By James Lomuscio
The developer denied a 19-unit, housing complex at 122 Wilton Road Jan. 10 is suing Westport under the state’s affordable housing statute 8-30g.
Richard K. Freedman, owner of Stamford-based Garden Homes Management Corp., filed an appeal with the Judicial District Stamford-Norwalk, demanding Westport’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) appear in Superior Court on Tuesday, Feb. 19.
This is the second time Garden Homes has filed suit against the town, using 8-30g. The statute allows developers to override local zoning regulations if a municipality does not have 10 percent of its housing stock deemed affordable, which Westport does not.
The first appeal was Feb. 4, 2016 after the P&Z denied a proposed 48-unit complex at the same 1.16-acre site fronting the Saugatuck River. In May of 2017, Hartford Superior Court Marshall Berger dismissed Garden Homes’ suit, saying the town had acted properly.