On September 14, 2026, Westport's Planning & Zoning Commission voted 6-0 to repeal the zone written for the Hamlet. It rezoned 14 parcels in Saugatuck Center to General Business District/Saugatuck, a district built around buildings of three stories. The most advanced proposal for the old Hamlet site is a 165-unit residential building of about 70 feet on Riverside Avenue. Both numbers are on the table at once, and they describe the same corner by the train station.
The gap comes from state law more than local zoning. Westport has no active moratorium under Connecticut's 8-30g affordable housing appeals statute, and the town says it is working toward a second one in 2027. A Town dashboard projects that date as January 2027. Until then, the zoning text works as the town's opening position. What gets built near Saugatuck station is being settled in pre-application meetings, and the town's affordable-housing math frames those talks.
Two Sets of Numbers for One Corner
The new district rules are modest by design. The Town's amended GBD/S regulation sets these limits for an ordinary project:
| Measure | GBD/S base rule, adopted Sept. 2026 | Spinnaker proposal, Aug. 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 3 stories; 30 ft to a flat roof or 35 ft to a pitched-roof midpoint | About 70 ft |
| Density | 18 units per gross acre | 165 units on a 1.54-acre site |
| Affordable share | 20% of units | 16% of total units, by the town's count |
| Review path | Special Permit and Site Plan | Third nonbinding pre-application talk |
On a straight reading of the density cap, 1.54 acres at 18 units an acre comes to about 28 units. The proposal is close to six times that. The regulation also caps building coverage at 25% of the lot and floor area at 0.5 FAR. It allows an additional affordable-housing FAR exemption of up to 0.25, which loosens the math somewhat but nowhere near 165 units.
Even so, commissioners have not rejected the proposal outright. At the August session, Chairman Paul Lebowitz said he believed the parcel could handle that density because it sits near I-95 and the train station. He added that the town needs to benefit from the project.
How the Hamlet Zone Ended
The repealed district, known as the Saugatuck Marina Zone, was created in 2022 for one project. That project, ROAN Ventures' Hamlet, planned 11 mixed-use buildings between the river, Charles Street, Franklin Street, and Railroad Place. P&Z denied the application, citing its scale, coastal-village character, traffic and parking, and limited public waterfront access. ROAN sued on August 6, 2025, filed a withdrawal on February 5, 2026, and a judge approved it on February 11. The Westport Journal reported that the court matter was concluded.
On March 13, 2026, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners bought 606 Riverside Avenue and 96 Franklin Street. The first is a 1.5-acre site holding a dry cleaner, an auto-repair shop, and a locksmith. The second is a 0.37-acre, 60-space lot. Together they make up more than half of the 3.4-acre Hamlet area.
The rezoning reaches past Spinnaker's land. The town's legal notice lists the 14 parcels: 2, 16, 36, and 40 Railroad Place; 601, 606, 609, and 611 Riverside Avenue; 91 and 96 Franklin Street; and 21, 30, 50, and 60 Charles Street. Several different owners hold them. The notice also cuts the minimum lot to 3,092 square feet and drops the old cap of two developments in the zone. The P&Z director told the commission that these changes make it possible for more properties to be developed. Under the new text, a small owner on Charles Street can bring a project forward without waiting on an assemblage.
The Statute Behind the Zoning
The commissioners have said plainly what frames these talks. When the August discussion turned to Spinnaker's affordable-unit count, Commissioner Breanne Injeski said:
"We are faced with the 8-30g reality."
8-30g is Connecticut's affordable housing appeals law. A town can earn a temporary moratorium by building up enough housing-unit-equivalent points. Westport first reached one in 2019. A 2025 report from the state's Office of Legislative Research lists it as having expired on March 4, 2023. Since then, the town has negotiated every large proposal without that protection.
The affordable-unit math shows how the talks have moved. In June, Spinnaker proposed 175 units with 10% deed-restricted as affordable. One commissioner said the town-wide goal is also 10%, so the project's contribution would be "net zero." By August, the plan was 165 units. Spinnaker figured its affordable share against market-rate units only. The town figures it against total units, which comes to 16% against the required 20%. Spinnaker's land-use attorney said, "We can do it at 220 units." The developer also said the affordable unit mix could change, mostly toward one-bedroom units, if it does not receive a state Brownfield grant for environmental cleanup.
That makes the affordable percentage the main point of negotiation, and in the developer's framing, unit count is what pays for it. A higher affordable share has come paired with more total units.
ROAN's history shows the other route. In August 2025, 06880 reported that ROAN planned to move forward with a 400-to-500-unit 8-30g concept. By February 16, 2026, the town attorney said no plan beyond the denied Hamlet had been filed. The sources reviewed do not show that the concept was ever filed.
Counting Toward 2027
The moratorium date matters to anyone watching Saugatuck, and the town's own figures do not fully agree. A Town dashboard dated November 2025 sets a 158.5-point target. It records 46 points earned through 2024 and projects cumulative totals of 115.5 by 2026 and 234.25 by 2027, with a projected moratorium in January 2027. The state report describes the usual threshold as 2% of a town's housing stock. Applied to the 10,567 dwellings on the dashboard, that comes to about 211 points. The 115.5 figure for 2026 is a projection. The sources reviewed do not include a verified current point total.
New filings keep arriving in the meantime. On October 5, 2026, Garden Homes Fund's 8-30g application for 18 affordable homes at 96 Compo Road North was reported as worth 14 points toward a new moratorium. According to the town FAQ, points come only from newly built or deed-restricted units. A filing does not count until the homes exist.
The window before a moratorium is the period in which the 8-30g route stays open to any developer.
What to Watch on Riverside Avenue
For a buyer looking at homes near Saugatuck station, the scale of the neighborhood's next building will come out of a few specific decisions. Each one can be tracked on the town's pending applications page or in local reporting:
- A binding application from Spinnaker. As of the latest reporting, the 606 Riverside plan remained in nonbinding pre-application review.
- The Brownfield grant decision. The developer has tied its affordable unit mix to whether the state grant comes through.
- The unit count. Spinnaker put 165 units on the table and suggested 220 units as the number that reaches 20% affordable.
- Moratorium certification. The town's projection points to January 2027, and the threshold question is unresolved.
- Filings on the smaller parcels. With the two-development cap gone and a 3,092-square-foot minimum lot, owners along Charles Street and Railroad Place can bring projects forward separately.
None of these has been decided. The October 5 P&Z meeting was canceled, so nothing has changed the September vote. For a commuter weighing Saugatuck against other parts of town, the posts on Westport's waterfront neighborhoods for NYC commuters and Westport's neighborhoods cover the commuting side. This piece covers what may rise across the street.
A Short FAQ
Does the new GBD/S zone allow residential buildings? Yes. It permits two-family and multifamily dwellings. Ordinary mixed-use projects must include at least one listed nonresidential use, such as a restaurant, shop, or office. Transit Community Middle Housing is exempt from that requirement and goes through Summary Review.
Is the Hamlet coming back? The Hamlet plan is over. ROAN's lawsuit was withdrawn in February 2026, and the zone created for the project was repealed on September 14, 2026.
Is the Spinnaker building approved? No. As of the August 2026 coverage and the September 15 report, it had only gone through nonbinding pre-application discussions. Under the town's process, a formal application and public hearing would come next.
For sellers on the streets around the station, a building of 28 units and a building of 165 make for different conversations with buyers. Emily Gordon follows each Saugatuck filing as it reaches P&Z and can explain what a pending decision means for a specific property. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
