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Wetlands Agency Right to Rely On Town Engineers' letters
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1992.tb05895.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , setback , appeal , plaintiff , wetland , business , engineering , law , civil engineering , environmental planning , political science , geography , sociology , ecology , social science , biology
The plaintiffs owned 31 acres of undivided property in Woodbury, Conn. They sought to subdivide the property into eight lots suitable for single‐family residential development, which would require construction of about 900 ft. of roadway. To build the road, one noncontiguous wetland would be filled in, parts of the road would be located within a 100‐ft setback from existing wetlands, and two of the driveways would be placed over a watercourse. The plaintiffs sought a construction permit from the Inland Wetlands Agency of the town of Woodbury. After several public hearings the agency denied the application, expressly relying on information supplied to it by letters from LandTech Consultants Inc., the town engineers. A trial court set aside the agency's decision because the agency had relied on the letters, which were not presented at any public hearing. The trial court decision was reversed on appeal.