By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — In what appears another sign of the times, the owners of a Canal Road home are seeking Zoning Board of Appeals approval to raise it to keep it safe from rising tides.

Heidi Schoeneck and Phil White of 24 Canal Road recently filed their application to raise the parking slab and add a permeable driveway. The variance request also seeks to raise the structure, and other modifications.

The property is bordered on three sides by marsh and in the front by Canal Road, which runs along a canal from Saugatuck Harbor.

The road at Saugatuck Shores frequently has saltwater over-topping it during full-moon high tides and storm surges. A high-tide line of sea straw can frequently be seen along the roadway.

“Due to rising tides, we are consistently taking on significant water inside the home and losing personal property & vehicles in the garage areas,” the two wrote in their application. “We are finding ourselves trapped in upper levels of the house during high tides, subjected to mold outbreaks and potential electrical fires. The lowest levels of the house have become unusable and unsafe.

“Our desire is to comply with FEMA base flood requirements by elevating the main house out of flooding areas, and give the street level of the house (including garages, storage, mudroom and entry) to mother nature for water egress/ingress. To do so we are proposing to abandon the garage as well as the ground floor home entry, storage area and living spaces. We want to move these uses to a higher elevation so people, cars & property are out of harm’s way.

“The proposed 27’x28’ one story addition includes a ground level carport (in lieu of a garage) which is approximately 30” higher than the existing garage floor, and hasn’t flooded over since we’ve lived here,” they wrote. “We also are proposing a modest first floor office space to house a home office/study with a roof-deck above.”

The ZBA has several upcoming meetings. It will next meet online at 6 p.m. April 25. An agenda is not yet posted. The Planning and Zoning Department staff has not posted a report on the recent application.

Thane Grauel, executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.