Government

‘A Big Loss’: Town Planner Steve Kleppin To Leave New Canaan for Norwalk Job

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Steve Kleppin recalled that when took the helm as town planner 11 years ago in New Canaan’s Land Use Department, after spending six months as assistant town planner, the agency’s perception in the community was poor. Some on staff at the time had faced criticism from the public and many relationships between the two had gone sour, he said. Yet “through the people that were here and the other people that came on board, we changed that, as a group,” Kleppin recalled Thursday, hours before the town announced that he had taken the role of town planner in neighboring Norwalk. “It’s a well-run area. Even though people might not always like the outcome or the decisions that are made, they’re treated appropriately, treated well and the decisions are thought-out.”

A steady, soft-spoken figure who is highly respected among colleagues, building professionals and property owners in New Canaan—often delivering unwanted news that touches on the largest single investment that residents will ever make—Kleppin will work his last day here on Oct.

Government

Town Denies Appeal from Neighbor Regarding Use of Guest Cottage on Oenoke Ridge Road

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Backed by documents showing that an Oenoke Ridge Road accessory structure received town approval for use as a guesthouse, and citing the many years it has been occupied as such without complaint, officials last month rejected a next-door neighbor’s appeal regarding the building’s use. The Zoning Board of Appeals at its most recent meeting by a 5-0 vote denied an appeal that had been filed this spring on behalf of Peter and Kathleen Streinger, owners of 785 Oenoke Ridge Road. They had sought to halt use of a guest cottage on the property to their west as a dwelling, saying it violated the New Canaan Zoning Regulations and conditions attached to a subdivision approved in 2003. However, the town planner told ZBA members in a memo ahead of the group’s Aug. 1 meeting, a subsequent owner of the property in question (number 757 Oenoke Ridge Road) in 2004 applied for a special permit exempting the historic accessory structure from building coverage under a newly enacted regulation (see page 148 here).

Government

‘I Am Really Troubled’: Town Officials Weigh In On Unpermitted Shed, Retaining Walls That Cross Knapp Lane Property Line

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Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals at their most recent meeting said they were concerned about a Knapp Lane backyard shed that had been rebuilt bigger and without town approvals and is located near a neighbor’s property line. ZBA member Angelo Ziotas said at the group’s most recent meeting that he also was uneasy with an estimated 80-foot retaining wall created at 109 Knapp Lane that runs some way into the property to the east. Though the retaining wall itself was not part of the property owner’s application for a variance that would grant after-the-fact approval for the shed, “it does color the way in which I am looking at this whole situation,” Ziotas said. “I am really troubled by the trespass and the retaining wall going onto this neighbor’s property,” he said at the ZBA meeting, held at Town Hall. The comments came after town officials issued a homeowner Hasim Sabovic a fine and cease-and-desist order following multiple violations of state laws, building codes and environmental regulations for work done in and near a pond and brooks on his 1.84-property, as well as the built storage shed that sits about eight feet from a neighboring property to the east, in lieu of the 25 feet required under New Canaan’s Zoning Regulations for accessory structures (see page 58 here).

Government

After Multiple Violations, Zoning Board To Hear After-the-Fact Application for Knapp Lane Storage Shed

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Months after town officials issued a Knapp Lane resident a fine and cease-and-desist order following multiple violations of state laws, building codes and environmental regulations for work done in and near a pond and brooks on the 1.84-property, an architect representing the homeowner is seeking after-the-fact approval for a storage shed located well within a setback area. Discovered by chance by municipal officials in January, the freestanding shed at 109 Knapp Lane had been built with no permits—a structure that had stood there also was demolished with no town approvals—and sits less than nine feet from the property line, in lieu of the 25 feet required for side yard setbacks in the 1-acre zone (see page 58 here). Even so, according to Elmsford, N.Y.-based Escaladas Architects, the 20-by-24-foot shed with a permanent concrete foundation was built just there since that spot “represents the highest elevation of the rear portion of the lot, and therefore, provided the greatest protection from historical flooding experienced in the area.”

“Building the structure in a different place than the originally chosen one, as depicted in the site plan 100-year flood line delineation, would have placed the structure directly in a flood plain and would represent the wrong choice for user and neighbors, since the filling in a flood plain is detrimental to all,” Escaladas said in a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals. “Perhaps a hidden benefit to this action is the fact that the re-contouring of the land has cleaned up the old debris and fallen trees. The elimination of this volume has added flood volume to the area.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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One of the men brought up on misdemeanor charges by New York City police for climbing the Brooklyn Bridge in order to get a nice photo of Manhattan at sunrise Saturday was a 24-year-old New Canaanite, the New York Post reports. ***

Some of the New Canaan High School students who attended the boys varsity lacrosse game Saturday versus rival Darien misbehaved to the point where the principal of NCHS sent a letter that went to the wider school community to address the problem. The letter references “a number of incidents at the game” including alcohol consumption and profanity. It continues: “Consuming or possessing alcohol, threatening or harassing others, acting disrespectfully, and/or any behaviors that would not be tolerated in school will not be permitted at these contests. If it is witnessed, students will be removed from the game and may face significant disciplinary action in school, up to and including suspension.