Letter: Christ Church’s Proposed Building for Food Pantry Looks Like a Crematorium

Letter to the editor submitted by JD Southard, Sept. 24, 2016

I recently attended another Planning & Zoning Board meeting on the 6,300 -square commercial building being proposed for the Tomes-Higgins House/Christ Church property.

NTN has probably paid their “experts” $500K by now. How much is too much for this charity? They could actually be helping people with this money instead of antagonizing the neighborhood.

The insults from the Neighbor to Neighbor representatives directed at their residential neighbors were not appreciated, and uncalled for. It was mean and hurtful. This is not a personal issue. It’s a zoning issue.

This project should absolutely go back to the Town’s Historic District Commission.

The revised building the architect presented looks like a crematorium. I thought he was not capable of a worse design, but I was wrong. How in the world can he consider himself a “historic” architect? I would like to force him to go back to architecture school to learn how to design. He says he prides himself on it having “no” style. That is not something to be proud of. Inspiring? I think not. What a disaster to have that plopped on that beautiful property. That would be a crime.

The fact that the church would have to pay to have it go through the HDC is not the concern of the P&Z Board. That is not a reason to go ahead with cheap, faulty architecture. Plus that building will be there for a very, very long time.

This is taking way too long. The board should vote on this thing or not. It’s a waste of everyone’s resources. All the issues are on the table.

A vote on the application by the town’s Planning & Zoning commission is on the agenda for its October 4th meeting at Town Hall. 

Make a decision.

JD Southard
Greenwich

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