The Hamlet at Saugatuck Denied by Westport P&Z

Developers don’t threaten 8-30g—they use it. Westport had a seat at the table. Now it may be watching from the sidelines.

The Hamlet at Saugatuck is dead—at least in its proposed form. The application was denied for various reasons, including parking concerns, limited public access to the waterfront, and buildings that, according to the Commission, did not reflect the “scale or feel of a New England Vernacular Village”.

But in denying it, Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission may have opened the door to something far larger and harder to control: a 500-unit development under Connecticut’s 8-30g statute.

Some have called that outcome a bluff. It’s not.

8-30g is state law—frequently used, consistently upheld in court, and highly effective at bypassing local zoning in towns that fall below the 10% affordable housing threshold. Just look at Fairfield, where a 478-unit 8-30g project was recently approved on a smaller site along one of the town’s busiest and most dangerous roads.

P&Z Chair Paul Lebowitz stated that the town shouldn’t “look to the future” or concern itself with what a developer might propose next—that such thinking is a “non-starter.” But that’s not planning. When 8-30g is a legal and likely alternative, ignoring it isn’t principled—it’s shortsighted. Decisions have consequences. Refusing to consider them just leaves the town unprepared for what comes next.

The Hamlet raised valid concerns—but it also went through the local process. And that process only exists when a developer chooses to participate in it. Under 8-30g, towns can only block developments on narrow health or safety grounds. Concerns about traffic, density, or neighborhood character rarely meet that bar.

Developers aren’t public servants. They operate within a legal framework, driven by the need to deliver viable projects. When met with unrealistic demands or outright refusal to engage, the result is predictable.

What Westport needs now is realism—and a willingness to play the game strategically. Because 8-30g isn’t going away. And refusing to engage won’t stop what comes next. It’ll just ensure the town has no say in it.