The Danbury Common Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the Taylor Farm property met on Monday, September 21, 2026, to consider a possible city purchase of the Taylor Farm properties at 49-55 Great Plain Road and 78 Great Plain Road. Chair Frank Salvatore convened the meeting with committee members Diane Lepine and Michael Coello, Corporation Counsel Eric Gottshall, Finance representative Dan Garrick, Mayor's Office representative T. Dot O'Brien, property owner Don Taylor, and ex officio members, with members of the public also in attendance. The purchase process is governed by agreements between the city and Mr. Taylor originally executed in 2008.
Offer procedure under the 2008 agreements: Corporation Counsel Gottshall explained that the 2008 agreements require the property to be offered first to the city before sale to a third party; a council inclination to purchase one or both parcels would trigger the process established in those agreements.
Subdivision and the house lot: Mr. Taylor explained his original intention was to subdivide the property so he could sell the house and keep the remainder as farm property, and stated that if the city wanted the house lot after a subdivision, that was fine with him. He also reported meeting with the mayor, who spoke with "Sean" about the lot-line division. Several committee members expressed confusion about whether the written offer covers the property as currently configured, including the house (lot J09143, approximately 2.7 acres), or a subdivided parcel of roughly 20,000 square feet. One member noted the property is "way more property than 20,000 square feet."
Access and frontage concerns: Some members raised concerns that selling the house and its lot to a third party could block access to the rest of the farm property, while others noted the value of retaining the Great Plain Road frontage to allow the city to control the farm's future use. A member suggested the city could express an intent to purchase the house lot before any subdivision, and discussion included whether the city should refurbish and rent the house.
Historical and community value: Chair Salvatore said he had not previously considered the house historically significant until learning that his great-grandfather helped build it, and added that "the house itself is not the value to me." The Mayor's Office representative, T. Dot O'Brien, stated the administration believes the property is "a wonderful piece of land for Danbury" and wants to see it preserved, but said the decision rests with the council.
Due diligence, liability, and information needs: A committee member noted the city had already spent a significant amount on an appraisal and expressed liability concerns about purchasing the property with the buildings on it. Members discussed the need for additional information before any recommendation, including reports from engineering, building, planning, and zoning on the structures at both parcels, as well as risk management input and consultation with the neighboring church regarding the parcel that includes the "Aunt Polly's house" sliver.
78 Great Plain Road: The committee briefly discussed the second parcel but did not act on it; members indicated they needed more information before the committee could make a recommendation on either parcel. A member suggested withdrawing 49-55 while keeping 78 on the table, but the final motion continued the ad hoc's work on both parcels.
Motion to continue the ad hoc: The committee made and carried a motion to continue the ad hoc committee, considering the new extension to May 15, 2027, and to place a status report on the October City Council agenda.
Report contents: The status report will outline the minutes of the September 21 meeting and the ad hoc's intent to request reports from engineering, building, planning, and zoning regarding all structures at 49-55 and 78 Great Plain Road, with risk management added to the list.
Revised letter requested: The committee will request a revised letter from Mr. Taylor clarifying his proposal to the city regarding 49-55 Great Plain Road.
Reconvene at the call of the chair: The ad hoc will reconvene at the call of the chair once the additional information is obtained. The chair adjourned the meeting without closing the ad hoc committee.
Hi, I'm my name is Frank Salvatore. I am the chair of the uh ad hoc committee that's looking at the purchase of Taylor Farm property 49 to 55 Great Plain Road and 78 Great Plain Road. Uh with me on the committee, I have Diane Lepine and Michael Coello. Uh at the table, we have corporation counsel Eric Gottshall. We have uh finance uh Dan Garrick and the ever popular mayor's office, T. Dot O'Brien. And we have Don Taylor at the uh table as well. Ex officio, uh I have uh in no particular order at all. Uh Billy McAllister, uh we have uh Ben Sheanise, we have Lugi Ardano, we have Ryan Hawley. Did I miss anybody? And then we have members of the uh public. We have Mr. Phillips, correct, and I have Mr. Barry Rickard. So I think I got everybody in the room, huh? Okay. So we're here to discuss the purchase of uh Taylor Farm property. And what I'd like to do is Eric throw it to you to remind us. Obviously, the ad hoc is going to make the recommendation to the council, but remind us what you know the procedure is not only in this room for us to get them a motion, but uh what happens after that. Sure. So there's been an offer uh of sale to the city, and that's required because in 2008, the city of Danbury and Mr. Taylor and family members entered into uh a couple of agreements. One was uh concerning the sale of development rights to the property to eight properties, and uh the other was uh uh in addition to the sale, the creation of these development rights and an explanation of those. So those two agreements apply to this proposal to acquire the two properties that you've mentioned. And if the council were inclined to purchase one or both, then that would trigger the process established in those agreements back in 2008, which would mean that the city would provide Mr. Taylor and family with the appraisal that appraisals that we had uh acquired, obtained. And then we it would give uh the tailors a 90-day period to either accept that proposal or to obtain their own appraisal. And and if then no agreement could be reached still, then the appraisers would select a third appraiser. And the ultimate price would be determined by averaging that third appraisal with the appraisal uh closest to it among the other two of the other two. And so that's that's the way this lays out. And uh it's up to you to decide. Okay, yes. All right, cool. So um we obviously have an appraisal in front of us. Are we okay discussing it? Uh because you had maybe mentioned us to present it, but we also have it in front of us. So uh what can we and can't we do with that? I think that it under the circumstances it's uh it's a document that would be shared uh with Mr. Taylor, and and so I don't see any reason why you can't discuss it. I just want to make sure it was okay that we're gonna share. We're gonna be the first one sharing it, I'm assuming. So I just wanted to make sure. Okay. So um I was gonna say there's your bag. Before you proceed, let me just add one item. Yeah, which is kind of important. And that is that once a determination of the fair market value is agreed upon. Agreed upon or decided, then the according to those 2008 agreements, the city's obligation would be to purchase the property or properties at one half of that value. Okay. All right, because understand that we already the city already purchased the development rights back in 2008.