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Conrad Road Barricade To Be Removed Friday After Neighbors Voice Concerns

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After hearing concerns from residents in the neighborhood and beyond, town officials say they’re planning to remove barricades set up on Conrad Road as part of an effort to solve traffic problems in the “South of the Y” neighborhood.”

Originally, the barricade near the Whiffle Tree Lane intersection was to remain in place for at least five weeks. Its purpose was to prevent morning commuters from cutting toward South Avenue and the Merritt Parkway by pulling off Gerdes Road, which sees voluminous back-up, onto Conrad. Police did warn around the time of that decision that the traffic being diverted would have to go somewhere. On Monday, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said in an email that representatives from his department, including Engineering and Highway, met with police to discuss the situation. 

“Due to the large amount of concern received from the residents “Behind the Y”, and elsewhere, regarding the closure we have decided to remove the barricades on Friday, November 10th,” Mann said in an email. He continued, “We have spoken with the BOE and they will be readjusting the bus routes (and timings) likely back to the ones prior to the closure beginning Monday, November 13th.  They will be notifying parents of the proposed changes likely by Thursday, November 9th/Friday, November 10th.

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Town Council To ‘Reconsider’ Audit Committee Appointment

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Six months after voting against the appointment, the town’s legislative body is scheduled to “reconsider” adding a local man with a unique history in New Canaan to a prominent municipal body. The following agenda item appears on the Town Council’s regular meeting agenda for 7 p.m. Wednesday: “Audit Committee Appointment – Reconsideration of the confirmation of the appointment of Roy Abramowitz as a regular member for a three year term ending December 1, 2025.”

In denying the appointment by a 6-5 vote at its April 5 meeting, Councilmen (as they had weeks earlier) voiced concerns about the process that landed the Abramowitz nomination in front of them. Specifically,  they said that since the Audit Committee is a creation of the Town Council itself, its members should be involved earlier in vetting candidates. Formed in 2014, the volunteer Audit Committee helps oversee financial reporting for the municipal government and school district. The Committee has a vacancy left by founding member George Maranis, who resigned. Abramowitz is a CPA in town.

Affordable Housing Committee

Affordable Housing: Judge Grants ‘Co-Defendant’ Status to Developer in Moratorium Suit

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A state Superior Court Judge ruled Tuesday in favor of a local developer’s motion to intervene as co-defendant in the town’s affordable housing-related lawsuit against the state. Despite the town’s objections, Judge Ted O’Hanlan granted intervenor status to the companies that own properties in New Canaan where affordable housing developments are planned. Local developer Arnold Karp is principal at the ownership limited liability companies. 

“The court finds that intervenors have demonstrated a valid interest in intervention in this matter,” O’Hanlan wrote in his order, obtained by NewCanaanite.com. The town in December sued the Connecticut Department of Housing, appealing the state’s decision last fall to deny the town’s application for a “moratorium,” or four years of relief from the state statute that facilitated the affordable housing applications (that suit was dismissed). In June, the town sued again, objecting to a “declaratory ruling” from the state agency that bolstered its earlier denial. 

Attorneys representing Karp in August filed to become a co-defendant in the case, saying, in part, that he will be directly affected if the town is able to overturn the state’s denial of a “moratorium,” which would grant four years of relief from the state affordable housing law known by its statute number, 8-30g.

Around Town

‘His Legacy and Impact Will Live On’: New Canaanites Remember Don Hersam

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For Steve Karl, there’s a very short list of New Canaanites whose contributions to the community in business, civic matters, faith and philanthropy exceed what anyone conceivably could imagine in terms of commitment and longevity. They are “the rare residents who have created a legacy and body of work that the rest of us just sit back and wonder how they could possibly have that much time, that much energy and that much love for one place,” according to Karl, himself a lifelong New Canaanite. “Don Hersam was one of those extremely rare individuals,” Karl said this week, days after V. Don Hersam, Jr. passed at age 92. 

“He was the soul of the community,” Karl told NewCanaanite.com. “The centerpiece of the 06840 Mt Rushmore,” he continued. “He loved New Canaan, respected its rich history, and consistently endeavored to make it a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

Affordable Housing Committee

Affordable Housing: Court Rules in Town’s Favor on WPCA Decision; Committee To Be Appointed 

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The town scored a rare legal victory last week, as a state Superior Court judge ruled in the municipality’s favor in a lawsuit brought by a developer seeking to build an affordable housing complex at Weed and Elm Streets. Filed in April, developer Arnold Karp’s appeal of the Planning & Zoning Commission’s widely anticipated denial of an application for a 102-unit, five-story building at 751 Weed St. remains before the courts in Hartford. However, state Superior Court Judge Ted O’Hanlan found in an Aug. 30 ruling that the town did not break the law when its Water Pollution Control Authority or “WPCA” denied a sewer line extension for the same project.