By John Schwing

WESTPORT — A months-long debate over plans to re-subdivide property on Sylvan Road North — home to a century-old Tudor-style mansion — was settled quickly Monday by the Planning and Zoning Commission, in sharp contrast to fiery hearings previously held on the application.

After brief discussion, the five P&Z commissioners present voted unanimously to approve the revised application to re-subdivide the 3-acre property at 50 Sylvan Road North. The plan was filed by Rick Benson, well-known in local building and civic circles, on behalf of the owners, Sazes Partners. 

That parcel had been part of a larger tract that was  subdivided in 1961, which resulted in creation of about 20 building lots at the time.

The latest re-subdivision will create two lots that conform with size regulations in the AA residential zone — one at 1.8 acres will remain the site of the original 11,000-square-foot mansion and a new house will be constructed on the other lot of about 1.04 acres.

As a condition of approval, the commission voted to require the developer to make a payment in lieu of the regulations’ proviso that 10 percent of the overall property be set aside as open space.

The initial application, filed last January, was amended by Benson to combine two driveways proposed for each of the new lots into a single shared driveway. 

The proposal drew fire from neighbors primarily on grounds of traffic safety since the re-subdivided lots otherwise conform with zoning regulations. The revised driveway plan, they contended, still posed safety risks because of its proximity to Sylvan Farms Lane.

P&Z Chairman Paul Lebowitz said Monday that at the outset he felt “there was not much that would lead to a denial” of the re-subdivision application. And despite debate over what he called “weighty” issues — citing the driveway, sight lines and a stone wall — most had been resolved to his satisfaction over the course of the hearings.

Commission member Amy Wistreich said the proposal proved to be “a difficult application to work through,” citing among other things documents filed by both sides at the last minute for the panel’s review.

But, she added, “at the end of the day, both properties are conforming when they’re subdivided, so I really don’t feel we have an option other than to approve at this point.”

The commission, Wistreich said, tried to be “sensitive” to neighbors’ concerns about traffic and speeding, but noted those issues were beyond the P&Z’s purview in this case. She urged them to ask police to consider traffic-calming measures such as speed bumps, which she said have been an effective tool to address similar problems in her neighborhood.

Commissioner Neil Cohn wanted to ensure that if  the developer were required to set aside 10 percent of the property as open space, or in this case make a payment in lieu of that set-aside, the money be used in a “meaningful” way to expand the town’s inventory of open space.

The P&Z subsequently approved the requirement that payment be made in lieu of the open space set-aside, equivalent to 10 percent of the property’s value prior to re-subdivision.

Monday’s relatively brief discussion of the Sylvan North re-subdivision ended a saga that spanned nine months and several lengthy, contentious hearings.

Opponents and their lawyers, over the course of the hearings, submitted a series of requests for documents, under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, seeking communications between Benson and town staffers, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. (Visit the P&Z website to read a lengthy list of comments by dueling lawyers and the public.)

In particular, opponents contended, some of the communications indicated that First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, a neighbor, was kept apprised of developments.

They also sought Police Department data on accidents and speeding for Sylvan Road North to bolster their arguments that the project would pose greater risks to safety on the already-dangerous road.

P&Z members and zoning staff, however, said that speeding enforcement and other traffic-safety issues are not within their authority when deciding on a re-subdivision application that conforms with zoning regulations.

John Schwing, interim editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.