GREENWICH (CT)
Greenwich Time
By Hoa Nguyen
Staff Writer
March 17, 2005
The idea that surfaced earlier this month was such a good one that the attorney for the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp. wasted no time in presenting it at Tuesday's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
Instead of grappling with land-use issues that have plagued the diocese's plans to subdivide 32 acres it owns at 247 Stanwich Road, Tom Heagney, the diocese's Greenwich lawyer, said leave those issues for later.
"That we do not torture ourselves over whether this is an appropriate open space configuration," he said of the idea. "It gets beyond that."
All but one zoning commission member approved of the suggestion and gave the diocese's plans preliminary approval at the Town Hall meeting.
With the approval, the diocese can now seek final permission to split the land into two parcels, one to house St. Agnes Church and a second 25 acres that will be sold to Stanwich School or a developer of residential homes.
The proceeds of the sale would help the diocese finance settlement payments announced in 2003 to victims of sexual abuse by priests.