By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — A developer has requested a pre-application discussion with the Planning and Zoning Commission about building 30 or more one-bedroom apartments near the Greens Farms Railroad Station.

The plan is to build on 1.8 acres at 30 Maple Lane.

The property, which now is the site of a single-family home and two-car garage, is currently listed, but under contract, for $974,000.

The entry is off Maple Lane, but the lot has a long, earthen drive, perhaps 200 feet, lined by white pines.

Immediately to the north are Metro-North Railroad tracks, and between that and Interstate 95 is a landscaping/mulching yard.

To the south of the property is a neighborhood of mostly modest, original houses and some newer ones, among marshes and a meandering brook that leads to Burying Hill Beach, and Greens Farms Academy.

The application would be filed under the state’s 8-30g affordable housing legislation, which gives developers considerable leeway from local regulations in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is deemed “affordable” under the state’s criteria.

The town has been working to facilitate more affordable housing, and was one of a few municipalities granted a four-year moratorium from 8-30g by the state for progress made.

But that moratorium expires in a few months, March 4, 2023.

P&Z Chairwoman Danielle Dobin has said that although the town was close to achieving the number of affordable units required to secure another moratorium from the 8-30g statute, construction delays from legal challenges now mean it will likely be open to projects filed under that state law until 2024.

The applicant for the Maple Lane plan, Stephen Shapiro, recently told the Planning and Zoning Department, “I would be looking to do a 8-30G application with 30 percent of the units deemed affordable. Would like to do a nice 3/4 story building with high end finishes and a walking path to the Greens Farms train station on which property is abutting.”

The plan will be discussed at the Planning and Zoning Commission’s next meeting, 7 p.m. Dec. 5. The official agenda for that meeting has not yet been posted on the town’s website.

Thane Grauel, executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.