Greenwich commission leaves Hamill rink hearing open, approves five other items

Planning and Zoning · Meeting of March 3, 2026

Greenwich planners leave Hamill rink hearing open after two-hour public fight. First Selectman Fred Camillo urged the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the "modified flip" plan to relocate the Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink, baseball field and parking within Eugene Morlot Memorial Park, citing a survey in which 85 percent of 2,700 respondents favored the design. Commissioner Mary Jenkins pressed for more detail on green space and traffic before final review.

Opponents including former RTM land use chair Peter Berg and Greenwich Tree Conservancy director Kate Chvich argued the project would harm the park's "sense of place" and undercount tree removals, while youth hockey coach Neil Rich and other families urged approval. The commission continued the item, unread public comment still pending. Separately, the commission approved five other applications 5-0 apiece, including subdivisions at 97 Haviland Place and 25 Henry Drive, a new house at 19 Bayside Terrace, extended hours at Baywood Club, and improvements at Round Hill Club.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,077 words

Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of March 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

GREENWICH — March 3, 2026 — The Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission left open a contentious public hearing Tuesday on a town plan to rebuild the Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink, hear from dozens of residents split over the project, and then approved five smaller subdivision and club applications by identical 5-0 votes.

First Selectman Fred Camillo told the commission the town has debated what to do with the aging rink for roughly half a century and urged approval of what planners call the "modified flip" design, which would relocate the rink, the baseball field and the parking lot within Eugene Morlot Memorial Park in Byram. Commissioners said they could not act on the municipal improvement application until they finish reading a wave of public comment that arrived too late in the day to post, and continued the item to a future meeting.

The Full Story

The rink application, filed by the town, seeks municipal improvement status and preliminary site plan approval to replace and relocate the Hamill rink, move the existing baseball field and parking area, add a new entrance drive off Western Junior Highway, and build a pedestrian path through the 13.4-acre park. Project engineer Romano of the Department of Public Works told the commission the plan would disturb about 6.5 acres of the site, up from 6.3 acres in a prior version rejected by the Representative Town Meeting, mainly because of a new access road.

Camillo said the town surveyed 2,700 residents on the project before the most recent citizen task force began its review, and 85 percent favored the "flip" configuration. Parks and Recreation representative Joe Siciliano said the rebuilt facility would replace a 50-year-old rink and a baseball field that does not meet regulation dimensions with a modernized skating facility and a 300-foot baseline field.

Commissioner Mary Jenkins pressed for more detail on how the project meets the town's 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development, particularly its top priority of preserving "sense of place," and asked for green-space calculations, a written commitment from Parks and Recreation on baseball priorities, and a fuller traffic analysis before the application returns for final review. Commissioner Peter Harris asked whether the town could make the Sherman Avenue approach safer in icy weather; Romano said a new, flatter access drive off Western Junior Highway, graded at a 5 percent slope, was designed partly to address that concern. Commissioner Low, who served on the rink task force, recused himself from the application.

Public comment ran more than two hours and split sharply. Youth hockey coach Neil Rich, Byram Families for Hamill Rink member Janna Kalandranis, and Greenwich Cardinals Youth Hockey board member Joe Rothenberg urged approval, saying the rink has served generations of skaters and families. Opponents including former Representative Town Meeting land use committee chair Peter Berg, resident Karen Fasilotis and 18-year RTM member Lucia Jansen argued the design would substantially alter Morlot Park's character and urged the commission to reject it. Kate Chvich, executive director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, said the town's count of 28 trees to be removed appeared to omit trees along Western Junior Highway and understated the project's real impact.

"Please don't bulldoze Morlock Park. The proposal for the flip is not worthy of your MI approval." [06:52:10] — Peter Berg, former Representative Town Meeting land use committee chair

"Nothing would change the sense of place more than removing the rink from the community that has hosted this rink for 55 years." [07:12:40] — Javier Alan, Byram resident

Elsewhere on the agenda, the commission approved a final subdivision of a 24,466-square-foot lot at 97 Haviland Place into two parcels, a final coastal site plan for a new house at 19 Bayside Terrace after debate over removing a distressed 36-inch red maple, and a preliminary subdivision of a 33,660-square-foot lot at 25 Henry Drive that will next require zoning variances. The commission also approved extended early-morning tennis and lap-swimming hours at the Baywood Club and a package of racket-facility, golf and entrance improvements at Round Hill Club. A coastal site plan for a new home at 1109 Onida Drive was continued after the architect's plans for a pool cabana arrived too late in the day for review.

Why It Matters

The rink decision is the culmination of a project the town has debated since the 1970s and that Representative Town Meeting rejected once already. A new task force spent nearly a year studying alternative layouts before recommending the "modified flip," but the commission says it cannot approve municipal improvement status, which unlocks town funding for detailed design work, until it works through the volume of public comment and gets more information on green space, traffic and Parks and Recreation's priorities. The subdivision and club votes taken Tuesday, by contrast, clear the way for new construction at three residential properties and expanded recreation hours in Greenwich's back-country neighborhoods.

Key Motions & Votes

- Action: Final coastal site plan for Start Capital LLC, 9 Meadow Place — Continued to a future meeting - Action: Final coastal site plan for Just Salad, 409 East Putnam Avenue — Continued to a future meeting - Action: Final site plan and special permit for SF 19/19A LLC, 9 Sabine Farm Road — Continued to a future meeting - Vote: Final subdivision approval, 97 Haviland Place Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5 - Vote: Final coastal site plan approval, 19 Bayside Terrace Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5 - Action: Final coastal site plan, 1109 Onida Drive — Continued to a future meeting - Vote: Preliminary subdivision approval, 25 Henry Drive, to proceed to zoning variance hearings and return for final review Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5 - Action: Municipal improvement and preliminary site plan, Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink relocation at Eugene Morlot Memorial Park — Continued to a future meeting, public hearing left open - Vote: Approval of February 3 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously - Vote: Final site plan and special permit approval, Baywood Club, extending tennis and lap-swimming hours to 7 a.m., with pickleball barred before 9 a.m. Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5 - Vote: Final site plan and special permit approval, Round Hill Club, improvements to racket facilities, golf operations and entrance area Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5

Source

Greenwich Community Television: Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, March 3, 2026