# Heim v. ZONING BD. OF APPEALS OF TOWN OF NEW CANAAN

> Supreme Court of Connecticut · September 2, 2008 · 288 Conn. 628

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9735394

## Case

- **Full name:** Quentin Heim Et Al. v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of New Canaan Et Al.
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Connecticut
- **Decided:** September 2, 2008
- **Citations:** 288 Conn. 628; 953 A.2d 877; 2008 Conn. LEXIS 332
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Schaller
- **Judges:** Norcott, Katz, Vertefeuille, Zarella, Schaller
- **Cited by:** 4 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9735394

## Opinion text

SCHALLER, J.,
concurring. Although I concur with the decision of the majority to reverse and direct judgment in this case, I agree generally with the rationale expressed in Justice Zarella’s concurrence, which I join. I write separately to emphasize that the key term in chapter 60, article X, § 60-10.1 (B), of the New Canaan zoning regulations 1 is not “ ‘health-oriented’ ” standing alone, which can apply broadly to animals as well as to humans, but “ ‘similar health-oriented’ ” which, in *646 my view, restricts the permitted uses to human health-oriented applications. (Emphasis added.) Even if, as the majority asserts in footnote 9 of its opinion, the terms “medical” and “dental” are not strictly limited to human health purposes (although it would be unusual to refer to an office for animal dentistry), medical and/ or dental offices for veterinary purposes certainly are not similar to human health care facilities in common parlance and understanding. I believe that a reasonable interpretation of the language of the regulation indicates that it is restricted to health-oriented offices for the care of humans. See ATC Partnership v. Coats North America Consolidated, Inc., 284 Conn. 537, 545 , 935 A.2d 115 (2007) (“[i]n construing a statute, common sense must be used and courts must assume that a reasonable and rational result was intended” [internal quotation marks omitted]).
Chapter 60, article X, § 60-10.1 (B), of the New Canaan zoning regulations provides that “medical, dental or similar health-oriented offices shall be permitted” in a business A zone.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9735394. Public record. Not legal advice.