By Ken Valenti

Several members of the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed a new-but-old idea last night for the area where the controversial development known as the Hamlet was once planned.

As the panel mulls changes for the General Business District/Saugatuck Marina (GBD/SM) zone, where Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of South Norwalk now proposes a residential project at 606 Riverside Ave., Commissioner Michael Calise recommended changing the zoning back to what it was several years ago.

Before it became the GBD/SM zone in 2023, it was simply a General Business District (GBD), which is designed to limit the intensity of development by allowing “general commercial and office development in designated areas along arterial streets,” the town’s zoning code says.

Calise said that reverting to the GBD would save a lot of discussion over the other changes now on the table.

“I just want to clean everything up and start fresh, and to me the general business district is a way of doing that…because we can do it quickly efficiently and without laboring with many different issues,” he said in a special meeting held on Zoom.

As written now, the GBD/SM zone is designed to “give priority to water-dependent uses,” and to encourage a mix of residential units – including affordable housing onsite or nearby – with other uses such as commercial, office, hotel and retail space.

The changes considered to that zone removed the reference to water-dependent uses and hotels.

Another option is to include the properties in the nearby Gault zoning.

On June 1, Spinnaker presented a plan for 175 residential units and 283 parking spaces. It would occupy 1.54 acres at 606 Riverside Ave. The proposal would sit on part of the land where the Hamlet was proposed before the commission rejected it last year. The new project differs from the Hamlet in that it is not directly on the waterfront and does not include a large retail component.

Planning and Zoning Director Michelle Perillie said she would put together a comparison of the GBD and GBD/SM zones.

Commissioner Craig Schiavone said the question should be discussed further in a subcommittee meeting.

“I’m still concerned about unintended consequences,” she said. “We haven’t all been as familiar with the original GBD as it applies there, or the Gault amendment that applies there. I think it would be useful if we did spend a little bit of time in subcommittee going over this.”

At the end of the 40-minute meeting, Chairman Paul Lebowitz said continuing discussion at the panel’s June 15 meeting will give more commissioners the opportunity to comment. Several did not attend last night’s special meeting.

Lebowitz also agreed that the matter should be discussed in a subcommittee to give more people an opportunity to comment. Last night’s meeting was a work session, which the public is able to watch but is not permitted to participate.

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}