New Canaan Institutional Uses

Grace Farms Foundation is now asking for an unprecedented change to New Canaan’s zoning regulations—to allow for multiple principal uses in all the  town’s residence zones. If approved, as specifically applied to Grace Farms, this text amendment change to the regulations would then legally permit two additional principal uses at Grace Farms—club & organization and philanthropic institution—in addition to the religious institution use approved in 2013.

 

What does this mean as a practical matter? 

That any owner in the residence zones—be it the half-acre, 2-acre or 4-acre zone—could apply to the Commission to build 2 primary residences on one lot, or add a rooming house, a bed & breakfast, a day care center, a medical office, a club, a conference center, and/or a group home to their property, to give just a few examples.

 

Does allowing this level of intensity into our residence zones make any common sense?

To us, it simply unmasks Grace Farms Foundation’s objective to change, at any cost, the zoning regulations to their benefit and to the material detriment of every other property owner in New Canaan’s residence zones. The proposed text amendment would turn our residence zones into de facto commercial, mixed-used zones. The Greek parable of “opening Pandora’s box” comes to mind.

​

​