Cybulski v. Planning & Zoning Commission

682 A.2d 1073, 43 Conn. App. 105, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 467
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedSeptember 17, 1996
Docket13704
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 682 A.2d 1073 (Cybulski v. Planning & Zoning Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cybulski v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 682 A.2d 1073, 43 Conn. App. 105, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 467 (Colo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

LAVERY, J.

The defendant Lego Building Corporation1 appeals from the judgment of the trial court concluding that the commission’s approval of the special use permit was illegal, arbitrary and an abuse of discretion. On appeal, Lego claims that the trial court improperly (1) determined the dimensions of a public road when the plaintiff did not plead, prove or brief such claims, (2) decided the plaintiffs misrepresentation claim by conducting a de novo inquiry into the issue and placed the burden of proof on the defendants, (3) held that the commission did not have substantial evidence before it to support its approval of the proposed use of a public road, (4) determined that the town abandoned the unpaved areas of the public road, (5) failed to find an implied dedication and acceptance of the road and (6) failed to find a private easement over which Lego could access its property.2 We conclude that the trial court improperly decided issues of title [107]*107to the road in this zoning matter when there was substantial evidence before the commission that the town held title to the road.

The following facts are relevant to the issues raised in this appeal. Lego is the owner of a large tract of land in Enfield on which currently exists a manufacturing plant, distribution center and administrative offices. This matter involves Lego’s proposal to construct an office building and parking facilities on the southeast portion of its property. Lego seeks to use a road known as Cybulski Road as primary access to the new office building. Cybulski Road borders properties owned by the plaintiff.

Lego’s property is bounded on the west by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company; on the north by Shaker Road; on the east by Taylor Road; and on the south by residential properties of the plaintiff and various manufacturing operations located along Moody Road. Print Shop Road and Cybulski Road each run north-south and provide access from Lego’s property to Moody Road, a major east-west thoroughfare in Enfield. Print Shop Road is located approximately 800 feet west of Cybulski Road and provides access to Lego’s manufacturing facility. Cybulski Road is thirty feet in width for a short distance from its intersection with Moody Road. As Cybulski Road continues north, the pavement narrows to twelve feet.

On February 18, 1993, Lego filed an application with the commission for a special use permit and site plan approval for its new office building pursuant to chapter 16 of the Enfield zoning ordinances. In its application, Lego proposed that primary traffic access to the office [108]*108building would be by way of Cybulski Road. Lego sought improvements to Cybulski Road, including widening it to thirty feet and extending it to Lego’s property line. Lego’s application lists Cybulski Road as an abutting public street.

At the public hearing, the plaintiff opposed the use of Cybulski Road to access Lego’s office building. The plaintiff expressed concern that enhanced traffic on Cybulski Road would damage the plaintiffs buildings, which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The plaintiff did not raise an issue as to the status of title to Cybulski Road.

Lego represented to the commission that Cybulski Road is an existing town roadway extending from Moody Road to a terminus at Lego’s south property line. Mogens Jessen, representing Lego at the public hearing, stated: “With regard to the improvements that are being proposed to Cybulski Road, let us keep in mind that this is a public town roadway.” Mark Friend, the civil engineer on the project, testified that Cybulski Road was a sixty foot wide town road and presented an exhibit to the commission illustrating the town’s sixty foot wide right-of-way extending from Moody Road to Lego’s south property line. Lego also submitted site plans portraying Cybulski Road as a sixty foot wide public roadway. Lego’s traffic impact study listed Cybul-ski Road as an existing town roadway. Eileen Cybulski acknowledged at the public hearing that Cybulski Road is a town road.

On May 27, 1993, the commission rendered its decision approving Lego’s application, but limiting the repaving of Cybulski Road to twenty-four feet in width. On June 7, 1993, the plaintiff filed an appeal in the Superior Court. In his brief to the Superior Court, the plaintiff claimed that (1) the commission’s decision authorizing the widening of Cybulski Road was not [109]*109supported by substantial evidence, (2) the commission improperly delegated certain decisions to the town staff and (3) the commission improperly permitted the introduction of additional evidence after the close of the public hearing.3 Prior to the hearing before the trial court, the plaintiff orally claimed that the commission did not have adequate information on the record to determine that Cybulski Road was a public right-of-way extending from Moody Road to Lego’s south property line. In response to the plaintiff’s claim, the trial court, sua sponte, ordered that additional testimony be taken to determine the status of title to Cybulski Road.

In its memorandum of decision, the trial court recognized that it could neither decide issues of title nor the dimensions of public easements upon land in a zoning matter. Nevertheless, the trial court found that “[t]here was no evidence before the commission in the form of deeds of grant, town highway maps, evidence of public use, special dedication, or any other substantial evidence to support; a determination that Cybulski Road is a public highway sixty feet in width extending from Moody Road to the south boundary of the applicant’s land.” The trial court concluded that the granting of the application allowing the paving of Cybulski Road to twenty-four feet throughout the entire distance from Moody Road to the south property line of Lego’s property was illegal, arbitrary and an abuse of discretion.

The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether the trial court improperly decided the issue of title to Cybul-ski Road when there was uncontroverted evidence before the commission demonstrating that Cybulski [110]*110Road was a sixty foot wide public right-of-way extending from Moody Road to the south boundary of the Lego’s land. During the appeal from the commission’s decision on the application, the trial court solicited evidence pertaining to the public status of Cybulski Road. The court, thereafter, held that the plans and drawings submitted to the commission were inadequate as a matter of law to support the commission’s conclusion. We disagree.

When the commission acts on a special permit or site plan, it acts in an administrative capacity and its function is to determine whether the applicant’s proposed use is one that satisfies the standards set forth in existing regulations and statutes. It is well settled that a commission cannot decide issues of title or ownership of real property. Beckish v. Manafort, 175 Conn. 415, 422 n.7, 399 A.2d 1274 (1978); R. Fuller, 9 Connecticut Practice Series: Land Use Law and Practice (1993) § 8.3. The commission does not have the authority to determine whether the claimed right-of-way is a public highway, since that conclusion can be made only by a judicial authority in a quiet title action governed by General Statutes § 47-31. Gagnon v. Municipal Planning Commission, 10 Conn. App.

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Bluebook (online)
682 A.2d 1073, 43 Conn. App. 105, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cybulski-v-planning-zoning-commission-connappct-1996.