by Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT–The Representative Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to overturn both the Flood and Erosion Control Board (FECB) and Conservation Commission’s decisions to approve the Hamlet at Saugatuck’s development application. 

The RTM’s vote to reverse the project approvals were based on procedural mishaps, and not on the environmental boards’ failure to appropriately review the plans, several speakers said at the RTM meeting. RTM members said they were particularly concerned that the FECB didn’t open for public discussion its June 4 meeting until June 5 at 1 a.m. and closed the public hearing at 2 a.m., not realizing that it could not be re-opened another day, Town Attorney Ira Bloom told the RTM.

Mistakes were made

“What seems to be clear to me is that the Flood Board did not wish to close the hearing, they wanted to allow more time to allow for the Alliance [for Saugatuck] or others to submit a professional report,” Bloom said. “Because of the late hour, they basically misunderstood their options so they closed the hearing and proceeded to go forward – they made mistakes.”

Grass root petitions

In July, Dara Lamb of the Alliance for Saugatuck petitioned the RTM to review and reject the Hamlet approvals granted by the FECB and Conservation Commission on environmental and procedural grounds. Last week, two committees of the RTM voted to recommend that the full RTM reject those approvals. 

To decide the matter, the full RTM held a special meeting last night.

Petitioner Dara Lamb of the Alliance for Saugatuck presented her organization’s case.

According to Lamb, the Flood and Erosion Control Board’s review was too narrow, and did not provide enough evidence that the project would not adversely impact the environment, she said. Environmental risks during construction and long-term risks were not addressed adequately by the board, and procedural flaws included the too late and too short public hearing.

The Alliance’s recommendations to improve the Hamlet plans include building a seawall to protect the Saugatuck River from contaminated ground water, and requiring the development plan meet requirements for protection from a 100-year flood.

People weren’t heard

“I think we have to overturn it; there’s no other way,” Karen Kramer of District 5, said at the meeting. “We’ve been getting zillions of letters – the people don’t want it. They weren’t heard. We should reverse it.”

Kristin Schneeman, District 9, said, “I don’t think these decisions were incorrectly made, just bad practice, just a bad idea starting at 1 a.m. and ending at 2 a.m.,” she said. “This is one of the biggest projects ever in town. It doesn’t seem like this was conducted in an appropriate way for such an important decision.”

The public did not get enough opportunity to speak at the Flood and Erosion Board meeting, agreed Matt Mandell, representative from District 1. “The public did not get that opportunity – we as a municipal body cannot let that happen. We are a body that allows the public to speak.”

The RTM voted to overturn the FECB’s approval by 29 in favor and three against. It voted to overturn the Conservation Commission’s approval by 28 in favor and four against.

Bloom said that Roan now has the option to submit an application again to both the FECB and the Conservation Commission. “They can reapply,” he said. “They could do it soon – next week, next month or wait until the pending litigation is resolved.” The court case against the town could take a year or more, he added.

WPLO: “flawed”

Westport enacted a Waterway Protection Lines Ordinance (WPLO) in 1981, only one of two towns in the state with that ordinance to help protect the town’s waterways from pollution and flooding. The other town in Connecticut with a WPLO is Gloucester, Bloom said. The WPLO “is a flawed ordinance, and we have known it for years,” according to Bloom. The town needs to update the ordinance, he said.

On Sept. 24, the day before the RTM meeting, Attorney Eric Bernheim, representing the developer, pleaded in a letter written to all RTM members not to overturn the environmental boards’ approval of the Hamlet project. “There is no logical basis to overturn the WPLO approvals,” he said in the letter. “The Petitioners have yet to submit any expert testimony contrary to the proposal … Every expert that has reviewed these plans has approved them and indicated that they are in compliance with all applicable regulations and laws.”

Roan Development Venture’s application for the Hamlet was rejected by the P&Z in late July; the developer challenged that decision via a lawsuit a week later.

Read more Westport Journal coverage of the Hamlet

• RTM committees recommend reversal of Hamlet’s environmental approvals
• What were they thinking? RTM probes Hamlet process
• P&Z votes no to executive session on Hamlet
• P&Z delays decision on public vs. private Hamlet talks

Gretchen Webster

^{_{Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, has reported for the daily Greenwich Time and Norwalk Hour, the weekly Westport News, Fairfield Citizen and Weston Forum. She was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman for ten years. She has won numerous journalism awards over the years, and taught journalism at New York University and Southern Connecticut State University.}}