By Kerri Williams
WESTPORT – Following months of deliberation, the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved a text amendment to pave the way for affordable housing units in existing buildings at town-owned Baron’s South.
In a 6-1 vote, commissioners approved text amendment 849, which allows for converting four buildings on the 22-acre property into 12 affordable housing units. The Golden Shadows mansion is not one of the buildings slated for conversion. The text amendment will take effect in two weeks, on July 7.
The lone commissioner to vote against the amendment, Michael Calise, said he wanted more time to review the text amendment and to make changes before moving forward. “This is a big application that will have a lasting impact,” he said.
Calise, as well as other members of the board, had earlier stated concerns that adding affordable housing on the property would take away from the open space at Baron’s South that is enjoyed by town residents.
In subsequent meetings, commissioners ironed out a way to provide the housing units while still preserving open space there. Included in the final text amendment was the statement, “when this text was amended, the goal was to provide residential existence on the perimeter of the property while maintaining open space and recreation on the interior for the benefit of all members of the community.”
After a last look at the wording of the text amendment on Monday, commissioners other than Calise said they were ready to vote. Commissioners Patrizia Zucaro and Michael Cammeyer, who were not at Monday’s meeting, helped to edit several portions of the amendment to make it read more clearly.
Commissioner Neil Cohn said,“I think this accomplishes what we were concerned about by keeping open space in the middle” of the property.
In past meetings, Planning and Zoning Director Michelle Perillie and Town Attorney Ira Bloom laid out how the proposal would bring the town closer to meeting affordable housing goals as defined in a state-mandated plan.
Bloom added that not pursuing affordable housing on the property could lead to legal troubles for the town, partly because the town’s new Affordable Housing Committee recommended the Baron’s South open space as a possible site for affordable housing when drafting its plan.
On Monday, P&Z Chairman Paul Lebowitz pointed out that the housing units at Baron’s South will be 100 percent deed restricted.
The original proposal had called for 19 affordable housing units, which was lowered to 12 when the Golden Shadows Mansion was taken out of consideration for renovation. The vacant mansion is the one-time home of Walter Langer von Langendorff, former Austrian baron and the chemist who founded Evyan Perfumes.
The idea of affordable housing on Baron’s South was first introduced in 2023 and subsequently reviewed and revised at several meetings of the P&Z’s Affordable Housing Subcommittee. The property is largely unchanged since the town acquired it as open space in 1999.
Kerri Williams
Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.
How is the issue of ingress and egress going to be dealt with?
I believe police and fire already said the access to the site is too narrow for a fire truck, did they not ?
I understand the buildings are all 2 stories.
Though I’ve read have they have basements and attics. Perhaps utilities can go in the basements and attics.
I presume we are not building actual affordable housing units in basements and attics.
I hope that is clearly stated.
Will the developer who does this work, be able to come back and state, during or before an application, that regrettably it is cheaper, more efficient, aka, more profitable for them, to demo these, and build new. After all that was the argument at long lots ? Rebuild cheaper than renovate.
In the interest of transparency and absolute clarity, I sincerely hope any site plan passed will be clear, that they must rehab the interiors of these “4” buildings with 2 usable floors, ( not more) and not knock them down.
There should be no coming back crying about unforeseen circumstances. NO demo job, which I suspect will be the intent from day 1.
The devil is going to be in the details.
Can someone explain “affordable housing “ we hear that term every time a developer wants to put together a project, if someone makes $40,000 a year is it affordable to them or if someone down sizes, sells their house for let’s say over a million dollars it would be “affordable “ to them or?
Thanks in advance for your help
I voted against the Baron South proposal because it comprised an unnecessary intrusion of open space. Barons South and Winslow are a green belt across the center of our town and should never be disturbed. To attempt to utilize this important green space for housing is an incredibly bad idea, especially when there are many affordable housing opportunities outside of our green space. It is truly unfortunate that our First Selectwomen and Town attorney have chosen to pursue this route. I am upset with the fact that our Town Attorney, in fear,,, actually advised the P & Z to vote in favor. It was, in my opinion, what amounted to, a weak-kneed political act
Another example of conflicted legal advice. I just do not understand how our independent elected bodies allow themselves to take counsel from the applicant’s attorney… on so many matters. Mind boggling.