Neighbors Decry Plan For Southport Waterfront Site

FAIRFIELD, CT — Talk of forgery and broken promises punctuated a recent Historic District Commission meeting, as a team of professionals defended proposed changes to a historic waterfront property in Southport, while a group of neighbors decried the plan.

The alterations to the site at 1101 Harbor Road are related to an agreement allowing property owner Brian McMahon to give the town of Fairfield a sizable piece of waterfront land in exchange for control of an easement on the lot that contains his home, 1100 Harbor Road. McMahon also wants to build a subterranean concrete wall, remove one wooden fence and relocate another on his land. After hours of public debate, the commission approved the requested fence relocation for 1100 Harbor Road, but denied the plans for 1101 Harbor Road without prejudice.

The 8-foot-wide easement on 1100 Harbor Road provided public access to the nearby beach, but was mainly located on a stone revetment that was unsafe, said attorney John Fallon, who represented McMahon before the commission. The dangers of the easement often led people to trespass on McMahon's land, creating liability and insurance concerns. To resolve the issue, McMahon donated more than 2,000 square feet of waterfront property to the town to make the beach more accessible, and in exchange, the town agreed to release the easement.

"This is a great application, every town body that's seen it has approved it unanimously," Fallon said, citing support from the town's Board of Selectmen, Representative Town Meeting and Town Plan and Zoning Commission.

With the property newly divided, McMahon plans to build a concrete wall underground along a grass terrace on the property, according to Fallon. Riprap — the large rocks currently found against the sand on the property — will cover the wall, according to architect Jack Franzen. The wall is being built to stabilize the grade and turf of the site and should not significantly affect its appearance, he said.

Fallon said a petition opposing aspects of the plan is based on "blatantly wrong information," including a "fake" letter that misrepresents an earlier letter from The Sasquanaug Association, a Southport preservation group. Those who signed the petition were "unfairly and aggressively misled," Fallon said, adding that police are investigating the creation and dissemination of the second letter. An online petition to stop construction of the wall has nearly 600 signatures.

When the time came for public comment on the proposal, Dale McIvor, who started the online petition, spoke for about 30 minutes, defending the petition and saying McMahon must move the wall, as the conditions of the original Sasquanaug Association letter require it to be in a different place. When the Board of Selectmen approved the land swap in May, they amended the resolution to stipulate that acceptance was subject to conditions stated in certain sections of the letter, according to the minutes from the May 22 meeting. Among those conditions is that the riprap not extend closer to the beach. In its proposed location, the wall will jut out into the air, rather than sit underground, McIvor said, and the riprap will be forced toward the water.

"These boulders are not to be toyed with, they're amazing and they're beautiful," McIvor said.

Franzen said earlier in the hearing that the rocks will not be pushed further toward the beach than they already are, while Fallon later in the hearing said there was never an agreement about not extending the riprap somewhat.

Commission members were adamant throughout the proceedings that they would not take broken commitments into account when making their decision.

"We're not considering whether a homeowner told you what he was going to do and he's not doing it, that has no bearing on what we're looking at tonight," Chair Adam Klyver, a Republican, told McIvor at the Thursday meeting.

Other members of the public expressed concern that the proposal would cause beach erosion and change the historic character of the area.

Fallon said their comments were made based on perception rather than reality.

When the hearing closed, the commission swiftly and unanimously approved the request to relocate the fence on 1100 Harbor Road, before moving on to the trickier matter of the wall and riprap changes at 1101 Harbor Road.

Member Arthur Gravanis, a Republican, suggested the residents were "forum shopping," after not having their requests met earlier in the process. Among the topics discussed by the commission was a plan to extend the terrace by 8 feet. Klyver said that if the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection approved the change, he assumed it was structurally sound.

"I don't see how it's inappropriate," he said.

Alternate member James Bohan, a Republican, was more hesitant.

"It's a major change to a major historic property," he said.

In a close vote, the commission denied the request without prejudice, meaning McMahon's team can present the proposal again. Gravanis, Republican Christopher Shea and Clerk Rosina Negron, who is unaffiliated, voted for the denial, while Klyver and Republican alternate member George Clark voted against it.