Nowicki v. Planning and Zoning Bd. of Town of Milford

Decision Date20 June 1961
CourtConnecticut Supreme Court
PartiesJohn NOWICKI et al. v. PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD OF the TOWN OF MILFORD et al. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Joseph Weiner, New Haven, with whom were Stephen Ronai, Milford, and, on the brief, William Gitlitz, Milford, for appellants (defendants Woodruff).

Florence G. Brodman, Milford, with whom was Joseph Bernblum, Milford, for appellees (plaintiffs).

Before BALDWIN, C. J., KING, MURPHY and SHEA, JJ., and BORDON, Superior Court Judge, concurring.

ABRAHAM S. BORDON, Superior Court Judge.

The plaintiffs are the owners of property in Milford in the vicinity of Orange Avenue. They filed protests against changing the zone classification, from R-30 to R-18, of property owned by the defendants Harold and Jeannette Woodruff. The planning and zoning board of Milford, in this instance acting as a zoning board, granted the Woodruffs' petition, and the plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Common Pleas. The trial court sustained their appeal, and from this judgment the Woodruffs, hereinafter called the defendants, have appealed.

Zoning in Milford exists under what is now §§ 8-1 to 8-13 of the General Statutes. The zoning regulations, as adopted, were reaffirmed after a survey by competent experts engaged by the town. As a result, Milford has a comprehensive plan of zoning based on a long range plan to control maximum residence growth within the town. The recommendations for the future growth and development of the town affect the area which is the subject of this appeal. The defendants' land is separated by Orange Avenue into two parcels, both irregular in shape. The parcel on the east side of Orange Avenue is divided horizontally into two zones, the northerly portion being zone R-30 and the southerly, zone R-18. The parcel on the west side of Orange Avenue is somewhat elongated in shape and is divided longitudinally into two zones. A strip which fronts on Orange Avenue and is about 1500 feet long and 150 feet wide is in zone R-18, and the remaining portion is in zone R-30. A portion of the defendants' property is bounded by property of Robert and Elizabeth Beckwith on which is conducted a business, 'Buttercup Farms,' as a nonconforming use.

The zoning regulations create the five following classifications for one-family residences: R-A, requiring an acre of land; R-30, requiring 30,000 square feet; R-18, requiring 18,000 square feet; R-10, requiring 12,500 square feet; and R-7, requiring 7500 square feet. Milford Zoning Regs., c. 2, § 1 (1954, as amended). The area requirements are larger as the distance from the center of Milford increases. The purpose of the regulations, as set out in them, is 'to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the Town and to conserve the value of property, with reasonable consideration for the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses; all in accordance with a comprehensive plan designed to lessen congestion in the streets; * * * to prevent the overcrowding of land [and] to avoid undue concentration of population * * *.' Id., c. 1.

The six assignments of error raise three issues: (1) Are the plaintiffs aggrieved persons? (2) Was the action of the board arbitrary, unreasonable and in abuse of discretion? (3) Did the action of the board constitute spot zoning?

The plainiffs all own property in the neighborhood of the defendants' land. The court found that the plaintiffs' property will be adversely affected by the change of zone. The land of two plaintiffs, Anthony and Esther Kivic, is contiguous to that of the defendants and in the same R-30 zone. Any aggrieved person has the right to appeal from the action of a zoning authority. General Statutes §§ 8-8-8-10. The court concluded that the plaintiffs were aggrieved persons. The Kivics will be specially and adversely affected by the change and clearly are aggrieved persons under the statute. It is therefore unnecessary to review the conclusion of the court that the other plaintiffs, also, were aggrieved persons. Tyler v. Board of Zoning Appeals, 145 Conn. 655, 661, 145 A.2d 832. The conclusion of the trial court that the plaintiffs Kivic were aggrieved persons was correct.

The changes sought by the defendants' petition would downgrade the zoning of their R-30 property to R-18. This would enable a developer to subdivide the land into building lots having a frontage of 125 feet instead of 150, and an area of 18,000 square feet instead of 30,000, and to erect on these lots one-family houses with a floor area of 1300 square feet instead of 1500.

Zoning was adopted in Milford with unusual care and pursuant to a comprehensive zoning plan. The classifications, set forth with clarity, were designed to implement the purposes contained in chapter one of the regulations. In general, the residential areas were regulated with a design to lessen congestion and prevent the overcrowding of land. At about the time of the adoption of revised zoning regulations in 1954, the planning and zoning board engaged a firm of community planning and development consultants to survey the town and report on the best plan for its development. On June 30, 1956, they gave the planning and zoning board a report of their findings and recommendations, labeled 'Town Plan of Development.' In September, 1956, they made a further report, as a supplement to that of June 30, on future zoning regulations. The residence zone classifications applying to the defendants' land accord with the recommendations of the town plan of development as supplemented.

An essential purpose of zoning is to stabilize use of property. The owners of property adjoining that of the defendants, and those who erected residences in the area in accordance with the zoning provisions, had a right to rely on the fact that the existing regulations would control the use of the defendants' property. Zoning Commission v. New Canaan Building Co., 146 Conn. 170, 175, 148 A.2d 330; Abbadessa v. Board of Zoning Appeals, 134 Conn. 28, 34, 54 A.2d 675; Strain v. Mims, 123 Conn. 275, 287, 193 A. 754. Changes in zone should be in harmony with the comprehensive plan and should ordinarily be made only when new conditions have arisen or when there have been substantial changes in the area. Hills v. Zoning Commission, 139 Conn. 603, 609, 96 A.2d 212; Parsons v. Wethersfield, 135 Conn. 24, 29, 60 A.2d 771, 4 A.L.R.2d...

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7 cases
  • Morningside Ass'n v. Planning and Zoning Bd. of City of Milford
    • United States
    • Connecticut Supreme Court
    • January 19, 1972
    ...152 Conn. 7, 11, 202 A.2d 241; Vece v. Zoning & Planning Commission, 148 Conn. 500, 503, 504, 172 A.2d 619; Nowicki v. Planning & Zoning Board, 148 Conn. 492, 496, 497, 172 A.2d 386; Kimball v. Court of Common Council, 148 Conn. 97, 101, 167 A.2d 706; Zoning Commission v. New Canaan Buildin......
  • Fasano v. Board of County Com'rs of Washington County
    • United States
    • Oregon Supreme Court
    • March 2, 1973
    ...described as a general plan to control and direct the use and development of property in a municipality. Nowicki v. Planning and Zoning Board, 148 Conn. 492, 172 A.2d 386, 389 (1961). In Oregon the county planning commission is required by ORS 215.050 to adopt a comprehensive plan for the u......
  • Damick v. Planning and Zoning Commission of Town of Southington
    • United States
    • Connecticut Supreme Court
    • March 25, 1969
    ...to the present and potential use of the properties. Summ v. Zoning Commission, 150 Conn. 79, 87, 186 A.2d 160; Nowicki v. Planning & Zoning Board, 148 Conn. 492, 497, 172 A.2d 386. When a change in zone is made by a zoning commission '(i)t is fundamental that the change must be in harmony w......
  • Metropolitan Homes, Inc. v. Town Plan and Zoning Commission of Town of Farmington
    • United States
    • Connecticut Supreme Court
    • June 30, 1964
    ...the character of the area. Vece v. Zoning & Planning Commission, 148 Conn. 500, 503, 504, 172 A.2d 619; Nowicki v. Planning & Zoning Board, 148 Conn. 492, 496, 497, 172 A.2d 386; Kimball v. Court of Common Council, 148 Conn. 97, 101, 167 A.2d 706; Zoning Commission of Town of New Canaan v. ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • Accommodating Change: Departures From (and Within) the Zoning Ordinance
    • United States
    • Land use planning and the environment: a casebook
    • January 23, 2010
    ...as a general plan to control and direct the use and development of property in a municipality. Nowicki v. Planning and Zoning Board, 148 Conn. 492, 172 A.2d 386, 389 (1961). In Oregon the county planning commission is required by ORS 215.050 to adopt a comprehensive plan for the use of some......

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