo funds, and said the difficulty in having a meaningful conversations now is that the “process” of municipal government is underway. 

“We have a process in our government and if you want to look at what the implications of that are, look at the people here tonight that we are misleading by having this discussion,” Butterworth said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. 

“It’s fine for us: We have no skin in the game on this anymore. We voted. We are done. If somebody can come up with a way to revive this issue and put it in some way so that the Town Council has jurisdiction, please bring it on.