By Kerri Williams
WESTPORT — Developers of the proposed “Hamlet at Saugatuck” development told Conservation Commission members Wednesday the project will exceed standards required by environmental regulations.
But several speakers from the public told the Town Hall meeting they are concerned about the possible environmental impacts of the sweeping riverfront project that could transform the area.
After a four-hour session, the commission voted to continue its public hearing to May 14, with another hearing tentatively set for June 12. On May 9, members of the Conservation Commission and the Flood and Erosion Control Board will visit the 3.4-acre site of the ROAN Ventures proposal.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is concurrently holding meetings on the complex Hamlet application, most recently at a packed public hearing Monday in Town Hall’s auditorium. Its deliberations are likely to extend to July.
The Hamlet, as currently proposed, would consist of a multi-use development of 11 buildings, including retail, hotel and residential buildings between the Saugatuck River, Charles Street, Franklin Street and Railroad Place. The project also includes two underground parking garages.
Developers: Contaminated soil removed, green space added
Environmental measures detailed by Loureiro Engineering on Wednesday include hauling out 40,000 tons, or 2,000 truckloads, of contaminated soil from the site during the construction process.
Some members of the public expressed concern about the volume of soil to be excavated from the site, carted away by trucks adding to traffic in an already-congested area.
Plans also include treating stormwater through a hydrodynamic separator before it is discharged into the river. Currently, stormwater on the site goes into the river untreated.
On Wednesday, the developers’ representatives also discussed plans to add greenery to the site, with about 100 trees and other plantings incorporated in a landscape plan.
For Robbie Guimond, of Riverside Avenue, the project offers an effective way to clean up what he calls “the ghetto of Westport.”
“I have a big interest in the river and its health,” he said, adding that he is raising three daughters in Saugatuck Center.
Guimond added he is impressed with how ROAN has addressed concerns expressed about the project. “On every turn, when they have been asked to do it, they have,” he said.
Other members of the public, however, were concerned about the development’s potential flooding threat and its impact on wildlife and wetlands.
“I am very concerned about the ecological vitality of the Saugatuck River,” said Charles Tirreno, who resides on Riverside Avenue. He was one of eight public speakers to cite concerns about the project.
Tirreno said he was “scratching his head” when the developer mentioned adding green space to the area. “I see lollipop trees,” he said. “I see very tall buildings with narrow alleyways.”
In response, ROAN representatives said that most buildings in the proposed plan are 35 to 40 feet apart. The trees in question are large, at 45-inch caliper, not “lollipop trees,” they said.
In his presentation, Brian Cutler, with Loureiro Associates, praised ROAN for removing the contaminated soil from the site, which he said is “the most extreme approach” to remediating a contaminated property. The “dirty dirt” comes from a long history of industrial uses on the property, including oil storage and coal use at 601 and 609 Riverside Ave., a dry-cleaning operation at Railroad Place, and a former coal shed at 96 Franklin St.
The stormwater treatment proposed for the project is four times the standards required by the state Department of Environmental Protection, according to ROAN.
Plus, the developer says, more than 20,000 square feet of landscaped area will be added to the site, which is currently covered by concrete.
Wendy Batteau, a District 8 member of the Representative Town Meeting, reacted to the volume of information presented by the developers. “You have dazzled us with a lot of information,” she said. “Charts and numbers sometimes hide the point.”
Linda Prestegaard, who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, said that she believes a smaller project could have the same benefits, such as remediating the soil, while have a “lesser impact on the waterways” and an opportunity to be “truly green.”
“This is a delicate area — right on the Saugatuck River,” she said.
Kerri Williams is a freelance writer who has worked in journalism for years, including as a reporter for the Norwalk Hour and managing editor of the Norwalk Citizen-News.