After years of research, debate and scrutiny, the Planning and Zoning Board is ready to implement its Village Design Guidelines for New Canaans business district. The terms will be added to the boards regulations for new construction in an effort to ensure the area maintains what they feel is the towns character. The board held a public hearing Tuesday to gather opinions from residents before the final vote at their next meeting.
[The] compact Town Center distinguishes New Canaan from surrounding towns, and is consistently identified as substantially contributing to community character, the board wrote in their documents outlining the guidelines. The proposal includes recommendations for architectural style, building size, site planning and landscaping.
In general, the board stresses that new buildings use classic materials such as brick, stone and wood, and coincide with existing architectural styles. It also states that new construction projects must be consistent with the height, bulk and scale of the other structures in the Village District. The guidelines will also have stipulations on proper signage and pedestrian access.
The main concern of the board was being able to enforce these guidelines. Town attorney Chris Jarobe said that should not be a problem. "This design manual simply amplifies the existing regulations," he said. "Now [applicants] see specific examples in the design manual of the types of elements that are encouraged."
Some town residents, while agreeing with the guidelines in principle, had reservations about them. For example, Mimi Findlay, president of the Preservation Alliance, wants to make sure the guidelines preserve the towns historic architectural chatacter. "It looks like an awful lot of colonial revival architecture is being proposed," she said. "It is imperative that we preserve what we have now ... and [create] a framework for compatible construction that will be worthy of its own preservation 50 years from now."
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
