As The Hamlet at Saugatuck wends its way through the town regulatory process, a new group — the Westport Alliance for Saugatuck — has formed to oppose it.
The Hamlet developers — ROAN Ventures — say that the Alliance’s petition contains “significant misinformation.” ROAN responds to several of the Alliance’s statements below.
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Claim: “The 2023 zoning text amendment, created for this development, allows for an 800% increase in density.”
Response: This figure is misleading. Our submission is approximately 20% less dense than what is permitted under the 2023 zoning text amendment.
The Hamlet is a thoughtfully planned, low-unit development designed in full compliance with Westport’s zoning regulations. Much of the site is currently private asphalt parking, not accessible or usable by the public — thus, relative density comparisons are skewed.
Part of the area slated for development: Riverside Avenue, between Railroad Place and Charles Street.
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Claim: “The site plan includes 11 buildings, up to 70′ high located along the river (riverfront side) and on the large block fronted by Railroad Avenue with shops, restaurants and RR drop off points, all the way to Charles Street (upland side).
“To put this height and mass in perspective, at their highest points, many buildings will be at or above the height of the I95 overpass.”
Response: Under current zoning, up to 10% of a building floor area may exceed 60 feet and go up to a ridge of 72 feet with a pitched roof (67 feet to the midpoint of the roof), if certain conditions are met.
Our submission limits this to just 1.54%. The regulations measure height to the midpoint of a pitched roof. When we discuss the ridge height, that is to the very top of the pitched roof, but the zoning regulations will only measure to the midpoint of the roof.
Only one building height reaches 65 feet, topped by a pitched roof element, at a small portion of the building, that brings the ridge of the building to 70 feet.
Most buildings are 60 feet or less, with those closest to the water beginning at 43 feet (below the 45-foot maximum), with a large setback, stepping up to 60 feet along Riverside Avenue. The 2 buildings on Charles Street are both 60 feet in height.
Along Railroad Place — where zoning allows buildings up to 40 feet and then up to 72 feet to the ridge after a 15-foot setback — we’ve instead chosen a historically inspired 30-foot setback and significantly reduced heights, ranging from 14 to 33 feet on Railroad Place, then stepping up to 64 feet to flat portion of roof.
In doing so we’ve prioritized charm, historical continuity, and noise buffering over maximum buildout. We propose less height, less density, and significantly more setback than the zoning regulations allow for.
Proposed development on Railroad Place. Riverside Avenue is on the right.
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Claim: ““It’s too big! The hotel complex on the riverfront includes 4 buildings with 57 hotel rooms and almost 100,000 square feet of event/restaurant/ banquet non-residential space, with an underground parking lot below the water line, whose entrance will be just after the sharp left turn at the end of Ferry Lane, where it becomes Riverside Avenue, with the potential to cause lengthy back-ups and safety hazards. This is incredibly concerning since Saugatuck has recently experienced an increase in serious auto accidents, including a fatality.”
Response: This is incorrect. We propose approximately 21,000 square feet of event/restaurant/banquet non-residential space on the riverfront. Based on feedback from the commission, we have now proactively moved the garage entrance away from the Ferry Lane turn further down Railroad Place. We’ve designed the below-grade entry to allow car queuing without affecting surface traffic. Safety has been a top priority throughout the planning process, including traffic sightlines, pedestrian access, and emergency vehicle accommodation.
Riverfront buildings (aerial rendering).
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Claim: “On the upland side (the block between Charles, Franklin, Riverside and RR Place) will include 6 buildings with 57 high-end condos, as well as shops, an event center, spa, private club, underground (valet controlled) parking garages.
“The site plan includes removing 42 free public parking spaces, taking over other public owned land, and narrowing Riverside Avenue, which already experiences excessive traffic delays, and entering into a long-term agreement with the town to purchase 70 parking permits, thereby taking them away from the public. To be viable, the plan also includes the use of Railroad Parking which is prohibited under Westport’s own zoning regulations.”
Response: Earlier iterations of the Hamlet, at the suggestion of our master planning firm, DPZ CoDesign, included removing on-street street parking to accommodate a more pedestrian-friendly experience.
In response to our last hearing with the Planning & Zoning Commission, our newest plan keeps on-street parking largely intact. The latest plan proposes removing only 7 parking spaces in an adjacent rail lot owned by the Town of Westport on Franklin Street, to accommodate a roundabout that has proven to be a traffic mitigation measure.
However, we will add those 7 free parking spaces below grade, resulting in no net loss of free public parking.
Further, no law prohibits the public or our patrons from using railroad parking, which is free after 3 p.m., largely unused after 5 p.m., and almost empty on weekends.
We’ve not entered into any exclusive agreement for parking permits as suggested. We will cover all of this in detail at the hearing on April 28 to ensure there are no misconceptions, and to show that we fully comply with the parking regulations per the text amendment.
Furthermore, we are now proposing that all employees be required to park offsite as a condition of approval, ensuring that all onsite parking is available for residents and guests of the Hamlet.
Aerial rendering of The Hamlet at Saugatuck.
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Claim: “It’s a Marina District without a Marina! Although this area was designated a Marina District, a marina is not included in the current site plan, therefore public access to the riverfront and a marina is uncertain. A future marina with water taxis to other developments on several Norwalk Islands has been proposed, potentially adversely affecting waterway traffic and safety.”
Response: A marina currently exists today. However, there is a robust and exciting plan for a new marina, which is very much an integral part of the overall masterplan. We are actively pursuing approvals through the appropriate channels. Full details of the newly planned marina will be presented once the appropriate regulatory step is reached.
Also of note: the Connecticut Department of Transportation has already given us written approval to expand the new marina into their right of way, yielding 5 additional slips.
View of the riverfront, from the Saugatuck River.
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Claim: “The plan will create new traffic chokeholds, exacerbate existing traffic issues, and create congestion that could delay emergency vehicles and will surely negatively affect the quality of life for Westporters from every district — especially districts north and east of the Metro-North station who will experience long delays entering and leaving the area. The plans do not provide adequate parking for the planned usage and take away current free parking.”
Response: Independent studies by both our traffic engineers and the town’s traffic peer reviewer, which are on the record with the Commission, confirm that our plan will improve traffic flow at all studied intersections which go beyond our immediate site. Improvements include signal timing, expansion to roads and new traffic calming measures such as dedicated turn lanes and a roundabout on Franklin Street (proposed as 2-way between Railroad Place and Charles Street).
Without these improvements, existing conditions are projected to worsen over time without development of any kind. The Commission, by approving a project under their regulations, can require the developer to make offsite improvements to mitigate the traffic impact on the area. A development that is not governed by the Commission’s regulations will not be required to make any offsite traffic mitigation improvements.
We will also present a comprehensive parking management plan at the April 28 hearing.
Planned traffic and traffic light changes.
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Claim: “The increased scale and density is likely to create environmental concerns, flooding issues with potential contamination of the river and harbor.”
Response: Our plan includes comprehensive environmental remediation of a currently contaminated site. We are introducing infrastructure to ensure clean drainage and flood protection that goes beyond current requirements.
Currently there are no drainage systems that are intended to prevent flooding or prevent contamination of the river and harbor. Our plans implement best practices for managing flooding, runoff, and water treatment measures. We are committed to working with the town to ensure that the measures put in place not only comply with the applicable regulations but improve the water quality measures that currently exist on the integrated site.
After remediating the currently contaminated site, ROAN Ventures plans a walking path leading to the Saugatuck River.
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Claim: “It does not address our affordable housing mandate. Importantly, rather than being built to address Westport’s current affordable housing shortfall, this plan makes our town’s shortfall worse — offering only 14 off-site units whose location has not been secured. According to the developer’s attorney
“These units will not come on-line for over 3 years, it will have to be updated before finalized…The units are going to be offsite and per the anticipated approval, we will come back to advise where they are going to be located.”
Response: We are required to provide either 20% of units on-site or 25% off-site within a quarter mile. We currently own 2 qualifying properties, and have a plan in place to satisfy the requirement.
Importantly, we’re also making the largest contribution to Westport’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund in town history and the foreseeable future.
Rejecting this plan could open the site to an 8-30g development with 500+ units and extremely limited town oversight — no density or height limits, architectural review, parking requirements, traffic mitigation, or public benefit obligations.
Residential units, on the floors above retail.
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Claim: “It sacrifices Westport’s unique appeal as a charming small New England coastal community. this plan does not meet the stated goal of Westport retaining its unique appeal because of its New England small town charm. The size and scale of the proposed development does not fit Westport.”
Response: This is a subjective claim. Our award-winning architectural team has modeled the design after classic New England coastal towns. The Architectural Review Board supports our current design, which aligns closely with local aesthetics and history—far more so than early conceptual renderings which are now obsolete.
The 21 Charles Street office building would be renovated, in the style of a building like National Hall.
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To summarize, these are the public benefits of The Hamlet:
• Improved traffic flows: Based on large investment into the redesign of the area’s obsolete traffic lights, roads and infrastructure.
• Boost to our tax base: Over $6 million in annual property taxes for the town to invest in our town, and help keep taxes low for everyone.
• Open space and waterfront access: Available to all Westporters; we are adding – 50,000+ square feet public open space — 10 times the required amount, with 150+ new trees and thousands of additional plantings.
• Improved Connectivity: Proposal for public shuttle service across Westport, to and from the site.
• Land remediation: Full remediation of contaminated soil — no capping of dirty soil, which is a common practice.
• Green energy: Geothermal energy system throughout the site.
• Classic design: Inspired by classic New England coastal architecture.
• We are protecting the gateway to Westport from an 8-30G site with hundreds of units, no design, density, height, parking or traffic requirements, no public benefit and overloading our schools and public infrastructure
• We are a local developer. Our offices are in Saugatuck, and have been for over 4 years. We care deeply what happens here.
Click here to view presentations from our consultants. Click here to view our petition.
(The Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on The Hamlet at 6 p.m. on April 28. It is scheduled to be in person, at Town Hall.)
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