Shapiro Farm v. Planning, Z. Comm'n, No. Cv 92-0517281s (Oct. 15, 1993)

1993 Conn. Super. Ct. 8831
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1993
DocketNo. CV 92-0517281S
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1993 Conn. Super. Ct. 8831 (Shapiro Farm v. Planning, Z. Comm'n, No. Cv 92-0517281s (Oct. 15, 1993)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shapiro Farm v. Planning, Z. Comm'n, No. Cv 92-0517281s (Oct. 15, 1993), 1993 Conn. Super. Ct. 8831 (Colo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.] MEMORANDUM OF DECISION I.

Introduction

The plaintiff applicant, Shapiro Farm Limited Partnership (hereinafter, "Shapiro"), has appealed from a decision of the defendant, Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of North Branford (hereinafter, "the Commission"), denying its three part application to amend certain sections of the zoning regulations, rezone its 38 acre parcel, and grant a special permit. The plaintiff seeks review of these denials under General Statutes 8-30g, et. seq., the "Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act" (hereinafter, "the Act").

The plaintiff owns a 38 acre parcel1 located on the southerly side of Route 80 (Foxon Road) which is presently zoned Industrial I-3. On May 14, 1992, it submitted the application CT Page 8832 in order to build 40 units, including 10 affordable units under the statute.2 Public hearings commenced on June 18, 1992 and were completed on July 16, 1992. On August 6, 1992, the Commission voted to deny the requests to amend the zoning regulations and change the zone and took no action on the special permit request.

The Act, at 8-30g(d), allows an unsuccessful applicant to file a modified application after denial and Shapiro submitted such an application on August 19, 1992. (Return Item 18). On August 26, 1992, the Commission held a public hearing, and on September 17, 1992, the Commission denied this new proposal. The applicant then filed the instant appeal challenging both denials.

II.
Discussion

A.
In its brief and at trial, the Commission argued that as the plaintiff's original and modified applications do not satisfy the requirements for an affordable housing development as defined by the Act,3 the appeal procedures of the Act does not apply. The Commission states that the plaintiff has not submitted sufficient information to show that the development will contain the appropriate number of affordable units.

The Commission does acknowledge that the applicant submitted a document which indicated that "ten (10) homes would be `affordable' in accordance with the zoning regulations." (Return Item 19). That document also indicates that "the proposed project involves the development of approximately thirty-eight (38) acres within the Doral Farms property for single family residential units in accordance with the affordable provisions within the North Branford Zoning Regulations." Additionally, the Commission acknowledges that Exhibit A, attached to the application to amend section 42A.8.19(e), requests a change to a twenty year restriction (from the existing "in perpetuity" provision). (Return Item 2). The Commission maintains, however, that other than these items, the applicant has not submitted any documentation of deed restrictions with specific covenants revealing that the project will CT Page 8833 comply with the sales price and time restrictions of the statute.

At a special hearing on this issue on August 6, 1993, the applicant referred to the cover letter to the application which had not previously been made part of the record. The cover letter noted that the "client is making an affordable housing application . . . as defined in 8-30g of the Connecticut General Statutes." (Return Item 1A). Additionally, the applicant referred to the cover letter submitted with the modified application on August 19, 1992. (Return Item 18). That letter refers to the Act in two places: the first, referencing 8-30g(d) ("[I]n accordance with the provisions of8-30g(d) . . . my client hereby submits the proposed modifications of its affordable housing application. . .") and the second, referencing the public policy expressed in 8-30g. In Misky v. Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of South Windsor, 7 Conn. L. Rptr. No. 16, 461 (November 1992), this court reviewed an application submitted under the South Windsor affordable housing regulations, which like the present case, failed to include specific documentation to indicate the proposal met the deed restricted aspects of the Act. In that case, this court found that as South Windsor's requirements were not similar to the Act's and as there was no indication that the Act's conditions would be satisfied, the application could not be deemed affordable under 8-30g.

The applicant alleged in paragraph three of its complaint that, "[t]he plaintiff submitted an affordable housing application to the North Branford Planning and Zoning Commission. . . ." This was admitted in the Commission's answer. Indeed, as noted by the applicant, at no time during the administrative procedure did the Commission or its staff ever raise this issue. See generally, Builders Service Corporation v. Planning and Zoning Commission, 208 Conn. 267, 299 n. 19 (1988); Fuessenich v. DiNardo, 195 Conn. 144, 151 (1985).

Section 42A.8.20 of the regulations covers the specific requirements for affordable units. Subsection A requires 25% of the units to be set aside as affordable. While General Statutes 8-30g(a)(1) only requires at least 20% of the units be set aside, this application, with the ten out of forty, meets this requirement. Subsections B and C utilize the statutory definition of 8-39A to define moderate income households and affordable housing. That section states: CT Page 8834

"Affordable housing" defined. As used in this title, "affordable housing" means housing for which persons and families pay thirty per cent or less of their annual income, where such income is less than or equal to the area median income for the municipality in which such housing is located, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. General Statutes 8-39a.

Moreover, in order to determine whether an applicant is eligible (Return Item 54, 42A.8.20(C)), the Commission is to use the "same factors and methods of calculations used by HUD in determining median household income for eligibility for HUD administered programs." (Return Item 54, 42A.8.20(D)).

The issue that this court examined at the special hearing was whether the above requirements, which did not specifically mention the 80% rule of the Act's definition, required the court to find that the applicant did not have an affordable housing application. See Misky, supra. The applicant noted, however, that at the June 18, 1992 hearing, the chairman specifically discussed the 80% rule with the applicant. (Return Item 55, p. 5). Moreover, the Commission further stated that the section C regulations, discussed above, clearly incorporated the 80% rule. This court finds, therefore, that the conditions existing in Misky are absent in this case. Thus, notwithstanding the absence of a prepared deed or model covenant, the applicant's many references to the statute, together with the Commissions regulations, satisfy the three fold test of General Statutes 8-30g(1) concerning percentage of units, price of units, and time restrictions.

B.
Section

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Bluebook (online)
1993 Conn. Super. Ct. 8831, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shapiro-farm-v-planning-z-commn-no-cv-92-0517281s-oct-15-1993-connsuperct-1993.