Westport Amendments to Planning and Zoning Regs

There has been a lot of talk about the proposed amendments to Westport's Planning & Zoning regulations. The proposed changes would reduce the amount of allowable coverage, and also affect the way decks, pools, and porches are calculated into the coverage. This is a thorny issue which touches many people. Some complain that Westport is losing its character and the town is evolving into a land of McMansions. Others counter that those McMansions are what buyers want, are paying top dollar for, and are therefore creating a positive effect on home values, not to mention the tax base. Another issue is that the new regulations would render currently conforming houses non-conforming, making it more difficult to sell or renovate. Make no mistake: any regulation that hinders an owner's property rights is going to meet with stiff resistance! Another issue relates to water run-off. Many homeowners who have lived here in a dry home for years, now find themselves with flooded basements. They blame it on the new construction nearby. Wet basements and lawns do render homes less likely to sell and more expensive to mitigate. Is the wet basement directly attributable to the new construction? Some would say no by virtue of drywells and other drainage systems installed in new construction. Others would say yes, due to cutting of trees, and insufficient drainage to get the job done. Will the new regulations make it more difficult to build a ranch style home - one that might be very popular with our aging demographic? It does appear so, doesn't it? So how does the town strike a balance? I don't have the answer, although I am glad that the issue is being studied, especially as it pertains to the runoff, which affects our drinking water as well as people's basements. A simple solution might be to give incentives for builders and homeowners to use materials that allow for drainage - for example, stone driveway as versus paved. Not a requirement, not a change to coverage calculations, but an incentive. We already have incentives for energy efficient appliances, windows, solar panels and other environmentally friendly improvements. For right now, the debate rages on.