Dan Radman

P&Z Elects Dan Radman as Chair

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The Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously elected Dan Radman as chair, succeeding John Goodwin in the highly visible volunteer role. An architect by profession who has served as an insightful and articulate commissioner, Radman was appointed to P&Z in December 2011 by First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and Selectmen Beth Jones and Nick Williams. The same Board of Selectmen appointed Radman as a regular member of P&Z in April 2014, replacing Roger Rothballer. Those voting in favor of his election during an organizational meeting overseen by First Selectman Kevin Moynihan included outgoing Chair John Goodwin, Secretary Krista Neilson and commissioners Kent Turner, Dick Ward, John Kriz, Claire Tiscornia, Arthur Casavant and John Engel. 

Neilson also was unanimously elected secretary during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Moynihan thanked P&Z, calling the appointed body “our hardest-working commission.”

To Goodwin he said, “On a personal basis, it’s been great working with you as chairman and I really appreciate all your service.”

Goodwin had mentioned his intention to step down from the role of chair in very brief remarks last month. During Tuesday’s meeting, he spoke at greater length, as follows: 
“Unlike land use lawyers, I will be brief and non-repetitive.

Around Town

Preservation Group Sues P&Z Over Library Approvals

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A local nonprofit organization last week filed its third lawsuit against the New Canaan Planning & Zoning Commission following the appointed body’s approval of a widely anticipated rebuilding project downtown. The New Canaan Preservation Alliance had filed administrative appeals in August 2021 when P&Z approved New Canaan Library’s project, and then again in January 2022 after the Commission approved the library’s plan to preserve much of what remains of an original 1913 building by moving it to the organization’s western property line. On Dec. 7, the Town Clerk’s office received notice of another complaint from the NCPA, this one saying that P&Z’s Nov. 15 approvals of a text change to the zoning regulations and site plan for the library to move and enclose an approximately 65-by-20-foot piece of the legacy building about five feet from the property line that the library shares with the Gulf station.

Dan Radman

P&Z Approves Final Preservation Plan for 1913 Library Building

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The Planning & Zoning Commission at its most recent regular meeting voted unanimously to approve New Canaan Library’s plan to relocate salvageable portions of the original 1913 building to the western border of its downtown campus. P&Z at its Nov. 15 meeting voted 10-0 in favor of a text amendment allowing the legacy building to be relocated within five feet of the property line that the library shares with the Gulf station—originally set out in the proposed text amendment as 20 feet—as well as to allow the height of the building to stand at 25 feet in lieu of 15 feet. 

The Commission also voted in favor of an amended site plan presented by the library regarding the preservation project, with conditions on use of the legacy building as a public space, specifics on landscaping approved by the town planner, preservation of existing frescoes and resolving stormwater drainage issues flagged by the town engineer. “I would see this as being helpful in preserving the remaining 1913 building on site and also assisting in maintaining larger open space on the library site which will provide benefits to the town,” Commissioner John Kriz said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. P&Z Chair John Goodwin, Secretary Krista Neilson and commissioners Kent Turner, Dick Ward, Dan Radman, Kriz, Claire Tiscornia, Arthur Casavant and John Engel voted in favor. 

Two commissioners—Ward and Radman—said they were “reluctant” in their votes.

Berchem Moses PC

‘The Town Engaged in an Illegal Process’: P&Z Decisions Nullified by Superior Court Judge

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The town suffered a legal defeat this month when a state Superior Court judge sustained appeals that had been filed by neighbors of Grace Farms following a series of Planning & Zoning Commission decisions regarding the Lukes Wood Road organization last summer. 

The neighbors—David Markatos, Jennifer Holme, Timothy Curt and Dona Bissonnette—said they were aggrieved as adjacent landowners when P&Z approved changes to Grace Farms’s special permit through two meetings in May and June 2021. The changes included relocating a religious institution office to Puddin Hill Road for staff parking, allowing the organization to host “casual attendance” activities events on site with for-profit entities and easing reporting requirements to the town. In issuing his Nov. 15 decision, Judge Matthew J. Budzik of state Superior Court in Hartford found fault with the way P&Z discussed, reached and noticed its decisions regarding the application. He noted that once a local P&Z Commission publishes a notice of decision, “that decision is final and may not be opened.”

“To provide potential appellants proper notice of that final decision, a local commission must ‘provide notice adequate to ensure a reasonable opportunity within the applicable time constraints to obtain the information required to form an opinion on whether or not to appeal,’ ” Budzik wrote in his Memorandum of Decision.

Government

Town Officials Push for Studies, Survey Prior to Decisions on West School Cell Tower

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The town is preparing to hire consultants to provide two studies to help municipal officials determine whether to move forward with a widely discussed plan to erect a cell tower behind West School. Following recommendations that the Planning & Zoning Commission made during an Oct. 24 special meeting, the town is to get “independent” studies to establish cell phone needs in the area and the degree of health risk that a tower 900 feet behind West School (and 600 feet from its playing fields) will have to children there. It’s unclear which consulting firms will be hired to carry out the assessments. 

Regarding the coverage study, Selectman Williams last week tried to pin down First Selectman Kevin Moynihan about whether the Town Council or Board of Selectmen would make the decision, but Moynihan said only that he planned to ask a firm hired in the past—Centerline—“to update their report.”

When Williams suggested a firm other than Centerline do the independent study, Moyinhan said, “Centerline is independent” and that he has “no reason to think they’re not independent,” though if the Town Council feels otherwise, “we can take a different direction.”

Though several members of P&Z voiced opposition to locating a cell tower on school grounds, they narrowed the scope of their referral on Oct. 24 to whether or not the proposed infrastructure is consistent with a continuously updated document that guides planning in New Canaan—the Plan of Conservation and Development—and found that it does.