Recognizing that modern zoning codes can inadvertently burden historic properties, in 2008 the Westport Planning & Zoning Commission adopted §32-18 Special Permit/Historic Residential Structure (HRS). §32-18 offers zoning incentives in exchange for the preservation of historic structures in Westport’s residential zoning districts. Under this special permit, the P&Z may authorize use, setback, height, parking, landscaping, coverage, and lot area and shape incentives “in those circumstances where applicable zoning regulations have the practical effect of discouraging the preservation or continued use of historic buildings and historic accessory structures.” In return for the zoning incentives, a perpetual preservation easement for the exterior of the structure is granted to the Town of Westport. A blank copy of the Preservation Easement can be found here.

Because the circumstances where zoning regulations have the practical effect of discouraging preservation are as unique as historic properties are from one another, §32-18 is flexible enough to apply to a wide variety of circumstances. A full list of applications under §32-18 from 2008 through 2021 can be found here.

Examples of the successful application of §32-18 include:

● A property owner had enough land to subdivide into two building lots, but the historic home would then be too close to the new property line to be ordinarily permitted. Instead of demolishing the historic home and constructing two new homes, as would have happened prior to §32-18, the owner was able to use the setback incentives in §32-18 to allow for the subdivision while still preserving the historic home in place.

● The owner of a property with a small 18th Century house was able to apply the use incentives in §32-18 to convert the existing house into a Historic Accessory Structure to be used for a home occupation. This allowed the owner to build a larger modern residence on the same property without having to demolish the small historic house, as would have happened prior to §32-18.

● The owner of a historic mill house was able to use the lot area and lot shape incentives in §32-18 to carve out a lot to preserve the mill house on one side of the Aspetuck river, while creating a new building lot on the other side of the river which was smaller than otherwise allowable in that zone.

● A church in a residential zone was able to use §32-18’s coverage, setback, parking standards, and landscaping incentives to expand its existing historic building to meet its needs, rather than relocating or constructing a new building.

Although primarily a zoning regulation, the HDC has a number of roles under §32-18:
1) The HDC often has a role in determining whether a structure is considered historic for purposes of qualifying for the zoning incentives under §32-18 (§32-18.2.1).

2) Any application for a §32-18 Special Permit which includes alterations to the historic structure is referred for a recommendation by the Joint Committee (HDC and ARB) using the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation as its guidelines. (§32-18.3(d)). “Alterations” include any Regulated Activity described in this Handbook. (§32-18.2.2).

3) Applications for alterations after the Special Permit/HRS has been granted must be reviewed by the HDC Administrator to evaluate whether HDC review is needed. (§32-18.7).

4) The perpetual preservation easement granted to the Town of Westport is enforceable by both the HDC and the P&Z (§32-18(c)).

In addition, although §32-18 was first adopted in 2008, with the support of the HDC the regulation has been amended a number of times to expand the available incentives as new opportunities for preserving Westport’s historic structures have been identified. Indeed, Westport’s 2017 Plan of Conservation and Development (“POCD”) specifically calls for establishing “zoning regulations which will help protect historic resources including use flexibility, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, dimensional flexibility, and/or other approaches” where appropriate, and identifies the HDC as the “Leader” in working with Town agencies to incentivize preservation of historic structures. Thus, the HDC encourages property owners to contact the HDC Office to discuss how §32-18 might serve to protect their historic properties or to discuss possible further amendments to the regulation. A chronology of the adoption of §32-18 and amendments to it can be found here.