A surf therapy non-profit cleared a big hurdle in Westport last week, when planning board members signed off on a plan to build a new headquarters complete with main building, several small yurts and a huge geodesic dome on a wooded stretch of land west of Main Road.

The planning board’s unanimous site plan approval came with several technical conditions agreed to by the applicant, and came after months of discussion over the Adamsville surf therapy organization’s plan to build a state of the art compound just down the road from the rented space it now inhabits.

With planning board approval out of the way, the next stop is an appearance before the zoning board of appeals, which must rule on whether to issue a needed variance that will allow the installation of a driveway into the property on a stretch of Main Road frontage that would otherwise be too small.

MacKenzie Long, attorney for Gnome Surf, said he is optimistic the relief will be granted — “we believe this to be a primary candidate for a variance,” he said after the meeting.

Gnome Surf works with kids and adults with anxiety disorders, ADHD, Down Syndrome, autism and other disorders, using surfing to help boost confidence, social skills, self-esteem and bring together people of different abilities and challenges.

Members of the planning board spent months discussing the organization’s plan for the 7.3-acre property just west of Cumberland Farms in Central Village, and wished the organization luck last Tuesday as members issued site plan approval.

In particular, board members were enthusiastic about the large geodesic planned for the property, as the unique structure is part of the organization’s plan to make the compound a safe, comforting place. It will cover nearly 1,500 square feet and will rise to 22 feet and will be built by a California-based dome company.

“You go inside a geodesic dome and it just expands your horizon,” board member John Bullard said. “I think this is going to be just as good at growing young people as a greenhouse is at growing young heads of lettuce.”

“It’s part of the purpose and (provides) a sense of wonder, and what’s possible — ‘I can be different than everyone else; there’s nothing wrong with that.’”

Long agreed: “It’s a little different, but I think it’s a sign of what (Gnome) stands for and who they are.”