Library starts petition, seeks support for expansion

SHARON — The Hotchkiss Library is seeking support for  renovation and expansion plans by asking residents to sign a petition.

The plans, which were rejected by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) in June, included an increase in space for young readers and changes to make the library handicapped accessible.

While the Historic District Commission gave its preliminary approval to the project, the library still needed a variance from the ZBA to expand its lot coverage.

In the historic center of town, buildings can cover only 20 percent of their lot. The new plan would have covered about 29 percent of the lot, but the library had requested a variance for 31 percent to allow for any unexpected changes that might occur during construction.

The petition explains that the library board would like “to build an addition to the north and the east of the existing building and to restore the interior of the historic 1893 library.�

People who sign the petition “agree that there is a need for a larger children’s area and for access for all patrons of the library, including the aged and disabled.â€�  

Khurshed Bhumgara, head of the library’s building committee and a member of the library  board, said that as of Thursday, Sept. 17, the petition had 70 signatures on it.

“We have no set goal of how many signatures to get,� Bhum-gara said. “At a ZBA meeting about the plans, the board received letters of support from residents that I don’t think were read in detail. The petition is just to see if there is a demonstration of support for the library.�

The petition is at the front desk at the library.

Bhumgara said representatives from the library made an informal presentation to the Planning and Zoning board in August.

He said the library still plans to go back to the ZBA in the winter, to once again seek approval for the plan.

“To me, there seems to be some considerable support,� Bhumgara said. “People would like to see a library where everyone can be part of it. This would be an expression of shared pride in Sharon.�

In November 2008, the Connecticut State Library Board promised the library $1,000,000 for the expansion.

Despite the rejection of the project by the ZBA, the library has 18 months from this November to get the plans approved.

The library building was built more than a century ago and was donated by Maria Bissell Hotchkiss to the town, for use as a library, in 1893.

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