South Lyme Property Owners v. Town of Old Lyme

• Decision Date: 04 February 2008
• Docket Number: No. 3:00cv97 (EBB).,3:00cv97 (EBB).
• Citation: 539 F.Supp.2d 547
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: SOUTH LYME PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., Charles and Victoria Parsons and Joan Byer, Plaintiffs, v. TOWN OF OLD LYME, Town of Old Lyme Zoning Commission, Eric Fries, George James, Jane Marsh, Thomas Risom, Walter Seifert, Sharon Colvin and Marilyn Ozols, Defendants.

Page 547

539 F.Supp.2d 547

SOUTH LYME PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., Charles and Victoria Parsons and Joan Byer, Plaintiffs, v. TOWN OF OLD LYME, Town of Old Lyme Zoning Commission, Eric Fries, George James, Jane Marsh, Thomas Risom, Walter Seifert, Sharon Colvin and Marilyn Ozols, Defendants.

No. 3:00cv97 (EBB).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

February 4, 2008.

Kenneth R. Slater, Jr., Thomas C. Blatchley, Halloran & Sage, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Jeffrey E. Potter, John J. Radshaw, III, Thomas R. Gerarde, Howd & Ludorf, LLC, Hartford, CT, Eric D. Knapp, Mark K. Branse, Branse Willis & Knapp LLC, Glastonbury, CT, for Defendants.

RULING ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BY DEFENDANTS FRIES, JAMES, MARSH, RISOM, SEIFERT AND COLVIN

ELLEN BREE BURNS, Senior District Judge.

The Plaintiffs in this action challenge the adoption and enforcement of certain seasonal use restrictions in the 1995 amendments to the Town of Old Lyme Zoning Regulations. The Plaintiffs claim that the amended regulations violate Connecticut General Statutes §§ 8-2 and 8-2h, Article I, §§ 8 and 10 of the Connecticut Constitution, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Plaintiffs also claim that the Town has violated the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act ("CEPA"), codified at Conn. Gen.Stat. §§ 22a-16 and 22a-18. The Plaintiffs commenced this action in Connecticut Superior Court in the Judicial District of New London. On January 19, 2000, the Defendants removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1441, 1443, and 1446, invoking jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(3). Defendants Eric Fries, George James, Jane Marsh, Thomas Risom, Walter Seifert, and Sharon Colvin now move for summary judgment on all counts. For the following reasons, the Defendants' motion (Doc. No. 102) is granted in part and denied in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court sets forth only those facts deemed necessary for an understanding of the issues raised in, and decision rendered on, this Motion. The following factual summary is based on the Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint ("Compl." (Doc. No. 24)), the Defendants' Local Rule 56 Statement of Material Facts ("Defs.' Rule 56 Statement" (Doc. No. 104)), and accompanying affidavits, depositions and exhibits, the Defendants' Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Defs.' Mem in Opp." (Doc. No. 103)) and documents cited therein, the Plaintiffs' Local Rule 56 Statement of Material Facts ("Pls.' Rule 56 Statement" (Doc. No. 125)) and accompanying affidavits, depositions and exhibits, the Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to Certain Defendants' February 20, 2007 Motion for Summary Judgment ("Pls.' Mem. in Opp." (Doc. No. 121)) and documents cited therein, and a hearing that was conducted from April 11 to April 13 of 2000 on Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. ("Tr. 4/11/00," "Tr. 4/12/99" and "Tr. 4/13/00.") Consequently, this factual summary does not represent factual findings of the Court.

The Plaintiff South Lyme Property Owners Association, Inc. ("Association") is comprised of approximately 350 property owners in Old Lyme. The Association was formed for the purpose of invalidating the toning regulations challenged in this lawsuit. (Compl. ¶¶ 6-7.) Plaintiffs Charles and Victoria Parsons are or have been the owners of 11 Brookside Avenue, Old Lyme, Connecticut and are members of the Association. (Compl. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff Joan Byer is the owner of 61 Breen Avenue, Old Lyme, Connecticut and is a member of the Association. (Compl. ¶ 9.)

Defendants Eric Fries, George James, Jane Marsh, Thomas Risom, Walter Seifert, and Sharon Colvin (collectively the "Defendants") are or were members of the Old Lyme Zoning Commission ("Commission") at all times relevant to this action. (Compl. ¶ 4.) The Town of Old Lyme ("Town"), the Commission and Old Lyme Zoning Enforcement Officer ("ZEO") Marilyn Ozols are also defendants in this action and have moved for summary judgment separately. (Doc. No. 106.) Each of the individual Defendants is sued both in his or her individual and official capacities. (Compl. ¶ 48.)

The Challenged Regulations

The properties at issue in this case are located in the "R-10" residential zoning district in Old Lyme. (Compl. ¶¶ 3, 13, 24, 25.) Prior to 1992, the Old Lyme Zoning Regulations ("Pre-1992 Regulations") did not contain any provision restricting the use of an R-10 single-family dwelling, or any other use in a residential district, to a particular time of year or season. (See Pre-1992 Regulations, Art. II, § A.1.). The Pre-1992 Regulations defined a "seasonal dwelling" as a building "designed, used, or intended for seasonal use." (Id. Art. I, § C.57.) The Pre-1992 Regulations also defined "seasonal use" as use of a lot between April 1 and November 15. (Id. Art. I, § C.58). However, the Pre-1992 Regulations did not apply these definitions to the regulations governing prohibited and nonconforming¹ uses and buildings,² and, therefore, the Pre-1992 Regulations did not restrict seasonal or year-round use in any particular zone. (See Article I, § E.1.)

In 1992, the Commission adopted new zoning regulations ("1992 Regulations") amending the sections governing nonconforming uses and nonconforming buildings on nonconforming lots to prohibit winter occupancy and winterization of "seasonal uses" on nonconforming lots.³ (Art. I, §§ 8.7, 8.8.) The 1992 Regulations continued to define "seasonal use" and "seasonal dwelling" in the definitions section, but these definitions did not cross-reference any particular zones or districts. Therefore, the 1992 Regulations did not place any seasonal restrictions on the use of property in a residential district. To the contrary, the 1992 Regulations listed single-family dwellings as a permitted use in residential districts, including R-10, without reference to the time of year. (See Art. II, § 21.1, A-1.)

In 1995, the Commission again amended the Regulations ("1995 Regulations"). Most significantly for this dispute, the Commission amended Schedule A-1 of the Regulations, which governs the permitted uses of properties in residential zones. Under Schedule A-1 of the 1995 Regulations, year-round use of single-family dwellings in residential zones is permitted subject to the "additional standards" set out in Paragraph 21.2, which regulates the conversion of seasonal use dwellings to year-round use as follows:

a. No dwelling located in the Town of Old Lyme which on the effective date hereof is a seasonal use dwelling shall be converted to a year-round use dwelling unless an application for such conversion has been approved by the Zoning Enforcement Officer ... under the application requirements and standards set forth in subparagraph c. hereof.

b. For the purpose of administration of this section, the Zoning Enforcement Officer ... may designate from time to time those properties on which there has been an affirmative determination that there is located thereon a seasonal use dwelling ... The absence of such designation shall merely mean no determination has been made by the Zoning Enforcement Officer of the Town of Old Lyme, and shall not be deemed to be evidence that a dwelling is a year-round use dwelling.

Nothing in this Regulation shall be deemed to preclude a landowner from contesting such designation by demonstrating to the Zoning Enforcement Officer that the designated seasonal use dwelling was a lawfully preexisting nonconforming use, or prior to January 1, 1992 was a lawfully existing single detached dwelling for one family, located on a lot with not more than one such dwelling, and that such dwelling was continuously maintained as a year-round use dwelling thereafter ...

Subparagraph c then sets out the requirements for an application for conversion of a seasonal use to year-round use. Among other requirements, an application for conversion will only be approved if the lot contains a minimum of 10,000 square feet, if there is no more than one dwelling unit on the lot, if the lot is served by a year-round water supply and on-site sewage disposal system both of which must comply with applicable Connecticut Health Department standards, and if the building's heating and electrical systems and insulation comply with the applicable minimum standards for a year-round dwelling. (Art. II, § 21.2.5(c)).

The 1995 Regulations prohibit conversion to year-round use of these properties despite the fact that the sewage disposal and water systems on the properties may be in compliance with the Connecticut minimum standards for year-round residence and the fact that the properties are fully accessible by roads which serve the year-round use properties in the area. (Compl. ¶ 10; Pls.' Mem. in Opp. at 2.) The limitations on conversion from seasonal to year-round use are the basis of the Plaintiffs' challenge to the 1995 Regulations. In particular, the Plaintiffs complain that the 1995 Regulations prevent conversion to year-round use of some owners' property solely because their lots are smaller than 10,000 square feet. (Compl. ¶ 28.)

The parties offer different versions of how the challenged regulations came to be adopted. The Defendants claim that the minimum size requirement was adopted in response to concerns about public health, safety and welfare. (Defs.' Mem. in Supp. at 15; Defs.' Rule 56 Statement ¶ 7.) Defendant Jane Marsh testified at the hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction that the 10,000 square foot requirement was adopted out of concern that on-site septic systems in the community near the shoreline had been constructed at too high a density. (Tr. 4/12/00 at 56-58.) Some of the Defendants have testified that the Town and Commission members adopted the seasonal use restrictions because they thought that the restrictions would reduce contamination of wells and pollution of Long Island Sound. (E.g., id.; see also Pls.' Rule...