Darien Looks To Rent Out Horse Stables At Great Island

DARIEN, CT — Should Darien close on the purchase of Great Island, the town hopes to rent out the equestrian facilities on the 60-acre property and use them for boarding and training horses, riding lessons and a summer camp.

The town has submitted a request to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a special permit, which would allow such uses.

Commercial use is not allowed in a residential zone, said Planning & Zoning Director Jeremy Ginsberg, who went before the Board of Selectmen Monday to discuss the rental of the stables. Serenity Show Stables currently operates out of the equestrian facilities.

According to documents submitted to the commission, the town would bring in an outside operator to run a full service show stable for "programmed active recreational use with very specific restrictions and limits."

The operator would offer full boarding and training of up to 18 horses, a riding lesson program for ages 5 and up, and a summer camp program.

The summer camp would be limited to 36 students, plus onsite staff and instructors, and run annually from mid-June until Aug. 30.

The documents state that the operator would run the facilities between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. seven days per week. A minimum of 15 minutes between activities would be scheduled by the operator to alleviate potential traffic congestion.

While the long-term uses for Great Island are yet to be figured out, Ginsberg told Patch renting out the stables in the short-term is beneficial because of the historic nature of the building.

"For the short term, there was a desire to at least keep the lights on and get some use out of the building," Ginsberg said.

Last month, the Darien Representative Town Meeting approved the purchase of Great Island.

The town will continue due diligence on the property until Aug. 6, and if it finds the island is unsuitable, the town can terminate the agreement and the deposit will be refunded, according to First Selectman Monica McNally.

Darien expects to close on the property and take ownership of the land on Sept. 5.

Historic Stable Building

The town was looking to designate the stable building as a protected town landmark, but the request has been withdrawn from Planning & Zoning.

The building was designed by Rafael Guastavino, a renowned architect from the late 1800's.

Guastavino's signature "tile arch system" was used in buildings like Carnegie Hall, Grand Central Terminal, Grant's Tomb, Boston Public Library, the U.S. Supreme Court and the New York American Museum of Natural History.

The special permit request is on the agenda for the July 19 Planing & Zoning Commission meeting.