New Canaan: A modern-looking detached garage to match an existing house with modern architecture on a unique lot has received zoning approval, with a catch.

The proposed two-car garage meets height requirements but has two stories, with a studio on the top floor. Stand-alone garages can be a maximum of one-and-a-half stories high, regardless of height.

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the application as a one-story structure at its June 26 meeting rather than deny it partly because members wanted to indicate support for preserving modern-style architecture in town. Chairman John Goodwin called modern houses an "extremely important component of this town's character."

But this means the homeowner must either eliminate the second story within the garage building or come back to P&Z for a different kind of approval. Another option is to seek a Zoning Board of Appeals variance to the story limit.

The existing one-story house is small by today's standards, and has no basement or attic, causing what the applicant's landscape architect, Keith Simpson, called "a severe shortage" of storage space. It was built in the 1950s and already has an attached garage.

Goodwin said the Town Zoning Regulations include language written to help preserve modern houses, giving the P&Z a "fair amount of latitude" but not the ability to approve a two-story detached garage without the proper legal notice of such an application.

P&Z member Jean Grzelecki said the commission would likely look "very favorably" at an altered application for a two-story garage at this site due to the unique circumstances.

Location exception

The garage approval included an exception to the regulation requiring garages be located even with, or behind, the main house. Simpson said there is nowhere to put the garage behind the house due to the property's unique geography.

The two-acre lot at 1528 Ponus Ridge Road is unusual. "It's the only house I know in New Canaan that's on an island," Simpson said. Sections of a river and small pond completely surround the house, which is across the street from Collins Pond, and a small bridge must be crossed on the driveway to reach the house.

Applicant architect Kenneth McGahren said the garage would be built in white stucco to match the house, and include a small second-floor deck in the rear. He said people looking at it won't be able to tell it's not one story.

Stairs and a bathroom

He said the studio would be used for family, art and hobby activities and have a bathroom but no bedroom. There would be a stairway. A separate, small septic system would be built.

The second-floor open layout means it is "clearly not a bedroom," McGahren said. When asked if the new space might be used as a short-term rental such as Airbnb, he said "definitely not." The commission later made not renting out the new garage, which would be 829 sq. ft., a condition of approval.

A driveway now leads both to the modern house and to a rear lot with another existing house. This driveway will be relocated because the new garage would be built in its path, giving the neighbor in the rear a separate driveway that connects to the road.

The rear neighbor has a right-of-way across the property and has agreed to the driveway relocation.

The new driveway must be completed before work on building the new garage can begin.