The Westport Town Hall auditorium was near capacity for Monday night's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, as developers and residents went back and forth on the proposed development of "The Hamlet at Saugatuck."

The proposed seven-acre property would remake the waterfront, bringing hotels, apartments, shops and restaurants to the area near the train station.

"We are somewhat surprised that there's so much opposition," admitted Eric Bernheim, the attorney for the developers. "What's really frustrating is it seems like there's a lot of misinformation out there."

The developers looked to clear up that misinformation by starting the meeting with a presentation lasting over an hour.

Bernheim says the goal was to show residents that the Hamlet would "revive Saugatuck, really make it a wonderful gateway to Westport."

Still many, including Representative Town Meeting District 9 member Jennifer Johnson said they felt "there is a big gap between the understanding of what they think they can do on that site, and what really works."

The main issues involve the increased demand for parking, with the developers' plan to use a valet stacking system like you see in the city, getting laughter from the crowd.

"How is the regular Westporter going to actually use that?" Wondered Johnson.

Most also had questions about increased traffic.

Developers said their plan to tweak the lights and roads in the area would actually cut down on traffic, a plan Bernheim said had been extensively reviewed and agreed by not only the developers' traffic engineers, but also the town's.

Johnson though was skeptical, saying "a lot of this analysis was done in COVID - in post-COVID, it doesn't reflect the reality in which we're going," a reference to the increased number people needing the train to go into the city and back to the office in recent months.

What the debate really comes down to for many residents, is if this development will really help them, or will it just be a place for rich people to go.

"I invite you to come to Saugatuck today, and take a look at our renderings, and tell us which are better," said Bernheim.

Still, Johnson and others said they still needed more answers to be able to say - with the developers still needing to figure out where employees of the Hamlet would park, and how they would address multiple environmental concerns, like getting rid of contaminated soil.

"At this point, if they haven't fleshed it out, it's hard to know whether or not they'll actually be able to deliver on the pictures they keep presenting," said Johnson. "A lot of people are like, it's not adding up."

The Planning and Zoning Commission will be voting to give their final approval or rejection on the project until early June.