As dirt was piled on top of frozen ground, destined to be “broken” for a project that had been declared done before any consultation with the public, and as distraction-upon-distraction was thrown at residents on an evening utterly overloaded with City meetings, a group of young(ish) professionals were told they do not belong here.
Without an inspection being conducted, residents of 68 Scarborough Street received a cease-and-desist order last year because their definition of family does not mesh with that of those living around them.
Last night, while many were indulging in the excesses of Mardi Gras, the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously decided to not grant a variance to those living as a family unit in the West End mansion that had sat vacant for years before they moved in.
If you want to allow your gardener to live on your property, that is perfectly acceptable, Hartford. But if you want to eat together as a family and run a household with a chore chart, you must remain within the limits created in another era.
The family’s lawyer will file an appeal.
CORRECTION: The ZBA was not meeting to decide a variance, but on appeal.
Tony C
I’m embarrassed for Hartford. This is negative PR at the national level. Class discrimination – “Hartford Has It.”. How can the city say they are courting residents and taxpayers, while letting this go unresolved. Mountains were moved in City Council to drive the stadium project, but they didn’t respond to this simple and inexpensive need to change the zoning ordinance.
The family involved deserves better treatment. Dragging this into the courts is good for no-one except the lawyers.
Johnna
I remember in 2008 (when I didn’t even live in Hartford and thought I never would), online acquaintances in *Europe* were sharing footage of that infamous hit & run accident in Hartford. This is also going to go viral and be an embarrassment for the city and the state. So short-sighted.
(Also, I know it’s been said before but rich people are weird. Would they rather live next to an abandoned, decrepit house that no one is willing or able to purchase?)
Kerri Provost
Meanwhile, at last night’s Frog Hollow NRZ meeting, there was unanimous support of SINA’s proposal to create affordable housing on multiple vacant lots and in a few vacant buildings. We did not once ask how many people would compose any of those families that may become homeowners.
Bruce rubenstein
the ZBA decision was shameful and disgusting.A simple act to amend the ordinance would have been the correct action to take,by the Council.Instead of diversity,the city hall administration is adhering to a 1950’s lifestyle.And they wonder why they have trouble attracting young people to live in Hartford.
Kristin
What is the real reason that neighbors are against these people? There’s a back story somewhere that isn’t getting into published accounts.
Kerri Provost
http://www.realhartford.org/2014/11/20/family-faces-eviction-from-west-end-home-despite-paying-mortgage-on-time/
AmyBergquist
A couple of notes. The City Council has no authority to amend the zoning ordinance. That is in the hands of the Planning and Zoning commission.
Also, I stated this on someone’s Facebook page when people were talking about a variance. ZBA’s hands were tied on this. They were ruling on a cease and desist order, not a variance. In this instance they had to decide if the existing zoning laws were being violated. Given how the current ordinance is written, the owners of the house are in violation, and the ZBA members had no choice but to vote that way, hence the unanimous ruling. The ZBA has no authority to amend the zoning code. That is up to the Planning & Zoning commission. I know the process to make amendments to the code are starting. It should be noted that several of the ZBA members expressed regret in how they had to vote and said they wished the zoning ordinance was written differently. That hasn’t been mentioned in the papers because the Courant reporter had to leave the meeting early for an 11p filing deadline. I sat through the entire meeting which ran about 4.5 hours.
Kerri Provost
Some on the ZBA may have been very emotional about it, but at the end of the day, they chose to uphold laws that most seem to find antiquated.
AmyBergquist
The ZBA is tasked with interpreting the code as it’s written and then making a determination based on that. They aren’t determining whether or not the ordinance is antiquated. That is for P&Z to handle. I would think that if they ruled in favor of removing the cease and desist (or whatever the proper terminology is) there would be litigation from the neighbors given that the code was not being followed for the ruling. Going into that meeting it was fairly clear that no matter what the outcome, the “losing” party was going to seek legal recourse.