## Facts

- Conservative Synagogue and Three Hundred PRW Associates applied to the Westport Planning and Zoning Commission to construct a synagogue building on property located in a residential zoning district.
- The application sought both a special permit and site plan approval.
- Westport’s zoning regulations required the filing of a sediment (soil erosion and sediment) control plan in connection with special-permit applications.
- The applicants did not submit a sediment control plan as part of the materials filed with the commission.
- The applicants submitted a conceptual sediment/erosion plan to the director of the Conservation Commission for review.
- The conservation director reviewed the submission and indicated that a final sediment control plan would be required before the town issued a zoning permit.
- After the hearing and review process, the commission approved the special permit and site plan, with conditions that required later compliance with conservation and sediment/erosion control requirements before a zoning permit could issue.
- Nearby homeowners and the Marion Road Association appealed the commission’s approval to the Connecticut Superior Court, claiming the commission could not approve a special permit when the application did not include the sediment control plan required by the zoning regulations.

## Issues

1. Whether the commission acted illegally, arbitrarily, or in abuse of discretion by approving the special permit and site plan when the applicants did not file a sediment control plan with the application, but submitted a conceptual plan for conservation review and were required to submit a final plan before a zoning permit issued.
2. Whether conditioning approval on later submission and review of a final sediment control plan improperly transferred the commission’s zoning function to conservation staff.

## Decision

- The court dismissed the homeowners’ appeal and sustained the commission’s approval.
- The court concluded the commission did not violate the zoning regulations by granting approval subject to enforceable conditions requiring a final sediment control plan before issuance of a zoning permit.
- The court rejected the claim that the commission unlawfully transferred its zoning role, reasoning that the commission made the land-use decision while conservation staff performed later technical review tied to permit issuance.
- The court held that the commission’s action was supported by the record and did not constitute illegality, arbitrariness, or an abuse of discretion.

## Legal Principles

- Courts reviewing Connecticut zoning and planning decisions do not substitute their judgment for the local agency; the question is whether the agency acted illegally, arbitrarily, or in abuse of discretion and whether the record supports the decision.
- A local commission’s reasonable reading of its own zoning regulations receives deference, especially where the dispute concerns application content and the sequencing of technical submissions.
- A commission may approve a special permit and site plan with clear, enforceable conditions that must be satisfied before a zoning permit is issued, including later submission and approval of detailed technical plans.
- Requiring later technical review or sign-off by conservation personnel is not an improper transfer of zoning authority when the commission retains the final say on the land-use approval and the later review implements the approval’s conditions.

## Conclusion

Marion Road Association v. Westport Planning and Zoning Commission upheld Westport’s conditional approval of a synagogue special permit and site plan even though the application did not include a sediment control plan at filing; the court ruled that requiring a final plan before issuance of a zoning permit was a lawful condition and that conservation staff review of that technical plan did not displace the commission’s zoning decision.


Marion Road Association v. Westport Planning and Zoning Commission, 1994 WL 592221 (1994)