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Owner of Property Straddling New Canaan-Stamford Line Seeks Permission To Build New Home

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The owners of a 1.3-acre property that straddles the New Canaan-Stamford border are requesting permission to build a single-family house that exceeds what normally would be allowed under local zoning regulations. If the property at 96 West Cross Road all were all located in New Canaan, the allowable building coverage would be about 4,000 square feet, according to part of the application for a variance, filed by New York City- based Ryan Salvatore Design. 

The property’s owners, Sharon and John Feighery, are seeking to a variance from the New Canaan Zoning Regulations order to build a home using 4,830 square feet of coverage, the application said. Currently, the property includes 1,718-square-foot Cape, according to tax records. They’d purchased it in December for $628,500 “with the intent to relocate from Stamford to Town given that several of their children live in New Canaan,” the application said. “They desire to construct a new single-family house organized entirely on one-level so that they can age at this location,” it said.

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‘It’s Been There For a Year’: White Van Full of Junk Sits in Locust Avenue Lot [UPDATE]

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Update

Police say the white van that officials described earlier in the week as “abandoned” for about one year in the Locust Avenue municipal parking lot is legally registered and allowed to park there overnight. Original Article

Town officials on Monday night discussed a van that appears to have been abandoned about one year ago in a municipal parking lot downtown. The white van parked near the northeastern corner of the Locust Avenue Lot “has been there since before COVID-19 started,” according to Zoning Board of Appeals member Luke Tashjian. “I go there every Friday with my son, to see the fire ladder truck they test out,” he said Monday night. “This van is full of junk.

Ben Bilus

ZBA To Homeowners: We’d Deny Your Application for an Outdoor Patio

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Saying there’s no evidence of a hardship that would warrant a one-off exception from the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, town officials on Monday night told the owners of a Welles Lane home that they would deny an application for a variance to create a covered patio. Though the Zoning Board of Appeals did not formally vote down the application for 54 Welles Lane, the appointed body’s members told homeowners Altin Tirana and Jorida Banda that they should figure out another way to get a covered 530-square-foot patio on the 2.15-acre property. “Unfortunately, our hands tied because these are town ordinances,” Chair Laura Edmonds said during the meeting, held via videoconference. She referred to what’s required for a variance as well as what counts toward building coverage, under the Zoning Regulations. 

The homeowners’ plan for a covered patio—with an outdoor cooking and seating area—would put their home, already over coverage by nearly 500 square feet, about 1,000 square feet over what’s allowed, according to the town planner. Though an uncovered pergola in that spot would require no approval, a roofed structure such as the one the applicants proposed likely would require the homeowners to “subtract enough coverage” from the property first, Board Secretary John Mahoney said.

Government

Richmond Hill Road Homeowner Seeks Permission for Additions

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The owner of a 1940-built Richmond Hill Road home is seeking permission to build additions that encroach on side yard setbacks. 

The 1,278-square-foot Colonial at 171 Richmond Hill Road would have 1,801 square feet following a one-story addition in the front and two-story addition in the rear composed off a mudroom, powder room, breakfast room, master bath and two walk-in closets, according to a building permit application submitted to the town. The house sits on .2 acres in the one-acre zone, tax records show. Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, the minimum side yard setback in the one-acre zone for principal and accessory buildings is 25 feet (see page 59 here). Variances are required for the enlargement of non-conforming structures in the zone, under the regulations (page 158). According to a site plan submitted with the application, a proposed one-story addition and covered porch at the front of the house will be 22.3 feet from the neighbor to the west, while a proposed two-story addition and patio in back will be 14.9 feet from a neighbor to the east (the existing house already encroaches on the side yard setback there). 

The property is owned by a limited liability company whose principal is listed in state records as Marianne Dolan.

Government

Brookwood Lane Property Owner Files Formal Complaint about Neighbor’s Fence

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Months after complaining that a neighbor’s new privacy fence is one inch higher than allowed under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, a Brookwood Lane couple has filed a formal appeal with the town. The fence that runs along a dead-end lane shared by three homeowners presents a safety concern, according to Chris and Carolyn Susanin of 34 Brookwood Lane. “Our primary concern is the safety of our children (6 and 10 years old) and our 2 dogs,” the Susanins wrote in an appeal. “When you are traveling on the accessway, our yard cannot be visualized until you are directly on the property where the fence ends,” according to their written statement of appeal. “This is the point where the fence is at its highest point above finished grade (over 7 feet).