By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The town might soon have a hotel again.

After numerous application revisions to address concerns of neighbors, a plan to replace the Westport Inn was approved Monday night by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The old Westport Inn at 1595 Post Road East, mothballed during the pandemic, is now set to return as a boutique hotel for Delamar, a chain with properties in Connecticut and beyond. The nearest is located in the Southport section of Fairfield.

On Monday, the P&Z approved a text amendment to zoning regulations to accommodate the new plans, and also granted site plan approval. The existing structure will be redone in a “New England-style” design, with a new wing.

The former Westport Inn, which had been in business since the 1960s, had nearly 120 guest rooms at the time it was shuttered.

The 3.8-acre property was sold for $5 million on Nov. 4, 2020, to WI Associates LLC, 265 Post Road West, according to the town Assessor’s Vision Appraisal data base. 

Applications to develop the new hotel were represented by Rick Redniss of Redniss and Mead and Bruce Beinfield of Beinfield Architects.

Redniss and his team noted the new hotel would have fewer units than the existing structure, less building coverage and site coverage, more green areas, less traffic, improved architecture and keep established native trees as buffers.

He said that among the changes to the plans to address neighbors’ concerns is elimination of an outdoor pool, and any outdoor music would end by 10 p.m. Also gone from an earlier version are condo units that were initially proposed.

The landscaping plans now have all native trees, including pin oaks and white spruces.

Commission members were generally pleased with the plan, but had some questions about the height of the roof, and wording of the text amendment to protect against a future owner testing the boundaries. Several conditions were requested.

Chairwoman Danielle Dobin had a concern about future changes by the General Assembly to the state’s affordable housing legislation, and asked if the applicants would agree to making the property, should it ever be converted from a hotel to a rental property, having 20 percent of the units deed-restricted as affordable.

Some commission members had a positive opinion about Delamar’s other locations, and said having a hotel again in Westport is a needed amenity.

Only one member of the public spoke on the issue during Monday’s Zoom meeting.

Peter Perry, who lives on neighboring Oakview Lane and is the president of its neighborhood association, said, “We were very concerned about its being turned over, and wanted to make sure that the new owners were going to be as amicable as we’ve had in the past over at the Westport Inn.”

He said Redniss and others had answered their concerns.

“From what I’m hearing so far, everything sounds really good,” he said.

Planning and Zoning Director Mary Young noted the number of revisions to the plans after the applicant’s work with neighbors. Read the staff report here.

Redniss, after conferring with his clients and team during a break, agreed to all of the conditions for approval.

The wording was to be worked out by P&Z staff, and reviewed by commission members.

Member Patrizia Zucaro, not a fan of text amendments in general, said she was in favor of the plan. But she was not comfortable voting on the text amendment without first seeing the final language.

She was the lone vote against the text amendment.

The commission’s vote to approve the site plan was unanimous.

Thane Grauel, executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.