Zoning Regulation Revision Subcommittee Meeting Ends with Plans for Future Discussion regarding Baron’s South Property

The Baron’s Mansion behind dense vegetation and trees. Photo by Jake Fitzpatrick for WestportLocal.com

Reporting by Jake Fitzpatrick for WestportLocal.com

The Baron’s South Property is a 22-acre town-owned park in downtown Westport. The land was acquired by the town for municipal use in 1994. In 2015, while a second proposal by the First Selectman to utilize the property for senior housing with an affordable component was in the offing, the P&Z Commission voted to rezone the area under the extremely strict ‘DOSRD 2’ classification, which permits only “passive open space” use and no organized recreational activity. A majority of the RTM voted to overturn the DOSRD 2 designation but not the supermajority required to overturn the P&Z Commission.

The meeting started with a general introduction to the topic by Chairman Dobin who opined that the property is clearly suffering from “benign neglect” and that the failure to invest in Baron’s South “…is a major collective action problem requiring investment of time, thought, money and care from a lot of people, elected officials, staff and community volunteers. Dobin added that “the current zoning is suffocating the open space and those buildings into disrepair”.

Next, the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, Jennifer Fava, spoke about the Parks & Recreation Department’s  vision for the space. She spoke of the need to include a parking area to ensure public access, but keeping lots of open space. “This is where Parks and Recreation would envision this,” she said, “not to build all sorts of buildings, but to keep the outdoors and to blend together outdoor recreational activities and... trails.”

The other two subcommittee members, Paul Lebowitz and Michael Cammeyer, talked about numerous problems facing the property, such as the bike trails being unusable and the paths being unsafe for small kids. They then transitioned into asking for suggestions from the public for prospective uses for the land.

The public opinion that followed varied greatly.
Helen Garten, a member of the Selectman's Real Property Committee, spoke about how she believed that zoning wasn’t going to solve the main issue with the land: that the lack of interest from the people and money from the government was keeping the land from being restored. Some members of the public suggested that the area should be rezoned, and along with it, that pickleball courts and other recreational activities be installed for the sake of bringing together Westport’s youth and elderly populations.

Matthew Mandell, chair of RTM Planning and Zoning Committee, opined that the subcommittee should not be handling the property at the moment, and that instead, “rezoning should come after an idea.” He argued that, “the zoning can’t thwart the ideas of what we can use this property for.” He suggested that instead of using a subcommittee for rezoning, the concept should come first. He said that he thought “some bocci and some pickleball” made sense.  Some members of the public in attendance agreed with his suggestion that the plan to improve the property should come first. 

One member of the public emphasized protecting the overgrown nature that has developed there and creating a “pollinator pathway” for birds and insects instead of paving over any plant life. Jay Walshon, another member of the public, spoke about a successful community effort to improve an open space in another state and suggested creating storybook paths and story time for children outdoors. Chair Dobin pointed out that organized story time for children is actually prohibited by the current zoning.

The meeting concluded with the subcommittee members calling for the discussion to continue in the future with the Chair proposing a potential joint meeting of the P&Z Regulations Revision Subcommittee and the P&Z Open Space Subcommittee, and asking for the Parks and Recreation Commission to participate by bringing a draft plan to that meeting so that participants can see what is being proposed and what zoning changes might be necessary to effectuate any plan.