The silver screen will re-debut in Westport if a community group's bid to create a new zoning designation downtown succeeds next month.

It's been 20 years since there last was a theater on Post Road. There used to be three, including one where there is now a Restoration Hardware store.

Downtown Westport has almost everything else consumers want, like shopping and restaurants. But you can't go down and see a movie.

The Coalition for Westport group wants the cinemas to return. A similar push seven years ago wrapped unsuccessfully over concerns about the building's heights. 

This time, the group cut down the plan.

"We're talking about a maximum of 40 feet in height, which is about three and a half stories," says Larry Weisman, a member of the coalition. "It can be done at a lesser height."

The town's Planning and Zoning Commission will consider the proposal to create an "overlay" designation on March 15. That would allow movie theaters in the area without changing existing zoning. The public can weigh in then.

The nonprofit Westport Cinema Initiative says it's already interested in building a three-story theater, if the zoning board will allow it.