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Hyatt files narrow zoning change after opening 40‑seat Towns End Cinema; commission asks for parking and event plan
Summary
After opening a 40‑seat screening room called Towns End Cinema, the Hyatt sought a narrow zoning text amendment to clarify that small, incidental theaters may be accessory to hotels. The commission asked for a plan describing how hotel events and large galas will be coordinated so cinema patrons are not left without parking.
The Hyatt Regency in Greenwich has opened a small, 40‑seat screening room and asked the Planning & Zoning Commission to adopt a narrow zoning text amendment clarifying that a hotel may include an incidental, small theater as an accessory use. Hotel counsel said the room serves conferences, private screenings and public movie showings at scheduled times.
Management told the commission the cinema’s average attendance has been well below capacity. As the team told the commission: “The average attendance is about 38 40%,” a level consistent with boutique screening rooms. Hotel operations staff also said roughly half of cinema attendees buy some food or beverage on site and that many screenings are community events rather than hotel‑guest shows.
Commissioners did not oppose the concept but asked for clearer operational rules before the amendment is adopted as text and before the site plan is finalized. Key planning concerns are parking and event coordination: the Hyatt’s meeting and event business sometimes requires overflow parking or shuttles for gala audiences, and commissioners asked for a simple, documented approach to ensure cinema patrons are not denied parking when large events occur. Suggestions included (a) scheduling the cinema so public screenings do not overlap with large ticketed galas, (b) buying out a screening for a gala night so the theater is not open to walk‑in moviegoers, or (c) providing a written event parking and staffing plan that includes employee parking policies and off‑site arrangements when needed.
The commission asked the Hyatt to return with a short, operational plan showing how the hotel will avoid conflicts between gala and public cinema uses and to renotice a slightly revised text amendment after a small wording change suggested by staff. The Hyatt agreed and said it will continue to work with staff on a site‑level plan and a parking mitigation approach for larger events.
What happens next: The Hyatt’s zoning text amendment will be renoticed with staff’s suggested wording changes and returned to the commission; site‑plan details about hours, parking impacts and event coordination will be developed and reviewed as a condition of any final approval.
