News

Letter: Group Forms To Oppose Merritt Village Proposal

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To the Editor:

A group of concerned residents calling itself Citizens for New Canaan formed in response to M2 Partners’ proposal brought before the Planning and Zoning Commission members. According to the developer’s website “the new Merritt Village WILL consist of four, four-story, elevatored buildings. Two buildings WILL include 63 rental apartments and the other two buildings WILL include 60 condominium units, for a maximum total of 123 residences.”

In addition, the builder plans to construct 205 parking spaces — 177 underground plus 28 aboveground. Presently, just 38 apartments exist on this 3.3-acre parcel of land located off Maple and Park Streets. The developer will accomplish his goal if our Planning and Zoning Commission creates a new zoning ordinance to accommodate the builder’s plan.

Government

‘Protest’ vs. ‘Public Referendum’: Clarifying P&Z Rules for Opponents of Merritt Village

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Several residents concerned about the proposed Merritt Village development have come to local officials with an idea of launching what they’re calling a public “referendum” on the divisive project should the Planning & Zoning Commission approve it, the town planner has confirmed. Presumably, the idea is to push back on a future decision from the appointed body—the same way, say, a resident may pursue a referendum following an appropriation made by the Town Council. Yet, as Town Planner Steve Kleppin said when asked about the prospect with respect to Merritt, the referendum process does not apply to P&Z decisions. P&Z is governed largely by state statute, “not necessarily from local jurisdiction,” he said. “I believe it is set up that way so an applicant can pursue applications in any municipality and follow the same sets of procedures in terms of the timeframes and authority of the [P&Z] Commission,” Kleppin said.

Government

‘A Reasonable Compromise Has To Be Worked Out’: P&Z Weighs In on Merritt Village Proposal

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Questions about the viability of a new parking system, guarantees regarding the set-aside of some below-market units and the potential that a condo-and-apartment complex could loom conspicuously over parts of Park Street rank high among outstanding concerns regarding the proposed development at Merritt Apartments, the chairman of the New Canaan Planning & Zoning Commission said Tuesday night. Most of all, perhaps, the Merritt Village as proposed—a plan that would see 123 units built on a combined 3.29-acre parcel at the edge of downtown New Canaan where 38 now exist—raises questions about “the density of the whole project,” P&Z Chairman John Goodwin said during a public hearing. “One component is—is four stories the right answer or should it be three?—which effectively becomes three-and-a-half [stories] with a roof,” Goodwin said during the hearing, which drew a standing-room only crowd at Town Hall. “And as the planner has noted, there is the issue of how many units. The planner has shared with the commission his analysis that if we were to apply the current most dense project in New Canaan to [the Merritt Village] project, the number that would fall out would be 95 units, so that is a challenge.

News

Letter: Questions Regarding Maple Street Cemetery as ‘Merritt Village’ Plan Unfolds

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To the editor,

It will be good to learn more about what is planned for Merritt Apartments, at next Tuesday’s P&Z meeting. But one question is what will happen to the early 19th century Maple Street Cemetery if the plan moves forward, and who owns the 1.13 acre parcel which is now the cemetery? This cemetery is home to 52 founders of New Canaan. The address is 26 Park Street. According to the tax assessor’s records, it’s owned by the Town, sale date 1/1/1900, 1.13 acres.

News

Letter: Concerns Regarding Proposed ‘Merritt Village’ Project

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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.