Business

Local Bar and Restaurant Seeks to Amend P&Z Permit

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The Planning & Zoning Commission is set to weigh an application from a popular bar and restaurant downtown to amend its special permit. The White Buffalo, a cozy pub located down an alley on Elm Street next to Barvida, is seeking permission to use a courtyard outside its doors for dining and entertainment, according to a written request submitted on behalf of the eatery by one of its co-owners. “We have strived to provide a casual dining atmosphere in line with new Canaanites’ expectations and preferences,” Dave Tonkovich said in his request, received July 13 by P&Z. 

“The use of the courtyard outside of the White Buffalo has allowed us to provide a family-friendly environment for New Canaanites to dine alfresco,” he said. “The tables in the courtyard have been put up and taken down every day and there has not been any new structures added to the courtyard that are permanent. The courtyard is private property (owned by Fiona Sigg).

Government

Selectmen Appoint New Town Planner

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved an appointment to one of New Canaan’s most nuanced and closely watched positions. Sarah Carey, promoted earlier this year to assistant town planner, will assume the job of town planner and senior enforcement officer following a 2-0 vote by the Board. “She has done an amazing job as our assistant town planner,” the town’s human resources director, Cheryl Pickering Jones, said at the selectmen’s meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “She has cleaned up permits, works well with residents, staff, commissioners,” Pickering Jones said. “[Planning & Zoning Commission Chair] Dan Radman is fully on board with us putting her into a permanent position.

News

Parish Road Homeowners Seek Permission for Home Modifications, Addition of 3-Car Garage

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The owners of a property on the corner of Parish Road and Parish Lane are seeking permission from the town to build a new three-car garage on their 1.13-acre property. Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, the total allowable building lot at 11 Parish Lane is 3,717 square feet. The addition of the attached garage, planned together with modifications to an existing 3,374-square-foot home, requires a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. “My client has been living at this home since 2016 and love the home and the neighborhood,” architect Dan Radman of New Canaan-based RADMAN Architects wrote on behalf of the homeowners in a Feb. 14 Statement of Hardship to the town. 

“But their family is growing, with 2 young boys and a 3rd on the way,” he continued.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Promote Carey to Assistant Town Planner

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Officials on Tuesday promoted a worker in Planning & Zoning to assistant town planner, with the town’s former full-time planner overseeing the department on a part-time basis. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting voted 3-0 in favor of promoting Zoning Enforcement Officer Sarah Carey. “She has been a great team player,” Human Resources Director Cheryl Pickering Jones said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “She’s very organized. Works well with staff and residents, and we will also have Steve Kleppin overseeing the department, working closely with Sarah and the Commission as she takes this new role on.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the promotion. 

Kleppin had served as New Canaan’s planner for 11 years prior to taking the full-time planner job in Norwalk in 2016.