By Kerri Williams
WESTPORT–A new state housing law and a pending bill could have a big impact on the look of the town and the way the Planning & Zoning Commission plans and zones. And many are saying the changes would not be for the better.
“It’s opening a giant can of worms,” P&Z Chairman Paul Lebowitz, said during a Zoning Regulation Revision Subcommittee meeting on Wednesday. He was referring to Housing Bill 5507, pending legislation that would make it easier to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
Also discussed was Special Session Public Act 25-1, which streamlines the approval process for multi- family developments in many zoning districts, downgrading from a special permit and site plan approval with a public hearing to a simpler review carried out by town staff.
The bill regarding ADUs would require the town to allow at least one such unit on any single-family lot. Any current zones that limit or condition ADUs would be invalidated.
The bill would also prohibit Westport’s current rule requiring owner occupancy for ADUs, opening the door to investor-owned properties. While many accessory units are now used for a family member, the new legislation “opens it up way too wide,” Lebowitz said. Parking requirements would also be reduced to one space for the new unit.
The state is also shifting to larger ADUs, requiring each one to be a minimum size. They must be 30 percent of the floor area of the primary dwelling or 1,000 square feet, whichever is greater. While the town currently allows smaller ADUs of about 850 square feet, those would no longer be considered.
Westport also could not require stricter standards than single-family homes for: separation distance, height, or architecture when considering ADUs.
Several people spoke out against the bill at the meeting, saying it would allow for “a three-story ADU in your neighbor’s back yard.”
“We thought we were doing the right thing (by regulating ADUs)” Lebowitz said. “This takes everything we thought we knew and throws it out the window.”
Both Lebowitz and Elizabeth Wong, vice chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, urged townspeople to make a phone call to state legislators about the pending bill.
“It warrants picking up the phone and making a phone call,” Lebowitz said. “It doesn’t take much imagination to realize what it would look like as these rise up in people’s front or back yards.”
The committee also discussed how the P&Z would comply with Public Act 25-1. That legislation is meant to streamline the approval process for many multifamily developments, but several people noted that it cuts out the public hearing process where neighbors and townspeople can give feedback.
“In my years here, I have never seen anything that so substantially affects how we do business,” said P&Z Director Lebowitz.
Under the new act, a full site plan and special permit approval would be replaced by an administrative summary review without a public hearing, effectively cutting the public out of the process.
Lebowitz said the public hearing process allows neighbors to voice their concerns and for the commission to ask for compromises. “We might not get that in the future,” he said.
“It’s almost as if they don’t want us to zone,” Lebowitz added.
The act also calls for parking reductions for many developments.
The subcommittee plans to reconvene its discussions on the new public act on April 8, having the revisions ready for the town zoning regulations to be voted on in April or May.
Reaching your delegates:
Senator Ceci Maher (D-26)
860-240-0068
Maher@senatedems.ct.gov
Representative Dominique Johnson (D-143)
203-807-4599
Dominique.Johnson@cga.ct.gov
Representative Jonathan Steinberg (D-136)
(860) 240-0562
Jonathan.Steinberg@cga.ct.gov
Kerri Williams
Kerri Williams is an award-winning writer and journalist. She has worked as a reporter at the Norwalk Hour, as Living editor at the Darien News-Review, and managing editor for the Norwalk Citizen-News. For Westport Journal, she is a reporter as well as a gardening columnist, writing “Cultivating with Kerri.” She recently published her first children’s book – “Mabel’s Big Move,” based on her daughter with special needs.
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