Jul. 15—The Kennys would move into the proposed residential addition to live on the same site as their businesses, according to the zoning application.

"Bill and Jennifer Kenny will make the proposed addition their home, enjoying a short commute to work," the application reads.

Kenny said the two-floor commercial building currently houses each of the three businesses on the first floor, which totals nearly 1,800 square feet. He said office and storage space and a bathroom currently sits on the roughly 660-square-foot second floor. Kenny's proposal would expand the addition from 2,500 to 4,600 total square feet with the residential addition located to the east of the building.

Kenny said the business' storage and office area on the second floor of the current building would move into the first floor of the addition, where the commercial space would also place a foyer, mechanical room and bathroom, according to the application.

The second and third floors of the new complex would make up the residential portion and each have a private deck, the application states. The second floor would feature a kitchen and dining area and connect to the second floor of the original building, and a bedroom suite would be located on the third floor, according to the application.

Kenny said developers would install the addition through "modular construction," when compartments of the unit are built off site and pieced together at the designated location. He said the construction style will bring "very little disruption" to the area, and it should take a single day for workers to "plop in" the addition. Kenny expects crews to build the addition's foundation during a one to two-week period, and the process of connecting the buildings could last about four weeks.

The zoning plans would leave the 13-space parking lot untouched and create an exit curb at the northeastern edge of the property, according to the application. Kenny said the lot already has a two-way drive for vehicles to enter and exit. A new 200-square-foot shed also falls under the plans, he added.

With Browns Brook running through the backyard of the property, Kenny said the Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes a flood zone that reaches the building, but the existing structure and the addition are in compliance with FEMA regulations.

He said there is no basement or crawl space under the current building, and piles — short wooden or concrete posts — would raise the proposed addition to allow floodwaters under the structure.

The building is currently connected to a septic system that was installed beneath the parking lot in 1978, but Kenny said he's proposing to switch over to the town's sewer system for storm water management.

Joel Green, a Bridgeport-based attorney, requested the commission to review the number and purpose of parking spaces outlined in the special permit application that the body approved for the businesses in 2020. He said the initial application presented the parking spaces as designated for a "retail office and an art studio."

William J. Fitzpatrick, III, an attorney representing Kenny, said the commission granted the special permit application for the same businesses that currently operate at the site.

"That is what Jennifer Kenny's business is, and it was fairly described," he said. "And it was approved."

—

Families of pedestrians killed press Fairfield board for answers

—

CT Transit to resume electric bus service a year after blaze