Politics & Government
Controversial Rear-Lot Development Back in Court
Neighbors Claim Permit Expired to Build on South Pine Creek Road
Kevin and Frances Sweeney's three-year attempt to build a house on a rear lot on South Pine Creek Road is heading back to court.
John and Megan Bochanis, who live next door to the Sweeneys' 995 South Pine Creek Road property, contend in a lawsuit filed against the Sweeneys and town's Conservation Commission that a permit the Sweeneys received in December 2006 to build on the vacant land expired in December 2008.
The Bochanis' also are suing the town's Zoning Board of Appeals for failing to prevent the construction from moving forward.
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But John Fallon, the Sweeneys' lawyer, contends that while the December 2006 permit from the Conservation Commission had an expiration date of Dec. 15, 2008, his clients, who live in Redding, were entitled to an extension because their development plan had been tied up in court.
Fallon says the expiration date should be Oct. 14, 2011.
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The town's Conservation Department granted Fallon's request in November, saying it had been the department's practice to extend expiration dates of permits on developments tied up in court.
The Bochanis' disagree, saying in their suit that the construction is unlawful and would affect water runoff on their property.
Thomas J. Weihing, the Bochanis' lawyer, was in court this afternoon and not available to respond to Fallon's belief that the permit should expire Oct. 14, 2011.
The Conservation Commission granted a permit for the Sweeneys to build a home on Dec. 8, 2006. But town zoning regulations in that neighborhood don't allow homes on rear lots and require bigger pieces of property for a house.
The Sweeneys sought waivers to the regulations, but the Zoning Board of Appeals denied their request in June 2007. The Sweeneys' sued the ZBA and won in Bridgeport Superior Court in July 2009, and the state Appellate Court refused the ZBA's request to hear the case Oct. 14.
Fallon believes the two-year permit from the Conservation Commission should start from Oct. 14, 2009, which was the date the prior litigation ended.
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