By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The newest owners of 233 Hillspoint Road, aka “the blue house,” have been given a time extension to complete exterior work to the structure perched prominently over Old Mill Beach.

The Zoning Board of Appeals voted Tuesday to give Summit Westport LLC until Aug. 6 to side over the blue house wrap that has vexed the neighborhood for several years.

The beachside property, in recent decades a home to restaurants, was converted to a residential dwelling several years ago. But a developer strayed beyond the approved plans and stop-work orders, lawsuits, including one brought by neighbors, ensued.

The latest owner, Summit Westport LLC, purchased the property in January for $4.5 million and settled some $36,000 in blight violation fines accrued by the previous LLC owner. Summit also inherited a stipulated agreement stemming from a lawsuit brought by neighbors.

Summit asked for some tweaks to the agreed-upon plan, and in April the ZBA approved them.

“What we did was the modification permitted that the roof design could be altered on the right side, they could put the original room or the little addition on the back which we originally approved back in 2018, but we had set a date,” ZBA Chairman Ezzes said. “That the house had to be completed on the exterior, not the interior, but the exterior, which included the siding, the roof and that little addition on the right side.”

The deadline for that work was to be July 2, Ezzes said.

“There was a slight glitch in his process,” Ezzes said of James Pendry of Summit Westport LLC, “and it was his responsibility to get the neighbors who are part of this lawsuit to sign the modification and one was missing. So that’s where the expiration has occurred.”

“So, what we’re here tonight to do is discuss … an extension of what we originally approved in April,” Ezzes said at Tuesday’s meeting.

The discussion between Pendry and the board appeared bumpy at times.

“Mr. Pendry, the unfortunate thing here is we gave you three months to do all of this and you did none of it,” Ezzes said. “And we’re now asking you again, realistically … don’t tell us what we want to hear, tell us what’s true.”

“I’m trying to give you an aggressive answer,” Pendry replied. “Obviously, I could tell you January 2029 if I wanted to, but I’m trying to give you an aggressive answer because all of us have been waiting five years to see this completed.”

“If you want to make sure I’m absolutely, positively going to be done then I think eight weeks or even ten weeks,” Pendry said.

Member Sheri Gordon asked if the siding and roofing could be separated from the other more problematic work (including an enclosed front entry stairway that will require steelwork) and done in 30 days, “only because the neighbors in the neighborhood have been waiting and waiting for this to get done.”

“I’ll have both the trim for the windows and the siding done within 30 days,” Pendry said.

Ezzes liked Gordon’s suggestion.

“I think the neighbors are more upset about the fact that it’s the blue house,” he said. “And they’re getting very, very upset about it. The windows have all been done there, so they’re in place and they can be trimmed and sided and the place won’t look like the wrath of God over there.”

He was on board with giving 30 days to trim and side the house, and another four weeks to complete the front entry and the side. The board’s vote was unanimous.

The house must be sided by Aug. 6. The remaining work must be completed by Sept. 2.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.