DocketNumber: No. CV 01-0181984
Citation Numbers: 2003 Conn. Super. Ct. 1968, 34 Conn. L. Rptr. 77
Judges: BURKE, JUDGE.
Filed Date: 2/3/2003
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 4/18/2021
Presently before the court is the plaintiff's appeal from the commission's approval of the application. As grounds for the appeal, the plaintiff alleges that the commission acted illegally, arbitrarily and in abuse of its discretion in the following ways: (1) by failing to act to minimize adverse environmental impacts in violation of § 118-505(B) (1)2 of the city's zoning regulations; (2) by failing to act to lessen congestion in the streets of the city in violation of § 118-200(A)3 of the regulations; (3) by failing to enforce § 118-1240(D) (1)4 of the regulations; (4) by failing to enforce § 118-1450(C) (1) (b)5 of the regulations; (5) by failing to enforce § 118-1450(C) (1) (e)6 of the regulations; and (g) by failing to consider the unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction of the public trust in the air, water or other natural resources of the State of Connecticut and by approving a development which, as proposed, will or is likely to have the effect of causing unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction in violation of §
Aggrievement
"[P]leading and proof of aggrievement are prerequisites to a trial court's jurisdiction over the subject matter of an administrative appeal . . . It is [therefore] fundamental that, in order to have standing to bring an administrative appeal, a person must be aggrieved." (Citations CT Page 1970 omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Harris v. Zoning Commission,
At the July 8, 2002 hearing on the plaintiff's appeal, Leonard DiNardo, a member of 70 Water Street, LLC, testified that the plaintiff is the owner of property that abuts the subject property. A certified copy of the deed to 70 Water Street was also introduced into evidence. The court finds, accordingly, that the plaintiff is statutorily aggrieved for the purpose of bringing this appeal. Because the plaintiff filed a verified petition of intervention pursuant to §
Timeliness and Service of Process
General Statutes §
Notice of the commission's decision was published in the Norwalk Hour newspaper on December 14, 2000. (ROR, Item 52.) The plaintiff commenced this appeal on December 22, 2000, by service of process upon Ernest DesRochers, chairman of the Norwalk zoning commission, upon Kevin Fitzgerald, town clerk of the city of Norwalk, and upon Mary Roman, city clerk of the city of Norwalk. (Marshall's Return. ) The court finds, accordingly, that the plaintiff commenced this appeal in a timely fashion upon the proper parties.
"The settled standard of review of questions of fact determined by a zoning authority is that a court may not substitute its judgment for that of the zoning authority as long as it reflects an honest judgment reasonably exercised . . . The court's review is based on the record, which includes the knowledge of the board members gained through personal observation of the site or through their personal knowledge of the area involved." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 643. "Review of zoning commission decisions by the Superior Court is limited to a determination of whether the commission acted arbitrarily, illegally or unreasonably." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 639. "The burden of proof to demonstrate that the [commission] acted improperly is upon the plaintiffs." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Bloom v. ZoningBoard of Appeals,
The plaintiff first argues that the commission erred in concluding that the application was unlikely to have the effect of unreasonably polluting, impairing or destroying the public trust in the natural resources of the state in violation of §
The defendants counter, first, that the plaintiff has confused the issue of environmental damage arising from a prior owner's use of the subject property with the issue which was before the commission in this case, namely whether the applicant's proposed use was likely to have the effect of unreasonably polluting or impairing the environment. (Defendants' Memorandum, pp. 11-12.) The defendants argue that "[w]hat the plaintiff conveniently overlooks is the fact that the subject premises is not a pristine piece of waterfront property about to be sullied by the Defendant's development. Rather, the subject premises was already subjected to a heavy industrial use and is in need of a use which is consistent with the City's Zoning Regulations." (Id., p. 13.) The defendants further argue that the present application actually proposed a cleanup of the site "in a manner satisfactory to the department of environmental protection" and thus, the defendants assert, there was no reason for the commission to stipulate, as a condition of its approval, a cleanup of the site. "It was something the applicant proposed to do in the first place." (Id., pp. 13-16.) The court agrees with the defendants.
The plaintiff cites no case law, nor has research produced any, to support its position that §
The court finds no evidence in the record, nor does the plaintiff cite to any, to support a finding that the application under consideration was likely to have the effect of unreasonably polluting or destroying the public trust in the natural resources of the state. Indeed, the evidence in the record supported a finding that the proposed application would, in fact, improve environmental conditions on the subject property. (See, e.g., ROR Items 7, 13 43.) As previously noted, where the record supports the commission's determination that the proposed conduct does not violate §
As grounds for sustaining the appeal, the plaintiff also alleges that the commission's decision violated several sections of the city's regulations pertaining to traffic flow, safety and congestion. Specifically, the plaintiff argues that "the commission erred in issuing a special permit and in approving a Coastal Area Management application based on a site plan calling for a development which includes . . . a two-way driveway which . . . does not line up with a City of Norwalk street named `Elizabeth Street.'" (Plaintiff's Memorandum, p. 26.) The plaintiff argues that the imperfect alignment between the two streets violates General Statutes §
The defendants counter that the record contains uncontroverted expert testimony that the development would achieve an excellent level of traffic service. Moreover, the defendants argue that the applicant's traffic consultant, Henry Ditman, testified that the offset between the proposed driveway and Elizabeth Street was very slight and that a driver would simply exit the proposed driveway at a slight angle. (Defendants' Memorandum, pp. 18-19.) The defendants conclude that the plaintiff, which did not hire its own traffic consultant, is simply "attempting to substitute its own second guessing for the considered judgment of a qualified traffic consultant and the judgment of the commission. " (Id., p. 19.) The court agrees with the defendants.
As previously noted, "[t]he settled standard of review of questions of fact determined by a zoning authority is that a court may not substitute its judgment for that of the zoning authority as long as it reflects an honest judgment reasonably exercised." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Raczkowski v. Zoning Commission, supra,
The record in the present appeal contains a letter of approval from the Norwalk department of public works signing off on the project as well as well as a letter recommending approval of the project from the city's plan review committee. (ROR, Items 33 43.) It also contains a traffic study prepared by Barkan Mess Associates, Inc., a traffic engineering and planning firm, which states in part: "Access to the site will be provided via one centrally located driveway opposite but just south of Elizabeth Street. The location and alignment of the driveway allows for counterclockwise one-way traffic circulation through the site. Since Elizabeth Street is one-way away from Water Street, there are no concerns relative to the intersection being slightly offset. Further, the proximity of the driveway is such that vehicles exiting the site to use Elizabeth Street will essentially be a through movement." (ROR Item 6, p. 3.) The study further states: "The results of the analyses indicate that this proposed mixed use development will not impact traffic CT Page 1975 operations in the vicinity of the site. Vehicles will be able to enter and exit the site comfortably with little delay at [level of service] B or better . . . Regarding access, the driveway is well designed and appropriately situated. The slight offset from Elizabeth Street will have little affect on traffic operations and allows for an efficient one-directional counterclockwise flow through the site." (Id., pp 5-6.)
Additionally, Henry Ditman, a licensed professional engineer and the applicant's traffic consultant, also testified before the commission at the public hearing. He stated: "The driveway does not exactly line up opposite Elizabeth Street. It has a slight offset which means that the center line of the driveway does not line up with the center line of Elizabeth Street. However, the offset is so slight that if you were waiting . . . to exit the driveway, the movement onto Elizabeth Street would be off on an angle. It would not be a right turn and then a left turn." (ROR, Item 2, p. 20.) Based on the record, the court finds that there was substantial and uncontroverted evidence to support the commission's determination that the subject application complied with all relevant regulations pertaining to traffic.
By the Court,
Burke, J.