The Enfield Montessori School has been rescued from the clutches of the venal Planning and Zoning Commission and its fellow marionettes. Hartford Superior Court Judge Richard Rittenband smote the sledgehammer that has been pounding the school, its children and the Felician Sisters for several years, ruling Tuesday that an old dirt lot is just an old dirt lot.
"The good ladies of Enfield of prevailed, absolutely," said the lawyer for the Felcian Sisters, Ken Slater of Hartford's Halloran and Sage.
"This is not a complex case," Rittenband wrote in his decision, Docket No. CV 05-4008771, Enfield Planning & Zoning Commission et al vs. Enfield Zoning Board of Appeals et al. "This gravel is merely maintenance or repair of an existing use and not an expansion thereof."
Excellent. The town, it seemed, was doing its level best to harass a productive and valuable resource out of business, and the judge did the right thing. For now, at least, the school is safe.
There's a lot more information on this subject at Andy Thibault's Cool Justice Report, and you can also see my earlier post.
The decision itself is posted here.
2 comments:
It should be noted that not all members of the Enfield Planning & Zoning Commission were on the commission when this case started. I know of at least one member who was not on when the suit started and felt strongly against the PZC's position and lawsuit.
In any event, I am glad this is over! Congrats.
It's always nice to see a ZBA stand up those drunken with power (in this case as it is all too often the local PZC) and win.
Without a liberal & sensible ZBA to protect the citizens, zoning itself becomes tyranny.
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