When You Need a Town Permit for Your Yard Ice Rink and When You Don't

An announcement from the Darien Planning & Zoning Department:

Now that winter is upon us, the Planning and Zoning office in Darien is working closely with property owners on proper permitting for temporary ice rinks which are often constructed on residential properties for use during these winter months.

Due to the increase in these types of uses, a few years ago, the Darien Planning & Zoning Commission determined that in certain circumstances, the installation of temporary ice rinks in a back yard will require special permit approval from the Commission.

The Commission determined that if an ice rink was as simple as no lights, no chilling machine, no boards above six inches high, and the ice rink was in the back yard, then it would not require P&Z Commission approval.

If the temporary ice rink is more elaborate than any of those limitations, or if it is in the front yard, then it would require special permit approval from the commission.

Of course, these more elaborate rinks are required to meet the applicable Special Permit zoning requirements and setbacks. It is always prudent to check with the Planning & Zoning Department prior to proceeding with rink construction, so that we can ascertain whether a permit is required.

For those with any questions, please call Zoning Officer David Keating at (203) 656-7351.

Photo by Dr. frog on Wikimedia Commons (who doesn’t require attribution for his photo, but with a name like Dr. frog, we can’t resist)