Selectmen Again Revise Usage Parameters For Great Island Special Permit Application

DARIEN, CT — The Board of Selectmen on Thursday again revised its usage parameters for Great Island that will be included in a special permit application expected to go before the Planning & Zoning Commission.

A special meeting was held virtually on Thursday afternoon to revise what was previously approved on Oct. 19.

Subscribe

In a memo associated with the special meeting agenda, First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said the usage parameters are intended to define a set of high-level usage restrictions for the Planning & Zoning Commission's special permit application review, with the Board of Selectmen developing a more detailed and limited policy within those limits in the future.

"What we approved on October 19 is too broad for the Planning & Zoning Commission," Zagrodzky wrote.

"Instead, it needs to take into account capacity and other limitations that the BOS usage policy would not exceed in any case. Such limitations include the number of parking spaces and restroom facilities as well as the lack of event-ready outdoor lighting. A further restriction is the limited Town Hall staff available to ensure properly managed events," Zagrodzky added.

Zagrodzky stressed during the brief special meeting that the revised usage parameters are only for the special permit application, and that there will be plenty of opportunities for public feedback when the Board of Selectmen works on crafting an overall usage policy for the island at a future date.

"These are usage parameters specifically tailored to a special permit application in a residential zone with Planning & Zoning," Zagrodzky said. "This is not - I repeat, not - a usage policy, which the Board of Selectmen is going to pick up next."

The revisions approved Oct. 29 capped large events at 50 to 200 attendees and 12 per calendar year, replacing the Oct. 19 parameters that allowed events of more than 50 people without an attendance ceiling or frequency limit.

Events of 20 to 50 people, renamed "Medium Group Events," were limited to 100 cumulative attendees per calendar day, with no concurrent events and a 30-minute gap between events. Both medium and large events must have equipment removed by noon the following day.

The revised parameters also limited all uses to dawn to dusk, replacing the midnight cutoff for medium and large events, and included pick-up sports among passive recreational activities allowed under public access.

"This is what we need to do at this point in time for the application. I do support the changes that were made here," Selectman Monica McNally said.

McNally said she looked at other clubs in town and their number of attendees for events/programs, and said the numbers for Great Island are "on the lower end."

"We have at least a starting point for this. I would argue, for anyone who is thinking 200 is too high, that we've been approached by the police and fire departments to hold their picnics there, and the Boy Scouts wanted to have something there," McNally added. "That's what I have in the back of my mind for the 200 number: to allow some of those organizations that support our town very strongly to be able to use this asset."

McNally said she thought that having 12 large events per calendar year "sounds right."

"As you correctly pointed out, these are all things we'll work on in the usage policy. I think these are great parameters, and I hope that the Planning & Zoning Commission finds them acceptable," McNally added.

Zagrodzky said he reviewed the latest parameters with Darien Director of Land Use Jeremy Ginsberg.

"He felt the revised limits we're voting on today make good sense," Zagrodzky said.

There was no public comment during the special meeting.

Resident Alexis Sweet submitted written comments to the board before the meeting, saying she appreciated the Board was revisiting the usage parameters that need to be included in a special permit application.

"But I remain concerned that this process is being rushed, and that you're preparing to ask Planning & Zoning to approve uses before you've fully thought through how they will work in practice," Sweet wrote. "I'm also struggling to understand how residents are expected to contribute meaningfully when we're given so little notice to review, consider, and respond to a substantially revised proposal."

Sweet questioned event frequency, large-event scheduling, the potential for overlapping activities, and noise and neighborhood impacts at Great Island.

She urged the Board to postpone a vote on the revised usage parameters.

Residents will be able to weigh in on the special permit application when it goes before the Planning & Zoning Commission in the future.