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Court Denies North Branford Zoning's Petition for Bulk Propane Decision Review

Connecticut's Supreme Court has denied a petition by North Branford's Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) to review an Appellate Court decision directing the PZC to approve a site plan application for a 60,000-gallon bulk propane facility at 40 Ciro Road. The plan was originally denied by the PZC in 2017.

The Supreme Court decision was made on Dec. 7, 2021 and released as a one-page document in response to an Oct. 25, 2021, petition of PZC seeking the review; following the Sept. 2021 Appellate Court overturn of a 2018 Superior Court decision which upheld the PZC's 2017 denial of the site plan application.

Mayor Jeffrey Macmillen told Zip06/The Sound that the issue is "of utmost importance" to the Town Council and is expected to be discussed in executive session at the Tues. Jan. 4 Town Council meeting.

Additionally, as noted on its agenda for its regular meeting of Thurs., Jan. 6, the PZC is set to discuss the "status" of the appeal during executive session.

As previously reported, in a decision released Sept. 14, 2021, the state Appellate Court sided with site plan applicant, 2772 BPR LLC, an entity formed by J.J. Sullivan Inc. of Guilford; ordering PZC to approve the site plan. The plan involves installing two 30,000 bulk propane storage tanks at 40 Ciro Road as part of a distribution facility for bulk propane deliveries by J.J. Sullivan Inc.

In the Oct. 25 filing, the PZC asked the Supreme Court whether the Appellate Court improperly concluded the PZC could not deny the site plan application, as the record shows the commission included a site-specific concern among reasons for denying the application. The PZC's concern was about "... limited access to and from the subject property in the event of an emergency - a concern illuminated by Plaintiff's site plan application which showed only one access point for both entry and exit," the PZC stated in its Oct. 25 filing, submitted by the Town's attorney office of Marino, Zabel & Schellenberg (Orange).