Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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U.S. Postal Service officials have the keys to their new building and say they’re hoping to open the Post Office on Locust Avenue in New Canaan “this winter.” A more specific date is not yet available. “We are ‘postalizing’ the interior by installing counters, electronic equipment, security features and other necessary items to conduct postal business,” USPS spokesperson Christine Dugas told NewCanaanite.com. ***

Originally scheduled for next week, the Grace Farms application to come before the Planning & Zoning Commission will be heard at the group’s Nov. 29 meeting, officials say. ***

Town officials say the motor vehicle that veered off of Old Stamford Road/Route 106 on Sunday morning and crashed into the Old Studio Road sign near the sharp bend there was traveling at about 60 mph.

Government

Officials Study ‘Canaan Parish’ Apartments for Possible Affordable Housing Redevelopment

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Town officials say they’re looking into whether a privately owned, 1979-built apartment complex on Lakeview Avenue could be right for redevelopment with a greater number of affordable units. Located near the corner of Route 123, Canaan Parish includes 60 apartments and its tenants get rental assistance through the Section 8 federal housing program. It is owned by Stamford-based New Canaan Neighborhoods Inc., whose president is town resident Chris Hussey, according to Connecticut Secretary of the State records. According to Scott Hobbs, who serves as chairman of the New Canaan Housing Authority, the site likely “is not as well utilized as modern layout would, so if we could rejuvenate some of it, it would make sense.” “The reality is that it would make more sense to tear it down and rearrange everything and get more units in there,” Hobbs told members of the Board of Finance at their regular meeting Tuesday night, held at Town Hall. “And I believe by doing that, we hopefully would possibly get to the second moratorium.”

He referred to a four-year moratorium from the state’s Affordable Housing Appeals Act, often called by its statute number, 8-30g.

Around Town

‘The Community Is Behind It’: Finance Board Votes 8-0 in Favor of $475,000 for New Canaan Library As Rebuilding Project Nears

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Calling New Canaan Library a vital community hub whose new building will benefit the town in numerous ways, finance officials on Tuesday night unanimously supported a proposed $475,000 special appropriation for the organization. Approved 8-0 by the Board of Finance at the group’s regular meeting, the funds are designed to help the library acquire a key property on its block and trigger a widely anticipated capital campaign. Purchasing the .19-acre property at 48 South Ave., currently the site of a rented multifamily dwelling, “is critical to any plans the library might have, because not only does it complete the campus footprint but setback rules would make other properties that they have acquired useless for construction purposes and limit their use for parking spaces,” finance board member Chris LeBris said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “So the entrance to town—instead of having a nice new library building—would be, essentially, several blocks of parking as you drive down South Avenue, so for the town aesthetics there is a reason to do this.”

The appropriation still requires the approval of the Town Council, which meets next week. Conceived by town leaders after library officials said during budget discussions last fiscal year that they would go forward with their rebuilding plans even without it, the appropriation has received wide community support, finance board member said.

Government

Town Funding Bodies To Vote Next Month on Support for New Canaan Library Rebuilding Plan

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The town’s two major funding bodies will vote next month on a proposal to help kickstart a capital campaign for a widely anticipated rebuild of New Canaan Library, officials say. Conceived by town officials and introduced at public meetings in June, the allocation would help the library acquire a key .19-acre property on its block. Though formal agendas have not yet been finalized, the Board of Finance is expected to vote on the measure at its Sept. 13 meeting, with the Town Council to follow on Sept. 21, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said.

Government

‘A Very Good Investment for Our Community’: Town Could Help Library Acquire Key Final Property for Rebuilding Plan

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The town stands to benefit aesthetically, culturally and otherwise if New Canaan Library in planning its rebuilt facility has a properly sized and configured parcel with which to work, officials said Tuesday. Because of setback regulations, a major gateway into the New Canaan at South Avenue and Maple Street realistically could only serve as a parking lot unless the library is able to acquire a key .19-acre property on its block, the town’s highest elected official said during a meeting of the Board of Finance. So if it’s feasible and residents and town officials support the idea, New Canaan ought to consider helping the library purchase that property, according to First Selectman Rob Mallozzi, who serves as chairman of the finance board. “There is an opportunity for this town to demonstrate to our library what we think and be a partner in their vision that I think is fundamental for the success of this community,” Mallozzi said during the finance board’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. Doing so would bolster “the look and feel of the community as you approach our downtown village, and, I think, truly jumpstart a capital campaign to the library that would lead to a phenomenal facility over the next few years.”

He added: “I think it would be a very good investment for our community.”

That investment, if it’s made, remains some months away, according to finance board member Neil Budnick.