January 20, 2024 / By mobanmarket
RIDGEFIELD, CT — A Ridgefield restaurateur sparring with town development officials has brought the battle into the arena of public opinion.
Pietro Polini, a Ridgefield resident and owner of TerraSole Ristorante at 3 Big Shop Lane, is pushing back against town officials who want him to close his establishment’s outdoor dining space. A petition launched Jan. 5 has been signed by 454 people as of Friday morning.
TerraSole Ristorante dining “brings many people to our community,” Polini said in the petition, and the possible shuttering of the outdoor space “threatens the existence of the restaurant.”
Like many Ridgefield restaurateurs, Polini built out an area adjacent to his establishment to accommodate outdoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike most, he continued to build out his new space post-COVID, without proper permits, according to Alice Dew, Ridgefield’s director of Planning & Zoning.
The restaurant added an unapproved vestibule and outdoor seating to the left of the building, according to documents filed on the town’s website. The eatery’s owner also created a structure with wood sides and window openings.
“A lot of people had these things that morphed into somewhat indoor structures,” Dew told Patch. “But the egregious part of this is that (Polini) did this huge addition, surrounding the tent. It’s an addition because it’s a structure. He did that in July, so it had nothing to do with outdoor dining or COVID or anything. He just built a structure without any permits at all. We told him to stop when he first started doing it in July, which he did not do, he continued to work on it.”
Dew said P&Z followed up their request with a formal cease and desist order, and the restaurant ended its expansion. Polini then applied for a permit, but the P&Z Commission denied it. The restaurant’s owner appealed the rejection, but later withdrew the appeal, and launched the petition.
P&Z has granted the popular Italian eatery an extension until April 1 to get the proper permits in place.
The first part of the process is a review of the relevant documents by the town’s Architectural Advisory Committee. Drew said Polini had provided all the necessary papers as of Friday morning, and the AAC had the matter on the agenda for its Tuesday night meeting.
“And then they give advice, it might take a meeting or two, and then they will be coming to Planning and Zoning,” Drew said. The P&Z commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on the matter for Feb. 27.
In a letter to Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, Polini said his “customers are shocked that a small town like ours is not willing to work with business to succeed. It is a very real possibility that with all the money I have spent trying to make a better restaurant for me and the town that I may be forced to either close the restaurant, try to sell, walk away, or file for bankruptcy if we cannot come to a reasonable outcome.”
As for that petition? Dew said she does not envision any town commission or committee being swayed by any public appeal, no matter how many signatures it garners:
“[The restaurant] has to meet health and safety requirements. It does not, and we don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
On Friday, Polini told Patch, “We look forward to the upcoming hearing, and working with the town to resolve the issues.”
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