Community Corner
Ridgefield Winter Club Submits Application, Rekindles Debate
The Peaceable Neighbors Alliance opposes the development over the light pollution and additional traffic it fears RWC will bring.
RIDGEFIELD, CT -- The Ridgefield Winter Club filed its formal application with the town’s Planning and Zoning Department last week, rekindling the debate over the use of the former Pinchbeck property by a new private club.
The proposal details the club's plan to build and develop an ice rink and clubhouse that would operate from November through March at 340 Peaceable Street. The proposed club would have parking for 102 cars.
In 2017, opposition to the club's plan coalesced into the Peaceable Neighbors Alliance. The group opposes the development over the light pollution and additional traffic it fears RWC will bring to the neighborhood, and points out that the 6-acre property at 340 Peaceable Street is zoned as 3-Acre Residential, directly bordering wetlands and a town open space refuge.
In September, the PNA brought a counter-application before the town's planning and zoning commission which would remove the term "private club" from the list of permitted uses in residential zones. The commission denied the amendment.
A release from RWC touts the "community-wide benefits" transforming "the old, deteriorating Pinchbeck Nursery into a strong family-focused winter destination" will bring to the community.
