Town Of Westport: Three (3) Text Amendments To Be Discussed At Upcoming P&Z Public Hearing

Westport CT

01 February, 2022

1:49 PM

Description

Press release from the Town of Westport: 01/31/2022 3:30 PM              Westport, CT – Planning and Zoning Director Mary Young and Deputy Planning & Zoning Director Michelle Perillie have announced that on Monday, February 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM, the Planning and Zoning Commission is holding a public hearing on Text Amendment #812, 811, 809 to modify the Zoning Regulations. The remote meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. Text Amendment #812, authored by the Planning and Zoning Commission, proposes to modify §29, Business Center District (BCD), and §29A, Business Center District/Historic (BCD/H), of the Zoning Regulations to remove the 10,000 SF restriction on allowable size of individual tenants of retail establishments, restaurants, businesses, or other commercial establishments. Text Amendment #812 can be viewed online here. In her Explanatory Statement available online here, Ms. Young states the amendment aims to: "Enhance the experiential retail environment by enabling at least one existing tenant and maybe more in the future to lease space and offer a shopping destination in an existing building greater than 10,000 SF in size.  Additionally, if adopted, the Downtown commercial rental market will be on par with the remainder of the commercial areas in Westport where no restriction on single-tenant size exists." Text Amendment #811, authored by the Planning and Zoning Commission, proposes to modify §29, Business Center District (BCD), and §29A, Business Center District/Historic (BCD/H), of the Zoning Regulations to remove the prohibition on Retail uses locating above the 1st Floor in the BCD and BCD/H districts Downtown. Text Amendment #811 can be viewed online here. In her Explanatory Statement available online here, Ms. Young states the amendment aims to: "Strengthen the existing economic vitality and vibrancy of the Downtown and provide a broader variety of commerce for Westport residents and other consumers from surrounding areas to patronize." Text Amendment #809, authored by the Planning and Zoning Commission, proposes to modify §40, Dedicated Open Space and Recreation District (DOSRD), of the Westport Zoning Regulations to permit organized non-team activities, such as but not limited to guided walks, hikes, and yoga classes, in the DOSRD #2 zoning district. Text Amendment #809 also proposes to correct two inconsistencies in the existing regulations adopted pursuant to Text Amendment #704 in 2016. The first correction involves replacing the word "pond" with "natural water feature" in §40-2.1 pertaining to DOSRD #1 properties. The second change involves removing the words "natural water features" and "picnic tables" in new §40-2.3 (old §40-2.2), pertaining to DOSRD #3 properties. Text Amendment #809 can be viewed online here. In her Explanatory Statement, available online here, Ms. Perillie stated that the proposed amendment will benefit Westport because: "The text amendment will provide for greater flexibility in use of DOSRD #2 properties by the public, the Westport Center for Senior Activities and the Parks and Recreation Department."   The Feb. 7, 2022 public hearings will be live streamed at 7:00 PM on the Town's website at www.westportct.gov, and accessible on Optimum Government Access Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020. Comments can be sent prior to the meeting at [email protected] and interested parties may join the meeting virtually to offer live testimony during the meeting. To access the meeting link, view the meeting agenda online here where the Zoom link is published.   This press release was produced by the Town of Westport. The views expressed here are the author's own.