New Canaan is rewriting its zoning code for the first time in decades, one year after the town adopted its updated Plan of Conservation and Development. Those two processes – zoning and planning – determine what kind of town we will be for the next generation. We’re finally asking the right question: what are we trying to preserve, and how are we going to pay for it?

We talk often about “character,” a word the state now bars P&Z from using to deny housing unless tied to explicit physical standards (Public Act 21-29, adopted June 2021). Fine. Let’s fund the real thing instead: wooded lots, winding roads, mid-century gems beside antique streetscapes. Our rules still reward demolition. Every permit fattens town coffers; every teardown erases value no new build can replace.

A Town Built on Restraint

New Canaan’s identity isn’t defined by any single era. It’s a combination of three braided legacies: the antique village core, the mid-century modern experiment, and the quiet, wooded landscapes that knit them together. Beauty here was never accidental. It was the product of restraint – of architecture responding to land.

But we’re losing that balance. The 2008 Glass House Modern House Survey documented 91 significant modern homes, of which 26 had already been demolished. That was seventeen years ago. How many are left today? The same forces that threaten the moderns now threaten the village and its setting: speculative building, clear-cutting, and the steady replacement of modest houses with overscaled ones.

Our current “protections” are paper-thin. The 90-day demolition delay buys time but doesn’t change outcomes. The penalties are modest, and the incentives nonexistent. We say we cherish architecture, yet we’ve built a system where tearing down is faster, cheaper, and more profitable than adapting what exists.

The Economics of Character

Preservation isn’t nostalgia – it’s smart money. Studies by PlaceEconomics and the National Trust show that properties in historic districts appreciate faster than comparable homes outside them. Buyers are paying for character, stability, and authenticity. Palm Springs is proof: by requiring review of any building constructed before 1980, the city not only protected its mid-century heritage, it turned that heritage into a brand. Modernism Week now generates over $60 million annually for the local economy. New Canaan’s October for Design could do the same.

Westport took a lighter-touch approach. Its Historic Resources Inventory lists every building worth a second look, paired with a 180-day demolition delay on homes over 50 years old. The list isn’t punitive – it’s educational. No handcuffs – just homework. Builders, architects, and real-estate agents all know which properties matter before plans are drawn. Awareness alone slows the rate of loss.

Pasadena went further, using economic incentives instead of penalties. Under California’s Mills Act, owners of designated historic properties receive property-tax reductions of 40-60 percent in exchange for maintaining and restoring their homes. The city cashes in on higher resale prices, tourist traffic, and lively streets.

Nantucket doubles down on reuse: their House Recycling Program, launched in 1994, snatches demo-bound homes via a 30-day ad period, then relocates them to town land for affordable year-round rentals. Backed by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund – no new taxes – their Historic District Commission just extended the move window from 60 to 180 days in 2024, saving over 32 structures (many 100+ years old) while creating stable housing for essential workers. Demolition waste down, community fabric up – proof that moving history funds the future.

These are different models, but they share a theme: preservation pays. It stabilizes values, attracts investment, and strengthens community identity.

Where New Canaan Falls Short

We have the philosophy – our POCD says clearly that we should “preserve the historic and architectural character of the community.” What we lack are the tools and the funding to match those words.

We already self-fund affordable housing with a tiny permit surcharge. Every building permit in town carries a small surcharge that goes into theAffordable Housing Fund. It’s simple, fair, and invisible to taxpayers. We also have a Land Acquisition Fund – a smart concept meant to let the town buy or protect key parcels – but it mostly sits empty.

If we can tap permits to build affordable units, why not tap them to save what makes New Canaan special?

A 1 percent “preservation fee” on building-permit revenue – roughly $150 million a year – would yield $1.5 million annually without raising taxes. That’s enough to:

• hire a part-time Preservation Officer;
• update the Modern House Survey and create a public inventory of architecturally significant homes;
• fund house moves to underused lots, Nantucket-style, turning teardowns into affordable rentals.
• offer small matching grants for façade restoration, tree preservation, or landscape rehabilitation; and
• seed the dormant Land Acquisition Fund to permanently protect scenic parcels and view corridors.

Development would pay for preservation. The more we build, the more we can afford to protect.

A Smarter Return on Character

The conversation must shift from regulation to reinvestment. Stop treating preservation like red tape. Treat it like an investment with compound interest.

A teardown replaces a one-of-a-kind home with a commodity. A restoration preserves uniqueness – and uniqueness is the essence of market value. Realtors know it. Appraisers know it. Our policies should reflect it.

We should also recognize that every act of preservation ripples outward. Maintaining the antique village supports downtown businesses. Protecting mid-century homes attracts architecture tourism. Saving mature trees reduces runoff, cools microclimates, and buffers property values. These are not aesthetic niceties – they’re economic multipliers.

What Comes Next

This zoning rewrite is our chance to align policy with purpose. We can make New Canaan a Certified Local Government, eligible for state preservation grants. We can reinvest a fraction of our permit revenue into a fund that pays for the expertise, surveys, and incentives we’ve lacked. We can finally put money behind the values we’ve been quoting from the POCD for years.

Every town spends where it believes. Palm Springs funds its brand. Pasadena funds its past. Nantucket funds its future. New Canaan can fund its soul – if we choose to.

Here’s the roadmap for how each board, commission, and organization – from the Town Council and P&Z to the HDC, the Glass House, and TEDAC – can take responsibility for its part, and how we can pay for all of it without raising a single tax dollar.

A Roadmap for Responsible Preservation

We know what we value. We just don’t fund it.

We collect a fee on every zoning permit to support affordable housing. We could do the same to protect what makes New Canaan desirable. The math is simple, the opportunity is right in front of us, and every board in town has a role to play.

The One-Percent Solution

Every permit in New Canaan carries a surcharge of ten dollars for every thousand dollars of construction value. That one percent goes directly to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Last year, construction values totaled between $130 million and $153 million. Apply that same one-percent formula to preservation and we’d have a self-funding Preservation & Landscape Fund, raising roughly $1.3 to $1.5 million a year without raising a dime in taxes.

Half could support a part-time Preservation Officer, surveys, and education; the rest could fund matching grants that reward owners who restore rather than demolish. Even at one percent, we could help roughly twenty-five homes a year. Add zoning flexibility and local tax abatements, and that number doubles.

Development would pay for preservation. The busier the Building Department, the stronger the fund.

What P&Z Can Do

P&Z sets the rules. Extend demolition review to all pre-1980 homes – Palm Springs model. Bundle tree removal, grading, and demolition into one site-plan review. Offer a 10% floor-area bonus for retaining significant structures. Codify the 1% Preservation Fund in zoning regulations, mirroring affordable housing.

Clear rules. Reliable revenue. An economic incentive to preserve, not demolish.

Predictable rules. Steady funding. A financial reason to save instead of scrape.

What the HDC Can Do

The Historic District Commission must lead the mapping of what matters. Partner with the Glass House to update the 2008 Modern House Survey and expand it to include downtown, antiques, and landscapes. Publish a searchable online inventory  –  New Canaan’s version of Westport’s Historic Resources Inventory. Use the Preservation Fund to offer $50,000 matching grants and apply for state grants that match us dollar-for-dollar. Knowledge is protection. You can’t save what you haven’t listed.

What the Town Council Can Do

The Council controls the purse and the message. Authorize the Preservation Fund and dedicate one percent of permit revenue to it. Revive the dormant Land Acquisition Fund with a modest annual transfer so we can buy or conserve scenic parcels. Hire a part-time Preservation Officer, paid from the fund, not taxes. And adopt a local version of Pasadena’s Mills Act, giving property-tax reductions to homeowners who record preservation easements. Every one of those actions strengthens the tax base by protecting what makes New Canaan premium.

What the Charter Commission Can Do

The Charter Revision Commission defines what endures. Amend P&Z’s mandate to include protection of architectural and natural heritage. Create a permanent Conservation & Preservation Commission to integrate buildings, trees, and open space. Secure all dedicated funds – Affordable Housing, Land Acquisition, Preservation & Landscape – against diversion. Strong charters outlast shifting priorities.

And lock these dedicated funds  –  Affordable Housing, Land Acquisition, Preservation & Landscape  –  so they can’t be raided for other uses. Good rules outlive good intentions.

What the Glass House Can Do

The Glass House already proved in 2008 that we can make a list. Ninety-one significant moderns, twenty-six already gone. It’s time to finish that work. Lead with the 2025 Modern and Historic House Survey, publish it online, and show us exactly what’s left. Invite students and volunteers to help. When residents see their homes on that map, they begin to take pride in keeping them.

What TEDAC Can Do

The Tourism & Economic Development Advisory Committee should make architecture part of our brand. Launch Modern & Timeless: The Architecture of New Canaan, modeled on Palm Springs’ Modernism Week. Offer walking tours and design weekends that draw visitors to town and customers downtown. Preservation isn’t charity; it’s marketing that sustains our economy.

How We Pay for It

With permit values around $150 million a year, a one-percent preservation fee yields $1.5 million annually  –  or $7 million over five years. Half goes to operations and surveys; half to homeowner grants and incentives. That saves about 25 homes per year, 125 over five years through direct funding alone. Add zoning bonuses and tax abatements, and we could protect 200 to 250 homes  –  roughly half the architecturally significant houses in town  –  within a single decade.

That’s not a fantasy. It’s arithmetic.

Accountability and Vision

In five years: a complete inventory, a staffed Preservation Office funded by development, an active Land Acquisition Fund, and hundreds of homes preserved – by reward, not restriction.

Palm Springs planned. Westport listed. Pasadena incentivized. Nantucket relocated. New Canaan can do it with structure and arithmetic.

Every town spends where it believes. We fund affordability. Now we must fund preservation.

 John Engel is a broker on The Engel Team at Douglas Elliman in New Canaan. In 1973 the average home in America was 1,660 ft and by 2015 it had grown 62% to 2,687 square feet. In New Canaan the average size of the last 8 new homes sold was 6,315 square feet above grade. John’s Stamford-based grandparents used to call New Canaan “fancy” back in the 1970’s. Wonder what they’d call it now?

Check out John Engel’s Podcast, Boroughs & Burbs, the National Real Estate Conversation here.

Read this article on the New Canaan Sentinel website here.