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Although the appellate court did not rule on the plaintiff's claims that the Zoning Commission improperly applied the regulations in general in approving the expansion, the project cannot move forward unless the legal problems linked to the parking plans are resolved.
According to Ms. McTaggart, the church has 20 days from this past Tuesday to decide whether to petition the Connecticut Supreme Court. Other options would be to live with the ruling and not expand, or return to the Zoning Commission to begin the process again.
In July 2008, an appeal was filed by members of the Cassidy family who own two adjacent properties, after Waterbury Superior Court Judge Tim Upson ruled in favor of the Zoning Commission and the church by upholding the commission's May 2008 approval for the church to expand.
"I am very pleased with the decision. We'll see where this leads. The next move is that of the church," said Carol Cassidy.
The plaintiffs claimed that the commission improperly granted the church's request for a special exception for parking because the public notice for hearings did not comply with the state statutes.
Therefore, the plaintiffs argued, the commission had no jurisdiction to consider the merits of the plans for a special exception for off-site parking, and the commission misapplied the zoning regulations in granting the church's request.
According to the opinion issued by the appellate court, the notice must "fairly and sufficiently [apprise] those who may be affected of the nature of the action proposed, so as to make possible intelligent preparation in the hearing if such action is desirable."
The appellate court disagreed with the lower court's decision, and said the principal issue is whether-as the trial court held-the shortcomings of the text of the published legal notice were cured by the commission's inclusion of a statement that the application was on file in the town's clerk's office. The shortcomings were not resolved by that reasoning, the three-judge panel determined.
On Nov. 14, 2006, the Woodbury Zoning Commission approved a special permit and expansion of the church and the special permit for off-site parking.
In December 2006, the Cassidy family filed a lawsuit in Waterbury Superior Court after the commission approved the $3.9 million expansion of St. Teresa's.
The project would increase the size of the church from 3,200 square feet to 7,800 square feet. It would increase seating from 220 to 604. There would be 504 in the pews, 48 in the choir loft and 52 in the baptismal area.
"The plans are beautiful, and the setting for the addition is as sensitive as [the church] can be to the neighbor's property," said Ms. McTaggart.
According to the memorandum issued by the appellate court, the proposed expansion required the church to provide adequate parking for the additional parishioners who would attend the larger masses.
The church sought a special exception to permit it to use additional off-site parking spaces. The off-site parking lots shown on the parking plan included both private and public parking areas that the church has used in the past.
The Zoning Commission held a public hearing and published a legal notice in a local newspaper on June 16 and 23 of 2006. The notice announced a public hearing held June 27, 2006.
"It's a matter of the notice. We're also disappointed that the court did not take into consideration that the church has historically been using all six [off-site] parking locations," said Ms. McTaggart.
In 2006, Cassidy family members complained about the scope of the church's plans, arguing that the expansion would expose their properties to more pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as well as to noise and light pollution.
"The Cassidys always felt the church expansion was too big on their small lot. They have also felt the notices were not legally efficient for the public hearing," said attorney Franklin G. Pilicy, who is representing the Cassidy family.
The plaintiffs said the application filed by the church failed to establish a factual basis for the request for a special permit exception for off-site parking. They also argued that the public notice published by the commission did not comply with state statutes because it did not refer to the church's off-site parking.
In August 2007, Judge Upson ordered the Zoning Commission to hold a new hearing on the expansion plans. The hearing was required because three sessions of public hearings that took place in June, July and September of 2006 were not electronically recorded.
"The congregation is disappointed. What Father Bob [Kwiatkowski] has expressed over and over again is that we need to continue to pray, and that God's will will be done, and that someday this will be resolved in favor of St. Teresa's," said Charlie Rutledge, a member of pastoral council.
