Yurdin v. Town Plan and Zoning Commission of Town of Fairfield

• Decision Date: 08 July 1958
• Citation: 145 Conn. 416,143 A.2d 639
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: Arthur A. YURDIN et al. v. TOWN PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION OF TOWN OF FAIRFIELD et al. William J. BUSSER v. TOWN PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION OF TOWN OF FAIRFIELD et al. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Page 639

143 A.2d 639

145 Conn. 416

Arthur A. YURDIN et al. v. TOWN PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION OF TOWN OF FAIRFIELD et al.

William J. BUSSER v. TOWN PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION OF TOWN OF FAIRFIELD et al.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

July 8, 1958.

Herbert L. Cohen and Austin K. Wolf, Bridgeport, with whom were Martin F. Wolf and George A. Saden, Bridgeport, for appellants (plaintiffs) in the first case.

Martin F. Wolf, Bridgeport, with whom were Herbert L. Cohen, Austin K. Wolf and George A. Saden, Bridgeport, for appellant (plaintiff) in the second case.

Raymond W. Beckwith, Bridgeport, for appellee (named defendant) in each case.

Samuel E. Friedman, Bridgeport, with whom were Arthur Levy, Jr., Bridgeport, and, on the brief, Irwin E. Friedman and Albert J. Kleban, Bridgeport, for appellee (defendant Turnpike Associates Inc.) in the first case.

Before DALY, C. J., and BALDWIN, KING, MURPHY and MELLITZ, JJ.

MURPHY, Associate Justice.

Pursuant to legal publication and duly warned public hearing, the town plan and zoning commission of the town of Fairfield, in executive session on September 26, 1956, unanimously voted to amend the zoning map and zoning districts of the town by changing the zone boundaries of certain areas in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Black Rock Turnpike and Stillson Road. The plaintiffs are neighborhood property owners and residents. They opposed the changes before the commission and appealed from its decisions to the Court of Common Pleas. From the judgments dismissing the appeals and affirming the action of the commission, the plaintiffs have appealed to this court.

Black Rock Turnpike in this area is a segment of route 58, a main traffic artery extending northwesterly from Bridgeport to Danbury. Stillson Road extends southwesterly from Fairfield Woods Road across Black Rock Turnpike and connects with North Benson Road to provide a direct route from the Stratfield section of Fairfield to the center of town. The principal Merritt Parkway interchange for Fairfield is on the Black Rock Turnpike about a mile and three quarters north of Stillson Road.

We shall treat Black Rock Turnpike in this area as running north and south and Stillson Road east and west, in order to simplify the description of the area. These directions accord with the general understanding in the locality as expressed at the public hearing before the commission. Each of the four corners at the intersection is zoned for, and occupied by, business establishments. A bank is located on the southwest corner. The area immediately south of the bank for a distance of more than 1300 feet on Black Rock Turnpike is zoned neighborhood business 1 to a depth of 200 feet. The permitted uses in this zone are more limited and restricted than in a full business zone. The land to the south and west of this area is in a residence zone. Turnpike Associates, Inc., owns 315 feet of the neighborhood business frontage. It petitioned the commission to deepen, on its property, the neighborhood business zone to a depth of 400 feet. A similar petition had been denied the year before. The commission itself proposed extending the neighborhood business 1 zone southerly along Block Rock Turnpike a distance of 110 feet, to a point 80 feet north of Burroughs Road, and extending its depth to 400 feet at the southerly end and to a point on Stillson Road 370 feet west of Black Rock Turnpike and in the rear of the bank property. This proposal was adopted. The denial of the 1955 petition of Turnpike Associates did not preclude the commission from acting as it did. Winslow v. Zoning Board, 143 Conn. 381, 390, 122 A.2d 789.

Joseph T. and Margaret Dolan own the property on the northwest corner of the intersection. The corner lot, fronting 120 feet on Black Rock Turnpike, is zoned for business to a depth of 110 feet on Stillson Road. The area to its north on Black Rock Turnpike for upwards of 1000 feet is similarly zoned but to a depth of 200 feet. The commission changed the zone of a lot on Stillson Road adjoining the corner lot from residence to business so that the business zone on the turnpike north of Stillson Road would have a uniform depth. In addition, it also changed from residence to neighborhood business 1 property of the Dolans and John H. Halfpenny on Stillson Road immediately west of the 200-foot-deep business zone. This property is 100 feet wide and over 300 feet deep. It provides space for off-street parking for the business area and is a transitional zone from the business zone to the residential property on the west.

The east side of Black Rock Turnpike south of a gasoline station on the southeast corner is zoned neighborhood business from Stillson Road to Burroughs Road, a distance of over 1500 feet. The northeast corner is occupied by an automobile service and gasoline station. The area to the north of it is also zoned for business for several hundred feet. From Fairfield Woods Road on the north to Burroughs Road on the south, both sides of Black Rock Turnpike are lined with business establishments ranging from appliances to...