New Canaan: Why Change Zoning to Tear Down Our 1913 Landmark?

Letter to the Editor,

Is a quasi-public zone more binding than a quasi-business contract most us would not want to sign? Opposing regulations appear to have been tightly knotted together to ready the Library plan to go before the P&Z. The plan being presented requires tearing down the 1913 Library and perhaps more Town dollars. Most of us love the library, and want old and new to be united. Is this possible if the Town ignores very strong support for this union within the community and takes an end run around the town's other deliberative bodies?

Will a new library, without its historic setting on Main Street, be a credit to the Town Plan of Conservation and Development which urges preservation of town landmarks within the town center (Section 3) using a photo of the library as an example?

Why is the administration co-sponsoring the Library's plan to tear down the old for the new, an integral part of the Application? Or is this sponsorship just a dodge around payment of required affordable housing fees? Unclear, but is this a good move for the Town to take? Would it be best to incorporate the existing 1913 Library into the new Library as an accessory use which might turn a profit and reduce the need for taxpayer dollars to support the Library? Shouldn't the P&Z be free to explore options?

Could virtual and zoom meetings be improved to lend themselves to more meaningful public participation? Shouldn't better ways be devised to host Public Hearings? The best conversations often bounce off each other as speakers come to the podium. Crowds are a way of gaging public support and efforts should be made to allow extra time to speakers.

Are we handicapped as interested citizens in forming our own opinions when government has already voted it's support, doubled it's ante from $5 Million to $10 Million, and most recently, agreed to transfer public parking for library use? Relying on the POCD as our guide, it is easy to see how the town center may well double in density over the next ten years. Every parking space will count when this happens.

Many of us have served in some capacity as library volunteers and heavy users. We know the shortcomings of the old library, but look forward to a union of old with new. We do not doubt this would be the best long term solution as it is a respected preservation tool seen in many exemplary modern buildings. Let's give it a chance.

Terry Spring