Lawsuit Won't Delay CREC from Building Magnet School, If Approved

The Capitol Region Education Council is already waiting a two months longer than expected for inland wetlands and planning and zoning approval of its proposal to build a magnet school in Avon. A recent lawsuit that appeals the zone change on the proposed build site begs the question of whether the project will be delayed any further.

Not so, Bruce E. Douglas, education council executive director, said. He confirmed that if the project is approved, construction of the Reggio Magnet School of the Arts on 59 Waterville Road will begin, regardless of whether the lawsuit against the education council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Friar Associates, Inc. and Old Avon Realty, LLC is pending.

“We have a credible reputation in the work that we’re doing. Obviously the state of Connecticut has entrusted us to do this work and partnership with them,” Douglas said. “We would not risk the money appropriated by the General Assembly if…we thought there would be a potential for harm to this school or this state.“

John P. Delbone, 7 Old Canton Rd., Canton, and Joseph F. Delbone, 45 Waterville Road, are fighting the commission’s decision to rezone the site from commercial office park land to residential. All schools in Avon must be in residential zones under special exception. The Delbones submitted the appeal to the Hartford Superior Court on June 28, under a month after the June 7 zone change.

"The Plaintiffs are aggrieved by the Commission's decision in that the zone change and amendment are likely to lower property values in the adjacent NB zoned areas of which Plaintiffs are the owners because NB commercial uses will be limited due to the proximity of a school," the legal documents for the case state.

The Delbones further claim that in approving the zone change, "proper notice of the applications and public hearings was not provided to Plaintiffs who are abutting the property owners," and they called the decision "illegal spot zoning."

Appeals to zoning decisions, inland wetlands and zoning board of appeals start at Hartford Superior Court, and may be taken to the state appellate and supreme court level. Town Planner Steven Kushner said that it is a common misconception that Zoning Board of Appeals reviews planning and zoning appeals, but, in fact, the board “has no authority over the decision the planning and zoning commission makes.” The zoning appeals board is there to grant variances.

“In order for the court to hear your appeal, you have to show aggrievement under law,” meaning the complainant needs to first prove they were “uniquely impacted by the decision,” Kushner said. In this situation the Delbone property is next door, so it qualifies.

Joseph Delbone spoke out against the magnet school in a previous planning and zoning public hearing regarding the project, stating that he would “fight this thing to the end.”

The education council, on the other hand, is fighting to get the magnet school approved so that it can open by September 2013 in order to accomodate a growing student population. In order to accomplish that, Douglas said that ground would need to be broken by June 2012.

“We’ve been advised by our attorneys and other attorneys that this prospective lawsuit has little merit, if any merit at all,” Douglas said.

Regardless of the lawsuit, the education council has had some hurdles in the application process. For instance, on the property's new RU2A residential zone, town zoning regulations prohibit building footprints from exceeding 10 percent of the lot. The proposed Reggio building footprint takes up about 11 percent of the lot.

Kushner said that the education council signed a purchase-sale agreement with owner Dr. Roy Beebe to buy nearly nine acres of land if the project moves forward. Under the agreement, Beebe would retain ownership of the yellow former Le Jardin building, which is currently vacant and sits on about half of an acre. Now the education council is talking to Beebe about purchasing the entire lot so that a subdivision will not be necessary and the magnet school lot coverage will meet the 10 percent limit, Kushner said.

Also, by state law, the Planning and Zoning Commission cannot vote on applications near wetlands that do not have inland wetlands approval. The education council expected the Inland Wetlands Commission to vote on the plan in July, which would have enabled planning and zoning to possibly approve the project already. However, the Inland Wetlands Commission claimed that it had not been given ample time to review education council responses to staff questions and tabled the vote until September. The commission is not scheduled to meet in August because many members and town employees are on vacation.

The earliest the Inland Wetlands Commission will vote on the project is at its next scheduled meeting on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Conference Room in Town Hall, Building One.  That makes Sept. 13 the earliest planning and zoning can vote on the proposal.

While it could take a year before the Delbone lawsuit is heard in court, the education council's priority is making sure a Reggio school is built on time. There are fallback sites in mind, if needed.

"CREC has looked at other feasible sites in other towns in case our plan in Avon isn’t successful," Douglas said. "Any responsible business person would do this.”