Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/03/2016

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i I` Zoning Bulletin September 10, 2016 1 Volume 10 1 Issue 17 responsibilities of members of a municipal agency.Looking at the plain language of§ 52-557n(c), the court found that the language expressly excepted from immunity any conduct not undertaken in good faith, or that is in violation of codes of ethics, or that is reckless, wilful or wanton. The court found that language clearly expressed the legisla- ture's intent that the protection from liability afforded to commission members"should be limited or qualified." The claims here, found the court, were not based on what Longhi stated at Commission hearings,but were based on her bias and ex parte communications. Here, the Villages had alleged that Longhi had engaged in ex parte communication with respect to its applications. The court noted that the law "clearly prohibits the use of information by a municipal agency that has been supplied to it by a party to a contested hearing on an ex parte basis." Given those allegations of wrongdoing,the court concluded that § 52-557n(c) (and not the litiga- tion privilege and absolute immunity) applied to any defense of im- munity to Villages' allegations against Longhi. Based on those allega- tions, and the findings by the trial court that Longhi had, in fact, engaged in ex parte communication on Villages' applications, the ap- pellate court concluded that the trial court therefore improperly dismissed the Villages' cause of action for lack of subject matter juris- diction when it concluded that Longhi, who had engaged in ex parte communication and was biased against Villages, was protected by the common-law litigation privilege when she participated in the Commis- sion's meeting to act on Villages' applications. The court remanded the matter for further proceedings. See also: Gallo v. Barite, 284 Conn. 459, 935,4.2d-103 (2007). Zoning News from Around the Nation MAINE The Town of Falmouth is considering contract zoning—"a tool cit- ies and towns can use to rezone a district or parcel of land within an existing zone based on an agreement with a property owner or developer." According to language already drafted by the Town Council, "once [a project] application is in it would go under concept review, and once it is deemed complete . . . [it would be reviewed] it to determine if requirements have been met. The applicant would then be able to file for a formal review." Source: The Forecaster;www.tlieforecaster.net MARYLAND The Montgomery County Council is considering a zoning amend- ©2016 Thomson Reuters 11