Boggs Hill Road—

ZBA To Consider Buddhists’ Appeal Of Town Order

By Andrew Gorosko

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is scheduled to conduct a public hearing next week on the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut Inc’s challenge of a town cease-and-desist order issued against the society in April over its holding gatherings of its members at its 145 Boggs Hill Road property without having the special zoning permit that is required for such activities.

The ZBA meeting is scheduled for 7:30 pm, Wednesday, July 16, at the town offices at 31 Peck’s Lane.

Town Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette said this week the zoning regulations clearly state that groups are required to have a special permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to hold religious services, but the society does not have such a permit.

The society and its president, Pong Me, are challenging the cease-and-desist order that was issued against them on April 16 by Mr Frenette.

Mr Frenette issued the order in response to several complaints from nearby residents charging that the society was illegally holding gatherings at its property in violation of applicable zoning regulations.

In the cease-and-desist order, Mr Frenette states that the complaints he received described the activities at the property as “religious services and/or festivals.”

In a letter of complaint to Mr Frenette about gatherings held at the Buddhist property, 11 concerned residents stated that on March 22 approximately 23 vehicles were parked at the property, and on April 13 at least 60 vehicles were parked there.

In the cease-and-desist order, Mr Frenette stated, “If these activities should continue, a court injunction will be issued to stop these activities…I must emphasize that the [Buddhist] monks may continue to reside there as they have in the past.”

Mr Frenette said this week that he has received no recent complaints concerning the Buddhist society property.

In 1999, the society purchased the ten-acre property, which includes a house that is used as a monastery by four monks, two acres of wetlands, and a three-acre pond. The property is located in a F&R-2 (Farming & Residential) zone, in which houses of religious worship are allowed by the P&Z, provided that the property owner holds a special zoning permit for such a use.

In January, after almost five years of court appeals, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the P&Z was justified in February 2003, when it rejected the Buddhist society’s controversial request for a special zoning permit that would be required to build a proposed 7,600-square-foot Buddhist temple/meeting hall at the property. That Supreme Court decision upheld a November 2005 Danbury Superior Court decision in which a judge upheld the P&Z’s rejection of the temple/meeting hall proposal.

In their two court appeals, the Buddhist society claimed that the P&Z had violated its right to religious freedom, as protected by state and federal law. The courts, however, ruled that those religious freedom rights had not been violated by the P&Z.

Although the town prevailed in the court challenges that were mounted by the society over its failed proposal to build a temple/meeting hall, the contested issue now concerns the society’s use of the existing facilities on the property.

Pinith Mar, a spokesman for the Buddhist society, has said that the gatherings at the Buddhist property which sparked the complaints from nearby residents last spring were not religious services, but were simply instances of society members socially visiting the property to pay their regards to the monks, bringing them food and gifts.

In its appeal to the ZBA, the Buddhist society and Pong Me state that Mr Frenette’s cease-and-desist order is “vague and overbroad and violates the property owners’ legal and civil rights,” including the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, the First Article of the Connecticut Constitution, and federal and state law pertaining to religious freedom.

The society’s appeal to the ZBA states that the cease-and-desist order is misdirected to Pong Me, who does not own or live at the Boggs Hill Road property.

The appeal urges that the ZBA nullify Mr Frenette’s cease-and-desist order.

Attorney Michael Zizka, who represents the Buddhist society, has said that the zoning enforcement officer’s cease-and-desist order is unconstitutional because it would prohibit society members from having religious activity on the Buddhist property. The enforcement officer is exceeding his authority in issuing such an order, according to Mr Zizka.