The Westport Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a third hearing on a proposal to redevelop a Saugatuck property along Riverside Avenue.
The commission held its second hearing tonight and decided a third hearing was needed to discuss issues including drainage and public access to the Saugatuck River, including docks.
The plan calls to construct new buildings that would include retail shops, offices and residences at 553, 570 and 580 Riverside Ave. and 9 Ketchum St., which is set on either side of Riverside Avenue along the Saugatuck River.
Several of the 21 residential units will also be deemed affordable per the requirements of the town’s zoning regulations.
The proposal comes from Hamilton Development, which is William Gault, Sam Gault and Jim Donaher.
During the hearing, Pete Romano, consultant for Hamilton Development, said the site is going to be inviting that encourages public access to the river.
Eleanor Lowenstein, commission co-chairwoman, said she doesn’t see walkways to the river or any docks.
“I don’t think it’s going far enough with the public access to the river,” she said.
Romano said there can be docks, but it would be difficult to install anything other than transient docks for people to temporarily tie up a boat.
The site cannot support storage, gas facilities and other things necessary for a dock for people to temporarily store a boat, he said.
Romano also said the drainage from the site can be tied into a system owned by the state of Connecticut that empties into the Saugatuck River.
The state Department of Environmental Protection would need to approve the plan, he said, but state officials told him the plan would not be a problem.
P&Z Director Laurence Bradley said the commission would have to decide if it was comfortable approving the plan without a state approval for the drainage.
If the commission approves the plan without state officials signing off on the plan, the applicant may need to return with changes to the site plan if state officials do not render an approval.
