This week the Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously in favor of Municipal Improvement status and Preliminary Site Plan for the Hamill Skating Rink proposed.
Again.
In a similar proposal for a “flip,” Municipal Improvement status was previously approved by the P&Z commission in December 2024, albeit with extensive conditions.
But after the MI was referred to the RTM, MI status was rejected by that body in a vote of 136-52 due to concerns over high costs, planning processes, and environmental impact.
This new proposal is also for a “flip,” (building adjacent and then demolishing the existing rink) but the new rink location would be parallel to Western Jr Hwy.
Like the first flip, the new proposal also involves massive site disturbance.
There will be about 11,000 cubic yards of net fill brought in to raise the ballfield, the addition of retaining walls and loss of trees.
Moving a proposed new rink “to the side” is intended to address feedback that the original flip would cut the park’s green space in half in the densely developed neighborhood.
Superintendent of Building Construction & Maintenance, Luigi Romano, told the commission the revised flip proposal stemmed from the work of the second rink task force who re-vetted locations.
He said the revised plan literally and figuratively pushes the rink building to the side, and focuses on a more central green space within Morlot Park.
Under the revised flip, the rink would be parallel to Western Jr Hwy. The ballfield would be relocated to the center; parking lot to the southeast (existing rink location). There is a proposed new access way from Western Jr Hwy through to Sue Merz Way and Sherman Ave.
Today there are picnic tables that provide residents of McKinney Terrace (elderly housing by the housing authority) a view of the existing ballfield.
Mr. Romano said the tables could be relocated to similar vantage point.
P&Z commission chair Margarita Alban said residents from McKinney would have “a clean view” of green space across the proposed secondary parking lot (next to the memorial grove of trees).
The border of the memorial tree grove goes right to the edge of the 300 ft line of the baseball outfield.
However, P&Z director Patrick LaRow said, “There is no encroachment into the memorial grove.”
The commission suggested the playground by the memorial grove be updated and possibly expanded.
As for the walking path, it will include the sidewalk that connects the former Byram School to Sue Merz Way, and will run along the new access road.
The existing path to the switchback down the hill to Western Middle School will be maintained and will now connect to a sidewalk to the southeast parking lot and then direct people north toward the entry to the front door of the rink.
Also a sidewalk is proposed along the new access drive to Western Jr Hwy, where they are exploring options for a mid-block crossing.
The idea of a walking path was first suggested by Bill Drake, then chair of the first rink task force in 2022 when he proposed a trail through the trees.
The park is 13+ acres and Mr Romano said 6.5 acres will be disturbed.
“It’s pretty much the entire core section of the park,” he said. “What this proposal does is replace those aged assets with new, code compliant modern versions that can be enjoyed for the future, just in a different configuration that tries to account for some modern enhancements.”
Mr. Romano said the new roadway would be constructed first, and then used as a construction entrance.
He estimated the entire project would take about 2 years.
Commissioner Mary Jenkins said she was concerned about the “huge amount” of net fill and phasing.
“Your phase 3 is when you actually replace the ballfield, but it’s my understanding that you have 11,000 cubic yards of net fill to raise and level off the ballfield so that it is flat,” Jenkins said.
Mr. Romano explained the proposed grade change, saying in left field the parking lot would drop down and the southwest corner of the parking lot will have about seven feet of fill.
“A retaining wall is proposed along the edge of that field line. What we’re trying to do is preserve those pine trees for the residents of Sherman Avenue.”
Today, seating accommodates approximately 600 people.
The new proposal calls for a reduction in capacity to about 500 seats.
“We’re being very conscious about how many times a year we currently get to the capacity. At high school varsity games we get close to that,” said Joe Siciliano, Parks & Rec director, adding that today the rink hits capacity about six times a year.
Public Comment
A letter to P&Z from Lucy von Brachel challenges a list of justifications for the new flip.
“The trade-offs between massive site disturbance and conflicts with the POCD versus the temporary inconvenience of a temporary rink clearly favor building in place,” she wrote.
Ms von Brachel said one justification for the flip had been to gain 59 sq ft of green space.
“Now we’re losing 5,000 sq. ft. Some of the remaining green space would be unusable, like the area north of the building which would be cut for the new entrance,” she said.
Another justification for a flip has been avoiding the loss of ice time.
Ms von Brachel writes, “There continues to be no clear reason why a temporary rink is unacceptable. It does not have to be at Morlot. Consider the ‘temporary’ facilities at Horseneck – there are utilities there, a building that could hold staff, changing rooms, skate rental, etc.”
As for the “walking path,” she writes, “The ‘path’ is utilitarian. It consists of sidewalks that have you walking through parking lots and hug the building. Exterior mechanicals and dumpsters are not shown on the site plans. There is no paved path to the playground or past the edge of the lower part of the memorial grove that does not involve stairs. It’s not ADA compliant and not stroller friendly.”
In her letter to the P&Z commission, von Brachel also challenges the assumption that “the public has been heard.”
“Only people with the savvy to navigate BOS and PZC meeting agendas, people who are aware of the town calendar, and a select few RTM committees have been able to see the plans before you. I know that some believe a P&Z ‘public hearing’ is the same thing as the town holding a dedicated presentation and public hearing for a project like DPW has been doing for major traffic/highway projects. It is not. A $40+ million project reconfiguring more than 6 acres of a town park in a residential neighborhood should be presented by the town (not the task force) to residents at a well-publicized public hearing.”
Satellite photo with an overlay of the site plan (large white box). Outside the site plan, to the north (white rectangle) is Vinci Gardens, a housing authority project for seniors that was approved but not yet constructed. Buildings at right are Western Middle School. Top right is Putnam Green.
Kate Dzikiewicz, executive director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, said tree removals were not fully accounted for.
“I took at look at the updated application and noted it increases the number of tree removals from 28 to 35, which now includes those along Western Jr Hwy. I was disappointed that these trees have not been fully incorporated into the site plan. As a result, important information is still missing, including the trees location, sizes and species.”
Peter Berg said the proposal was inconsistent with the POCD and its goal #1 to “Preserve our community character and sense of place.”
“The fact you’re bringing in 11,000 cubic yards of soil. This is not going to be the same place,” Berg said. “To put your only municipal rink in an isolated location like this is not helping with our traffic congestion.”
Berg noted the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center was built on an existing footprint.
“This building is not going to be built on the existing footprint. It might as well be built on the other side of town. This is a new site. I’d urge the commission to deny this MI,” Berg said.
Anne Kristoff said she was concerned about home runs and balls being hit into the memorial tree grove that is supposed to be protected.
As for home runs, Siciliano said a temporary fence would be erected when necessary.
“(Home runs) can happen, yes, not regularly, and it has to do with the scheduling of age groups and the skill level the participants that are playing on the field. We might not put a high school varsity top level team here, but we might put some freshmen and JV who can’t hit as far.”
“This all speaks to me as destruction of sense of place,” Kristoff said.
Kristoff asked about issues with the simultaneous housing authority construction project, “Vinci Gardens.”
Vinci Gardens is a 50,000 sq ft, four-story 52-unit senior independent living building approved with conditions by P&Z in 2022. Construction has yet to begin.
Kristoff also said she was concerned about the ability of the area to accommodate traffic for the proposed rink.
“When you have a 40,000 sq ft rink, which is way bigger than the rink now…how are people going to get there?” Kristoff asked. “They’ll go down Richland, down Henry, they’ll go down Ham Ave and try to get out to exit 2.”
Amber Piatrafeso from Henry Street said the rink was a source of pride for Byram residents.
“We don’t have a lot. Byram is often overlooked,” she said. “This is something we can be proud of….I don’t know why we want to take something away that we are all so proud of.”
Alex Popp from Byram talked about environmental justice. “Connecticut is committed to serving the environmental justice community. There are low income minority groups, often under represented, exposed to higher levels of environmental pollution, and experience poorer health. The proposed Byram hockey rink is in the middle of an environmental justice block.”
“This project would harm the neighborhood with increased traffic, yearlong on the the narrow streets and create a safety risk to these communities with 8,000 or 1,000 truckloads of fill.”
Further he said the neighborhood would be further impacted by loss of open space, loss of sense of place, and local park users would be burdened by the road that splits their park into two.
“The rink will cater to an affluent, well-off well represented population of hockey families that really have no connection to the neighborhood that is defined as an environmental justice community by the state of Connecticut,” Popp said.
Johna Kalandranis also talked about pride in Byram.
“As much as the opposition keeps trying to change the framing, the truth is that Byram families overwhelmingly want this west side asset to stay and be finally improved. This is not about erasing history. The character will still be there. The trees will still be there. The memorial will still be there.”
“But an empty under-used park does not benefit the families of Byram who use it. Right now the space is under utilized, the playground is barely usable; the fence is broken,” Kalandranis siad. “Much of the park goes unnoticed unless you’re already there for the rink missed opportunity. That’s not a thriving public space.”
“The opposition treats this change as a loss, but for many of us the real loss would be doing nothing again, leaving the space as it is and missing what it could become.”
Phil Dodson urged the commission to reject the application.
“The commission repeatedly states that its MI decision is based on consistency with POCD goals and objectives. Building a wide road surely doesn’t conform with the POCD,” Dodson said. “We just recently learned that this plan eliminates over 4,000 sq ft of green space and adds 5,000 to 6,000 sq ft of impervious surfaces. The number of trees to be removed from the property keeps on increasing.”
“This plan calls for regrading 6 acres of the park with over over 11,000 cubic yards of fill at various depths of four and seven feet, and will add at least two retaining walls which is extensive and unaccessible. It was just over a year ago that the RTM overwhelmingly rejected the original flip MI proposal. Apparently a vote of our town legislative body, which represents the entire town, has not been taken seriously. A flip is a flip, no matter where he rink is placed in the park.”
Ms Alban said the reduction in green space would be 4,000 sq ft to accommodate a 10,000 sq ft larger building.
David Wold said the current Strazza field is 2.7 acres and includes a soccer field.
“This new Strazza field includes no soccer field attached to it,” Wold said.
Mr. Wold said that even for a temporary mesh fence for games where there might be home runs, permanent fence posts will be required, including partly in the memorial grove.
Camille Fusco said she was concerned about construction staging and the amount of trucks and pedestrian safety once the roadway is added.
“I’m concerned that people will cut through the complex, because that’s an easier thing to do,” Fusco said.
Eric Larosee from Byram said he did not believe the project would negatively impact the character or sense of place of the park.
“Morlot Park has long functioned as an active recreation hub. This proposal continues that legacy. It doesn’t alter it. The improvements being considered are consistent with the park’s existing use and role within the community are very welcome for residents who have children.”
Larosee said typically few people use the park.
“The park is in dire need of updating. I’m happy to see that in addition to the rink rebuild, it gives improvements to the park.”
Ms Kristoff said it was weird that so many members of the rink task force were testifying, given their task was exclusively to identify a site, nothing to do with the design.
“It seems a little bit weird to hear them come on (Zoom) and talk about design,” she said. “It’s just about the size and the scale and how it fits within that specific park. I’ve always said, we need a new rink, but if Greenwich needs a new kind of rink meaning this big commercial type of rink, like Chelsea Piers or Twin Rinks or what other high schools have, that’s great, but that size of a rink does not fit in this little park. That’s my big problem with the design. It is a lot bigger and it is taking up more space and it is going to destroy the park as we know it.”
The commission voted 5-0 to approve the MI and preliminary site plan with extensive conditions. The site plan still requires final site plan approval.
See also:
March 5, 2026
Greenwich RTM Vote on Rink MI Fails: “Democracy in Action”
Jan 22, 2025
RTM Committees Balk at Flaws in Rink Process; All Vote to Reject the MI
Jan 14, 2025
Hamill Rink MI Approved by P&Z; Site Plan Moves to Final with Lengthy Requirements Dec 11, 2024
At Memorable P&Z Meeting, Byram Neighbors Again Push Back on “The Rink Flip”
Nov 14, 2024
P&Z Watch: Hamill Rink Plan “An Enormous Amount of Site Disturbance”
Dec 8, 2021