Daughters of St. Paul, Inc. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Town of Trumbull

• Citation: 549 A.2d 1076,17 Conn.App. 53
• Decision Date: 21 October 1988
• Docket Number: No. 6278,6278
• Court: Appellate Court of Connecticut
• Parties: DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL, INC. v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF the TOWN OF TRUMBULL.

Page 1076

549 A.2d 1076

17 Conn.App. 53

DAUGHTERS OF ST. PAUL, INC. v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF the TOWN OF TRUMBULL.

No. 6278.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued Sept. 14, 1988.

Decided Oct. 21, 1988.

Mark T. Altieri, Bridgeport, with whom, on the brief, was Burton S. Yaffie, Trumbull, for appellant (defendant).

Gregory M. Conte, Bridgeport, for appellee (plaintiff).

Before DUPONT, C.J., BIELUCH and BORDEN, JJ.

BORDEN, Judge.

The defendant appeals from the judgment of the trial court sustaining the plaintiff's challenge to the denial of an application for a special exception. The plaintiff's application sought approval to construct a convent and religious book and audiovisual center in a residential zone. Of the six reasons given by the defendant for denying the application, five remain as issues before us: ¹ whether the trial court erred in holding (1) that the proposed convent and book center would not constitute a prohibited use in a residential zone, (2) that the proposed facility was a "church or other place of worship" within the meaning of the applicable town zoning regulation, (3) that the rear setback of the facility was in compliance with the zoning regulations, (4) that the design of the building was in reasonable harmony with surrounding residential structures, and (5) that the facility would not create or exacerbate traffic and congestion problems in the neighborhood. We find no error.

The following facts are not in dispute. The plaintiff is a Roman Catholic order of nuns. For several years the plaintiff has maintained a convent and Roman Catholic bookstore in downtown Bridgeport. In 1986, the plaintiff purchased a lot in a residential zone on the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Botsford Place in the town of Trumbull, with the intention of erecting and relocating to a new facility there. The proposed facility would consist of a main building and a garage. The ground floor of the main building would house a chapel, living room, dining room, kitchen and a large area for the book and audiovisual center; the second floor would contain eight small bedrooms and three bathrooms. The garage would be connected to the main building by a glass-enclosed, covered walkway, eighteen feet, six inches in length, and the eastern wall of the garage would be twenty feet, six inches, from the rear property line.

The plaintiff filed an application with the defendant requesting a special exception in accordance with Article II, § 1B(2) of the town zoning regulations. ² The defendant, citing the aforementioned reasons, denied the request after a public hearing. The plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court, which reversed, holding that "the only reasonable conclusion is that the plaintiff was entitled to the special permit requested," and that for the board to find otherwise was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion. We granted certification for appeal to this court.

I

When considering an application for a special exception, a zoning authority acts in an administrative capacity, and its function is to determine whether the proposed use is expressly permitted under the regulations, and whether the standards set forth in the regulations and statutes are satisfied. A.P. & W. Holding Corporation v. Planning & Zoning Board, 167 Conn. 182, 185, 355 A.2d 91 (1974). It has no discretion to deny the special exception if the regulations and statutes are satisfied. Westport v. Norwalk, 167 Conn. 151, 155, 355 A.2d 25 (1974). When a zoning authority has stated the reasons for its actions, a reviewing court may determine only if the reasons given are supported by the record and are pertinent to the decision. Spectrum of Connecticut, Inc. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 13 Conn.App. 159, 163-64, 535 A.2d 382, cert. denied, 207 Conn. 804, 540 A.2d 373 (1988). The zoning board's action must be sustained if even one of the stated reasons is sufficient to support it. Torsiello v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 3 Conn.App. 47, 50, 484 A.2d 483 (1984). In light of the existence of a statutory right of appeal from the decisions of local zoning authorities, however, "a court cannot take the view in every case that the discretion exercised by the local zoning authority must not be disturbed, for if it did the right of appeal would be empty.... In reviewing the action of the trial court, we have to decide whether it could in logic and in law reach the conclusion that the [defendant] should be overruled." Suffield Heights Corporation v. Town Planning Commission, 144 Conn. 425, 428, 133 A.2d 612 (1957).

II

The defendant first claims that the trial court erred in holding that the board abused its discretion when it found that the proposed use was commercial and accordingly not a "church ³ or other place of worship" within the meaning of Article II, § 1B(2). We do not agree.

These two claims--that the proposed convent was a commercial use, and that it was not a church or other place of worship--were listed as two separate reasons in the defendant's decision. We treat them together, however, because the first reason, that the proposed use was commercial, cannot stand on its own. The town zoning regulations do not exclude all commercial uses from residential zones; farms are allowed as a permissive use, and hospitals and convalescent homes as special exception uses. Certainly, farms, hospitals and convalescent homes may be commercial enterprises, whether they are operated for profit, or are nonprofit in nature, while at the same time being allowable uses in residential zones. Article II, §§ 1 A(6) and 1 B(5). Therefore, the zoning board could not use this reason alone to exclude the proposed convent. Beckish v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 162 Conn. 11, 15, 291 A.2d 208 (1971) (a condition imposed by the commission without being warranted by the regulations is void). The board's argument on appeal, however, has made it clear that the first two reasons are to be read together.

"Whether a use is a religious one is a question of fact." 2 R. Anderson, American Law of Zoning (3d Ed.) § 12.29; Rapid City v. Kahler, 334 N.W.2d 510, 512 (S.D.1983). When a building is used for more than one purpose, "[t]he main, principal and dominant use of [the] building determines its character." Fox v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 146 Conn. 70, 75, 147 A.2d 472 (1958). That determination is also a question of fact. See id., at 75-77, 147 A.2d 472; West Hartford v. Rechel, 190 Conn. 114, 119, 459 A.2d 1015 (1983).

In this case, the principal factual question resolved by the defendant was whether the proposed facility constituted a church or other place of worship. It is clear that, if the facility were composed solely of the convent and chapel, the question would be whether the proposed convent and chapel constituted a church or other place of worship. It is also clear that, conversely, if the facility were composed solely of the book and audiovisual center, the plaintiff would have no valid claim that it constituted a church or other place of worship. Where the two uses are combined, therefore, the factual question resolved by the defendant breaks down into two separate but related issues: (1) whether the convent and chapel constitute a church or other place of worship; and (2) if so, whether the presence of the book and audiovisual center renders the dominant use of the building to be something other than as a church or other place of worship. We therefore consider whether the record reasonably supports either a negative answer to the first question or a positive answer to the second question. If so, the defendant's determination must be upheld. We conclude that under the facts of this case the defendant could not reasonably conclude (1) that the convent and chapel do not constitute a church or place of worship, and (2) that the dominant use of the facility was other than for a church or other place of worship.

The following evidence was presented to the defendant. The plaintiff's purpose, as stated in its corporate articles of organization, is "to do general missionary work; to give moral instruction to the public; to edit, print and publish books, periodicals, bulletins and papers in connection with said missionary work. For the purpose of the dissemination of religious and educational instruction. To educate and train young women for the sisterhood and to receive, maintain and administer funds for religious and educational services. To expend and apply funds or income for these purposes; to acquire, hold and lease and manage such real estate as may be necessary for the purpose." The plaintiff is a nonprofit corporation. As proposed, the convent would contain a chapel, living and dining areas for the nuns, and a work area where religious and educational literature and tapes would be displayed for sale to the public. The "book center," as the work area was termed in the plaintiff's application, ⁴ would be open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday mornings. The chapel would be open and available to the public for prayer and meditation whenever the book center was open. The nuns would use the chapel for prayer two and one-half hours each weekday as part of their normal activities, and for mass on Sundays. The plaintiff's activity would be under the supervision of a local parish priest and the bishop of the diocese. The book center would be the largest single area in the building, although it would occupy no more than one third of the floor space in the building. The books and audiovisual material on display and for sale would be religious and educational in nature, and in support of the religious order's missionary and instructional purposes.

Although the question of whether a building constitutes a church or other place of worship is factual, this sensitive determination must be informed by a recognition of the protection afforded the free exercise of religion by the constitutions of...