A view of the Saugatuck River from the Cribari Bridge - Photo WestportWiki
A view of the Saugatuck River from the Cribari Bridge – Photo WestportWiki

By Kerri Williams

WESTPORT–With a jam-packed agenda Monday that included an executive session regarding the Apple Montessori school litigation, the Planning & Zoning Commission discussed new modifications to the state’s Coastal Area Management regulations and approved a controversial excavation-and-fill application.

Coastal Area Management

On Oct. 1, new regulations regarding Coastal Area Management went into effect state-wide. The commission briefly discussed the new regulations, which require that all new single-family dwellings in the coastal area boundary to obtain a Coastal Site Plan Review. Previously, most single-family homes had been exempt from the regs.

“It means we will be seeing many more coastal site plans,” said Michelle Perillie, director of Planning & Zoning. Commissioners agreed that Perillie should draft an amendment so that the department will comply with the new act.

The new act would require all new single-family homes within 1,000 feet of the water to be reviewed. Contacted after the meeting, Lisa Feinberg, a partner at the Stamford office of law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey, said the new regs may also apply to “major reconstruction projects, teardowns and rebuilds.”

“Each town zoning commission will likely interpret the new statutory language differently. Westporters should contact their Planning and Zoning Department” before any major projects on dwellings within the CAM zone, Feinberg added.

46 Partrick Road

The commission unanimously approved the application for 46 Partrick Road, with the homeowner asking for authorization of an excavation and fill that had already been completed on the property.

When the application first came before the commission in September, Commission Chairman Paul Lebowitz stated his disapproval of such applications that come to the commission following an activity that is not allowed. “I am really, really upset,” Lebowitz said at the September meeting.

In contrast, Monday’s approval was a quick one, with the commission voting 5-1 to approve the application. The sole member voting nay was Michael Calise.

The application involved a non-exempt excavation and fill on the property, which is an area of town known for steep slopes. “We all want a really nice back yard,” Lebowitz said in September.

The commissioners closed the public hearing on the matter in September but did not vote. This came after Lebowitz said that in the past, commissioners would not make an immediate decision on such applications, forcing the property owner to come back an additional time, adding to their expense and time.

“I hope that the wait that they had to endure sent the message you wanted to impart,” Commissioner John Bolton said to Lebowitz before Monday’s vote.

6 Mayfair Lane

Commissioners also decided not to address a special permit request for authorizing grading at 6 Mayfair Lane, disappointing some who had come to talk about that application. The decision was in line with the board’s rule to not open new applications after 10:30 p.m. unless most of the members approve. Members agreed that Mayfair Lane should be first or second on the agenda at the commission’s next meeting, Oct. 27.

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