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WELLSWOOD COLUMBIA, LLC, ET AL. v. TOWN OF HEBRON ET AL. (SC 18284)
Rogers, C. J., and Norcott, Palmer, Vertefeuille, Zarella and McLachlan, Js. Argued January 11--officially released April 27, 2010

Mark K. Branse, with whom was Brendan Schain, for the appellants (plaintiffs). Michael A. Zizka, with whom was Kari L. Olson, for the appellees (defendants). Timothy S. Hollister and Ryan K. McKain filed a brief for the National Association of Home Builders as amicus curiae.

Opinion

ROGERS, C. J. The narrow question presented in this appeal is whether a town may close a town road that provides the sole existing access to a property in an adjoining town in order to prevent traffic from a proposed subdivision on the property from overburdening the road. The planning and zoning commission of the town of Columbia granted the application of the plaintiffs, Wellswood Columbia, LLC (Wellswood), and Ronald Jacques, the managing member of Wellswood, to subdivide certain property (property) that Wellswood owned in the town of Columbia.1 Thereafter, the defendants, the town of Hebron, the town's board of selectmen and Jared Clark,2 the town manager, closed Wellswood Road in Hebron, which provided the sole currently existing access to the property. The plaintiffs then brought this action seeking a temporary and permanent injunction barring the defendants from closing Wellswood Road. After a trial to the court, the trial court denied the request for a permanent injunction and rendered judgment in favor of the defendants. The plaintiffs then appealed3 claiming for a variety of reasons that the trial court improperly had denied their request for a permanent injunction. We conclude that the defendants lacked the power to close Wellswood Road under the circumstances in the present case. Accordingly, we conclude that the action of the defendants was void ab initio and reverse the judgment of the trial court. The trial court found the following facts.4 In early 2004, the plaintiffs were considering the purchase of the property, which consisted of approximately 188 acres of land in the town of Columbia, for purposes of constructing a six phase residential retirement community. The only currently existing access to the property is Wellswood Road in Hebron, which runs from Route 66 to the town line between Hebron and Columbia. At that point, Wellswood Road becomes Zola Road, which continues into the property and terminates in a dead end.5 Several single-family homes, a small development and an apartment complex are located along Wellswood Road in Hebron. Zola Road is unimproved and the abutting land in Columbia is undeveloped. Because the only access to the property was by way of Wellswood Road, the plaintiffs requested a meeting with Hebron town officials to discuss the proposed development. During a meeting on April 21, 2004, Hebron town officials expressed several concerns about the proposed development, including concerns about storm water runoff from Wellswood Road, the adequacy of the water supply and the feasibility of septic services. The parties also discussed whether access to the property would be through private or public roads. The Hebron town officials indicated that, because the sole access to the development, at least

initially, would be Wellswood Road, the development did not comply with that town's subdivision regulations. After several additional meetings with the Hebron town officials to discuss the development, Wellswood purchased the property in August, 2004, and decided to go forward with its development plans despite knowing of the defendants' concerns. In October, 2004, the plaintiffs began the subdivision approval process in Columbia. On December 9, 2004, Paul Mazzaccaro, then the town manager for Hebron, sent a letter to the Columbia planning and zoning commission in which he raised several concerns regarding the proposed development. Mazzaccaro stated that, as depicted in the plans that the plaintiffs had submitted, the proposed development ``never could have access to other . . . development [in Columbia] or be connected to the present Columbia street system.'' He requested that future plans provide for such connection. Thereafter, the plaintiffs met separately with officials of both towns and it was determined that Mazzaccaro's letter had been based on outdated plans. Later subdivision plans showed several proposed new streets running from Zola Road to the property line. None of these streets, however, connected with existing roads in Columbia.6 Over the next several months, the plaintiffs continued the subdivision approval process in Columbia. On September 13, 2005, the Columbia planning and zoning commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed subdivision. Several town officials from Hebron attended the hearing and voiced concerns over the remote location of the subdivision, the difficulty of responding to emergencies at that location, the effect of additional traffic on the safety of Wellswood Road and the increased cost to Hebron of maintaining the road and providing emergency services. On October 6, 2005, the Hebron planning and zoning commission held a special meeting and recommended closing and barricading Wellswood Road at the town line. The Hebron board of selectmen adopted the recommendation that night. Thereafter, the plaintiffs brought this action seeking a temporary and permanent injunction to prevent the defendants from closing Wellswood Road. After the plaintiffs filed the action, the town of Hebron posted a ``road closed'' sign at the end of Wellswood Road. The defendants then filed a motion to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming, inter alia, that the plaintiffs' lacked standing, which the trial court, Peck, J., denied. In April, 2006, the town of Columbia approved the plaintiffs' subdivision application.7 The parties subsequently entered into a stipulation for a temporary injunction pursuant to which the town of Hebron was enjoined from obstructing the plaintiffs' use of Wellswood Road for access to their property pending resolution of the action. Thereafter, the action was tried to the

court, Hon. Lawrence C. Klaczak, judge trial referee, which rendered judgment for the defendants.8 This appeal followed.9 The plaintiffs contend that the trial court, Hon. Lawrence C. Klaczak, judge trial referee, improperly denied their request for a permanent injunction barring the defendants from closing Wellswood Road because: (1) barring the road was an unreasonable and arbitrary exercise of police power; (2) equitable relief is an appropriate remedy for the destruction of access even without a showing of irreparable harm; (3) even if a showing of irreparable harm is required, the plaintiffs were irreparably harmed by the road closure because there is no other access to the property; (4) the road closure was inconsistent with the public policy underlying General Statutes

Download Wellswood Columbia, LLC v. Hebron.pdf

Connecticut Law