The last time we checked in with the Beltas, the family had closed their farm.
Since 1946, the 23-acre Bayberry Lane site just south of Cross Highway had been worked by 4 generations of Beltas. They raised poultry (and for a while, livestock). They grew corn, herbs and flowers. They ran a farm stand in summer. At one point, they supplied Stew Leonard’s with a ton of tomatoes a day.
An aerial view of the former Belta’s Farm shows fields, greenhouses, a compost pile (near the top), and two homes (bottom).
But the 4th generation is now in their 60s and 70s. Their children and grandchildren are not farmers. Last year, the Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously approved a plan to subdivide the farm into 9 building lots.
That’s a not-unusual Westport story. Yet what’s happening now is unusual.
Greg, Jimmy and Connie Belta Caruso are not taking the money and running. They’re slowly crafting a plan for 7 new homes. They’re maintaining almost 5 acres of open space. They’re grading the property with a keen eye to runoff, including a retention pond. They’re reusing nearly everything they can, from wood to stone. They’re planting dozens of trees.
And they’re keeping 2 lots for themselves. They’ll continue to live on the land they have loved for so long.
The Belta brothers, on their newly paved road, near what will be building lots.
As with any building project, there are delays. Supply chain issues meant it took nearly 4 months for utilities to run their lines. That’s finally done. The first phase of paving the new Beltas Farm Lane followed, allowing access for builders and realtors.
There has been plenty of interest, including national firms. The 7 lots range in size up to 3 acres — rare in Westport.
The family believes that tying up all the lots in one entity is not the best route for development. As lifelong Westporters, the Beltas favor Westport builders, designers and realtors. “They know and love the town as we do,” Connie says.
The homes are being offered on the retail market, direct to buyers who want to build their dream home. It’s more difficult and expensive for the Beltas, but they think it will produce a much more desirable outcome. In an uncertain market, they are prepared to wait for the right buyers.
Nearly 20 percent of the 23 acres will remain as open space. It’s on the north side of the property, near Cross Highway.
For now, the Beltas are taking their time. The brothers are removing 75 years of things — chicken coops, tractors, plows, topsoil — from the land, themselves. “No one ever threw anything away,” Jimmy notes.
“It’s a slower way of doing things,” Greg adds. “Any builder would have come in and bulldozed all this already.”
A few of the dozens of trees the Beltas are planting. (Photos/Dan Woog)
There’s been visible progress. A handsome stone entrance has replaced the former farm stand, at the bottom of the Bayberry Lane hill. It’s built entire from the Beltas’ fieldstone. (Their grandfather, a mason, came to the US at 18 from Italy.)
White cedar has been repurposed into fence posts, and birdhouses at the wetlands.
Every day, work continues. “But there’s only two of us,” Jimmy says. “We don’t want deadlines.”
What a gift to the community!
I knew there was a reason I liked this family!
Thank you, guys, for givng a damn and for acting on it. The town owes you.
How much of the 5 acres was already wet land? I thought I read that there was a bit of wet land on this property and that there were major drainage and run-off concerns. How much of the 5 acres was really a gift versus had to be maintained as unbuildable to be able to do any development on the property?
I think it is quite a distortion to portray the addition of 9 huge (we can assume) houses with 9 septic systems as environmentally sensitive land stewardship. Much if not all of what is described here, from “open space” to drainage improvements to planting trees, are required by zoning and related regs. I have no issue with the owners cashing out, and I hope that their development will in fact be more responsible than the slash and burn tactics of Westport’s spec builders (for that reason, the suggestion they’ll use Westport builders sets off alarm bells. Look elsewhere – we’re cursed with some of the worst builders in the region.) But let’s speak plainly and honestly about what’s happening here – 9 new huge houses is not a win for the environment.
Dan might have a career in PR!
I enjoyed the spirit of this update. Taking it slow, being thoughtful, not rushing to riches — that is nice to read about in our era.
As a person whose neighborhood was ‘flipped’ — within 5 years the old 1940s capes and trees were gone and replaced by nearly identical big homes — my feeling is that space, charm, and wilderness often get lost in the zeal for the deal.
I have to add, though, we gained genuinely wonderful new neighbors. This is a bright side that we sometimes forget in our criticism of things changing around us. Our neighborhood feeling is lively and caring, and for that I’m truly grateful.
My husband and I cherish our 1940s cape. We are slowly converting our property to native plants and the back yard to pollinator-friendly meadow. The cozy house is just right for us as empty-nesters. Around us, kids are playing and new families get acquainted. They’ve planted their own new trees, and the neighborhood will evolve in its own way.
At the end of the day, sustainable development is a worthy goal for our town. I applaud those who take the extra time to work in harmony with the land, the history, and charm of Westport.
Bravo, thank you for the update. The word ‘development’ has become synonymous with ‘cheap, ugly, thoughtless,..’ etc. This sounds like the opposite. Even though I wish it were true, man can not live on tomatoes alone. Bread,…debatable. And ultimately preserving 5 acres of open space is to be applauded.
We moved here in 1996. Remember the Flower Farm? I loved that gem. Everything about it was pure joy. And then it was gone. I’d love to see pictures if anyone has any to share.
As my dear departed Mom used to say: “We shall see what we shall see.” But a child of the Belta family was in my class at Staples and was as I recall a “salt of the Earth” sort of person. So let’s be optimistic.
This author is qualified to write for Fox. The whole thing is not true. This farm family did their best to squeeze out as much money as possible in the last re-zoning. So please do some real research and think with a brain.