Letter: A Look at the (Possible) Future of Grace Farms

To the Editor:

As an interested observer of the Grace Farms application before the Planning & Zoning Commission I believe that too few New Canaanites appreciate what is at stake. Below is a future news article we may see if Grace Farms succeeds in obtaining the approval it seeks.

“October 15, 2017 

“Grace Farms Conference and Nature Center For Good (formerly Grace Farms) announced today at its second anniversary celebration that it has signed an agreement to become the home to the newly established United Nations Center for Social Justice and Criminal Rehabilitation. In connection with the establishment of this new center, Grace Farms will dedicate its entire 80-acre campus to this important global effort.

“The transformation of the campus was made possible by the approval earlier this year of the application by Grace Farms Foundation to allow broader use of the facility than the religious institution use upon which it was originally permitted to be constructed.

“A senior Grace Farms Foundation official was quoted as saying ‘we are pleased that the United Nations saw the beauty of the facility and are proud to provide a home for this important effort. This is what we had in mind when we were talking about architecture for good and this positions us well to realize outcomes. This new effort fits perfectly with each of the five initiatives upon which the Foundation was founded. We expect this campus to continue to be dedicated to justice, art, nature, community and faith.’ Experts have suggested that art therapy, exposure to nature and a restored sense of faith are important elements of an individual’s potential for rehabilitation.

“Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the transformation will require that each of the existing space grants to local charitable organizations will expire at the end of their current terms. The source said ‘while we are sorry to see those organizations go, it was always understood that the space grants were temporary. Luckily they have plenty of options on where they can have their meetings in town.’

“In addition, as previously reported, in the summer of 2018, Grace Community Church is scheduled to move to its new home on White Oak Shade Road. Although the church does not have a special permit to operate on the four adjacent parcels that were recently acquired to provide this new home, a source familiar with the plans confirmed that the new application will be filed shortly and is expected to be approved on the basis of its legal status as a religious institution and the fact that its license to operate at its current home on Luke’s Wood Road has been revoked by Grace Farms Foundation.

“The plan for the new center involves the construction of a dormitory facility for residents of the center on land previously dedicated to open space. Asked about this a Grace Farms source confirmed that because the special permit as drafted and approved in 2013 did not contain any official designation of any portion of the property as open space, there is no legal impediment to construction of a dormitory.

“Although the gracefarms.org website included a reference to the preservation of 77 out of its 80 acres as being set aside as open space ‘in perpetuity’ that reference was deleted earlier this year, shortly after the revised special permit for a philanthropic institution was issued.”

Of course, for now, the news story above falls into the category of “fake news.” But if members of the New Canaan community keep focusing solely on “the good” that Grace Farms currently represents without looking at this application carefully and seeing it for what it is, the Grace Farms story, which started as the Grace Church story, could be rewritten once again—perhaps not as suggested above, but in some other unforeseen manner. The important work of the Planning & Zoning Commission must be done with a view toward ensuring that the character of the community is preserved and that the Town’s zoning regulations are applied fairly and evenly to all applicants.

According to the expert testimony we heard at the December 20^th P&Z hearing, Grace Farms Foundation has a high burden of proof to show that the application now before P&Z—to operate a philanthropic enterprise in a residential zone—is a benefit to the New Canaan community, and that such benefit cannot be served from downtown New Canaan or within other existing facilities in town.

Some readers may claim that the kind of speculation in the fake news article above is unfair and ignores the many good deeds that Grace Farms Foundation has done. No one is arguing about whether Grace Farms Foundation does “good.” But it is using a facility that presently has a religious institution permit, which was intended to be the home of Grace Community Church, for something that is not a religious institution.

Considering the total lack of transparency that Grace Farms Foundation has provided, I would argue that it would be irresponsible not to speculate which activities might or might not fall within their plans and what legal rights the various interested parties might or might not have with respect to the activities that might be permitted. In fact, as per its own application and Grace Farms’ own documentation, the license for Grace Community Church is indeed revocable and the space grants to local organizations are of limited duration.

In 2013, Grace Farms was given the benefit of the doubt when they assured the P&Z that the facility was for Grace Community Church and that the only activities beyond the regular religious services would be pick-up basketball, a few members of the congregation having a picnic on the property or “10 people or 20 people getting together having some sort of meeting.” As the saying goes: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Members of the New Canaan Community and Grace Community Church should not allow their good will and good intentions to be hijacked by a secular foundation whose plans and intentions have been as vague as what Grace Farms Foundation has outlined. We all deserve to know specifically what their plans are.

The Foundation has claimed to have a 100-year master plan. Not only has that plan never seen the light of day, Grace Farms Foundation has even been secretive about its total attendance figures since its activities have come under scrutiny by zoning officials. They have a lot further to go before they can live up to the level of transparency they claim to value.

Let’s hope the P&Z gets all the information they need to evaluate the current application fairly and completely. Without that, the current application must be denied.

Timothy Curt

Smith Ridge Road, New Canaan