Government
As Renovated Town Hall Takes Shape, a Dispute Arises between Neighboring Commercial Property Owner, Town
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A variance to New Canaan’s noise ordinance—secured by public works officials by way of locating beside the expanded Town Hall a pair of large chillers to support the structure—is at the center of a disagreement between an abutting commercial property owner on Main Street and the town. According to Terry Spring, a town resident and managing partner of Cody Real Estate LLC—which owns the commercial buildings on Main from the former Varnum’s Pharmacy building across to the Baskin-Robbins space, including the large lot behind them—the chillers will emit noise that could undermine her family’s efforts to develop the property. Specifically, Spring said, the increased noise could hamper her ability to convert her buildings into “mixed use” structures that include ground-floor commercial space and upper-story apartments. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi disputes those claims, saying the chillers themselves contain mechanisms that minimize noise to what is still a low level and that Spring’s challenge stems in fact from frustration about a separate matter. Specifically, he said, Spring’s talks with the town this summer about installing a parking deck on her property—which would have helped create much-needed access between her lot and Town Hall’s—eventually broke down, a frustration exacerbated as the chillers now are located in a spot that blocks what had been an accessway between the lots. (The $18 million renovation is on time and budget, officials say.)
The state Freedom of Information Commission has granted a hearing to Spring, who is seeking all correspondence surrounding the New Canaan Department of Public Works’ Nov.
