SC20808, SC20810, SC20811 - 131 Beach Road, LLC v. Town Plan & Zoning Commission ("These consolidated appeals challenge the judgment of the trial court reversing the decision of the defendant, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission of the Town of Fairfield (commission), on the two part application filed by the plaintiff, 131 Beach Road, LLC, to construct a forty unit, multifamily affordable housing development near Fairfield's Old Post Road Historic District (historic district). The commission denied the first part of the plaintiff's application, which sought a zone text amendment to permit multifamily affordable housing units within the residence A zone district. It approved the second part of the plaintiff's application, which sought a site plan and a certificate of zoning compliance, but imposed two conditions on its approval, one of which limited the height of the proposed building and thereby reduced the number of affordable housing units. The trial court sustained the plaintiff's zoning appeals pursuant to General Statutes § 8-30g (g), concluding in relevant part that the commission had failed (1) to consider the zone text amendment in light of the requirements of § 8-30g, and (2) to satisfy its statutory burden of establishing that the height condition was necessary to protect a substantial public interest that outweighed the need for affordable housing in Fairfield. We agree with the trial court that the commission improperly imposed a height condition on its approval of the plaintiff's site plan and certificate of zoning compliance, and improperly denied the zone text amendment insofar as it applied to the proposed development at issue in this appeal, but we disagree that the commission improperly denied the zone text amendment insofar as it applied to the entire residence A zone district.

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The judgment is reversed with respect to the trial court's determination concerning the commission's denial of a zone text amendment applicable to the residence A zone district and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to remand to the commission and to order the commission to grant the plaintiff's application for a zone text amendment limited solely to the subject property; the judgment is affirmed in all other respects.")