At the May 12 P&Z commission meeting, there was discussion of a pre-application from Happy Hour Fitness for a zoning text amendment to allow Fitness Use in the new mixed use building a 100 East Putnam Ave in Cos Cob.
Pre-applications are supposed to take no more than 20 minutes, but the commission had a lot of questions.
The space was approved for use as retail. The zone is LBR – local business retail.
Attorney O’Donnell said, Happy Hour Fitness fitness wants to offer direct personal training and classes for up to 10 people.
They would offer yoga, pilates, breathwork.
In the past, P&Z has frowned on group fitness activities in this zone because typically there is usually a lack of parking, but also they noted everyone arrives at the same time and leaves at the same time, choking out parking, especially when it is scarce.
100 East Putnam Avenue has 28,362 square-foot mixed use building with 22 residential units (five moderate income units) totaling 24,177 square-feet and 4,185 square-feet of commercial space, 47 parking spaces and 3 accessible parking spaces. May 11, 2026 Photo: Leslie Yager
The commission said if they were to approve the use, it would impact other LBR zones around town – Byram, Old Greenwich, Glenville and Banksville.
P&Z chair Margarita Alban said the commission would want to know the impact everywhere in town, not just at this site.
“It’s a very large space and you’re saying you’re going to have small classes. We have had not positive experience with that – where people have filled the space to overflowing, creating parking problems,” Alban said. “When you have the space, human nature fills it.”
Also, she said, “There is a philosophical question on the part of the commission on the experiential uses relative to traditional retail.”
The commission clarified that Pause Medical Spa was approved for medical use – not personal service and not a fitness center – and reflected a change from one non-conforming use (bank use, former M&T Bank) to another non-conforming use (medical use).
Therefore, Pause did not require a change in regulations.
Happy Hour Fitness’s space is 1700 sq ft.
Attorney O’Donnell, who previously worked for the Town of Greenwich as a zoning enforcement officer, said enforcement would be simple in response to complaints.
“That inspector would observe the number of people attending on any given day, and leaving,” O’Donnell said.
“Ixnay,” Alban said. “I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve sent to Patrick (LaRow) that he then sends to the ZEO, because I get complaints on the hot yoga and barre places, and somebody trots out and says, ‘bad bad,’ then they come back and say, ‘We’re so sorry, we won’t do it,’ and then, boom the do it the following week.”
“You know how long it takes to have a period of measure. You know how small the fines are. And now you have a problem,” Alban added. “I don’t want to do something where you’re setting up an enforcement issue.”
“I don’t want to deny something just because somebody could do the wrong thing,” O’Donnell said.
“I’m seeing a potential enforcement issue,” Alban said. “The text amendment is for the entire town.”
Mr. O’Donnell said the space has a certificate of occupancy and has been vacant for a year.
Mary Jenkins quoted the language of the zone:
“To protect and encourage neighborhood oriented retail development and recurring needs of nearby residents.”
“It does not feel like a neighborhood fit,” Jenkins said. “It doesn’t really fit in the zone description as neighborhood based….When you’re doing a text amendment my antenna go up, and I wonder who else is going to apply.”
“We approved the hot yoga a few doors down and there was going to be little classes and people would be asked to park in the basement, and we’ve had ongoing problems,” Alban said. “You have a space that my math says the space could accommodate 50-70 people doing a yoga class and you’re saying you’re only going to have 10.”
Attorney Mario Coppola, representing Infra-HIIT Connecticut 1 LLC, a holding company with a business interest in the area, sent a letter to the commission on May 12.
He said a 2019 text change had been intended to provide revitalization of existing underused LBR properties experiencing vacancy issues.
“For many good reasons, the zoning regulations traditionally have not allowed fitness classes and gyms in first floor commercial spaces in the LBR zones. Then, in March 2019 there was a limited amendment to Section 6-103H that permitted the use within existing buildings in LBR zones and the commission has applied it so only buildings that were in use and had c/o’s as of March 1, 2019 were considered to be existing buildings.”
Mr. Coppola said the building at 100 East Putnam Ave is a new building and has no longstanding vacancy issue.
Second, he noted the text amendment proposes to expand Accessory Uses in the LBR zone by up to a maximum 25% of the usable space of the principle use, while the current regs allow fitness clubs/gyms to be an Accessory Use up to 10% of the usable space.
He said that would result in “an extraordinary increase.”
Third, he said the text amendment conflicts with Greenwich’s POCD, where on page 94, in the section on LBR says: “The historic village centers are zoned for businesses, services and retail uses that serve the neighborhood and are not attracting business from a wider area. There’s no doubt here that if you allow this text amendment being proposed, you will have fitness centers…that will attract customers from outside the neighborhood.”
Ms Alban agreed that the expansion of Accessory Uses in the LBR zone by up to a maximum 25% bothered the commission.
“For a regulation to work, we should be able to approve it without putting a lot of constraints on it,” she said.
“Come back and convince us,” Alban said to Mr. O’Donnell.
See also:
P&Z Watch: Pause Medical Spa Okayed in Mixed Use Building at Former Friendly’s Site Oct 2024
In Greenwich, “Hands-On” Businesses Put the Squeeze on Traditional Retail July 28, 2024
P&Z Advances Application for Moderate Income, Mixed-Use Development at Former Friendly’s May 6, 2020