Houses at 41 and 42 Hiawatha Lane Extension were two of six houses temporarily spared from demolition by the Historic District Commission to make way for a 157-unit apartment complex. / Photos by Thane Grauel

By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The developer of a Hiawatha Lane Extension apartment complex — entangled in controversy for years — was dealt a setback Tuesday when the Historic District Commission denied six of eight requests to waive a 180-day waiting period to demolish houses on the street.

Commission members noted the Hiawatha neighborhood houses are mid-century, middle-class dwellings, which are disappearing across town. 

The panel for years has lamented the loss of such houses as demolition requests have been made one by one around town. The eight houses discussed Tuesday constitute an entire neighborhood, members said.

Hiawatha Lane Extension is straddled by Interstate 95, the Metro-North tracks and the Norwalk city line.

Long, litigious history of apartment proposal

Asked about the legal background of the project, Peter Romano of LandTech, speaking on behalf of Summit Development, told commission members that the apartment project came about because of a state law known as 8-30g. That law allows developers greater leeway to build “affordable” housing projects when a town’s inventory of such units fails to meet a state-mandated threshold.

“It’s been going on nearly 20 years,” Romano said. “If a town has not fulfilled their obligation for affordable dwelling units in the town, then a developer has the right to come in under that scenario and suggest a housing development that essentially, he writes his own regulations.”

“It’s a challenging thing for the town. It’s a challenging thing for the developer … because the town has not fulfilled its obligation for affordable units developers can come in here.”

Romano said the town was granted a moratorium on 8-30g developments until it can develop a plan to bring more affordable housing to town.

Neighbors challenge settlement deal

The legal battle over the Hiawatha project was settled last summer when town officials and the developer signed off on a court-approved settlement that calls for reducing the proposed housing units from 187 to 157 in three buildings instead of five, plus a 3.1-acre conservation easement, reconstruction of the drainage culvert and drainage improvements, and pedestrian upgrades.

However, several neighbors filed a new lawsuit against Summit in October, contending the apartments would “irreparably harm” them through increased traffic, impeded roadways and other health and safety risks. There has been no resolution of that action.

“This is an approved development in the town of Westport through a court-stipulated approval,” Romano said when asked by Chairman William Harris if the project is a done deal.

“There’s no historical or architectural significance in any of these homes,” Romano said of the eight slated for demolition.

Commission weighs homes’ architectural, middle-class worth

“This is a larger discussion, we have to start some sort of mid-century preservation as well,” Harris said. “This is very typical of what would we call it, a middle-class Westport 1950s-’60s.

Harris said what is unique about the Hiawatha area is that it is one of the last such neighborhoods in Westport.

“I’ll just focus on these dwellings for what they are,” said commission member Martha Eidman. “These are disappearing from the face of Westport, and they do represent a style and a need for a group of people … it adds to the uniqueness and the character.”

“Our obligation is to defend the town of Westport’s historic inventory,” Harris said. “If we’re wrong, some legal beagle’s going to have to correct us.”

After 180-delay demolition delay, homes “will come down”

Romano said he didn’t understand the desire to save the Hiawatha houses.

“If the town had done its job and provided affordable housing for the residents of Westport and the surrounding areas, things like this would not have happened,” he said. 

“We all know they have no real architectural or historical significance to them. You’re going to delay it for 180 days, and you’re right, [after] 181 days these houses will come down,” Romano added.

The commission members voted to impose the 180-day delay on demolition for houses at 38, 39, 41, 42, 44 and 47 Hiawatha Lane Extension. They agreed that house at 43 and 45 Hiawatha have been altered so significantly they could razed.