Government

‘Desecration Is Illegal’: Cemetery Expert Says Neighbor of ‘Merritt Village’ Has Paved Over Burial Plots

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Rather than search for violations connected to a proposed 116-unit apartment-and-condo complex, where no cemetery exists, leaders and historic preservationists in New Canaan should focus on the “high level of desecration” that has affected known burial plots next door, an expert in the field said Tuesday night. The eastern portion of the historic ‘Maple Street Cemetery’—not the portion owned by hopeful ‘Merritt Village’ developer M2 Partners—includes plants and mulch placed directly over known graves, and “what makes matters worse in terms of demonstrating the desecration” is a driveway that has paved over the burial sites of Rufus St. John and Richard Fairweather, according to Andrew Mellilo of Greenwich-based RVDI, a land use consulting firm. “We know there are bodies in those plots and it has been paved over,” Mellilo told members of the Planning & Zoning Commission during a special meeting, held at Town Hall. He told the commission that an underground surveying company determined that there has been no disturbance in the soil on M2’s property, such as would be caused by a decomposing body or the presence of graves.

News

Would-Be Developer of Roger Sherman Inn Site Seeks Three Changes to New Canaan Zoning Regulations

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The Norwalk developer proposing to raze part of the Roger Sherman Inn and create eight single-family homes on the 1.8-acre lot is seeking three major changes to the New Canaan Zoning Regulations in order to make the project possible. Spelled out by Westport-based Landtech, an engineering firm, as part of the Glazer Group’s overall application, the proposed text changes all center around the idea that the new development would bring the inn’s Oenoke Ridge Road parcel into more conformity with the regulations. Specifically, the applicant seeks three new allowances, all by special permit:

First, to add to a list of structures allowed by special permit (see page 45 here)—a list that currently includes things like elderly housing, congregate housing, B&Bs, group homes and religious institutions—the following: “Pre-existing non-conforming uses—where a pre-existing non-conforming commercial use is located within a residential zone a residential use may be permitted by special permit when the proposed use is residential and as a result o the residential use it reduces the non-conformity. The newly created residential use shall not exceed a density of six dwelling unit per 1 acre of land either attached or detached”;
Second, to add to a list of uses that qualify for exceptions to building coverage, by special permit (see page 69 here)—a list that now includes municipal and governmental facilities as well as hospitals in the two-acre zone and some recreational clubs—the following: “a proposed residential use that will reduce non-conformity from its current/existing use”;
And third, to add to the ways that the Planning & Zoning Commission may allow an increase via special permit to maximum density—that is, lots per acre of buildable land—the following method: “determining that the proposed increase in maximum density will reduce the pre-existing non-conforming use.”

P&Z is expected to take up the application for the first time at its next regular meeting, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25.

Government

Town Attorney’s Office To P&Z: There’s No Cemetery on ‘Merritt Village’ Property

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There’s no evidence that anyone is buried in the portion of the ‘Maple Street Cemetery’ site that’s owned by the group that wants to develop a new apartment-and-condominium complex alongside it, according to the office of the New Canaan town attorney. There also exists no record that New Canaan ever intended to take title to the sliver of land, which was not conveyed to M2 Partners LLC—developer of the proposed ‘Merritt Village’ complex—by any of the entities that are allowed to own cemeteries under state law, according to Peter Gelderman of Westport-based Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C.

For those reasons, “it is the opinion of this office that the parcel is not a cemetery,” Gelderman said in a memo Monday to the New Canaan Planning & Zoning Commission. “There could be facts or circumstances that if proven, would change the conclusions of this opinion. For example, if it is shown that bodies are in fact buried at the subject property or if it is shown that the Town or a cemetery association or ecclesiastical society ever took title outside of the chain of title, then M2’s ownership interest would be in doubt.”

Sought by P&Z following a public hearing two weeks ago, the opinion could settle one outstanding question surrounding Merritt Village, which would occupy a large portion of the block of Park Street between Mead and Maple Streets. P&Z is scheduled to discuss Merritt during a special meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday—the sixth public hearing at which the topic will take center stage.

Government

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

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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.

News

FIRST LOOK: Roger Sherman Inn Redevelopment Plans Filed

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The town on Tuesday received an application to redevelop the Roger Sherman Inn property with eight single-family homes dotting the 1.8-acre Oenoke Ridge Road site. Filed by Norwalk-based Glazer Group on behalf of the property’s owners, plans call for a portion of the longstanding, historic structure—at least part of it dates to 1740, tax records show—to be razed while what remains would be converted into one of the eight new units. The other seven 2-story detached dwellings would include about 2,800 square feet of living space with 2-car attached garages, the application said. About “75 percent of the existing structure that currently houses the restaurant and inn” would be retained, it said. “The intent is to rehabilitate and renovate the façade of the building so that the look and feel from Oenoke Ridge would remain similar to the existing.