Planning and Zoning Commission finalizes zoning rewrite ahead of hearing

Planning and Zoning · Meeting of May 12, 2026

New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission clears final edits to its business- and retail-zone rewrite ahead of a June 2 public hearing. Town planning staffer Sarah told commissioners paperwork must reach the town clerk by Monday to meet a new state law deadline requiring updated regulations by July 1. Commissioners agreed to a 50 percent ground-floor commercial frontage requirement with 40-foot depth for mixed-use buildings, tiered medical-office parking thresholds (zoning permit under 5,000 square feet, special permit over 10,000), and cut the maximum parking-reduction special permit from 40 percent to 25 percent.

One commissioner, arguing to loosen a costly parking-study requirement, said "what's great about New Canaan is that there's not a lot" of big national chains able to absorb a $15,000 study. The panel also voted to reclassify real estate offices as office rather than retail use and directed staff to get a legal opinion on whether affordable-housing height bonuses can still require special-permit review.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,138 words

Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of May 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — May 12, 2026 — The New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission worked through dozens of last-minute revisions to its business- and retail-zone rewrite Tuesday, clearing the draft for a June 2 public hearing that officials say must produce final regulations by July 1 to keep pace with a new state housing law.

Town planning staff member Sarah, who led the review alongside consultants from BFJ Planning, told commissioners the deadline to file hearing documents with the town clerk's office is Monday, though she said she would prefer to have everything in by Friday "so there's some wiggle room." The commission plans a follow-up session June 4 to weigh any changes prompted by public comment, with a vote to adopt the regulations targeted for June 23.

The Full Story

Commissioners spent much of the three-hour session working line by line through a list of roughly 15 open policy questions, using informal show-of-hands polls that Sarah and commissioners repeatedly stressed were not formal, appealable votes. Among the larger decisions: the panel voted to require that at least 50 percent of ground-floor street frontage in mixed-use buildings in the business zone be commercial space, with a minimum 40-foot depth, after a lengthy debate over whether to regulate by square footage, frontage or both. "I like the 50% the suggestion of street frontage. I think that that helps a lot in terms of pushing the animation of the street front," a commissioner identified in the discussion as Eric said.

The commission also agreed to drop language that would have allowed first-floor residential units in the retail zone, a provision previously used only for the redevelopment at 112 Main Street. Staff and commissioners said a new state law removes the commission's ability to deny or condition such conversions once they are permitted, so the panel opted to leave the option out rather than open it to any qualifying retail-zone building.

Medical offices in the business zone got new, tiered approval thresholds: projects under 5,000 square feet would need only a zoning permit, those between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet would need site plan approval, and anything larger, up to a 35,000-square-foot cap, would require a special permit. Sarah, explaining her recommendation to loosen the smallest tier, said, "10,000 square feet for a commercial building isn't that large. You know, if the commission's trying to lower their permit load, is a site plan really valuable for medical office under 10,000 square feet."

Commissioners also voted to move real estate offices out of the retail-use definition and into the office-use definition, following comments that many real estate offices no longer generate foot traffic. "There's no longer a realtor on duty sitting at the front desk greeting people as they walk in inquiring about the houses in the window," said a commissioner who identified herself as a working real estate agent during the discussion. Existing real estate offices would be grandfathered, but staff said they would add specific language so a grandfathered space could not be converted to unrelated office uses like an architecture firm.

On parking, the commission agreed to drop the requirement that a commercial "parking needs assessment" for a change of use be prepared by a licensed traffic engineer, after members said the roughly $5,000 to $15,000 cost was discouraging small, local tenants from using the option. Eric argued the current rule effectively favored large chains: "A Dunkin Donuts can come in and pay the $15,000. A big national brand can come in and pay the $15,000 to do the study, but what's great about New Canaan is that there's not a lot of that."

The commission also directed Sarah to seek a legal opinion from the town attorney on whether the commission can still require special-permit review for developments seeking inclusionary-zoning height and coverage bonuses, now that a new state process limits discretionary review. As a fallback if the answer is no, commissioners agreed to scale back the height bonus to roughly a half-story increase, to about 40 feet in the retail zone and 45 feet in the business zone.

Why It Matters

The changes reshape how commercial buildings, medical offices, and mixed-use development can be built along New Canaan's Elm and Main streets and the surrounding business district, ahead of a state law deadline of July 1 that allows certain mixed-use and multifamily housing as of right. Residents will get their first formal chance to weigh in at the June 2 public hearing, with a commission vote to adopt targeted for June 23.

The unresolved question over the town attorney's opinion on inclusionary-zoning bonuses could still change the height and density incentives offered to developers who build affordable units, a policy area commissioners said they created specifically to jump-start affordable housing applications in town.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of the March 10, April 9 and April 21 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously

• Action: Commission reached consensus, by informal show of hands, to classify health care professionals as general office use rather than medical office in the retail and business zones, while keeping separate parking ratios — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission agreed to remove language permitting first-floor residential use in the retail zone — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission set tiered approval thresholds for medical offices in the business zone (zoning permit under 5,000 square feet; site plan 5,000 to 10,000 square feet; special permit above 10,000 square feet, capped at 35,000 square feet) — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission adopted a 50 percent ground-floor street-frontage commercial requirement with a 40-foot minimum depth for mixed-use buildings in the business zone — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission agreed to reclassify real estate offices from the retail-use definition to the office-use definition, with existing offices grandfathered — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission agreed to remove the licensed-traffic-engineer requirement and "peak demand variations" language from the commercial parking-needs-assessment process for changes of use — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission agreed to reduce the maximum parking reduction allowed under special permit from 40 percent to 25 percent — Advances to June 2 public hearing draft
• Action: Commission set a maximum building height of 50 feet, three stories, for the existing exception covering schools, municipal buildings and museums in the business zone — Approved unanimously
• Action: Staff to obtain a town attorney opinion on whether inclusionary-zoning bulk bonuses can still require special-permit review; commission approved fallback language reducing the height bonus if the answer is no — Continued pending legal opinion before Friday's editing deadline

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Planning and Zoning meeting, May 12, 2026