There is a settlement pending in a lawsuit involving the former home of well-known Westport artists Naiad and Walter Einsel on Morningside Drive South.
The main house on the 2.37-acre property was built in 1853. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
The Planning and Zoning Commission *P&Z) Thursday night approved a draft settlement with a developer who had applied to build 19 town house condominiums on the property, which sits across the street from Greens Farms Elementary School.
The settlement with Morningside Drive Homes, LLC, now must be approved by the Stamford Superior Court.
The lawsuit filed July 24, 2018 stems from the P&Z’s denial of the developer’s application for a three-lot subdivision of 2.37 acres at 26 Morningside Drive South in a half-acre, Residential A zone.
The proposal called to raze a historic, mid-19th century farmhouse and in its place have five buildings comprising 19, three-bedroom condominiums.
The specifics of the settlement were not detailed.
“The paperwork for this settlement is being finalized as we speak in preparation of filing it with the courts, so it would be premature to share draft documents that could be modified over the next few days to dot the i’s and cross the t’s,” said Mary Young, director of the Planning and Zoning Department.
The Historic District Commission (HDC) also agreed to a settlement at the request of the developer, Young said, by revisiting various denials it issued for certificates of appropriateness for new construction.
The HDC had denied requests for the demolition of the historic structures at 20 and 26 Morningside Drive South in a local historic district.
The HDC’s approval of the settlement, once accepted by the court, will resolve four appeals filed by Morningside Drive Homes.
