Government

‘It’s Barbie Pink’: Town Officials Require Different Color in Sign for Historic House

By |

Saying they wanted to support a New Canaan couple’s efforts to preserve a historic 18th Century home that narrowly avoided the wrecking ball this past summer, planning officials last week took the unusual step of OK’ing a sign to be planted out front of the property on condition that it’s a different color than originally presented. Despite concerns that the sign to be installed at 8 Ferris Hill Road (in the manner of a demolition sign) also is too large—and strong feelings about the specific language chosen for it—members of the Planning & Zoning unanimously approved it at their regular meeting Tuesday. The sign “is just too big and the color seems wholly inconsistent with the historic house,” P&Z commissioner John Kriz said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “It’s Barbie pink.”

Homeowner Tom Nissley, who with his wife acquired the home and 2.14-acre property for $1.5 million in June, tax records show, explained that the intention is to have the color of the sign match the shingles on the house. “I had to try to reproduce a color that doesn’t exist on the computer and that is how you got this color,” Nissley said.

Government

‘A Logical and Mandatory Thing’: Millport Avenue Developers Address Concerns About ‘Loom Factor’ of Four-Story Structures

By |

Though neighbors of the public housing development at Mill Pond and at least one member of the Planning & Zoning Commission had voiced concerns about the height and aesthetics of proposed four-story buildings there—concerns that some now say were well-founded, as the units take shape—the new structures will look better once they’re finished with stonework, balconies, trim and landscaping, the project’s architects say. At least as importantly, given the need for elevators and the challenges of expense and space that they bring—particularly when dealing with affordable housing—going “up” in height and leveraging density is an economic and architectural reality, according to Scott Hobbs, chairman of the New Canaan Housing Authority Commission. “In the case of affordable housing, it is especially tricky because it is hard to make it work economically even with seed money from the town and grants from the state,” Hobbs told NewCanaanite.com. “It’s still hard to make it work and you need to get to density, otherwise you cannot pay for the construction. At the end of the day four stories, while large, is still within what is acceptable.

Government

‘New Canaan Is Not a Number of Houses or Residents’: P&Z Agrees To Modify Operating Permit for Philip Johnson Glass House

By |

After two public hearings that saw neighbors, including one member of the Planning & Zoning Commission, voice opposition to a proposal from the Philip Johnson Glass House to expand its operations, town officials on Tuesday night agreed to approve a slightly modified version of those plans. Designed to help the National Trust for Historic Preservation site fund the maintenance and restoration of its 49-acre Ponus Ridge campus and the 14 architecturally significant structures on it, the Glass House’s proposal—raising the baseline headcount allowed on the property and extending the hours during which people can visit—in January drew criticism from some neighbors concerned about noise and traffic. P&Z commissioner Dick Ward also voiced a familiar concern about the “creep” in scope that sometimes accompanies institutional uses in residential zones. Yet referring to the Glass House’s plans as “institutional creep” sets New Canaan off “in the wrong direction,” P&Z commissioner Laszlo Papp said at a special meeting of the group, held at Town Hall. “I would personally not call these entities ‘institutions.’ I would call them ‘public entities.’ Why?

Business

New Canaan Merchants Could Kickstart Sidewalk Sales on Friday This Summer

By |

With Darien and Greenwich now planning to hold their Sidewalk Sales on the same weekend traditionally “reserved” by New Canaan, downtown merchants hope to kick off this year’s big event one day earlier than usual, officials said. Businesses with storefronts downtown could put their discounted goods out on the sidewalks in front of them during regular hours on Friday, July 15, and the full-on and hugely popular Village Fair & Sidewalk Sale—including street closures, additional vendors and a food court in the Pop Up Park—will be held as usual on Saturday, July 16, according to Tucker Murphy, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event. “What we’re going to propose is to have our local merchants on the sidewalk on that Friday to have a little bit of a leg up,” Murphy told the Planning & Zoning Commission at the group’s regular meeting Tuesday night, held at Town Hall. “And the other benefit to this is that, God forbid if you have some weather on either side, this would give you another day to have some movement of your inventory and some sales.”

This summer’s Sidewalk Sales will mark the event’s 50th anniversary in New Canaan, Murphy said. For as long as she’s been head of the chamber (seven years in April), Murphy said, she’s met with fellow chamber directors to map out their special events and make sure there’s no awkward crossover.

Business

Officials ‘OK’ White—Not Red—Verizon Sign on Elm Street

By |

Calling the Verizon ‘checkmark’ a logo and saying a proposed sign with a red background would be incongruous with the rest of the street, town officials recently approved a new sign for the company’s location at 139 Elm St. The Planning and Zoning Commission is asking Verizon to remove a second, similar-looking sign that now stands in the window of the downtown business and to create a white sign with red lettering rather than the inverse. Verizon has already lowered its awning to make room for a mounted sign and the proposed would sign would blend in better with the row of businesses there, “rather than a 12-foot wide swath of red background,” P&Z Commissioner Dan Radman said at the group’s Aug. 25 meeting. “It will be a little more in keeping with street elevation right there,” Radman said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center.