By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT —Non-residential buildings soon may be allowed to build balconies overlooking the Saugatuck River.

Planning and Zoning Commission members on Thursday appeared supportive of a text amendment proposed by lawyer Eric Bernheim on behalf of the owner of 33 Riverside Ave., a four-story office building across the river from the Jesup Green.

Balconies would have to be on the river-facing side and could not extend more than 10 feet from a building, encompassing no more than 500 square feet in all. They cannot be covered with a roof, but umbrellas or retractable awning would be permitted.

Drainage from the balconies would have to be tied into the building’s stormwater system, which must be able to handle the flow.

Buildings also would have to be adjacent to the river in a non-residential zone.

How many balconies would be allowed on any building has yet to be decided.

“One may be too restrictive, two sounds like a more reasonable number,” said Planning and Zoning Director Mary Young, noting that was allowed when the Saugatuck Center district was created.

“One of my concerns is whether we’re opening a floodgate here,” said P&Z member Marc Levey. 

Member Patrizia Zucaro asked why residential properties weren’t included.

“How come this wasn’t extended to residential properties? I feel like we’re giving the benefit only to commercial properties, and there’s plenty of houses on the waterfront that would love to have balconies,” she said.

“The proposal, as submitted, is narrowly written to benefit only 32 properties located in non-residential districts adjacent to the Saugatuck River,” Young said. 

Adding residential properties to the proposed amendment could raise more concerns, including setbacks, she said, “and that would be something that may not be as warmly received as this amendment as proposed seems to have been thus far.”

Bernheim said he proposed only commercial properties fall within the text amendment’s jurisdiction because his client owns a commercial property.

“My experience coming before this commission for years and years is, if you start to get too aggressive with your request, then you start to open up Pandora’s box,” Bernheim said. 

There was no public input on the proposal.

However receptive the commission members appeared during the hearing, a few hours later — after extended discussion about another issue — some still had questions about the balcony issue. They delayed a vote until at least the next P&Z meeting, now set for Nov. 4.