For years, a Westport resident walks their dog down the same neighborhood street, passing the same colonial home with chipped wooden siding and slanted roofs. Until one day, the house is torn into shreds behind construction signs and caution tape. A few months pass and in its place stands a tall, paper-white home with sleek siding and a charcoal gray roof.
Westport today is far different from Westport a few years ago. It didn’t matter if it was a narrow neighborhood street or wide residential road; the homes that lined up along them each represented a certain era and aesthetic. The town’s character, once known for its traditional New England style dating back decades, has now begun shifting to a modern farmhouse style.
As older buildings continue to be demolished or renovated, historic architecture preservation remains significant to a number of long-term Westport residents.
Westport historian Morley Boyd descends from a family that settled in 1650 and works to prevent the destruction of historical architecture. Over the course of decades, he has noted that only protected historical districts are safe from significant change, but everything else remains at risk.
“Much of our historic built environment has ended up in a landfill,” Boyd said. “Important modern buildings, even from the ‘70s by famous architects, disappear. Important 18th century buildings disappear […] Kit houses made by Sears and Roebuck disappear, ranch houses from the ‘50s disappear.”
After living in Westport for 30 years, Elaine Schanzenbach of William Raveis Real Estate has also observed noticeable changes in the town’s character and appearance.
“Particularly in prime neighborhoods […] properties have been torn down, or drastically changed or taken down to studs,” Schanzenbach said.
The Historic District Commission (HDC) is part of the town government and occupies the role of denying or accepting applicants who want a demolition permit. According to the Draft Demolition Policy established in 2023, buildings that are over 50 years old and exceed 500 square feet are required to obtain a permit. Applicants face a 180 day delay period, which exists to provide time for the HDC to ensure the building doesn’t hold significant cultural qualities and for applicants to reconsider alternative solutions.
The Strategic Preservation Plan conducted a survey in 2023, proposing the question if the historic preservation program was important. 85% decided it was either extremely significant or very significant to the future of the town. Fewer than 25% of the respondents decided that Westport’s existing program was very effective or effective for protecting historic assets.
According to a member of the HDC, Grayson Braun, 250 applications have been reviewed for demolition from 2020 to 2023. Braun believes that the ability of the HDC is limited at times as most homes at risk for demolition are within the permissible domain.
Braun claims that due to the numerous permit waiver applications the HDC oversees per month, it becomes difficult to perform their largest priority: historic preservation.
“Demolition exacts an enormous toll on the environment and on the historic architecture that makes older neighborhoods distinctive and viable,” Braun said.
Despite his concerns, Boyd sees the potential for change to address and preserve those homes designed from earlier architects. In addition, Boyd believes the town could support those areas financially and offer incentives, in order to encourage residents to keep historically significant houses.
“The town could enact an ordinance to adjust or completely eliminate property taxes on houses that are deemed to be historically significant. It has that ability, it’s always had that ability,” Boyd said referring to Connecticut General Statute, Section 12, 127 A,
Boyd, himself, has made efforts to start numerous historical districts, knowing that although there isn’t a single solution, anything is progress. In the early 2000s, Boyd, along with his wife, realized that some form of action was needed to save the homes around them. With the support of Boyd’s neighbors, they felt more at ease in the upcoming years.
“I live on Violet Lane, […] it was the first new historic district in decades in Westport, and then several other neighborhoods near us followed suit,” Boyd said. “It does give me some level of comfort when I see the destruction around me […] but I think everything else will vanish.”
According to Braun, although Westport residents carry appreciation to its heritage, it only gains attention when threatened with losing it or having changes made.
“The role of the Historic District Commission is to safeguard that architectural legacy and ensure that growth doesn’t come at the expense of what makes the town historically significant,” Braun said.
Braun encourages residents to get involved with the HDC by engaging in meetings and public hearings, as a way to contribute to their mission of preservation related decisions.
“Homeowners also play a key role by considering the designation of their own properties,” Braun said, “helping ensure historic preservation remains part of decisions about Westport’s future.”
