‘Orchards End’ Health and Wellness Organization To Seek Special Permit To Operate at Oenoke Ridge Residence

A special permit application will be filed on behalf of a new health-and-wellness enterprise on Oenoke Ridge Road, according to an attorney representing the organization. Discussed at a Planning & Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, Orchards End seeks to “to bring preventative and restorative lifelong health solutions to souls looking to enrich their lives through mind, body and spiritual enlightenment,” according to its mission statement. Services include personal and group training classes, yoga, acupuncture, meditation, nutrition counseling, massage and holistic health seminars. Attorney David Rucci of New Canaan-based Lampert Toohey & Rucci, LLC said Orchards End of 544 Oenoke Ridge road “is not an ongoing commercial enterprise.”

“Our special permit application will specifically describe the activities at the property as far as any nonresidential use,” he told NewCanaanite.com. The applicant will file for a special permit as a “Major Home Occupation,” described in the New Canaan Zoning Regulations as follows (see page 24): “The use of a dwelling for a home-based business involve two or more non-resident employees or six or more patron, client or associate visits per week.”

A major home occupation is a permitted accessory use and requires a special permit, under Section 3.3.C.3 of the zoning regulations (see page 49).

Questions About Well Water Prompt P&Z To Postpone Decision on Proposed Two-Level Pond for Weed Street Estate

Seeking more information about how a proposed well might affect neighbors, town officials on Tuesday night continued a public hearing regarding a Weed Street property owner’s dramatic plan to install a two-tiered pond behind a new house. One neighbor who spoke out against plans for a recently formed 22-acre estate at 386 Weed St. voiced concerns to the Planning & Zoning Commission about the removal of 426 trees on the property—a criticism that would appear somewhat hypocritical, according to a landscaping professional representing the applicant. Sean Keating of TLC Lawn and Landscaping conceded that the 6-acre section that’s been cleared “does look quite devastated at the moment,” though he noted that 4,000 shrubs and trees are planned for the property. “The six acres will be absolutely lush and luxurious when it’s done, and the neighboring properties actually are clear-cut,” Keating told P&Z members at their regular meeting, held in Town Hall.

Mixed-Use Redevelopment with 8 Residential Units Proposed for Vitti Street

The owners of a long-disused lot on Vitti Street are seeking the town’s permission to create a new 2-story commercial building facing the sidewalk with an 8-unit residential structure behind it. A pair of vacant structures on the .56-acre lot at 23 Vitti St. would be demolished under plans filed Sept. 2 with Planning & Zoning. In their place, near the street, would go two-story, 8,600-square-foot commercial building that could be occupied by “primarily fitness/therapy and medical uses,” according to a special permit application filed on behalf of the property owner by New Canaan-based attorney David Rucci of Lampert Toohey & Rucci LLC.

‘It Seems Like It’s Overkill’: P&Z Denies Application for Tall Pillars and Gate Proposed for Jonathan Road Driveway

Calling the taller-than-allowed pillars and gate proposed for a second entrance to a home in northern New Canaan excessive, planning officials on Tuesday night rejected a homeowner’s application to install them. The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 7-2 to deny an application to allow 6-foot-high pillars and a slightly smaller gate at 76 Jonathan Road. That property had been purchased (the ranch-style home there razed) and combined earlier this year with 65 Barnegat Road, now a 9.2-acre parcel whose main driveway already has a similar set-up. Making the two entrances match is a major reason for the property owners’ application, according to the attorney who represented them at P&Z’s regularly monthly meeting, held in Town Hall. Yet there’s “no reason for it,” commissioner John Flinn said by way of making a motion to deny the application (P&Z members Dick Ward and Claire Tiscornia cast dissenting votes).