NEW CANAAN, Conn. The New Canaan YMCA will try again in its efforts to make renovations to its pools after it opted last week to withdraw an application for improvements.
The YMCA pulled its application to the Planning and Zoning Commission to change language in town rules that would have streamlined the process for improving the pools. The club had wanted to amend town rules so it would only have to get an approval from the planning commission instead of also having to get a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The YMCA must do so in part because it is in a residential zone off South Avenue.
YMCA attorney Edward OHanlan said the withdrawal was based on comments made during a Feb. 28 public hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission and that the hearing was closed to further discussion. It is hoped that withdrawal will allow a further and meaningful dialogue to take place with the commission, whether informally or as a discussion item at a meeting, in the near term, OHanlan said.
The club has conceptual plans to expand and upgrade its two pools, one built in the late 1960s and the other in the 1970s. The changes could expand the building by about 2,000 square feet. But commission members were concerned that the language the YMCA wanted was too broad and would have been applicable to other clubs.
Several people living near the YMCA opposed the text change, saying a second layer of review for the club's projects was necessary.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Laszlo Papp said the club should probably have asked for a text change that was more specific to the YMCA. It was not a well-thought-out application, Papp said Monday, though he expects the club to apply again.
YMCA Executive Director Craig Panzano could not be reached for comment Monday.
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