NEWS

Y Downtown Press Release on P&Z Decision

The decision also is contrary to the town plan and to the needs and wishes of a majority of the people of Westport, who have expressed their concern over growing traffic congestion, threats to the health of the Saugatuck River and the decline of downtown as a destination for Westport families. Y Downtown is disappointed that this P&Z Commission, unlike past commissions, did not use their authority under the special permit regulations to deny this application, or at the very least, apply meaningful conditions to protect the health, safety, welfare and property values of the people of Westport.

While the Y’s programs and services are valued and beneficial, in this case, acting as a private property owner and developer, the Y has put its own interests ahead of the community’s. The spillover effects of this out of place and oversized development on the community – sprawl, environmental degradation, increased traffic and accidents, infrastructure costs, air, noise and light pollution, destruction of forest and animal habitat and loss of the sense of “place” in downtown Westport -- all impinge on our rights as a community.

As soon as the P&Z decision is made available to the public, Y Downtown, together with its primary counsel, William J. Kupinse, Jr., of Goldstein and Peck, Bridgeport, Conn., will study it and determine whether the commission’s decision should be appealed to the Superior Court. For more information on Y Downtown and background on the issues surrounding the Y’s plans to build at Camp Mahackeno, visit www.YDowntown.com.