By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Planning and Zoning Commission early Tuesday passed the controversial plans to remake Parker Harding Plaza and pave over a portion of Jesup Green, with the chairman breaking with the board’s Democrats.

The incursion into Jesup’s high ground with tall trees was the town’s solution to replacing about 40 parking spots lost at Parker Harding by bringing it up to modern codes and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Even some P&Z members who voted for the project said they did not like that aspect of it. Yet, after more than six hours of discussion, the commission approved the 8-24 request and the Coastal Area Management site plan in identical split votes.

Republicans John Bolton, Patrizia Zucaro and Michael Calise were joined by Paul Lebowitz, the commission chair, voting in favor. Lebowitz, an unaffiliated voter, was elected with Democrats’ support.

Democrats Nicole Laskin, Michael Cammeyer and Neil Cohn voted against.

Several downtown merchants and restaurateurs spoke against the Parker Harding plans, and the recent move to restrict much of downtown’s parking to three-hour limits.

They were countered by downtown property owners David Waldman and Roger Leifer, who praised the plan and urged its passage.

“We want, together, to move forward,” First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker told the commission before the vote.

“Make some improvements downtown on infrastructure that are desperately needed,” she said. “And the community has been clear about that, that improvements are very much, desperately needed in Parker Harding.”

Laskin appreciated all the time many people had put into the plan, but said, “I don’t think this is the solution. I really don’t.”

“My comment from the last time was that we need to hear from the merchants, I think we have done that tonight … I don’t think the merchants are for this,” she said. “I don’t think most of the public is for this. For those reasons I don’t support it.”

“Losing a quarter, or a third — I’m not sure about the math — is very significant to me,” she said of using Jesup green for a terraced parking area. “I don’t think we’ve spent enough time talking about that and what that means.”

Zucaro said it was a difficult decision.

“We’ve heard a lot of testimony tonight,” she said. “It’s clear there are some business owners that feel very strongly about how this change will negatively impact their business. Unfortunately, I don’t necessarily agree with them.”

She said having downtown employees walk from the Imperial or Jesup lots was not a lot to ask and said the parking changes would create turnover.

She noted that the commission earlier took away several downtown spots by closing Church Lane for seasonal outdoor dining.

Bolton mentioned that as well, and that the previous version of the commission also voted to place a 20-year deed restriction on the Gillespie Center, which houses homeless people, right in the downtown area, “handcuffing” the town.

“Let’s move forward,” he said. “I think this plan has addressed every constituency that’s got a serious, legitimate concern with what’s going on with these parking lots.”

“We have a great opportunity to progress together, and I’d just love to see a bipartisan vote on this tonight, because there’s nothing about this that should really stop it at this point,” Bolton said. “It’s been worked on, it’s been refined, and it’s been doubly refined.”

 Cohn called it one of the most important votes the commission would make.

“We’re going to potentially adversely impact the grand list and vitality of our downtown,” he said.

“We’re talking about losing Jesup Green’s height, that hill, the majestic trees — it’s the gateway,” Cohn said. “That’ll be gone.”

He was uneasy about promises being kept in future phases.

“No boards can enforce other boards,” he said. “So, we can’t depend upon promises, and we definitely can’t depend upon magical thinking.”

Michael Cammeyer agreed it was a tough decision.

“No one disagrees we need to fix Parker Harding,” he said. “The question is, do we do it at the cost of losing Jesup, part of Jesup?”

He quoted some lines from the Plan of Conservation and Development about preserving open space and using it only when there were no alternatives.

“We haven’t unturned every stone,” Cammeyer said.

He noted that the addition of a parking deck at the Baldwin Lot off Elm Street was mentioned by many people as a potential fix.

“We heard in the first meeting that it was 30 to 80 million dollars. And they said, no-no-no, that was wrong, I apologize,” Cammeyer said of Downtown Plan Implementation Committee Chairman Randy Herbertson’s earlier cost estimate. Herbertson later retracted that estimate.

Later estimates by others started around $6 million, and perhaps costing twice that because … Fairfield County.

“I think we can do a more efficient use existing spaces without cutting into the green space,” Cammeyer said.

Calise said he’d been down Main Street and through Parker Harding numerous times recently. Most of the spots were filled, he said, except for the lower area of Baldwin Lot.

“With all those people in the center of Westport, I did not see one person in the green space,” he said. “No adults, no children, no pets, nothing.”

“Basically, everybody was there to shop,” he said.

“I don’t think we should be approaching these parking areas with as much zest for green space, but rather a zest for the merchants,” he said. “Running a small business is hard and parking is a critical part of running a small business.”

“But in this instance, I think the administration has done the very best they could do, given the parameters that were placed for them,” he said.

“The public didn’t say, ‘we want as much parking as possible,’” he said of surveys. “The public said we want green space, and they tried to create a compromise.”

He said he’d vote in favor because, “We’ve got to move forward. We can’t keep holding up the administration and throwing down roadblocks. We’ve gotta get rolling.”

At that point in the discussion, it appeared the application might fail, because three were in favor, and three against. Only the chair, Lebowitz, had yet to speak.

When he did, he began with harsh criticism of the plan, and the administration’s approach in shepherding it through.

“Truly, I think the process was awful,” he said. “And I’m hoping that in the future, the administration will look at what has occurred, not only on this but what has occurred on several previous applications … understand, going to five boards before us, it’s just not a good path.”

“As far as Parker Harding is concerned, I’m not in favor of what you’ve brought us,” Lebowitz said. “If I’m going to give a positive vote, I’m going to put conditions in there.”

He then discussed terms with Town Attorney Ira Bloom suggesting language that had been discussed in communications that P&Z Director Mary Young said was in the members’ packet.

Laskin asked to speak.

“I just don’t understand when we decided that we weren’t going to listen to the merchants or the public,” Laskin said. “I just don’t get it.”

“We aren’t listening to the public, we are listening to a select few and this flies in the face of everything that we do,” she said. “This is appalling to me.”

Votes were then taken on the 8-24 request, and CAM site plan. The conditions and recommendations were:

• That 40 spaces would be added at Jesup to replace spots lost at Parker Harding.
• The net total of green space at Jesup should be more than exists now by the end of phase 2.
• The town must make its best efforts to push the state Department of Transportation to make the crosswalks across Post Road East near the lots as safe and visible as possible.
• Snow must be removed promptly from the parking areas so spaces aren’t lost (suggested by Cammeyer, who still voted against).
• The town pursues a way to provide downtown employees with stickers for their cars so they don’t get ticketed.

The Representative Town Meeting will discuss a related request, to appropriate $630,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the design and permitting for redevelopment of Jesup Green and the Imperial parking lots, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Town Hall auditorium. The meeting also will be streamed online.

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.