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New Canaan ZBA approves settlement with RKVN LLC, adds screening requirement tied to occupancy
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Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals voted to approve a settlement with RKVN LLC that adds a paragraph requiring discussion of plantings and, if no neighbor agreement is reached, mandatory screening to hide a deer fence within 18 months of the certificate of occupancy for the house on Parcel 246.
The New Canaan Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 5 approved a settlement with RKVN LLC and multiple neighbors that adds a requirement for landscaping to screen a deer fence along Parcel 246.
The board, meeting after an executive session, voted to add a paragraph to the town’s agreement that "Following the construction of the house at Parcel 246, RKVN shall use reasonable efforts to discuss with the owners of Parcel 246 the plantings they intend to install ... and any of their plantings will provide additional shielding of the existing deer fence on the boundary of Parcel 251 and 246 to reduce the visibility for a distance of 50 feet from the roadway, and the deer fence shall be screened in the front yard." The paragraph also states that "should such an agreement and screening fail to be reached and installed within 18 months of the certificate of occupancy being issued for the house being constructed at Parcel 246, then RKVN shall install screening on its own property so that the deer fence in the front yard shall be screened from the street by landscaping." The chair read the paragraph into the record before the vote.
Town counsel and RKVN’s attorney discussed how the provision would be enforced. Amy Zapotakis, a town attorney, said town staff would be the usual party to determine compliance with zoning regulations. Attorney Sean Clark, representing RKVN, told the board he understood the provision’s intent but cautioned that "anything beyond having a reasonable effort to have a conversation with them is, I think, beyond the scope of what we were really contemplating." He said RKVN would take current action to fill visible gaps on its own property but was concerned about being obligated to change or act on a neighbor’s property.
Board members debated the appropriate deadline and agreed to tie the fallback obligation to issuance of the certificate of occupancy, with 18 months after the CO chosen to allow for planting seasons and for landscaping to take hold. The added language specifies the 50-foot visibility measure from the roadway and requires screening in the front yard; if negotiations and plantings by the neighbors do not occur within the 18-month window, RKVN will install the screening on its lot.
A board member moved to enter into the settlement as amended; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call with the members present voting in favor. The board then closed the item and moved on to the scheduled training session.
The agreement names the involved neighbors (Colleen Sheldon, Ellen Dyke, Michael Chen, Keith Reed, David Schwartz), RKVN LLC, and the Zoning Board of Appeals as parties. The board’s action resolves the dispute subject to the negotiated screening language and the town’s enforcement processes.
What happens next: the settlement will be finalized with the additional paragraph reflected in the town’s agreement; enforcement of compliance will be through the town’s zoning staff, and RKVN would be required to install screening on its property if the agreement with neighbors does not produce installed plantings within 18 months of the parcel’s certificate of occupancy.
