Paul v. Board of Zoning Appeals of City of New Haven

• Decision Date: 04 January 1955
• Citation: Paul v. Board of Zoning Appeals of City of New Haven, 110 A.2d 619, 142 Conn. 40 (Conn. 1955)
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: John R. PAUL et al. v. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF the CITY OF NEW HAVEN et al. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Page 619

110 A.2d 619

142 Conn. 40

John R. PAUL et al. v. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS OF the CITY OF NEW HAVEN et al.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

Jan. 4, 1955.

Charles G. Albom, New Haven, with whom, on the brief, was Harold E. Alprovis, New Haven, for appellant (defendant Development Sales Corp.).

John Q. Tilson, Jr., New Haven, with whom was Charles N. Schenck III, New Haven, for appellee (plaintiffs).

Before INGLIS, BALDWIN, O'SULLIVAN, WYNNE and DALY, JJ.

WYNNE, Justice.

The defendant Development Sales Corporation, hereinafter referred to as the owner, appealed to the defendant board of zoning appeals of New Haven from the refusal of the building inspector to grant a building permit for the use of a portion of the basement of an apartment house for three suites of doctors' offices. The board overruled the inspector, and the plaintiffs, who are nearby residents and landowners, appealed to the Court of Common Pleas. From a judgment sustaining the appeal, the owner has appealed to this court.

Succinctly stated, the issue is whether the board of zoning appeals acted arbitrarily, illegally or in abuse of its discretion by granting a variance under the zoning ordinance of New Haven to permit doctors' offices in a residence zone.

The facts before the board may be stated as follows: This proceeding originated on December 3, 1953. The building inspector of New Haven had refused to grant a building permit to use a portion of the basement of an apartment house under construction at 570-576 Whitney Avenue for offices for three physicians. The apartment house is two stories high in front and has thirty-six apartments. It is in a residence AA zone, in which the zoning regulations do not expressly permit physicians' offices. With the exception of two offices maintained by a physician and a chiropractor in their private homes, there are no professional offices within a radius of approximately one-half mile in any direction. None of the apartment houses in the area contain professional offices.

Under § 1033(7) of the New Haven zoning ordinance, the board of zoning appeals may in an appropriate case, after notice and hearing and subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards, determine and vary the applications of the regulations in harmony with their general purpose and intent where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the ordinance or where the effect of the application of the ordinance is arbitrary. This can only be done in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance so that the public health, safety and general welfare may be secured and substantial justice done. The owner did not specifically ask for a variance. On the face of its application for a permit, the ruling of the building inspector was correct because professional offices of the kind the owner sought permission for are not allowed in an AA residence district. New Haven Zon. Ordinance, §§ 1012, 1011 (1951). The case, however, has been treated as an application for a variance, and we shall consider it as such.

The plaintiffs' appeal from the...