‘Let’s Call This What It Really Is’: Neighbors Voice Concerns About Traffic, Expanded Use at Beautification League Property

Saying they’re concerned about new traffic, safety hazards and uses that could result from replacing a nonprofit organization-owned private residence on Chichester Road with a type of clubhouse, neighbors last week voiced opposition to the New Canaan Beautification League’s plans. Though the new structure proposed for the 2.65-acre property at 89 Chichester Road—site of the Lee Garden, open to the public—is far smaller than the Colonial that stands there now, its proposed function as a place for league members to work, gather and use a restroom amounts to an increased use that will only grow with the group’s membership, next-door neighbor Lisa Mackenzie told members of the Planning & Zoning Commission at their April 26 meeting. “We believe it will have a negative impact on our neighborhood and particularly on our safety and property value,” Mackenzie said during a public hearing, held in the Town Meeting Room. “No offense to the league—they do wonderful, wonderful things—but let’s call this what it really is,” Mackenzie said, adding that she envisioned “strangers driving up and down, parking on our property, picking up and dropping off equipment, parking for meetings, making bathroom runs.”

“One could argue that the general public [at Lee Garden] should have access to a bathroom. So why not hide a seasonal port-a-john, near the existing central public parking lot, just as Irwin has done?