The Easton Zoning Board of Appeals voted to remove an Easton resident’s complaint regarding the expansion of the cabinet factory next to EMS from the July 9, 2024, meeting agenda. They may decide to hear the complaint in the future. The audio recording link is below.
On Tuesday, 7/9/24, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted 3-1 (with Chairman Victor George abstaining) not to consider the zoning complaint/appeal filed by Easton resident Dan Lent.
Lent is challenging the Special Permit granted by Planning and Zoning that allows the cabinet manufacturer operating in the house next to EMS to construct a new, stand-alone, 3,000 to 4,000-square-foot factory on his one-and-a-half-acre nonconforming lot because the permit violates many of Easton’s zoning regulations, including our town ordinance (law) against two structures on one lot sharing a septic system, and the prohibition on manufacturing.
Over thirty residents showed up, and at least another twenty were on Zoom. Below is a link to an audio recording I made of the meeting (20 minutes). I added the photos; It does not include the beginning. When it is published, the official video is the official record of the meeting to be relied upon.
Vice Chairman Burns motioned that since the public had shown up in large numbers to talk about the Special Permit, the Board of Zoning Appeals should allow them to speak. Chairman Victor George and Vice Chairman Burns voted to support the motion, but the other board members voted them down, and there was no public comment.
The Board received and read an opinion from the town attorney advising them not to consider the complaint/appeal for a few reasons, including that Lent has also filed a complaint with the Superior Court. Below is a link to his lawsuit:
https://saveourct.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lent-lawsuit-724.pdf
The Town says that Lent has no standing to bring a complaint to the Zoning Board of Appeals because he does not own an abutting property. The Town also says the Zoning Board of Appeals’ jurisdiction is limited to reviewing the “field decisions” of Zoning Officers but cannot review the decisions of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Victor George read several statutes and regulations that suggested the Board had broad authority to review any Easton zoning decisions it wished and had the right and duty to consider Lent’s complaint. He found no language limiting the Zoning Board Appeals to “Field Officer’s” decisions.
Lent believes he has standing under CT State General Statute 8-6, sections 1-3. He brought his complaint under the “classical aggrievement” concept, which doesn’t require a citizen to live on an adjoining property to have their complaint heard by the Board. He points to other language in the statute, which clearly gives Zoning Boards of Appeal the authority to review “special exceptions” made by Planning and Zoning Commissions to the zoning regulations that govern all town residents.
On the question of Lent having standing to bring a complaint, under the town’s theory (which Lent does not accept), it would seem that since all 7500 Easton residents own the EMS Building, which borders the Cabinet Shop, as a resident of Easton Lent would have standing. But only the town can bring a complaint, not individual citizens of the town.
