By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Blight Prevention Board voted Thursday to increase the daily fine on 233 Hillspoint Road from $100 a day to $250.

The move came after months of frustration trying to get owners to finally cover the blue house wrap and bring it into conformance with approved plans, and years of legal entanglements between various owners, neighbors, and the town and its boards, commissions and lawyers.

“I have the following motion that I’d like board members to consider,” said blight board Chairman Joseph Strickland. “The board moves to increase the civil penalty to 233 Hillspoint to $250 per day, effective immediately as permitted by public act 23-33 and town code section 14-68.”

“Have we talked to the Town Attorney’s Office about this?” asked member Stephen “Rick” Burke.

“The wording came directly from the town attorney,” Strickland replied.

“At the hundred dollars a day it’s X, and from this day forward it goes to $250 a day,” Strickland said of the fines that have been accumulating. A tally was not mentioned, but the board first voted to impose fines at its June 8 meeting.

Strickland had asked if any representatives for the property were present at the online meeting, and no one was present except Mary Gai, a real estate broker listing the property. She said she should speak last.

The board voted quickly to boost the fines, and Gai appeared frustrated she didn’t get to talk before the vote.

She said the property has been under contract (her listing has the price at $7.9 million), but the closing keeps getting delayed.

“It’s been in contract for several months,” Gai told the board. “And the buyer is a nice guy, he keeps pushing out the date. It doesn’t really have much to do with my client it has to do with just the attorneys talking now and trying to figure out what the best thing to do is.”

She said her client offered to side the house twice, “but was turned down twice by the town.”

“And then he was subject to neighbors’ lawsuits, an errant builder, who he had to sue, and the pandemic has not been taken into consideration whatsoever in this scenario at all,” Gai said. “Nor have the supply chain issues …”

“The cupola was approved, and the neighbors made him take it down,” Gai said. “He’s been subject to a lot of harassment, and I’ve been subject to harassment myself.”

“We understand all your emotional feelings, but …” Strickland said.

“It was sold twice” Gai told him. “Once at the end of 2022, and then again in May, and it hasn’t closed yet.”

“The homeowner wasn’t able to do what he needed to do,” she said.

“Well that’s unfortunate,” Strickland said.

“Is a building site supposed to subject to blight, initially?” she asked.

“When it’s left in the condition that it was left in for so long, yes,” Strickland said. “And the fact that it’s been covered in blue paper for so long, yes.”

“And the fact that the town refused to let him side it?” Gai asked.

“The town refused to let him side it because he violated the Planning and Zoning and the Zoning Board of Appeals,” Strickland said.

“Mary, you’re going back, way back,” Building Assistant Michelle Onofrio told Gai.

“Yeah, the pandemic was three years,” Gai replied.

Strickland had enough of the arguing.

“The building stands blighted, the fine is $250 a day going forward, I hope it closes soon so that number doesn’t get too high,” Strickland said. “No history is going to change the story, there’s been plenty of opportunities on both sides that have not been taken.”

“Forgive me, but the pandemic has not been taken …,” Gai said.

“The pandemic is not an excuse,” Strickland said. “We’ve got builders, I’m an architect, materials were available and there was more than just building materials and supply chain issues, there were windows that needed to be moved, there was actually labor that needed to be completed to move windows, that’s an excuse that is very weak.”

Strickland corrected Gai about neighbors making the owner take the cupola down.

“The Zoning Board of Appeals did,” he told her.

“The building is under a $250 a day fine, and that runs until it closes, and that fine will follow the property and it will be settled at the closing table,” Strickland said.

Onofrio pointed out that the parties involved were contacted and invited to the meeting, but did not show.

“The new owner said he was going to come, and he didn’t,” Onofrio said.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.