A landowner sought permits to demolish an existing home and to construct a new single family dwelling with a swimming pool and related structures. The property, located in a zoning district that requires a two acre minimum, includes a private roadway which brings the total acreage to 2.034 acres. Without the private driveway, the lot measures just under two acres. The Appeals Court, in overturning the decision below, determined that the private driveway could not be considered when determining the size of the parcel for purposes of satisfying the minimum lot size requirement.  

The court relied on rules of statutory construction to interpret the zoning regulations to determine whether the Town meant to have private roads included in lot area size.  When more than one construction is possible, the court noted that they “adopt the one that renders the enactment effective and workable and reject any that might lead to unreasonable or bizarre results. In looking at the definition of “lot” in the zoning regulations, which provides in relevant part that a lot is, “a parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by a building or a group of buildings and their accessory uses, including such open spaces as are required by these regulations and such other open spaces as are used in connection with the buildings,” the Court determined that the private roadway could not be considered part of the definition because it is not “occupied” by a building.  Further, the Court noted that the lot is located in a zoning district that requires buildings to be set back from the roadway with a minimum front yard of at least 75 feet.  This, they said, provides further evidence that the drafters did not intend for the roadway to be included in the definition of a “lot.” The Court also found unconvincing the applicant’s assertion that the roadway could be considered an accessory use or open space, and neither found persuasive nor on point, other caselaw cited by the applicant in support of this position. Finally, the Court concluded that that the roadway satisfies the definition of a “street” under the zoning regulations, which is defined as “…all public and private steets, highways, avenues, boulevards, parkways, roads and other similar ways.”    

Field Point Park Association, Inc. v. Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of Greenwich, 103 Conn. App. 437, 2007 WL 2363361 (8/28/07)