Greenwich P&Z approves Locust Street split, delays six other cases
Planning and Zoning · Meeting of March 31, 2026
Greenwich P&Z approves a minor Locust Street lot split but stalls on bigger fights. The commission voted 5-0 to shift a lot line between 15 and 21 Locust Street, resolving lot-area deficiencies for both parcels. Far more contentious was a Cherry Valley Road special permit, where attorney Mario Capola argued a proposed 4,200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit and enlarged cottage would create an illegal three-unit multifamily property; commissioners noted the accessory buildings would equal nearly 74 percent of the primary home's size and asked the applicant to reconsider the scale.
A public hearing on TPF Homebuilders' 18-unit Home Place development, including four affordable units under the state's 8-30g law, drew sharp resident criticism over blasting, traffic and communication. Resident Terry Angoto said, "This development is ruining our neighborhood." Both applications were continued.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,033 words
Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of March 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
GREENWICH — March 31, 2026 — The Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a minor lot line revision on Locust Street Tuesday, but spent most of a marathon virtual session wrestling with two far more contentious applications: a Cherry Valley Road estate seeking to nearly quadruple the size of its accessory buildings, and an 18-unit affordable housing development on Home Place that drew angry pushback from neighbors over blasting, traffic and a lack of communication.
Both the Cherry Valley and Home Place applications were continued without a vote, along with four other coastal and subdivision applications still awaiting engineering, conservation or state sign-offs. The only formal action of the night, a lot line shift between 15 and 21 Locust Street, passed 5-0.
The Full Story
Attorney Rachel Orsy of SE Minor presented the Locust Street application on behalf of the Locust Collection, seeking to shift the common lot line 6.7 feet to eliminate a lot-area deficiency at 15 Locust Street while preserving conformity at 21 Locust. The commission found the change was neither a subdivision nor a resubdivision and approved it with added findings on setback and frontage improvements after Orsy confirmed a sewer acknowledgment letter had been submitted that morning.
The sharpest debate centered on 66 Cherry Valley Road, where attorney John Tessy sought a special permit to expand an existing employee cottage from 1,995 to 3,044 square feet and convert a garage into a roughly 4,200-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, an ADU regulation trigger set at 1,200 square feet. Commissioners said the combined accessory structures would equal nearly 74 percent of the 9,800-square-foot primary residence. Attorney Mario Capola, representing a neighboring property owner he identified as Luis Lurman, argued the project effectively creates a three-unit multifamily building barred in the RA4 zone and illegally expands a nonconforming structure. Commission staff and members countered that the cottage's use is legally nonconforming, not illegal, but agreed the scale of the proposed buildings was troubling. The application was continued so the commission can review Capola's letter and give Tessy a chance to revise the design.
The evening's longest and most heated exchange came during the public hearing on TPF Homebuilders LLC's proposal to consolidate six parcels on Davis Avenue and Home Place into a single 1.87-acre lot, replacing 12 existing dwelling units with 18, including four designated affordable under the state's Section 8-30g law. Engineer Nick DeAndrea told the commission that drainage and fire-safety reviews had come back favorable, though sewer capacity and a driveway-separation waiver from the town's Department of Public Works remain outstanding. Resident Terry Angoto, whose neighborhood has already seen five of seven existing buildings demolished, said her emails to staff went unanswered and criticized the pace of the review. Physician Frederick Nam and property owner Wendy Lean raised concerns about blasting damage, sight-distance shortfalls on the narrow street and construction lasting into 2027.
"This development is ruining our neighborhood. ... We do not need this development in Bruce Park. We do not." — Terry Angoto, resident and public commenter
The commission chair told the applicant and public that state law limits the board's authority to deny an 8-30g application to genuine health and safety threats, not general neighborhood-character concerns, though she directed staff to revisit whether the traffic study adequately addressed pedestrian safety on the unsidewalked road.
"So the 73% is really, really difficult for me to see as being subordinate and incidental given the requested increase in the size of those two buildings." — Commissioner Mary Jenkins, on the Cherry Valley accessory structures
Elsewhere, the commission continued a coastal site plan at 9 Meadow Place pending unreviewed conservation comments, a resubdivision at 151 and 0 Old Church Road pending clarification of a decades-old restrictive covenant, and a coastal site plan and special permit at 221 River Road Extension while the applicant negotiates a sidewalk-versus-stone-wall compromise with the town engineer. A proposed zoning text amendment to Regulation 6-110 remains on hold pending review by regional and state agencies. The commission also heard a preliminary, non-binding review of a proposed two-family home on an undersized lot at 31 Arthur Street and approved its March 3 minutes by voice vote.
Why It Matters
The Home Place project tests how much control Greenwich retains over a state-mandated affordable housing development once it invokes Section 8-30g, which strips local boards of most zoning discretion unless a genuine health or safety risk can be shown. The public hearing must close by May 14, after which the commission has up to 60 days to decide. Separately, the Cherry Valley dispute could set a townwide precedent for how large an accessory dwelling unit can grow before it stops looking "subordinate" to the main house, a question the commission's own 2023 ADU regulation was written to prevent.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Lot line revision between 15 and 21 Locust Street, finding of neither subdivision nor resubdivision Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5 - Action: Final coastal site plan, 9 Meadow Place (Start Capital LLC) — Continued to next meeting ahead of an April 18 decision deadline - Action: Final resubdivision, 151 and 0 Old Church Road (SW82 LLC) — Continued pending zoning staff confirmation of lot areas and the restrictive covenant's status - Action: Final coastal site plan and special permit, 221 River Road Extension — Continued pending a sidewalk/curb compromise with the town engineer - Action: Final site plan and special permit, 66 Cherry Valley Road (66 Cherry Valley LLC) — Continued for the applicant to consider revising the scale of accessory structures - Action: Final coastal site plan and special permit, 368-382 Davis Avenue and 8-22 Home Place (TPF Homebuilders LLC) — Continued pending DPW driveway waiver, sewer confirmation and greater size comparability between market-rate and affordable units - Action: Zoning text amendment to Regulation 6-110 — Continued pending review by regional and state agencies - Action: Final coastal site plans, 14 Egleston Lane and 10 Riverside Avenue — Postponed, not heard - Vote: Approval of March 3, 2026 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously
Source
Greenwich Community Television: Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, March 31, 2026