By Thane Grauel­­

WESTPORT — Mark Lazar, who long refused to vacate his rental house on Hiawatha Lane Extension to make way for a 157-unit apartment complex, has reached a settlement with his landlord.

Lazar’s effort to fight eviction was one of two obstacles remaining in the way of Summit Saugatuck LLC’s plan to level eight houses and erect three apartment buildings with 157 units, 30 percent of them affordable.

Lazar, contacted last week, said he could not comment. His lawyer and the lawyers for Summit Saugatuck did not respond to requests for comment.

Court filings show Lazar has been offered $20,000, under certain conditions.

Among them:

• Vacate 42 Hiawatha Lane Extension and return the keys by 9 a.m. Sept. 1.

• Clear all motor vehicles and scrap metal from the property.

• Sign an affidavit stating he has never disposed of hazardous materials, including motor oil, on the property (Lazar has a mobile car repair business).

• Drop his application for a stay of leave (which already has been done), and waive any right to reopen the case.

Lazar told the Westport Journal in February that he knew he would have to leave his rental home eventually, but wanted more time to find an affordable rent (like the $1,800 a month he pays on Hiawatha). 

“Five years ago, you could find another ranch for $1,800, maybe not in Westport …” he said in February. “But now, the market has skyrocketed so tremendously.”

Lazar said at the time he had discussions with a Summit Saugatuck property manager, and believed he’d get reasonable notice to leave once the time came, rather than “the heave-ho.”

A crew has already been preparing several of the houses around Lazar’s rental for demolition.

Chain-link fencing, including swinging gates, has been erected at the bottom of the street.

With his departure, the last impediment to Summit Saugatuck’s development is a lawsuit filed by several neighbors, who believe that several properties in the project are were deed-restricted for single-family use many decades ago.

Their lawsuit was rebuffed by a trial-court judge, but an appeal was filed July 11.

The town is eager to let the Hiawatha Lane development go through, because it will add many units to its stock of housing deemed “affordable” under the state’s 8-30g legislation. The law gives developers leverage to push projects through in municipalities with less than 20 percent of their housing stock deemed affordable. Westport is below that threshold, and is seeking an extension of a state-granted moratorium.

Thane Grauel, the Westport Journal executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Learn more about us here.