International Investors v. Town Plan & Zoning Commission

Citations

• 344 Conn. 46

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed to the trial court from the decision of the defendant plan and zoning commission, which granted extensions of the approvals of a special permit and coastal site plan review to the defendant F Co. 344 Conn. 46 JULY, 2022 47 International Investors v. Town Plan & Zoning Commission in connection with F Co.'s proposed construction of a retail building on its property, which abuts the plaintiff's property. The commission had approved F Co.'s application for a special permit and site plan review in 2006, and the special permit became effective in April, 2009. Under the applicable zoning regulations in effect in April, 2009, approval of special permits was conditioned on the completion of the proposed use within two years of the date of approval, subject to up to five years of extensions, and failure to complete the proposed use by the deadline would void the approval. The statute (§ 8-3 (i)) governing F Co.'s site plan in April, 2009, required work to be completed within five years of the approval of the site plan, subject to up to ten years of extensions, and failure to complete the proposed work by the deadline would result in the automatic expiration of the approval of the site plan. In February, 2011, the commission repealed the zoning regulation that prescribed the two year time limit for completing the proposed use authorized by a special permit and amended another regulation to require the commission to ''proceed in accordance with the requirements of the . . . General Statutes'' for applications that require a public hearing, including special permit applications. F Co. thereafter obtained confir- mation from the commission that, pursuant to the 2011 amendment to the zoning regulations and § 8-3 (i), its special permit and site plan approvals would expire in April, 2014. In May, 2011, the legislature amended § 8-3 (m) to extend the time limitation for which site plans remain valid to nine years, which extended the deadline for the comple- ti