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CURTIS MORIKAWA ET AL. v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE TOWN OF WESTON ET AL. (AC 31175)
DiPentima, C. J., and Bear and Schaller, Js. Argued November 16, 2010--officially released February 8, 2011

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Stamford-Norwalk, Cohn, J.) Mark S. Rosenblit, for the appellants (defendant Joseph Ryan et al.). Patricia C. Sullivan, for the appellant (named defendant). Robert A. Fuller, for the appellees (plaintiffs).

Opinion

SCHALLER, J. The defendant zoning board of appeals of the town of Weston (board) granted a variance to the defendant homeowners, Joseph Ryan and Lois Ryan,1 allowing the roof on their newly constructed dwelling to exceed the town's thirty-five foot building height restriction by two feet, seven inches. The plaintiffs, Curtis Morikawa and Diane Lynch, owners of an adjoining property, appealed from the board's decision, and the trial court sustained their appeal. On appeal to this court, the defendants claim that the court improperly sustained the plaintiffs' appeal because (1) the defendants' hardship was not self-created and (2) the board has the authority to grant a variance without proof of exceptional difficulty or unusual hardship if the board determines the violation of the zoning regulations is de minimis. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The following facts and procedural history, as set forth by the court in its memorandum of decision and as supported by the record, are relevant. The defendants are owners of realty in Weston and the plaintiffs are owners of abutting land. The defendants' property is located in a district that permits only single-family homes. Section 321.7 of the town of Weston's zoning regulations provides that, in that district, ``[n]o building or structure shall be permitted to exceed a height of [thirty-five] feet.'' Weston Zoning Regs., art. III,

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Connecticut Law