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DENNIS LORING ET AL. v. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF NORTH HAVEN (SC 17886) (SC 17887)
Rogers, C. J., and Norcott, Katz, Palmer and Zarella, Js. Argued November 27, 2007--officially released July 15, 2008

Jennifer N. Coppola, with whom was Jeffrey M. Donofrio, for the appellant (defendant). Daniel A. Silver, for the appellee (named plaintiff).

Opinion

KATZ, J. The defendant, the planning and zoning commission of the town of North Haven (commission), appeals from the judgment of the trial court sustaining the appeal of the named plaintiff, Dennis Loring,1 from the commission's decision denying the plaintiff's site plan application seeking to locate an adult, sexually oriented book and video store in a shopping plaza in North Haven (town). The commission's principal claim is that the trial court improperly substituted its judgment for that of the commission in determining that the plaintiff's proposed accessory use of fifteen video preview booths is customarily incidental to his proposed primary use of an adult book and video store, and hence a valid accessory use. The commission further contends that the trial court improperly ordered it to approve the application rather than remand the case back to the commission for further proceedings. We affirm the trial court's judgment. The record reveals the following undisputed facts and procedural history. Dell'Oro Plaza is a shopping plaza located on Washington Avenue in a commercially zoned district in the town. Prior to May, 2005, approximately 1576 square feet of the plaza had been leased for use as a barber shop and a karate studio. In May, 2005, the plaintiff submitted an application to the commission seeking permission to change the use of that part of the plaza to: ``Retail--Adult Book and Video Store with Video Preview Booths.'' The plaintiff cited

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Connecticut Law