Zoning to Consider Appeal of Inchcliffe Drive Ruling

The town is weighing its options after a New Britain Superior Court judge last week overturned a decision by the Ledyard Zoning Commission not to approve a three-family dwelling proposed by Gales Ferry developer Mark Coen for 83 Inchcliffe Drive.

On Wednesday, the Ledyard Town Council expressed its unanimous support of the Zoning Commission should it elect to appeal the ruling, issued on Oct. 19 by Judge Carl Schuman. The commission is expected to consider an appeal when it meets tonight at 7:30 in the Town Hall Annex.

Coen’s application to develop the parcel, which borders Smith Pond, was denied in September 2010. In a 12-page decision, Zoning Chairman Eric Treaster cited multiple objections ranging from Coastal Area Management compliance issues to the suitability of a three-family dwelling, which would include one affordable housing unit, in an established residential neighborhood.

An appeal would continue what has been a contentious and costly ordeal that began in 2006, when Coen bought the parcel for $10,000 and applied to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a front set-back variance.

The variance would have allowed him to build a single family house with a deck overlooking the pond. “It would have been beautiful,” Coen said Wednesday.

The ZBA initially voted 3-1 to approve the variance. But a few weeks after the variance was recorded in the town records, Coen said he was contacted by the town attorney, who informed him that a variance, in order to be legal, must have at least four affirmative votes.

Coen said he went back to the ZBA, but the board voted not to hear his presentation because there had been no significant change in the application.

Coen appealed, lost, and later submitted an application for the three-family proposal. The inclusion of an affordable housing unit eliminated the need for a variance, but he still was required to have a site plan approved by the Zoning Commission.

After what Coen described as “12 hours of public hearings,” his application was denied.

Coen said he personally has spent as much as $15,000 in legal fees fighting the town in what he claims is a simple case of “NIMBY” – not in my back yard – being waged by influential members of the community.

Town Councilor Linda Davis, who lives two doors away from Coen’s parcel on Inchcliffe Drive, said she recused herself from discussion of the matter Wednesday. Coen noted that Republican Town Committee Chairwoman and former Mayor Susan Mendenhall also lives on Inchcliffe Drive. Several of the neighbors were present for the judge’s ruling, he said.

Just how much the town has spent on legal fees was unclear Wednesday. “Our finance director is looking into that now,” Mayor Fred B. Allyn Jr. said when asked about it.

Coen said he believes the amount is substantial. “The town could have built a ball field, or purchased a major piece of fire or ambulance equipment for what they have spent on fighting me,” he said.

With the court judgment in hand, Coen said he is going out to bid on the project. Asked if he still has any interest in his original plan for a single-family home, in which he and his wife, Donna, once hoped to live, Coen said he is open to any and all offers.

The town, however, has maintained throughout that Coen’s narrow and steeply sloping parcel, because of its size, shape and topography, is a nonconforming lot.

“There was unanimous consensus to support the commission in an appeal if they choose to take a stand,” said Town Councilor Bill Saums. “I believe they will,” he said, adding, “the outcome of this case can affect land use planning in every town in the state.”