Letter to the Editor from Silvermine River Neighborhood Association

The following letter was submitted to Norwalk Patch from Hiram W. Peck III, AICP, Planning Consultant to the Silvermine River Neighborhood Association (SRNA) 

The Silvermine River Neighborhood Association (SRNA) was recently formed to promote the common interests of the residents of the Silvermine River areas of the towns of New Canaan and Wilton to protect the overall safety, beauty, and resources of the area. This includes taking action to ensure sound land use planning, regulation, development, conservation and preservation of these areas.

The SRNA’s initial efforts center around recent expansion efforts by Silver Hill Hospital, that has acquired two private homes adjacent to the hospital and seeks to convert one of them into patient housing. SRNA has taken the initiative to develop a new zoning regulation based upon feedback from the Planning & Zoning Commission and a lack of progress with negotiations with Silver Hill Hospital. Their proposal takes into account the present and future needs of Silver Hill Hospital as well as the rights and concerns of the neighborhood and the responsibilities of the Town of New Canaan.

This proposal is in the form of a special development district (SDD) zoning regulation which fairly addresses the concerns of all parties in this matter. This type of regulation has been advocated by the Town’s own planning consultant as a way to allow institutions such as Silver Hill carry out their mission and serve their clients while protecting the residential neighborhoods in which these non-residential uses exist today. The SRNA agrees with this approach and has crafted an excellent regulation with positive aspects in it for all parties.

The SRNA special development district document will, if adopted by the New Canaan Zoning Commission, protect the neighborhood against the institutional creep which has been exhibited by Silver Hill in the past and with their recent acquisitions. This unplanned expansion into vulnerable residential neighborhoods is undesirable from security, welfare and community health standpoints. All to frequent patient incidents occurring off campus and involving local responders, even as recent as last week, must be curtailed. The security plan aspect of the SDD will help alleviate the neighborhood concerns over such breeches into the strictly residential area surrounding the hospital facility.

The SRNA has taken a rare, positive step not often taken by groups who oppose specific zoning applications. The Association has drafted a complete and thorough regulation that can be adopted by the Zoning Commission after review by its staff and Town Attorney and the holding of a properly noticed public hearing. This regulation can then be used as a template for similar regulations in other areas of New Canaan where institutional creep has been, and remains a neighborhood concern. This model regulation has been designed to deal with issues of concern to residents in surrounding neighborhoods where obtrusive non-residential uses have, over time, become far more than the benign use they were originally perceived to be.

The SDD contains a new, clear definition of “hospital” and uses a zoning technique called a floating zone. When the zone is properly brought to ground by the Zoning Commission the standards for the institutional use will be clear for all to see and obey.

The SDD is a good, fair and enforceable regulation that should be adopted by the Zoning Commission after an open public hearing. In this regulation Silver Hill will gain significant clearly defined development rights. The neighbors will gain a modicum of comfort based on established standards intended to protect the neighborhood. The Town will gain a new tool that can be used to defend not only this Silvermine River Neighborhood from encroachment, but others as well. This regulation is a win-win-win and should be adopted.

SRNA supports Silver Hill’s mission and the proposed zoning regulation is evidence of their desire to compromise and allow the hospital to expand in an orderly and appropriate manner to meet their current and future needs. This document has been provided to the hospital, and it is the SRNA’s hope that Silver Hill will join in petitioning the P & Z Commission to implement these new regulations.

Respectfully submitted by,

Hiram W. Peck III, AICP

Planning Consultant to the SRNA, Inc.