Fore!
Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission gave a generally positive reception last night to requests for text changes and a General Development Plan for 1608-1622 Post Road East — the current site of Redi-Cut Carpet and Pane e Bene restaurant, among others — to permit a family golf entertainment facility, landscaping, and 10 townhouses. Two would be below market rates. (Click here for more details.)
Current tenants at the proposed Clubhouse site.
Commissioners asked tough questions, for 2 hours. Approximately 50 attendees joined the Zoom meeting, which had been rescheduled from the previous week after a technical glitch.
The public’s primary concerns involved sound from an outdoor dining roof deck, traffic, and the environmental condition of the site. After a nearby mini-golf course and driving range closed, the area was used as an informal dump.
Both sides seemed open to next steps for project approval. Among them: further discussions, walk-throughs with neighbors, and third party environmental testing.
Most commissioners seemed excited by the possibility of adding a new concept to the town’s entertainment options. Several asked for more time to review the application.
Vice chair Paul Lebowitz noted that granting approval might protect the site from being targeted for a larger 8-30g development.
P&Z chair Danielle Dobin called the concept “a great use. It’s exactly the kind of thing we’re trying to encourage to have more of in the town of Westport. I love the concept.”
Dobin acknowledged neighbors’ concerns over potential noise from a roof deck.
Planning and Zoning Department director said that applicants Tim and Emily Zobl — she’s a 2012 Staples High School graduate and former University of Michigan field hockey player, now co-founder and president of a firm that invests in hospitality, food services, technology and multi-media publishing; he has an events planning background, and is a local realtor — are “kind of a who’s who of Westport….I think these are people you can trust. I think these are people who are going to follow through.”
The hearing continues next Monday (July 24, 7 p.m., Zoom).
Tim and Emily Zobl.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
It sounds quite intriguing! Please protect the environment!