June 4, 2014

 

 

Planning & Zoning-5-0 in favor of GRS

 

Dear Fellow Congregant,

 

It is very gratifying to report that on June 3 the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 5 to 0 in favor of our Preliminary application.  This is another victory for GRS, and even though it's not over, this was a big one. Next week, we go in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals, we need to meet one more time with the Architectural Review Committee to close the few open issues from the last meeting (data has already been submitted), and then back to P&Z in July for final approval. 

 

With this message, you will find recent renderings of our beautiful future spiritual home. 

 

For the third time, despite arguments, a Greenwich town body has found no valid reason for our project not to proceed.  That's not to say there were not valid concerns.  But those concerns have been addressed. What's left is noise.

 

Special thanks are due to Sandy Soule, who has increasingly led this regulatory process, and spoke magnificently on behalf of GRS at the P&Z meeting.  The gist of her remarks are below. 

 

 

 

 

Hi, my name is Sandy Soule and I've lived in Greenwich since 1976.  I'm the co-chair of our new building committee and a past president of GRS.

 

To the commission:  Thank you for your dedication and professionalism.  I know you still have a long night ahead so I'll try to keep this brief. 

 

Over a total of six public hearings of P&Z and IWWA, we've heard many helpful comments from the neighbors, and GRS has done its utmost to respond favorably to all reasonable requests.

 

As a long-time Greenwich resident, and a member of GRS since 1980, I'd like to share a few brief thoughts:

 

1) Members of GRS live right in the heart of Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich, Glenville, and throughout Greenwich.  For 20 years, the GRS home was at 257 Stanwich Road, two miles north of our new location at 92 Orchard.   Most of our members have been driving up Orchard to Stanwich for years, so the new location means almost no net change in our traffic patterns.

 

2) About the process - An essential goal for our new home was a central location so we were pleased when the 92 Orchard property became available for a new building that meets the needs of our congregation - primarily for study and worship. In searching for the right architect, we were thrilled to find an architect of Mark Thompson's stature: not only did he grow up in Greenwich, but the quality of his work in Greenwich (Perrot Library, First Presbyterian Church, Boys & Girls Club, Greenwich Country Day, Eagle Hill) is well known and admired.  Equally important was his willingness to meet in person with all the abutting neighbors, and amend the plans to meet their needs.  Bill Kenny, our landscape architect, was also part of these conversations, and was equally responsive to neighbors' concerns.

 

3) So where are we now?  After a great deal of dialogue with the neighbors, and many resulting changes to the plan, we are confident that we have a building and site plan that meets or exceeds town requirements.   We are looking to fit quietly into the neighborhood as a caring, dignified addition. The building will be an enhancement to both the site and the neighborhood; in fact, we invite the neighbors to use our parking for local activities.  We hope you will allow us to move forward on the building of our new home - only the second purpose-built synagogue in the nearly 400-year history of our town.

 

 

Best regards,

Robert Birnbaum