By Thane Grauel
WESTPORT — A structure cloaked in blue sheathing on Old Mill Beach, mothballed for years by legal wrangling and considered an eyesore by neighbors, might soon emerge from its cocoon.
The property at 233 Hillspoint Road earlier in life was home to a series restaurants, including Café De La Plage and most recently Positano’s.
A few years ago, a large house was being built on the site when construction apparently strayed from what had been approved by town agencies.
That didn’t sit well with neighbors, or town officials. In December 2019, a stop-work order was issued by the Building Department shortly after zoning officials had revoked the zoning permit and issued a cease-and-desist order.
Since then, the elevated blue box has sat idle, surrounded by chain-link fencing.
Not much has been heard about plans for the structure recently.
The unfinished building has been on the Blight Prevention Board’s radar for some time.
The group discussed the property briefly at its meeting last week, when it was revealed that plans have been updated and submitted to the town.
Michelle Onofrio of the Building Department said at Thursday’s meeting that an updated application has been filed.
“They are redesigned and resubmitted,” Onofrio said.
She said Building Official Steve Smith told her it will be discussed by the Zoning Board of Appeals at the May 10 meeting.
The ZBA has a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. that day, but the agenda has not yet been posted.
There are documents on the town’s website.
On April 5, local lawyer Eric Bernheim of FLB Law wrote to the ZBA, on behalf of the property owner 233 LLC, in documents hand-delivered to the Planning and Zoning Department. The paperwork includes a notice stating he is requesting approval for a variance and demolition of an existing chimney, an existing conditions survey, site development plans and a comparison of plans, among other issues.
“The modifications requested do not increase the scope or bulk of any variance originally granted and are merely cosmetic changes to the plans originally approved as part of the initial ZBA approval,” an applicant statement filed with the town reads.
That documents list aesthetic modifications, among them are:
• The number, size and locations of windows.
• The type of stone for the stone veneer of the foundation.
• Some siding on east elevation will have fiber cement siding rather than cedar shingles.
• Removal of a spiral staircase.
• Windows instead of vents for atop the cupola.
To see the comparison of the plans previously approved and what is sought, click here.
Anybody that walks the beach knows this house, but not the story. Thank you
The owner of this site and structure violated the Town permits in many, many ways and the Town properly directed the owner to stop work. The owner appealed the stop work order, then sought approval for the violative structure, then sought approval for a somewhat modified structure and when turned down by the ZBA sued the Town. The litigation was not actively pursued by the owner and now the ZBA is being asked to approve the latest version. Most likely, the ZBA will consider this filing to be a totally new request and, as such, will be able to cause the owner to do the right thing.
Don Bergmann
It’s very sad that this monster house was approved in the first place.
The building represents the lack of respect for the town and its history. Rather than adding to the community, it destroys it. It should be torn down and replaced with a building that fits the neighborhood.
How much nicer it would be to have a restaurant with a patio in the space where that monstrosity of a house is going up. I hope the neighbors whose objections made that restaurant’s expansion impossible have learned something.
The town blew it on this one. Assuming that a restaurant was no longer viable the town should have bought the property, demolished whatever, planted grass and left it alone.