By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — An updated 8-24 request for the Inn at Longshore has been filed with the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The original request by LandTech on behalf of the inn’s operator, Longshore Hospitality Group, was withdrawn last month after the commission couldn’t take it up at a meeting because of a very long discussion on another application. The discussion is now expected at the May 6 meeting.

The town owns the 168-acre Longshore Park.

The Inn at Longshore application was refiled earlier this month with, the applicant wrote, a few changes:

• A decrease in the porte cochere footprint
• Reconfiguration of the front entryway, stairs and ramp
• Expanded patio
• Small building addition was added to the West Side of the structure
• Minor modifications to the terrace design

The plans require a Coastal Site Plan review and an 8-24 Municipal Improvement review.

It will go before the Architectural Review Board at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

In March 2023, the P&Z gave a positive recommendation on an earlier 8-24 request that extended the lease for Longshore Hospitality Group up to 30 years.

The lease extension committed the operators to $8 million in upgrades to the town-owned building on the nearly 170-acre property. The P&Z’s 2023 approval said the renovation plans should come before the commission when ready.

An 8-24 review is required by state statute when significant changes to a municipal property are proposed. A Coastal Site Plan review is required under state statute for projects near coastal areas.

Several town departments have submitted memos saying they have no concerns about the project, or that they support it. The Conservation Department said that staff “feels there should be no anticipated adverse coastal impacts expected as a result of this proposed project.”

Some neighbors have written the commission with concerns.

A new concern was voiced last week by Tree Board member Sarah Adair. She pointed out at a discussion of the Jesup Green plan that the Longshore renderings appear to indicate another tall, mature tree on town property is in jeopardy.

“I just saw pictures of the Inn at Longshore on Westport Journal and the front façade, it looks like they would remove a very tall, mature tree there, too,” she said.

New renderings, included in the file after the ones Adair referred to, were also submitted recently.

They don’t show the tall tree that sits on the grassy island about where a new and larger porte cochere is planned.

Whether the tree’s future will part of the P&Z discussion remains to be seen.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.