Melnick v. Zoning & Planning Commission
Melnick v. Zoning & Planning Commission
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The plaintiff, Harry Melnick, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his appeal from the decision of the defendant, the zoning and planning commission of the town of Suffield, approving a zone change for the plaintiffs property from a residential zone to a light industrial zone. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly concluded (1) that the administrative record supported the defendant’s stated reasons for the zone change, (2) that the defendant did not change the zone for the improper purpose of precluding residential development of his property, (3) that the defendant’s approval of the zone change placing the rear portion of his property in the industrial zone without any road frontage on or access through industrially zoned land was not illegal and (4) that the zone change did not amount to an inverse condemnation of his rezoned property. We agree with the plaintiffs third claim and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.
The following facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of the plaintiffs appeal. Since 1962, the plaintiff has been the owner of a parcel of land located on the east side of East Street South in Suffield consisting of approximately twenty-nine acres. The vacant land is assessed as one parcel of land and has approximately 200 feet of frontage on East Street South. The town of Suffield owns three parcels of land contiguous to the plaintiffs property. Subsequent to the
In 2004, the defendant completed a comprehensive review of its zoning regulations and enacted substantial amendments to those regulations and the zoning map. The zoning classification of the four parcels as residential did not change at that time. In August, 2004, the plaintiff listed his property for sale with real estate brokers. In September, 2004, an interested purchaser, Landquest, LLC, contacted the town planner, Philip Chester, to discuss possible development of the property as an active adult community. Chester confirmed that such a use was permitted by special permit in a residential zone. In December, 2004, Landquest, LLC, signed a contract with the plaintiff to purchase the property for development as an active adult community. Landquest, LLC, scheduled another meeting with Chester for December 13, 2004. At that meeting, Chester indicated that the defendant was initiating a zone change for the plaintiffs property.
By application dated November 19, 2004, the defendant, acting through Chester, requested the rezoning of the four parcels owned by the plaintiff and the town from R-25, a residential zone, to PDIP, a planned development industrial park zone.
The defendant approved the application to rezone all four parcels by a five to one vote on January 24, 2005, and notice of the approval was published in the Journal Inquirer newspaper on January 27, 2005. The plaintiff appealed to the court from the defendant’s decision to rezone his parcel. By motion dated May 12, 2005, the plaintiff requested permission to present evidence on his claims of predetermination or predisposition and inverse condemnation pursuant to General Statutes § 8-8 (k).
On October 27, 2005, the plaintiff filed a motion for reargument and reconsideration of the court’s decision.
The defendant was acting in its legislative capacity when it amended its zoning map by changing the zone of the four parcels from residential to industrial. See Cottle v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 100 Conn. App. 291, 293, 917 A.2d 1030 (2007). “Acting in such legislative capacity, the local board is free to amend its regulations whenever time, experience, and responsible planning for contemporary or future conditions reasonably indicate the need for a change. . . . The discretion of a legislative body, because of its constituted role as formulator of public policy, is much broader than that of an administrative board, which serves a quasi-judicial function. . . . This legislative discretion is wide and liberal, and must not be disturbed by the courts unless the party aggrieved by that decision establishes that the commission acted arbitrarily or illegally.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Campion v. Board of Aldermen, 278 Conn. 500, 527, 899 A.2d 542 (2006).
Here, the plaintiff claims that the defendant acted illegally by rezoning a portion of his parcel from residential use to industrial use. Before the zone change, the
The plaintiffs claim requires an interpretation of the town’s zoning regulations, which is a question of law. See Thomas v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 98 Conn. App. 742, 745, 911 A.2d 1129 (2006). When the plaintiff raised the issue of access at the public hearing before the defendant, it requested a legal opinion from its counsel and was advised that there was nothing in the zoning regulations that would prohibit such a use. The court, in reviewing the defendant’s decision, found that the plaintiffs claim had a “semblance of validity” but that the plaintiff could apply for a variance to obtain access to his industrially zoned property through the portion of his property that remained residentially zoned.
Although a commission’s interpretation of its regulations is entitled to some deference, we are not bound by the defendant’s legal interpretation. See Northeast Parking, Inc. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 47 Conn. App. 284, 293, 703 A.2d 797 (1997), cert. denied, 243 Conn. 969, 707 A.2d 1269 (1998). Likewise, our review of the court’s interpretation of the zoning regulations is plenary. Balf Co. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 79 Conn. App. 626, 635, 830 A.2d 836, cert. denied, 266 Conn. 927, 835 A.2d 474 (2003).
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment sustaining the plaintiff’s appeal and vacating the zone change as to the plaintiffs property.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Appendix
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A map of the proposed zone change is reproduced in the appendix to this opinion.
General Statutes § 8-3 (b) provides in relevant part: “If a protest against a proposed [zone] change is filed at or before a hearing with the zoning commission, signed by the owners of twenty per cent or more of the area of the lots included in such proposed change . . . such change shall not be adopted except by a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the commission.”
General Statutes § 8-8 (k) provides in relevant part: “The court . . . shall allow any party to introduce evidence in addition to the contents of the record if ... it appears to the court that additional testimony is necessary for the equitable disposition of the appeal. . . .”
Because the resolution of that issue is dispositive of the appeal, we do not reach the plaintiffs remaining claims.
Other cases support this conclusion. In Gordon v. Zoning Board, 145 Conn. 597, 145 A.2d 746 (1958), our Supreme Court invalidated a zone change in which the board attached the condition that ingress to and egress from
Similarly, in Crabtree Realty Co. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 82 Conn. App. 559, 845 A.2d 447, cert. denied, 269 Conn. 911, 852 A.2d 739 (2004), this court upheld the denial by the defendant, the planning and zoning commission, of a site plan application to construct an access road between the plaintiffs two properties on the ground, inter alia, that the
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.