Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/07/2010

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Zoning Bulletin September 10, 2010 I Volume 4 I No. 17 In so holding, the court explained that Connecticut statutory law, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8 -6(a), allowed zoning boards of appeal to grant vari- ances only where: "owing to conditions especially affecting [the] parcel but not affecting generally the district in which it is situated, a literal en- forcement of such ... ordinances ... would result in exceptional difficul- ty or unusual hardship so that substantial injustice will be done and the public safety and welfare secured ...." The court further explained that in light of § 8 -6(a), a zoning variance could only be granted where there was "[p]roof of exceptional difficulty or unusual hardship." "Disappointment in the use of property" would be insufficient. In other words, a variance could not be granted for a "personal hardship " Here, the court found that Williams' variance application failed to fulfill the requisite elements. The hardship faced was not unique to the estate's lot. Rather, any hardship faced by Williams because of the Or- dinance was also imposed on similar properties in the town. The effect of the Ordinance was to reduce the building area for "all rear lots," not just the estate's lot. Furthermore, Williams' "main impetuses for seeking [the] variance" were: his "personal hardship" of "difficulty in marketing the property for sale"; and his "disappointment in the use of the subject property" given the "inability to build a larger structure." The court therefore concluded that the Board's decision to grant Williams the variance was in error. See also: Durkin Village Plainville, LLC v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Town of Plainville, 107 Conn. App. 861, 946 A.2d 916 (2008). See also: Hoffer v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Town of Oxford, 64 Conn. App. 39, 779 A.2d 214 (2001). Case Note: In its decision, the court warned that "[u]nless great caution is used and variances are granted only in proper cases, the whole fabric of town- and city-wide zoning will be worn through in spots and raveled at the edges until its purpose in protecting the property values and securing the orderly development of the com- munity is completely thwarted ...." Zoning News from Around the Nation NATIONWIDE The U.S. Senate Banking Committee recently passed the Livable Communities Act The bill, if passed by the entire legislature, would create "$4 billion in neighborhood planning grants for `sustainable' living projects and a new federal office to oversee them." The money would go to "aid Local governments in planning high- density, walkable © 2010 Thomson Reuters 11 73