As news spread this week of the Roger Sherman Inn hitting the market at $6 million, one major question that preservationists and other locals are asking concerns the Oenoke Ridge property’s future—specifically, whether the inn itself could face the wrecking ball, to be replaced by a housing complex of some sort.
The Roger Sherman Inn on Aug. 28, 2014. Credit: Michael Dinan
Mimi Findlay, chairman emerita of the New Canaan Preservation Alliance notes that in recent years, New Canaanites have lost the Melba Inn on Park Street, Maples Inn on Oenoke and Silvermine Tavern.
“So sad for New Canaan, architecturally, culturally and personally—where do my in-laws stay when visiting us?” Findlay told NewCanaanite.com in an email.
Though the 1.8-acre property at 195 Oenoke Ridge Road cannot be subdivided because it’s in a one-acre zone, Town Planner Steve Kleppin said, concerns linger about development under the Affordable Housing Appeals Act, a state law that allows developers to skirt local planning decisions by designating a certain percentage of units in a proposed development as affordable.
The law is triggered in municipalities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is considered “affordable,” by the state’s definition. That definition lumps New Canaan (and other lower Fairfield County towns) into the “Norwalk-Stamford Metropolitan Area” in calculating affordability—in other words, a formula based on a geographic area within which land values, lot sizes, individual character and attendant rental or mortgage payments vary widely.
In New Canaan, hitting the “affordability” guideline would mean reaching upwards of 750 units within that scheme—a prohibitively high figure, many officials say (we’re at about 2.4 percent now).
A plan to double the number of affordable units at Mill Pond could trigger a three-year exemption from the law. Local officials including Town Council Vice Chair Steve Karl have advocated for additional affordable units made available, through planning rather than developers’ goals, to essential workers such as firefighters, police, teachers and DPW employees.
But that project certainly could take far longer than, say, the sale of 195 Oenoke Ridge Road.
The exclusive listing agency for the Roger Sherman Inn is Halstead. Asked whether there’s a type of buyer that the owner of the property is looking for—for example, a preservation-minded person—the following statement was issued and attributed to Immy Cognetta, Halstead’s local listing agent on it: “The Roger Sherman Inn is a beautiful property ideally located close to the town of New Canaan. Our job as the exclusive listing broker is to sell the property at the best possible price in the quickest amount of time. We look forward to giving the property our outstanding marketing exposure.”
The tax card on the Roger Sherman Inn dates the structure there to 1740, an era that local historians say likely saw the first house go up on the property. Local historians say the physical structure that would become an inn (in 1925) likely was built ca. 1898.
In any case, asked for her thoughts on the Roger Sherman’s availability, preservation alliance President Rose Scott Long noted the high number of demolition requests “that have been coming in over the past few months.”
“Currently an antique house on Summer Street is headed toward the chopping block, plus a number of other recent requests,” she said.
Long, a preservation architect, counts herself among those locals who feel New Canaan is losing much of its charm as its antique buildings give way to new construction.
One widely known example of that is the vanished antique house that once sat perched above what is called the 10-unit ‘Jelliff Mill Falls’ development.
In that case, a developer threatened to get around local planning officials through the Affordable Housing Appeals Act, sometimes called ‘8-30g’ for its specific statute number, and the town ended up allowing the development in exchange for $200,000 in its fund for creating affordable units.
New Canaan has a long history of having community “angels” stepping up to the plate to fund efforts that enhance community atmosphere.
To save the Roger Sherman, similar angels will be needed.
Incentives to attract those angels include the following:
1) tax incentives to fund the additional amount of work required to maintain an antique structure
2) Zoning incentives, that allow added construction to take place that can offset the costs associated with an antique building.
3) With neither financial or zoning incentives available to property owners that maintain the buildings that “define the character” of our community, there should be no surprise when more buildings come down, or are altered beyond recognition.