Markatos v. Zoning Board of Appeals

Summary

The Supreme Court of Connecticut affirmed the Superior Court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' administrative appeal challenging a zoning permit authorizing interior renovations to Grace Farms Foundation's operations center in New Canaan. Assuming without deciding that the trial court improperly remanded the matter to the zoning board for consultation with the planning and zoning commission, the court held that the pre-remand (2019) record contained substantial evidence supporting the board's conclusion that the renovations effected neither a material change nor an intensification of use under conditions six and thirty of the 2017 special permit. The court construed 'material change' to mean a significant change in the character of the approved use and 'intensification' to mean an increase or strengthening in the degree of any use, rejecting the plaintiffs' attempt to import the narrower nonconforming-use meaning of 'intensification.' Because the 2019 record independently sustained the board's decision, the court did not reach the plaintiffs' fundamental fairness claim regarding the remand proceedings.