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09/19/2014 12:00 AM

SCA vs. Legacy Permit Hearing Moves to Sept. 30


Originally postponed to Sept. 25, as this modified sign posted in Stony Creek indicates, what was once a line item on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) agenda has now been granted its own night as the only agenda item. A public hearing concerning Stony Creek Association’s appeal of the Legacy Theatre’s fit-up permit is now set to take place Tues. Sept. 30, 7 p.m. at Branford Fire Headquarters, as a special meeting of the ZBA.

The Stony Creek Association’s (SCA) dispute with a fit-up permit granted to Legacy Theatre will be heard on a new night, Tues. Sept. 30, following the postponement of the Sept. 16 Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting.

The special meeting of the ZBA will take place at Branford Fire Headquarters, 45 North Main Street, 7 p.m. on Sept. 30 with the Legacy Theatre appeal as the only item to be heard on the agenda, according to the ZBA filing with the town last week. The hearing was originally scheduled as part of the agenda for the regular ZBA Sept. 16 meeting; which then had to be postponed until Sept. 25. Now, the Legacy Permit Appeal will instead be heard on its own at a special ZBA meeting set for Sept. 30.

The hearing will center on SCA’s appeal of the town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) decision to sign off on a tenant fit-up permit for Legacy Theatre. The non-profit organization purchased the former Puppet House Theatre in the heart of Stony Creek (128 Thimble Island Road) in 2013.

The SCA feels a special exception permit should have been sought instead of having a permit routed through Town Hall. The tenant fit-up permit, granted in July 2014, allows the theater group what is reported to be same building use as granted the Puppet House in the past. Uses include theater performances and rental space for celebrations and concerts.

SCA contends the requested use is a drastic expansion from the theater’s former use. Legacy co-founder and Artistic Director Keely Baisden Knudsen states the organization is “…confident that our plans are consistent with applicable laws and regulations.”