Dear Editor:
Forty years ago, my husband and I moved to New Canaan to raise a family. We chose New Canaan for its beauty and charm. But in 40 years, we have seen a vocal minority that has time and again resisted embracing anything new even when that change offered a better quality of life for all.
As I look at our town’s jewels, I find too many examples where a small group vehemently opposed their development and/or enhancement: The Glass House was decried by a few, but Philip Johnson persevered. Waveny Castle and grounds needed major repairs when they were gifted to the town, but a vocal minority opposed improvements; the swings at Mead Park were rusted derelicts until some brave moms resisted a vocal minority and installed new facilities; the forces-of-no protested lighting the high school athletic fields until parents and coaches overcame this resistance. Remember the fussing that preceded the arrival of the farmers’ market? And the complaints about installing sidewalks in town? And the protests the Summer Theatre of New Canaan faced in finding a home?
Which brings me to the town’s latest jewel—Grace Farms, 80 acres of beautiful space, open to all, and free of charge. Once again, the naysayers are in full voice.
Yes, there are issues that have to be resolved between Grace Farms and its neighbors. But by seeing Grace Farms as an opportunity to enhance the quality of life in New Canaan, I believe the P&Z, as it has done in the past, will address these challenges and enhance the gift the benefactors of Grace Farms have bestowed upon New Canaan. In the 40 years I have lived here, the town has found ways for all sides to work together for the benefit of all the citizens of New Canaan. Like the other jewels in New Canaan, Grace Farms is an investment in our town’s future that our children and their children will enjoy for years to come.
Dede Bartlett
Co-Chair, New Canaan Domestic Violence Partnership
In reply to Ms. Barlett’s letter, none of the neighbors are against the good works that Grace Community Church and others perform in this community or embracing “anything new”. The issue is that the continuing representations made to the Commission, the neighborhood and the Town of New Canaan since 2007 was that the development at Grace Farms was “simply and only a church” yet on opening day, it was no longer a church as per the words of Grace Foundation’s leadership. As was discussed at length before the Commission during the 2012/2013 proceedings, Grace Farms Foundation had a fully-formed plan prior to the opening of Grace Farms in October, 2015, and simply used Grace Community Church as a Trojan horse to achieve those larger objectives.
As neighbors, we are concerned about our safety, our security, our privacy and the enjoyment of our properties. By our count more than 166,000 people have been in our respective backyards during Grace Farms’ first year – a figure far greater than “900 people on a Sunday” which served as the predicate of the Commission’s 2013 special permit approval. Just last Saturday, we watched a man stand very close to one of our neighbors’ property line for more than 10 minutes. Was he doing something innocent such as bird watching or taking pictures of the landscape? Or was it something else, such as watching our neighbors’ young children play in their backyard or casing their house? Could we call the police? No, he is on private property. Was he doing something wrong? No, technically not, but is this type of activity what the Commission thought it was approving in 2013? No.
The issue is about the intensity and encroachments of the institutional use that Grace Farms represents in the 4-acre residential zone, and the deleterious knock-on effects of that institutional use. Even last week, the Planner, Steve Palmer, asked for list of all activities that will occur at Grace Farms over the next 6 months and yet Grace refuses to abide by that request, as they don’t know. Yet on the other hand, they published on October 9, their winter and spring calendar. This is not about embracing something “new”, it about all of us in New Canaan respecting the Commissioners, your neighbors and the Town. It is about being forthright and honoring a social contract.