TIMELINE * ARTICLES * LETTERS
Below, please find a timeline that details the major developments for Grace Farms, from its inception and public opening to a divisive application, now underway, to amend its zoning permit for a second time.
Click “Read More” after any single item for an expanded view with full text, as well as embedded videos and PDF files, where useful and available. (Here’s more background on why we’re doing this.)
P&Z Grants Special Permit to Grace Property Holdings LLC
November 27, 2007In November 2007 and May 2008, P&Z grants a special permit and amended special permit that would allow Grace Property Holdings LLC to use the…
Read moreGrace Property Holdings LLC Purchases 48 Acres on Lukes Wood Road
July 31, 2008
Grace Property Holdings LLC acquires a 48-acre parcel at 365 Lukes Wood Road for $30 million.
Read moreGrace Farms Foundation Is Formed
January 1, 2009In 2009, Grace Farms Foundation is formed as a charitable trust following an IRS filing. Mission statement filed with IRS: “Grace Farms Foundation was established in…
Read moreGrace Farms Foundation Inc. Purchases Contiguous 26.8-Acre Property
December 20, 2009
Grace Farms Foundation Inc. purchases a contiguous 26.8-acre Lukes Wood Road property for $10 million.
Read moreNewly Conceived ‘Grace Farms,’ River Building Introduced at P&Z Hearing
October 23, 2012
At a public hearing before P&Z, Grace Farms President Sharon Prince said that the organization “had used the past four years to crystallize” its vision….
Read moreGrace Seeks P&Z Approval for Design of Sanctuary
November 27, 2012Grace during a public hearing before P&Z seeks approval of specific design to build a 716-seat sanctuary. During that hearing an attorney for Grace said…
Read moreFounder Describes Grace Farms Activities as ‘Ancillary’ To a Church
December 18, 2012
Bob Prince, a founder of Grace, during a public hearing before P&Z underscores that Grace Farms Foundation is an extension of the church and that…
Read moreNeighbors Voice Concerns To P&Z about Grace as ‘Public Park’ and ‘Community Center’
January 29, 2013A neighbor during a public hearing before P&Z asked that if the commission approves Grace’s application it includes conditions that 1. The property cannot be…
Read moreP&Z Seeks To Address Scope of Activities Planned for Grace Farms
February 26, 2013
Then-chairman of P&Z Laszlo Papp during a discussion of Grace Farms at a public hearing identified the following “threshold issues” in its approval, including: “Need…
Read moreP&Z Approves Grace Farms Amended Permit Application with Conditions
March 26, 2013P&Z during a public hearing unanimously approved the amended special permit for Grace, with conditions speciyfing that “there shall be no renting or use of…
Read moreTwo Lawsuits Filed vs. P&Z and Grace Farms
May 6, 2013
Two lawsuits are filed following the approval, both naming P&Z as well as Grace Farms as defendants. A court rules in favor of the defendants—in…
Read moreConstruction Starts on ‘The River’ Building
September 1, 2013Building permits are issued and construction gets underway for barns and series of pavilions connected by roof, come to be known as the River building.
Read moreGrace Farms Opens To the Public
October 23, 2015
Grace Farms opens to the public. Within the required 15 days, one neighbor files an appeal to the new structure’s Certificate of Occupancy.
Read moreZBA Hears Neighbor’s Appeal To Grace Farms’ CO
March 7, 2016Zoning Board of Appeals hears from a neighbor and Grace Farms’ representatives regarding the organization’s Certificate of Occupancy. Though a decision ultimately was not reached…
Read moreWhile Denying Neighbor’s Appeal, Town Officials Flag Activities at Grace Farms
May 2, 2016ZBA denies the appeal yet question arises about whether Grace is in its activities is running afoul of permitted uses. Then-Town Planner Steve Kleppin said:…
Read moreP&Z Asks Town Planner To See Whether Grace Is Exceeding Allowable Uses
May 31, 2016
P&Z requests that the town planner investigate whether Grace is violating the conditions of its approval. During the meeting, then-Town Planner Steve Kleppin said, “From…
Read moreNew Lawsuit Filed by Neighbor vs. Grace Farms and Organization’s President
June 10, 2016
A neighbor of Grace in New Canaan files a civil lawsuit naming the organization as well as Sharon Prince as defendants, regarding what the plaintiff…
Read moreStrained Meeting Between Grace Farms, Neighbors Yields No Resolution
June 16, 2016Grace officials meet with neighbors at New Canaan Library. According to meeting minutes from the neighbors, it’s a strained, awkward meeting where nothing is resolved….
Read moreTown Planner To Grace Farms: You Appear To Be Exceeding Permitted Uses at Site
June 24, 2016
The town planner notifies Grace Farms through a letter (embedded as a PDF below) that he finds “some of the uses occurring at the site…
Read moreP&Z Backs Town Planner, Seeks New or Amended Application from Grace Farms
June 28, 2016P&Z voices support for the town planner’s letter and opens the prospect that Grace Farms will return to the group with an application for a…
Read morePound Ridge, N.Y. Supervisor to P&Z: Grace Farms Has Done a ‘Bait and Switch’
August 17, 2016
The highest elected official in Pound Ridge, N.Y., directly north of Grace Farms, told the New Canaan Planning & Zoning Commission in a letter that…
Read moreGrace Farms Files Application To Amend Its Operating Permit
September 26, 2016Grace Farms filed an application to amend for the second time its town-issued operating permit. Prepared by attorney Edward O’Hanlan of Stamford-based Robinson+Cole, the application…
Read moreGrace Farms Stands Ground at First Public Hearing
November 29, 2016Grace Farms presents its second amended permit application at a public hearing. Some P&Z commissioners question the organization about its intentions on making its first…
Read moreGrace Farms ‘Temporarily’ Withdraws P&Z Application; Neighbors Call for Compliance ‘Immediately’ with Existing Permit
January 23, 2017Grace Farms on Jan. 20 files a letter withdrawing its new application to amend its zoning permit. The move prompts an attorney for some neighbors…
Read moreTown to Grace Farms: Supply a List of Scheduled Events and, For Now, Stop Booking New Ones
January 31, 2017Town officials have instructed Grace Farms to stop booking new events on its campus and provide details of all activities planned for the next six months,…
Read moreGrace Farms, Neighbors Negotiate ‘Buffer Zone’ between Properties To Address Some Security, Privacy, Noise Concerns
February 23, 2017Grace Farms and its neighbors are negotiating a proposed “buffer zone” between their properties, according to correspondence between the parties involved and town officials—a new…
Read more‘Grace Farms Continues To Flout the Restrictions It Agreed To’: Concerns Persist As New Filing Nears
March 8, 2017
Grace Farms has failed to comply with temporary measures imposed by the town while the organization prepares a new application to amend its zoning permit,…
Read moreGrace Farms Refutes Complaints Lodged on Behalf of Neighbors
March 9, 2017Complaints from two sets of neighbors about the Grace Farms’ failure to comply with temporary measures imposed by the town are in at least one…
Read moreJudge Denies Grace Farms’ Bid To Dismiss Parts of Lawsuit Filed Against Organization, President
April 17, 2017
A state Superior Court judge last week denied Grace Farms’ bid to dismiss parts of a lawsuit brought by neighbors who say the organization and…
Read moreBested in Legal Arguments, Attorneys for Grace Farms Now Pursue Changes to Zoning Regulations
April 23, 2017Grace Farms last week conceded a key legal point in its long-running bid to secure permission for robust and varied activities at its Lukes Wood…
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