Board of Selectmen

Town ‘Hard at Work’ on Application for Relief from Affordable Housing Law 

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The town has not yet applied for its next four years of relief from a widely discussed state law regarding affordable housing but is working hard toward its application, officials said this week. Municipal officials are “moving forward and we are consulting with the town attorney at this point,” Town Planner Lynn Brooks Avni told members of the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting Tuesday. 

“We are hard at work putting it together,” she said. As of now Planning & Zoning has received just one 8-30g application for an affordable housing project at the corner of Weed and Elm Streets, and “I don’t know whether there are more,” Brooks Avni said. “I am sure there could be more, but we have only one in our hands right now,” she said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

Brooks Avni added, “The way it works is the state has 90 days to approve once we formally submit. So if an 8-30g application comes prior to us receiving a Certificate of Completion for Affordable Housing, which is effectively the moratorium, we have to accept and they can file.”

The comments came as the selectmen appointed a New Canaan committee to participate in a regional planning group focused on affordable housing, as per state law.

Alexandra Van Nes

Ethics Board To Seek Additional Information from RTC in Moynihan Investigation

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The appointed town body investigating an ethics complaint lodged Nov. 1 against First Selectman Kevin Moynihan will seek additional information from the local political group that distributed an endorsement letter at the center of the matter, officials said Tuesday night. Members of the New Canaan Ethics Board said during a regular meeting that they will ask the Republican Town Committee for a sample of the envelope that Moynihan’s letter was sent in, as well as any other printed material included in it. “Those things might help with our interpretation of the thrust of the letter,” Ethics Board Chair Tucker Clauss said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “And the other thing that I know we were talking about before, the list of [those] to whom the letter was mailed.

Election 2021

Election 2021 Republican Caucus: Town Council Candidate Penny Young

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New Canaan resident Penny Young is seeking the endorsement of the Republican Party for re-election to the Town Council. We put some questions to the incumbent about her candidacy. Our exchange follows. New Canaanite: Tell us about yourself—how long have you lived in New Canaan, what you have been involved with here in town and what led to your decision to see re-election? Penny Young: My husband and I have called New Canaan home for 40-plus years, raising our two children within the fine educational opportunities of the New Canaan school system.

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Councilman Calls for New Canaan To Make Decisions on ‘Under-Utilized’ Town-Owned Buildings

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A member of New Canaan’s legislative body is calling for municipal officials to examine whether it’s time to offload town-owned structures that she described as “under-utilized.”

Town Councilman Penny Young said Monday that “it is really time to look a little more in-depth” at “some of these buildings which are under-utilized or which we should be offloading.”

“Other than the swing space for a possible need for the police, what do we do with the Irwin House?” Young said during a regular meeting of the Selectmen’s Advisory Committee on Buildings and Infrastructure, held via videoconference. “Because it’s really not that great a structure. So maybe the recommendation is that after the police have use of it, it’s demolished. So I think we really need to take a good look. What is happening with Vine Cottage?

Government

Town Awaits Bids on Waveny House ADA Project as Major Funding Decision Looms

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Municipal officials say they’re eagerly awaiting contractors’ bids this week for a major multi-part project at Waveny House, as the town decides whether and how quickly to redress the historic structure’s noncompliance with ADA standards. Originally believed to be a project of narrow scope costing about $1 million, a multi-year project now expected to cost $2.8 million would include creation of ADA-compliant bathrooms and installation of an elevator so that disabled people could access Waveny’s second floor—where the Parks & Recreation Department is located—as well as required upgrades to a fire escape and entrances to the brick mansion from its west porch and rear balcony. 

While some municipal leaders have said they support the project, including First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, others—including some members of New Canaan’s legislative body—have voiced concerns about spending the money while much of the large structure itself still has no clearly defined long-term use or identified revenue stream beyond the roughly $100,000 to $140,000 generated annually through renting it out for events such as weddings. “We have got to make some decisions about this project, because if we have no project, we probably don’t have a Waveny House,” Moynihan said Monday during a meeting of the Selectmen’s Committee on Facilities and Infrastructure, held via videoconference. 

The Board of Finance and Town Council are expected to vote next month on whether to authorize the funds (the issuance of bonds to pay for the project, and attendant public hearings, would still need to follow). Bid packages expected to arrive Thursday could make a major difference in the town’s decision, officials say, especially given the prospect of cost-savings with contractors finding less work now amid the COVID-19 public health emergency. “The numbers will help us decide,” Moynihan said.