Montessori's 'Expansion' Plans Could Be Dismissed

If the opinions voiced by members of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night are any indication, the Montessori School's application could be set for dismissal.

At the conclusion of their discussion, the commission decided to begin drafting a resolution for denial of the school's proposal to increase its enrollment cap from 230 to 270 students and to build a new parking lot at its facility. Many members spoke openly about their concern for the neighborhood that surrounds the 34 Whipple Road property.

"I am opposed to allowing an additional number of students because I do believe that the impact on the neighborhood is too great," said commissioner Marilyn Gould. "It has been a real burden on the community...and I don't believe this commission can continue to inflict such burdens on a dead end road...I think it's reached a size that does not lend itself to any further expansion in the school and in the traffic."

Montessori staff contend that they are not attempting to expand but, rather, to accommodate needs that are already present. The facility was previously served predominately by buses, which limited the traffic impact on the surrounding roads and decreased the need for parking.

Now, however, most of the school's approximately 230 students are driven individually by their parents to the building, drawing objections from area residents who believe the traffic flow is not only cumbersome but also dangerous to pedestrians and small children. Attorney Alan Spier pointed out at a previous meeting that around 200 cars use the Grumman Hill/Whipple Road area at peak hours and that 90 percent of that use is generated by Montessori, what equates to ten times more traffic than any other residential neighborhood in Wilton.

"I think it's an erosion of a whole class of homes in a residential neighborhood, a cost-conscious neighborhood," said commissioner John Wilson. "At the end of the day, in my mind, it's a wonderful school. But I think this is not the location for a school that is really looking for expansion...I think this is the wrong place and the wrong town to do that."

Wilson went on to articulate other problems he had with Montessori's application, noting the school's mention that its new proposed parking lot would reduce traffic seemed "disingenuous" to him.

He also brought the commission's attention to the fact that, while the school contends they do not provide daycare services (something they are not allowed by the town to do), the truth is that they do have pre-Kindergarten groups in the school and "they do have daycare in their metafile."

"I was really surprised because they're expressly prohibited from doing that," Wilson added.

Comissioners Doug Bayer and Mike Rudolph seemed more receptive to Montessori's proposal. Rudolph mentioned that he didn't believe the school's desire to increase its enrollment cap would materially affect the neighborhood, though he admitted that thought was independent of the parking application.

Bayer, meanwhile, admitted to playing devil's advocate and was curious about what benefits might come from approving the application.

"It's not as if we're plopping down a school with 270 students where a school doesn't exist," he said. "In my mind, the real issue of the application is the placement of the new parking lot and how it affects the neighborhood...what are the benefits of having the school there? Are there benefits the town accrues by having it there?"

Bayer said he appreciated the steps that the school had taken in the past to work with the town. While other commissioners took issue with the fact that the school has filed three previous applications with Planning and Zoning, each time saying they would not need to do it again, Bayer said he did not believe that "the possibility of another future application should be a reason for denying this one."

Gould countered that the nature of having such a school on a dead end road already raises serious safety issues regarding emergency access. And she added that, while Bayer was right and the school is already in place there, the location "could never be approved for a school today."

The commission ended by deciding to prepare a resolution for denial and will ultimately vote on the issue at its meeting on Feb. 22.

"It screams Joni Mitchell to me," Rudolph said with a smirk. "Paved paradise and put up a parking lot."