Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The Planning & Zoning Commission at its most recent meeting decided to forego approving two signs for new businesses that had been submitted to the town (see photos above). Commissioner Elizabeth DeLuca, head of P&Z’s sign committee, said that a sign for Spiga, the new Italian restaurant opening on Main Street, was meant to be “burnt orange” according to its application “but it appears to be a very bright orange color.”

“They put it up,” DeLuca said at the July 26 meeting. “It’s up. It’s there.”

Though P&Z did not specify just why, the group also forewent voting either way on a new sign for the New Canaan Psychic, to open at 179 Cherry St. Regarding Siga, Town Planner Steve Kleppin noted window signage and said that it is more attractive than banners inside downtown businesses that hang behind the glass.

Government

Documents Show That Grace Farms Planned Wide-Ranging, Robust Uses for Site While Seeking P&Z Approval for Strictly Religious Activities

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A founder of Grace Farms appears to have soft-pedaled plans for its sprawling northern New Canaan property to town officials during the approval process, while the organization’s own incorporating documents—already drafted—called for far more robust activity than what was presented, according to a review of public hearings and documents obtained by NewCanaanite.com. Bob Prince during a late-2012 public hearing—at the time Grace Farms was seeking approval for its now heavily used campus—told members of the Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 18, 2012 that Grace Farms is designed “to further mission of our church.”

Pressed on the size of activities at Grace Farms, Prince told commissioners that the biggest activity there would occur during regular Sunday morning church services. “Otherwise, most of the activities are kind of like of 10 people or 20 people getting together and having some sort of meeting,” Prince said (see video embedded below). “That is common, just like any other church—Alcoholics Anonymous or whatever—I mean, it’s just a small group of people that gets together on a regular basis.”

Yet a section within Grace Farms Foundation’s own Certificate of Incorporation—state filings for nonprofits that sometimes are called “Articles of Incorporation”—describes a varied and dynamic range of activities.

Government

‘A Logical and Mandatory Thing’: Millport Avenue Developers Address Concerns About ‘Loom Factor’ of Four-Story Structures

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Though neighbors of the public housing development at Mill Pond and at least one member of the Planning & Zoning Commission had voiced concerns about the height and aesthetics of proposed four-story buildings there—concerns that some now say were well-founded, as the units take shape—the new structures will look better once they’re finished with stonework, balconies, trim and landscaping, the project’s architects say. At least as importantly, given the need for elevators and the challenges of expense and space that they bring—particularly when dealing with affordable housing—going “up” in height and leveraging density is an economic and architectural reality, according to Scott Hobbs, chairman of the New Canaan Housing Authority Commission. “In the case of affordable housing, it is especially tricky because it is hard to make it work economically even with seed money from the town and grants from the state,” Hobbs told NewCanaanite.com. “It’s still hard to make it work and you need to get to density, otherwise you cannot pay for the construction. At the end of the day four stories, while large, is still within what is acceptable.