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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** OTTY NORWOOD ET AL. v. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE TOWN OF BRANFORD ET AL. (AC 19717)
Landau, Spear and Daly, Js. Argued November 29, 2000--officially released March 27, 2001 Counsel

Richard D. Patterson, with whom was Max F. Brunswick, for the appellants (defendant Linda MacArthur Anderson et al.). Roger Sullivan and Geoffrey A. Hecht, for the appellees (plaintiffs).
Opinion

LANDAU, J. The defendants Linda MacArthur Anderson and Ruth MacArthur1 appeal from the judgment of the Superior Court sustaining the plaintiffs'2 zoning appeal and reversing the decision of the defendant zoning board of appeals of the town of Branford (board) that granted the defendants variances for their respective lots. On appeal, the defendants claim that the court improperly concluded that the record does not contain substantial evidence to support the board's decision to grant the variances.3 We affirm the judgment of the

trial court. The following facts and procedural history are necessary for our resolution of this appeal. In 1956, the town of Branford (town) adopted zoning regulations regarding nonconforming lots. The intent of the regulations was not to permit the expansion of nonconforming lots but rather to change such lots into conforming lots.4 Under the zoning regulations, the board may grant a variance provided, inter alia, that the owner of the nonconforming lot does not also own a contiguous lot that, when combined with the nonconforming lot, creates a conforming lot or a lot that more nearly conforms to the regulations.5 MacArthur acquired the real property designated as 2 Esther Place (lot 8) in the town in 1967. In 1974, she acquired the adjacent lot of real property designated as 6 Esther Place (lot 9). In 1979, MacArthur filed an application for a building permit to allow her to build an addition to her dwelling that rested entirely on what had been lot 9. In the application, MacArthur represented that lots 9 and 8 were a single parcel of land. The addition was approved, and MacArthur added an enclosed porch to her dwelling. The addition extended onto what had been lot 8. In March, 1989, MacArthur quit claimed what had been lot 8 to her daughter, Anderson. Lot 8 is a nonconforming, nonbuildable lot, and MacArthur's transfer and division of the merged property was made without subdivision approval. In June, 1997, Anderson entered into a contract to sell lot 8, as a buildable lot, to the defendant Salvatore Marrotoli. Shortly thereafter, Anderson applied to the board for a variance to allow a dwelling to be constructed on lot 8. In January, 1998, the board denied Anderson's application for a variance without prejudice. In March, 1998, Anderson and MacArthur applied for variances for their respective lots. They each sought a reduction in the minimum lot area so as to accommodate a dwelling on each lot and claimed hardship if the variances were not granted. Anderson claimed as a hardship the profit that she would lose if she were unable to sell lot 8 to Marrotoli because it was not a buildable lot. For her hardship, MacArthur claimed that she had overpaid property taxes because the town has taxed lots 8 and 9 as separate lots for more than fifty-six years. The board granted the variances on the ground of hardship in May, 1998. The board gave no reasons for its decision. The plaintiffs appealed to the trial court, which concluded that the board had acted arbitrarily, capriciously and in abuse of its discretion. Accordingly, the court sustained the plaintiffs' appeal and reversed the decision of the board. This appeal followed. The defendants claim that the court improperly concluded that the evidence contained in the record does

not provide a valid basis for granting the respective variances. Specifically, the defendants claim that the court improperly concluded that (1) Anderson's hardship is insufficient in that it merely alleges financial loss and (2) MacArthur's hardship is insufficient in that it also alleges financial loss and that it was self-created. We disagree. Our standard of review is well established. ``[C]ourts are not to substitute their judgment for that of the board, and . . . the decisions of local boards will not be disturbed as long as honest judgment has been reasonably and fairly made after a full hearing . . . .'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Jaser v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 43 Conn. App. 545, 547, 684 A.2d 735 (1996). The trial court's function is ``to determine on the basis of the record whether substantial evidence has been presented to the board to support [the board's] findings. . . . [E]vidence is sufficient to sustain an agency finding if it affords a substantial basis of fact from which the fact in issue can be reasonably inferred. . . . Where the board states its reasons on the record we go no further.'' (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 547

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