Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that Dara Lamb’s remarks at the meeting do not represent the views of the Saugatuck Island Special Taxing District, which has not taken an official stance on the “Hamlet” proposal.

By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Most members of the Architectural Review Board had something negative — sometimes, very negative — to say Tuesday about the “Hamlet” plans to rebuild the center of Saugatuck. 

But by the end of the board’s Town Hall meeting, members agreed with their chairman, Ward French, who said a text amendment approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2022 supersedes most of the board’s oversight role of the sweeping plans, beyond commenting on the architecture and design features. 

In that context, members decided to do their best to add input to those aspects of the project.

“We didn’t participate in the text amendment” that rezoned Saugatuck, paving the way for Roan Development Ventures to propose a huge project that includes 11 buildings, a marina and three hotels. “We never would have bought into that,” French said.

Disney World on the Saugatuck?

Board member Jackie Richardson said she feels like crying when she thinks how the Hamlet development could change Westport.

“You’ve got the biggest, loudest, brightest, huge cacophony of design in Westport, and it’s going to change our town,” she said. “You end up looking like Disney World.”

Jon Halper said everything seems too large in the plans presented by the development team, who brought six architects, builders and developers to the meeting. “We have to do whatever we can to break down the scale,” he said.

The developers described each of the proposed buildings one by one, first in a video, then Richard Kronick, of the architectural firm GKV, discussed them in detail using large photographs and samples of building materials to be used in construction.

New England aesthetic or over the top?

Although the various buildings were described as reflecting “a coastal New England feel” by the development team throughout the presentation, several board members called the structures’ different designs as “over the top” and said “it feels too strong, bring it down a notch.”

Traffic, commercial concerns

They all also agreed that an increase in traffic resulting from the project is a major concern. The developer’s response was that they plan to attract empty nesters and commuters to the residential buildings, presumably people who would be less likely to drive regularly and clog the roads. 

Other ways to reduce traffic are also definitely among the developers’ plans, said Eric Bernheim, the lawyer representing the developers. A report on planned traffic-mitigation measures by Roan’s traffic consultants to the P&Z contends the project would improve traffic flow through the often-congested area.

ARB members also thought the mix of distinctly designed buildings proposed for the Hamlet, interspersed with older smaller buildings, might look out of place.

Halper also said he is concerned the Saugatuck development might “suck all the retail from Main Street.”

As the meeting wore on, however, they praised the developer’s team of architects for their work on the project, which has been in the planning stages for three years, and for creating a project that may revitalize Saugatuck.

“I do like that it includes residential buildings; that’s how you’re creating a village,” said Vesna Herman.

“No project is perfect,” but …

One member of the public, Dara Lamb, read a statement asking that the developers consider certain problems the project could create, such as difficulty for emergency personnel to reach Saugatuck residents in heavy traffic and the environmental impact.

“I truly believe if the developers are willing to make some adjustments in scale and take the time to work together with town officials to come up with true solutions to the traffic and safety concerns voiced by the community, this development has the potential to be a win-win for everyone and for its investors,” she said in the statement.

“We support it. No project is perfect,” said French, summing up the meeting. “But we want to know more about it.”

The board asked the developers to provide more streetscape renderings that show both the proposed Hamlet structures and adjacent existing buildings that are not part of the project, and drawings that show building elevations.

The development team agreed, and French said that a virtual meeting will be scheduled for ARB members to review and discuss the additional material. 

The ARB can only make recommendations, he said, and did not vote on the Hamlet project.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.