An open letter to the editor of Westport Journal and fellow Westport citizens:

A group of lifelong and longtime Westporters has joined to form the Saugatuck Sensible Zoning Committee (SSZC). 

We urge you and your readers to look closer at the Dec. 12 Westport P&Z Commission decision to approve Text Amendment 819, which constitutes a radical change to Saugatuck’s zoning. In addition to more than doubling permissible building heights, this decision allows for a staggering 400,000 square feet of development — over eight times what’s been permissible in the past and about half the size of the SoNo Collection mall — shoehorned into an area of less than five acres in the heart of Saugatuck.  

The 11 properties that comprise this area are located at the center of the town’s transit hub, the same corridor that’s already under threat of added traffic with the forthcoming Hiawatha development. 

We believe the P&Z made its decision without requesting the level of information needed and conducting the depth of due diligence required to thoroughly understand the implications of the proposed text amendment and the developer applicant’s proposal, as well as the impact of this zoning change on Saugatuck and our town overall. The commission approved the Text Amendment based on illustrations presented by ROAN Ventures, a newly formed company with no track record. 

The P&Z was shown illustrations depicting what this development, the Hamlet at Saugatuck, might look like; however, ROAN is under no obligation to proceed with plans resembling the illustrations. 

Moreover, the P&Z didn’t ask to see a model as would be expected, and they also disregarded the guidance and advice of multiple past Westport work groups, studies, commissions, elected officials and design professionals who provided a framework for Saugatuck re-zoning and development in the 2015-2018 period. 

ROAN’s plan has a number of Achilles heels. For one, they’re relying on commuter parking spots at the train station, even though Westport’s Police Department and the P&Z Transit Committee haven’t yet even been consulted. The P&Z painted their decision as a binary choice between ROAN’s plans and the potential of an unattractive, affordable housing development that would bypass our local zoning regulations (as permitted under the Connecticut State Legislative Act 8-30g), ignoring the third possibility: rezoning Saugatuck in a deliberate, sensible and appropriate manner. 

We hope to have the Westport town council (the Representative Town Meeting) carefully review the recent P&Z approval of this Text Amendment and build awareness among other citizens. 

The RTM’s review begins via Zoom this Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m., and leads to a vote on Jan. 17 or 19. 

We also hope that the RTM overturns the P&Z decision, at which point the developers might start over and return with a more palatable plan. 

This committee enthusiastically supports the revitalization of Saugatuck that will result from proactive, thorough and carefully planned zoning that’s respectful of Westport’s past, present and future. 

Please reach out to us by sending an email to SaugatuckSensibleZoning@gmail.com, and we’ll gladly explain more. 

Respectfully,

SSZC Committee

Rick Smilow                  Sam Levenson

Michael Calise              Ian Warburg

Jessica McEntee           Justin McEntee

Joseph Vallone             Amy Leonard

Rick Leonard                Don Bergmann

Manny Rodriguez   

Petition Signers/Supporters

Justin McEntee            Debi Smilow

Meredith Hutchison   Jeff Hutchison

Ellen Bowen                 Doug Bowen

Rob Lawrence              Cheryl Lawrence

Carey Weber                Werner Liepolt

Lock Pawlick                 Ann Pawlick

Richard Kalt                  Lydia Kalt

Jim Hood                       Robert Jacobs

Michael Sharpe            Carol Sharpe

Conrad Dequadros      Hannah Dequadros

Rusty Ford                     Karen Ford

Ellen Van Dorsten        David Van Dorsten

Melissa Goldfarb          Ellen Goldfarb

Jasper Burke                 Alberto Escalarte

Toni Donahue               Scott Donahue

Adam Goldfarb             Russell Hardin

Jane Green                    Debbie Meissner

Jeff Meissner                Ruth Rodriguez

Dianna Padilla