A company may file a lawsuit against Ansonia, after the city allegedly gave him an outdated version of its zoning regulations upon which he based a development application.
Castle Lane Developers LLC has filed a notice of intent to sue the city, saying the city’s outdated copy of the City of Ansonia Zoning Regulations in Ansonia City Hall contributed to the denial of a 23-lot subdivision off Castle Lane in Ansonia.
The zoning code — a book of local land regulations — hadn’t been updated in nine years, according to the letter of intent filed May 7 by attorney Danielle Bercury.
The original Castle Lane housing application was denied by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
Bercury has already filed an appeal of the denial at Superior Court in Milford. The appeal could only result in a reversal of the denial, she said.
The potential lawsuit, if it moves forward, would ask the court to award the developer damages, as well as attorneys and engineering fees, Bercury said.
The company based its application for the 23-home subdivision on the zoning code as printed.
However, at least one section of the zoning regulations had been changed and updated in April 2003. But the updates were never inserted into the code, the letter claims.
“It wasn’t until the public hearing process, which was months after we met with the town staff, that they said there wasn’t compliance with this regulation,” Bercury said. “To which we said — ‘What regulation?’”
Bercury said Castle Lane Developers received a copy of the city’s zoning regulations in the spring of 2011. The public hearing process started in September.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission denied the application in November.
The P&Z commission pointed to several reasons for the denial, including traffic and public safety concerns, according to minutes of the November meeting.
The commission also cited non-compliance with updated Ansonia zoning regulation 320.5, according to Bercury’s letter and an appeal she filed at Superior Court in Milford.
The regulation says any land that has slopes steeper than 25 percent can’t be counted toward the lot size in a subdivision.
The Castle Lane subdivision plan, as a result, featured under-sized lots. That would not have been the case if Ansonia officials had guided the developer to the correct zoning info, the lawsuit claims.
“This noncompliance was the result of (Ansonia’s) failure to publish a copy of Zoning Regulation 320.5 for over nine years following its enactment and/or failure to alert prospective applicants of Zoning Regulation 320.5,” Bercury wrote in her letter.
The City of Ansonia Zoning Regulations book on file at city hall has since been updated to reflect the amendments. A copy provided to the Valley Indy this month included the updated version of section 320.5.
City counsel Kevin Blake said the letter of intent to sue has been forwarded to the city’s insurance company.
He declined to comment, saying it had been forwarded to attorney Thomas Welch.
“As I don’t know all of the facts, I’m not going to comment on potential pending litigation,” Blake said.
