Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/02/2011

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April 25, 2011 I Volume 5 I No. 8 Zoning Bulletin The court explained that a variance runs with the land and is not personal to the parties applying for it. For that reason, any condi- tions attached to a variance "must be stated explicitly on the cer- tificate of variance recorded in the land records." Here, the first variance contained conditions that: all construction had to be in conformity with standards put forth by the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA"); and replanting of beach grass be scheduled for early spring. The second variance contained a con- dition that the air conditioning unit meet specified efficiency stan- dards. The court found: "There was no condition placed on the certificates that would give anyone knowledge that the [Anatras] or the future owners of [the] property forever would be precluded from modifying the property in any manner that was inconsistent with the plans submitted at that time that the [Anatras]'s varianc- es were granted, even if such modifications fully complied with the zoning regulations." Because "[t]he conditions [of the prior vari- ances] did not restrict the [Anatras] from seeking to construct an uncovered deck within the scope of the regulation," the Anatras did not now need to obtain modifications to those variances in order to construct the deck, concluded the court. See also: Dodson Boatyard, LLC v. Planning and Zoning Com'n of Town of Stonington, 77 Conn. App. 334, 823 A.2d 371 (2003). See also: Reid v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Town of Lebanon, 235 Conn. 850, 670 A.2d 1271 (1996). Zoning News from Around the Nation ARIZONA Governor Jan Brewer recently signed a law that "gives rescue ranches a chance to seek agricultural status and win exemption from county zoning and building codes." Source: The Arizona Republic; www.azcentral.com CONNECTICUT Westport's Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a proposal to amend Westport's zoning regulations to exempt from the definition of "structure" all swing and play sets that are not buildings, as defined in the regulations. The proposal also seeks to exempt swing and play sets from the town's setback requirements. Source: Westport News; www.westbort-news.com 10 © 2011 Thomson Reuters