A Shelton-based propane company can now sell and deliver propane on Route 67, after it settled a lawsuit it had filed against the Oxford Planning and Zoning Commission.
The out-of-court settlement was approved at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Thursday, after an executive session discussion.
Phoenix Propane LLC had filed the suit against the commission after it denied Phoenix’s proposal for a propane shop on Oxford Road in December 2010.
Now, with the settlement, Phoenix can open up shop — once it builds its proposal facility on the 1.15 acre plot at 268 Oxford Road.
“We hammered out a deal,” said Patrick Cocciarella, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, following an executive session Thursday night at Town Hall where the agreement was reached.
Propane Shop
The plan calls for installing an 18,000-gallon propane tank, constructing a new commercial building, and importantly, as per the settlement, discontinuing the use of a two-family house at the site as a residence.
The residential use will terminate once the existing lease expires, Cocciarella said.
The application required a special exemption from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
“They’ll be selling the propane and other supplies like little fireplaces. I think it will work out in the long run,” Cocciarella said.
There were some concerns from neighbors about the propane operation.
“A lot of people aren’t comfortable with an 18,000 gallon propane tank sitting there, but it meets all federal and state codes,” Cocciarella said.
The Settlement
Dominick Thomas, attorney for Phoenix Propane, said both sides had to give up something, but the end result is there will be no residential use on the property.
“They already own the property, so they have to have a pre-construction meeting, install the tank, do all that other stuff,” Thomas said Friday. “Their main focus at the beginning is to set it up for deliveries to houses, because so many people are going to propane now. And as the lease ends, they will operate a sales office (in the residence), and at that point you’ll be able to fill up your tank for your barbecue.”
Background
Commissioners said they denied the application because the sale and distribution of propane is incompatible with existing residential uses near the site.
The commission said the sale of propane would be detrimental to the welfare and property values in the neighborhood. The commission also said the proposed use would increase traffic on a driveway shared by the home and propane company, and would create additional truck traffic on Route 67.
Finally, the board said the lot is too small for the operation of a propane business and a residence.
But Phoenix Propane wanted to know: How could a propane facility cause harm to a neighborhood with an empty commercial strip mall, a quarry, and a manufacturing warehouse?
That was one of several points made in the lawsuit. Phoenix Propane, in its suit, claimed the commission “acted illegally, arbitrarily and in abuse” of the law.
The suit claimed the commission did not have evidence to support its reasons for denial — including how a propane shop would be detrimental to a commercial and industrial area.
The suit asked for the decision to be reversed, and a site plan approval and special exception to be granted to Phoenix Propane.
