Greenwich Commission Withholds Vote on Hamilton Avenue Affordable Unit

Planning and Zoning · Meeting of April 14, 2026

Greenwich planning board presses developer on affordable-unit sizing under state law. The Planning and Zoning Commission spent over an hour disputing whether a basement unit added to a two-family house at 129 Hamilton Avenue must match market-rate units in "comparable size and finish" under Connecticut's 8-30g statute, sending applicant John Pakora back to the affordable housing trust without a vote. Commissioners noted the unit pushes the property one unit above the R-6 zone's two-unit density cap.

Pakora said enlarging it would cost $150,000 to gain just $1,800 a month in rent. Elsewhere Tuesday, the commission voted 5-0 three times, approving a new house and dock at 9 Meadow Place, a Just Salad restaurant at 409 East Putnam Avenue, and a two-unit rebuild at 221 River Road. It also postponed an Egleston Lane project and a Sherwood Farm cottage conversion.

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Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of April 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

GREENWICH — April 14, 2026 — The Planning and Zoning Commission spent more than an hour Tuesday disputing whether a basement apartment proposed for a Hamilton Avenue two-family house must match market-rate units in size and finish under the state's 8-30g affordable housing statute, then sent the application back to its applicant without a vote.

Commission Chairwoman Albin repeatedly pressed attorney Tessy, representing applicant John Pakora at 129 Hamilton Avenue, on why the proposed third unit should be exempt from the statute's "comparable size and finish" requirement. Elsewhere Tuesday, commissioners voted 5-0 three separate times, approving a new house and floating dock at 9 Meadow Place, a Just Salad restaurant at 409 East Putnam Avenue and a two-unit rebuild at 221 River Road.

The Full Story

Pakora is seeking to convert the finished basement of an existing two-family house into a third, affordable dwelling unit under Connecticut's 8-30g statute, which lets developers appeal a town's zoning denial to state court if a project meets affordable housing criteria. The Hamilton Avenue property sits in an R-6 zone, where town regulations cap density at two units; the proposal would add one unit above that limit. Attorney Tessy argued the new unit should not have to be judged against the two existing market-rate apartments because those units already existed and were not part of the "development" under the statute. Chairwoman Albin and commissioners Nick Low and Harris disagreed, saying the statute's language requiring the affordable unit be "of comparable size and finish" to market units applies specifically to the one unit that exceeds the density limit, regardless of how many other units exist.

Pakora, who built out the basement apartment himself, told the commission that upgrading its finishes to more closely match the two floors above was not economically feasible. He said the unit currently rents in the range that would only qualify for a low set-aside rate, and that expanding it would require substantial construction for little return.

"To get an extra $1,800 a month, I would have to spend $150,000 to do that, and I'm just not going to do it," Pakora said during the hearing.

Commissioner Harris said the commission's decision hinges entirely on whether the comparability standard applies to the application as filed.

"You have to jump that hurdle first, and that's where I'm struggling," Harris said during the hearing.

Commissioner Jenkins, a member of the town's affordable housing trust board, recused herself from the application and later told Pakora, on behalf of the trust, that he had not yet formally applied or submitted financial numbers to the trust despite informal conversations with a trust contact identified as Bill Finger. The commission urged Pakora to bring a formal application to the trust before its April 29 meeting and to consider modifications, without demanding specific changes it said would violate 8-30g rules against altering an applicant's economics.

"Mr. Tessy, in the R six, if you have a two family house you cannot have an ADU according to our regulations," Albin said during the hearing, opening the dispute over which regulatory framework governed the application.

In other business, the commission approved a new single-family home, in-ground pool, seawall reconstruction, floating dock, boat lift and pier at 9 Meadow Place for applicant Start Capital LLC, conditioned on a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection license for the shoreline work. It approved a Just Salad fast-casual restaurant at 409 East Putnam Avenue, represented by attorney Michael Thomasson, after determining the concept qualifies as a restaurant rather than fast food because food is prepared on-site rather than prepackaged. And it approved demolition and reconstruction of a two-family home at 221 River Road, represented by attorney Tom Hegny, requiring operational car lifts before occupancy to satisfy parking requirements on the undersized lot.

The commission also agreed to let applicant SW82 LLC revise a pending Old Church Road application from a lot line adjustment into a full lot merger, but required attorney Hegny to seek a two-week extension to April 28 so the change could be properly renoticed to the public.

Why It Matters

The Hamilton Avenue dispute could set a precedent for how Greenwich handles 8-30g applications that add a single affordable unit to an existing building rather than construct new ones outright, a scenario commissioners said could recur across R-6 neighborhoods in Byram, Chickahominy and Cos Cob if allowed without the comparability standard. The statute lets developers bypass local zoning through a state court appeal, giving applicants leverage the commission cannot easily override.

Pakora's application now depends on what, if anything, the town's affordable housing trust offers in financing to make the unit's finishes comparable without making the project unprofitable. The trust meets April 29. The Old Church Road merger returns to the commission April 28.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Final coastal site plan for 9 Meadow Place (Start Capital LLC) Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5

- Vote: Approval of March 17 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Final coastal site plan and special permit for Just Salad, 409 East Putnam Avenue Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5

- Vote: Final coastal site plan and special permit for 221 River Road Tally: For: 5, Against: 0, Abstain: 0, Total: 5

• Action: 22 Shaw Point Lane application (22 Shaw Property LLC) — Withdrawn
• Action: 14 Egleston Lane application (Egleston Holdings) — Postponed to April 28
• Action: Sherwood Farm LLC fire-damaged cottage conversion — Postponed pending a commission site visit
• Action: 151 Old Church Road / 0 Old Church Road resubdivision (SW82 LLC) — Continued to April 28 pending renotice as a lot merger
• Action: 129 Hamilton Avenue final site plan (129 Hamilton LLC) — Continued with no set date, pending applicant consultation with the affordable housing trust

Source

Greenwich Community Television: Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, April 14, 2026