News

Would-Be Developer of Roger Sherman Inn Site Seeks Three Changes to New Canaan Zoning Regulations

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The Norwalk developer proposing to raze part of the Roger Sherman Inn and create eight single-family homes on the 1.8-acre lot is seeking three major changes to the New Canaan Zoning Regulations in order to make the project possible. Spelled out by Westport-based Landtech, an engineering firm, as part of the Glazer Group’s overall application, the proposed text changes all center around the idea that the new development would bring the inn’s Oenoke Ridge Road parcel into more conformity with the regulations. Specifically, the applicant seeks three new allowances, all by special permit:

First, to add to a list of structures allowed by special permit (see page 45 here)—a list that currently includes things like elderly housing, congregate housing, B&Bs, group homes and religious institutions—the following: “Pre-existing non-conforming uses—where a pre-existing non-conforming commercial use is located within a residential zone a residential use may be permitted by special permit when the proposed use is residential and as a result o the residential use it reduces the non-conformity. The newly created residential use shall not exceed a density of six dwelling unit per 1 acre of land either attached or detached”;
Second, to add to a list of uses that qualify for exceptions to building coverage, by special permit (see page 69 here)—a list that now includes municipal and governmental facilities as well as hospitals in the two-acre zone and some recreational clubs—the following: “a proposed residential use that will reduce non-conformity from its current/existing use”;
And third, to add to the ways that the Planning & Zoning Commission may allow an increase via special permit to maximum density—that is, lots per acre of buildable land—the following method: “determining that the proposed increase in maximum density will reduce the pre-existing non-conforming use.”

P&Z is expected to take up the application for the first time at its next regular meeting, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25.

News

FIRST LOOK: Roger Sherman Inn Redevelopment Plans Filed

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The town on Tuesday received an application to redevelop the Roger Sherman Inn property with eight single-family homes dotting the 1.8-acre Oenoke Ridge Road site. Filed by Norwalk-based Glazer Group on behalf of the property’s owners, plans call for a portion of the longstanding, historic structure—at least part of it dates to 1740, tax records show—to be razed while what remains would be converted into one of the eight new units. The other seven 2-story detached dwellings would include about 2,800 square feet of living space with 2-car attached garages, the application said. About “75 percent of the existing structure that currently houses the restaurant and inn” would be retained, it said. “The intent is to rehabilitate and renovate the façade of the building so that the look and feel from Oenoke Ridge would remain similar to the existing.

Government

Presidential Hopeful Ted Cruz Coming To New Canaan for Fundraiser at Roger Sherman Inn

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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is coming to the Roger Sherman Inn for a private fundraiser Monday, according to an invite for the event obtained by NewCanaanite.com. The Republican, who is seeking party backing in his bid for the presidency, will come to the historic inn for a VIP reception from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Monday and a “fundraising breakfast,” according to an invite which lists a Canoe Hill Road couple as hosts. VIP reception tickets are going for $2,700 apiece, the invitation said. A ticket to the fundraising reception goes for $1,000, with a “Young Professionals Rate” of $250. “Attire is business casual,” the invitation said.

News

PHOTOS: NCHS Senior Prom 2015

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Hundreds of New Canaan High School class of 2015 students gathered at the Roger Sherman Inn with their dates, parents and friends for a pre-prom party on a picture-perfect Friday evening. The Roger Sherman’s owners, whose son is a graduating senior, generously offered the inn’s patio and grounds for photos, and following smaller pre-prom parties at private homes around town, nearly all of the prom-goers made a stop on their way. Click through the gallery above for photos. Click here for a rolling slideshow of prom photos hashtagged #fbfnc2015. Email any photos you’d like us to add to the gallery to editor@newcanaanite.com

News

All Eyes on Roger Sherman Inn with New Prospect of Sale, Development

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As news spread this week of the Roger Sherman Inn hitting the market at $6 million, one major question that preservationists and other locals are asking concerns the Oenoke Ridge property’s future—specifically, whether the inn itself could face the wrecking ball, to be replaced by a housing complex of some sort. Mimi Findlay, chairman emerita of the New Canaan Preservation Alliance notes that in recent years, New Canaanites have lost the Melba Inn on Park Street, Maples Inn on Oenoke and Silvermine Tavern. “So sad for New Canaan, architecturally, culturally and personally—where do my in-laws stay when visiting us?” Findlay told NewCanaanite.com in an email. Though the 1.8-acre property at 195 Oenoke Ridge Road cannot be subdivided because it’s in a one-acre zone, Town Planner Steve Kleppin said, concerns linger about development under the Affordable Housing Appeals Act, a state law that allows developers to skirt local planning decisions by designating a certain percentage of units in a proposed development as affordable. The law is triggered in municipalities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is considered “affordable,” by the state’s definition.