Editor New Canaanite:
We believe the Merritt Village project will fundamentally change the character of New Canaan forever.
As one of the condominium associations closest and most immediately impacted by the proposed Merritt Village directly across the street, we object to the granting of permits and the bypassing of zoning regulations for this project.
Below are the points we feel have not been adequately addressed by the builder or the zoning committee, and we would like to hear more from P & Z regarding how they plan to protect the interests and home values of the homeowners and neighboring taxpayers of New Canaan.
A.) Scale Of The Project Is Too Large And Will Negatively Affect Property Values: Merritt Village project will undoubtedly negatively affect housing prices for our association by “dumping” an unnecessary and unreasonable number of Villages and condos into the New Canaan market. A study was done on impact of condos above $1M. What about those that fall slightly below that threshold? Many of the existing neighboring condos fall in the home value range of $500,000 to $995,000 yet were not part of the study presented at the July P&Z meeting. Already there are a glut of homes for sale in New Canaan that have been sitting on the market for an unreasonable amount of time.
B.) Looming Nature of Proposed 4 Story Buildings: The 4 buildings proposed will be larger than the 4 story building currently under construction on Millport. The two largest buildings in the Merritt Village Proposal will be 2.5 times the size of the 4 story building on Millport (Greg Reilly article August 4, 2016). This dramatically alters the appearance of our downtown and sets a precedent for future development.
Conclusion: We oppose the broad scope and overreaching expectations of the Merritt Village Residence project. There is no reason this property can’t be redeveloped at a reasonable scale under current zoning regulations and in keeping with the scale of the area.
The next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting is August 30. This is your chance to make the views of our community known to Planning and Zoning.
Anne Hutcheson, Bruce Lemoine, Ken Mathis, Nancy Rosen, Yousef Malekzadeh
Park View Condominium Association Board of Directors
Agree 100%! Much too dense for a besutiful town like New Canaan. I have heard the builder’s argument that it will be good for “senior” housing. But at the price proposed for the units, the project will only benefit the builder and the wealthiest seniors in town
Stick to the current zoning regulations. Jane Campbell
I couldn’t agree more. Quite simply, this would set a president which would change the character of our town.. And for what? More financial gain for a few people who feel they can manipulate the public and change the rules in their favor? Absurd.