213 A.2d 527 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1965
The plaintiff's appeal from the action of the defendant commission in amending its regulations by adding thereto amendment No. 27, entitled "Chapter 4A Design Development Districts," has been met by the defendant's plea in abatement based on its claim that the action was not brought within fifteen days from the date of the decision of the commission as required by §§
The chronological chain of events that ultimately resulted in the adoption of the regulations is as follows: Public hearings on proposed amendments, December 14, 1964, and January 12, 1965; public meeting at which the proposed amendments were considered and adopted by the commission and an announcement of the approval of the amendments was made to the interested public in attendance, February 15, 1965; filing of copies of amendments in office of Westport town clerk, February 17, 1965; publication in Westport "Town Crier" of notice of approval of amendments and the filing of same with the town clerk and specifying February 25, 1965, as effective date of amendments, February 18, 1965. *87
The appeal papers were served on the commission on March 5, 1965. The defendant contends that the appeal period began on February 15, 1965, while the plaintiff's position is that February 18, 1965, is the date from which the appeal period is to be computed. Succinctly stated, it is the contention of the plaintiff that by virtue of §
The procedural process relating to appeals from zoning commissions exists only under statutory authority. Long v. Zoning Commission,
Nothing under §
Relative to the plaintiff's insistence that the legislature could not have intended different procedures in appeals from zoning commissions and zoning boards of appeal: Prior to 1953, appeals from zoning bodies and zoning boards of appeal were governed by the same requirement — fifteen days following the rendering of the decision. Rev. 1949, *89
§ 844, as amended, Cum. Sup. 1951, § 160b; Rev. 1949, § 845. However, in 1953 a new starting point for the running of the fifteen-day period was approved by the legislature with reference to appeals from zoning boards of appeal, but only when the appeal related to the granting of special exceptions or variances or to a reversal of orders. Cum. Sup. 1953, § 285c; Cum. Sup. 1955, § 378d;Aurora v. Zoning Board of Appeals,
The conclusion of the court is that with regard to the appeals from the three types of decisions of a zoning board of appeals (the granting of variances or special exceptions, and reversals), the fifteen-day period to appeal begins from the effective date of the decision. The legislature, by the phrase in §
The plaintiff argues that unless the statutes are construed to require newspaper publication to antedate the start of the fifteen-day appeal period, much mischief could result if a board reached a decision and withheld publication for more than fifteen days thereafter, thus depriving an aggrieved party, previously ignorant of the existence of the decision, of a right to appeal. It might be well to point out, first of all, that this maneuvering did not take place in the instant matter, nor does the plaintiff make any such assertion. However, if these feared Machiavellian machinations are a possibility, the remedy, if any is needed, rests with the legislature and not with the courts. Swentusky v. PrudentialIns. Co.,
The decision of the defendant commission to adopt the amendment to its regulations establishing design development districts was made at a public meeting and was announced to the public at this meeting, on February 15, 1965. The commission's decision, therefore, was rendered at that time.Bulkeley's Appeal,
The defendant's plea in abatement is sustained.