The Hamlet at Saugatuck — the retail/residential/hotel/marina proposal to remake part of Westport’s first commercial neighborhood — is moving through the regulatory process.
Yesterday, Matthew Mandell — the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member whose District 1 includes Saugatuck — sent this report.
This Monday (March 24, 6 p.m., Zoom), Planning & Zoning Commission hearings continue with a staff report, questions by the P&Z, and the first of a number of town-hired consultants speaking.
The public might be gotten to, but there is time to absorb more before speaking
Earlier on Monday (noon), the P&Z will take a field trip to Saugatuck. If you are interested in watching the P&Z tour, come along. I am sure you will learn something. (NOTE: Only the P&Z may ask questions. This is not a public hearing.)
Drones will be flown to show the heights of the buildings.
Artists’ rendering of Hamlet buildings, on Riverside Avenue.
Here is a timeline. The Thursday (March 27) hearing has been canceled. Consultants paid for by the applicant (The Hamlet) have been hired to vet and double check the application and proposal. That’s part of the process.
A major consultant, though, has not begun their work, because the fee was paid only late this week.
As there is a statutory time constraint to this process, P&Z asked the developers for a 65-day extension (the norm). Their attorney gave them 35 days.
More extensions will be required, so why not just do it all now?
What happens if time runs out, and there is more to do? IMHO, the P&Z would deliver a denial without prejudice, and a new application would need to be filed. Better to get all the extensions than go through that hassle.
The Hamlet proposal includes “re-skinning” the 21 Charles Street building (opposite Zucca Gastrobar, at the corner of Franklin Street.
The Flood & Erosion Control Board will hear the application April 2. They will probably need this new consultant’s report to properly engage. So another hearing might be needed, as time is tight now for the consultant to do their work.
This would then go to the Conservation Commission, to weigh both waterway issues and the environmental clean-up.
Those hearings begin April 23 and continue to April 30, with a decision sometime in May.
These meetings are a big part of the process. I have seen slam dunk proposals get sidetracked by conservation issues.
P&Z will continue down its road, with another hearing March 31, probably April 7, and on into late April and May.
P&Z cannot close their hearing until a Conservation decision has been handed to them. It could be into June before a full decision is made, but late May is possible.
A view of the Saugatuck area proposed for redevelopment. Rememediation would be needed in the area of Minute Man Cleaners (above). Decades ago, it was the site of an automobile dealership.
All this is besides approvals by the state Department of Transporation and possibly other agencies, governing many of the things proposed. P&Z does not usually base decisions on future third-party decisions.
There are other pieces. An 8-24 for use of town property will also need to be filed with P&Z, which could slow the timeline.
The Historic District Commission will have to weigh in as well, as every building involved is under their jurisdiction — not just the historic ones on Railroad Place.
The Board of Selectwomen, acting as the town’s Traffic Authority, will also need to render decisions on traffic and parking issues.
This is a very large proposal. Much needs to be looked at. The public has already begun to engage, with letters into the file and opinion pieces in the press. I anticipate this will continue, and increase.
(To delve into the ever-expanding list of items concerning the proposal and application, click here.)