Toward the end of Tuesday’s 6-hour Planning & Zoning meeting, the commission reviewed an application from Second Congregational Church located at the corner of Putnam Ave and Maple Ave that would allow rentals of for-profit general office use on the first floor of an existing carriage house.
Approval means the church can charge higher rents than they charge to non-profits, and bring in more revenue to support their mission and maintain their buildings.
Carriage House behind Mead House on the Campus of Second Congregational Church was approved in a vote of 4-1 to have for-profit 1,000 sq ft office space on the first floor. July 23, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
The carriage house is located by a playground behind Mead House, in the northwest corner of the church property, closer to Maher Ave than Maple.
The church has an approved Historic Overlay which that came with incentives to but the church agreed to preserve the property in perpetuity.
In 2020 they were given permission to rent two officespaces in Mead House to for-profit businesses.
The church also rents office space to about a dozen local non-profits in the church’s renovated “Steeple Commons’ building.
About a dozen non-profit offices are rented out in Steeple Commons, the building between the church and Mead house. July 23, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Vast green lawn between Second Congregational Church, Steeple Commons and Mead House. July 23, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
The discussion echoed one the commission had back in 2020 when the commission voted to rezone 48 Maple Ave to to R20 HO (Historic Overlay) and allow those office rentals to for-profit companies. Those spaces total about 1600 sq ft, and are located on the second floor of Mead House over Coffee for Good.
That 2020 decision was approved in a vote of 4-1 with the commission chair Margarita Alban voting to deny.
At the time P&Z chair Margarita Alban explained her objection to the introduction of commercial on the second floor of Mead House for offices under the HO.
She said she supported Coffee for Good because the coffee shop was not considered a commercial use, but rather a religious use that was an extension of the church’s mission.
“All we’re asking is for 1,000 square feet in a back corner that nobody knew existed. Help us a bit. We are very good stewards of our resources and our campus, and the efforts to help not only our membership but the Greenwich community at large.” – Second Congregational Church council president, Steve Scroggins
“My sense is that this is a tipping point. And if we want to protect a residential neighborhood, when they already have commercial uses, I don’t want to increase the level of commercial use,”Alban said at the time.
Ms Alban made the same arguments this week as in 2020 when she reminded the commission members that the finances of an applicant were not within their purview.
“For the record, in my mind this is a further intrusion of a commercial use in a residential neighborhood…I don’t think sympathy for the church’s finances or the fact that it’s a church should be the basis for our decision. Our decision should be based on whether or not we are allowing additional commercial uses into a residential neighborhood and what the impact is on the neighborhood.”
– Margarita Alban, Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission chair
Second Congregational Church council president Steve Scroggins said total FAR was 9,947 sq ft including the proposed carriage house office space – with 2600 sq ft (26%) of offices used for for-profit uses.
Commissioner Peter Lowe said, “I think it’s difficult to anticipate the impact of a precedent on future applications seeking to help some underlying, very noble cause. That’s kind of a bind we’re in.”
P&Z director Pat LaRow said there were three criteria to approving the commercial office space use: the applicant must be a non-profit, they must have the P&Z and HDC approval for a Historic Overlay, and they must be located within 1,000 ft of a commercial zone. All of those apply to Second Congregational Church.
“You’re looking at a rather unique situation,” said attorney for the applicant Tom Heagney, adding that while most churches are in residential areas, they are not adjacent to commercial areas.
Mr. LaRow said there were no other churches with historic overlays that are within 1,000 ft of a commercial zone.
“St. Catherine’s comes to mind,” Alban said, adding that church was old enough to seek a HO and is close to a commercial zone.
Second Congregational Church’s “Solomon Mead House” at 48 Maple dates back to 1858. is home to Coffee for Good and two office spaces rented to for-profit businesses. Photo: Leslie Yager
Ms Alban said it would set a precedent for another non-government organization (NGO), not necessarily a church, that has a Historic Overlay and is within 1,000 ft of a business zone to rent to for profit commercial businesses.
Church Pastor Steve Scroggins said the Second Congregational Church campus has five very old buildings on five acres, and several of them are historic.
He added that Coffee for Good has, by most accounts, been a success.
“Our ability to do that was dependent upon the revenue that two for-profit organizations are paying in the Mead House (and) to support the fact that we provide rental space to (non profits including) Breast Cancer Alliance, Special Education Legal Fund (SELF), At Home in Greenwich, Greenwich Chamber of Commerce and Mothers for Others.”
Pastor Scroggins said for-profit tenant rents are 50% higher than the non-profit rents in the Mead House, 25% higher than that of Coffee for Good, and twice the level paid by non-profits in Steeple Commons.
“All we’re asking is for 1,000 square feet in a back corner that nobody knew existed. Help us a bit,” Scroggins asked. “We are very good stewards of our resources and our campus, and the efforts to help not only our membership but the Greenwich community at large.”
Mary Jenkins described the request as a ‘modest change’ that would not visually alter the architecture. She noted that the funding was critical to the church.
“It seems to me that we’re kind of splitting hairs in terms of who the tenant is, when the building is the building,” Jenkins said.
Commissioner Arn Welles said he was sympathetic to the applicant.
“Every time I drive down Putnam Avenue I see that absolutely spectacular building that they have and if they want to rent out another 1,000 ft to help keep all those buildings up, God bless them. So, I support this application.”
Ms Alban reminded the commissioners they were not supposed to signal how they would vote on an application prior to having all the facts.
Dennis Yeskey suggested creating a maximum percentage of space that could be rented to for-profits as a rule for future similar situations.
He said the Methodist Church next to the diner on East Putnam Ave might seek a Historic Overlay and seek to rent spaces to for-profit businesses.
“This could be an important source of our ability to support Greenwich. It’s not like we are going to turn into a commercial real estate entity,” Pastor Scroggins said. “We’re asking for an exception.”
“Don’t you have a real estate broker there who is renting there?” Ms Alban asked.
“She is a board member of the Chamber of Commerce,” Scroggins said
“That doesn’t make her a not-for-profit. She’s just on the board,” Alban said.
“I consider her part of the Chamber of Commerce,” Scroggins said
“But she is not the Chamber of Commerce,” Alban said. “It surprised me that you have a realtor listed there even though we’ve limited your for-profit uses. And really, it surprised me.”
“You are correct, but I would note that the rent she pays is way below what the other tenants are paying,” Scroggins said.
“So it’s wrong from our point of view, and maybe from yours,” Alban said.
“Yes,” Scroggins agreed.
During public comment Laurence Allen said he was a member of the church, but also owned condos on Maple across from Mead House. Mr. Allen said that the headlights from Coffee for Good shine into his properties and had prevented him from selling three of his condos.
“We’ve been damaged as a result of the commercialization of Mead House,” Mr. Allen said. “There has been a neglect of neighborhood requests by the church, because we’ve requested a buffer of shrubs maybe 4 feet high to block the car lights from Mead House into our property.”
Mr. Allen said the Arborvitaes in front of his condos were planted in 2023.
Ms Alban said the commission had intentionally approved the Historic Overlay without landscape screening so the historic Mead House would be be visible from the street.
Commissioner Nick Macri said Arborvitaes grow quickly and would soon fill out and block the headlights.
Ms Alban suggested the church ask Coffee for Good workers to park behind the building.
The vote on the use of 1,000 sq ft on the first floor of the carriage house for for-profit general office:
Arn Welles, Dennis Yeskey, Nick Macri, Peter Lowe all voted yes.
Ms Alban voted no.
The motion that was approves specifies the use of the carriage house be limited to general office, and that medical uses are prohibited.
A condition of approval was that the applicant shall remove invasive bamboo on the property.
The church also got approval to add two air conditioning condensers outside the carriage house where they plan to construct an interior partition to create a private office on one side and common area with existing bathroom on the other.
Ms Alban explained the reason for her no vote.
“For the record, in my mind, this is a further intrusion of a commercial use in a residential neighborhood,” Alban said. “At the time that we were enabling commercial in a residential neighborhood that already felt beleaguered. That’s why I objected to it the first time, and I didn’t hear anything that changed my mind. I don’t think sympathy for the church’s finances or the fact that it’s a church should be the basis for our decision. Our decision should be based on whether or not we are allowing additional commercial uses into a residential neighborhood and what the impact is on the neighborhood.”
There was no mention about changes to the church’s Tax Exempt status with the town, given the added for-profit rentals on their property. Exempt properties pay no property tax.
See also:
P&Z Votes on Second Congregational Church Applications
Feb 2020
Note: this story was updated to reflect that Steve Scroggins is indicated on the application to be Council president at Second Congregational Church