Board of Education relocates downtown alternative campus to 212 Elm; commission finds POCD consistency and approves site plan

The New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission voted Wednesday that the Board of Education's proposed relocation of the downtown alternative high school campus from 220 Elm to 212 Elm is consistent with the town's Plan of Conservation and Development, and then approved the accompanying site-plan application for the move.

Superintendent Brian Luisi told the commission the relocation would expand instructional capacity: the existing downtown campus currently occupies a single classroom and is constrained at roughly 12to 14 students; the new 212 Elm space would provide two classrooms and allow the program to flex up to roughly 16to 20 students while keeping the Launch life-skills program nearby and enabling growth for that program into vacated space at 220 Elm.

Luisi described the interior changes as light renovations: removal of an interior office wall to create an instructional space, adding two restrooms (plumbed into existing infrastructure), and a small kitchenette area with sink and microwave (not a full cooking kitchen). He said the program does not use school buses for the alternative downtown campus (students are typically driven or do not drive) and that launch-program vans will continue to operate from designated spots. Parking for staff and drop-off will rely on existing nearby lots and the lumberyard lot adjacent to the building; applicant and owner representatives said parking is currently first-come, first-served and that the owner may reconfigure some driveway/lot circulation to improve immediate drop-off convenience.

Commissioners questioned parking capacity, drop-off queueing at morning arrival times and whether staff parking needs would increase; Luisi said itinerant teachers will continue a pattern of short-term parking and that the relocation is not expected to materially change traffic flow. After staff advised the commission on POCD consistency criteria, a commissioner moved that the relocation is consistent with the POCD on the basis that the plan supports the town's educational goals. The commission subsequently approved the 212 Elm site-plan application, noting the interior work is modest and that circulation and safety issues were addressed in the presentation and in staff materials.