Government

‘There Will Be Considerably Greater Loom’: Oak Street Neighbor Raises Concerns About Rebuilding Plan

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Town officials postponed a decision on an Oak Street property owner’s application to rebuild a two-story home after next-door neighbors raised concerns about how the proposed new structure would loom over their house. Though a proposed two-family home at 50-52 Oak St. would be only “marginally taller than what is already there, it will be far closer to our property and therefore, there will be considerably greater loom,” Paul Crowley of 64 Oak St.—a Colonial that originally dates back to 1934, what scores of New Canaanites had come to know as Archie Stewart’s house at the corner of Green Avenue—told members of the Planning & Zoning Commission at their most recent regular meeting. “The people in this residence will have stadium seats, looking into my backyard and it will also block out late afternoon light,” Crowley said at the meeting, held March 29 at Town Hall. A proposal calls for special permit to create what would be a more conforming structure on the .29-acre parcel at 50-52 Oak St.

Around Town

Ponus Ridge Woman Files Lawsuit Appealing Neighbor’s Expansion Plans

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Saying a neighbor’s plan to expand an antique home—coupled with plans to acquire the adjacent, long-disused Ponus Ridge Chapel and convert it into a private dwelling—would diminish home values in the area, a town woman is appealing a recent decision by the New Canaan Zoning Board of Appeals. Elizabeth Weed in a new lawsuit is seeking to nullify a variance granted Nov. 3 to her next-door neighbors on Ponus Ridge, the Hayeses. The variance would allow them to build an addition to the rear of their home within what technically is the front yard setback—in fact, the entire ca. 1840 house is located within that setback (many 18th and 19th Century homes are situated very close to the road).