Town Officials Reject Liquor Store Proposal, Again

A board of zoning appeals decision last week to deny a liquor store's application will likely lead to more deliberation in court, according to zoning administrator Gary Lorentson.

As a result of the ruling, the applicant, Resh LLC, loses its Class A package store permit previously awarded by the town's zoning commission, Lorentson said.

Before zoning , zoning members in April 2011 approved a different liquor store proposal by Resh for the same location, 1100 Barnum Ave.

Shortly after that approval, however, a nearby liquor store filed an appeal that argued the location would violate a town regulation that says there needs be at least 1500 feet between package stores.

"Some defects came to light after the appeal," town attorney Tim Bishop told Stratford Patch in January. One of the defects was that a pharmacy in the same plaza had a liquor permit, which violates another town regulation. Resh would later buy out that permit, Lorentson said.

Another flaw realized after the appeal was the potential violation of selling booze too close in proximity -- within 200 feet -- of a residential area. Lorentson said there is "conflicting language" in the town's regulations concerning measurements.

Calculations aren't made as a straight line from point A to point B, but rather as a perpendicular line from storefront to nearest public highway, then to closest residential area.

So while a home on Frederick Street sits about 25 feet from , the way to measure, according to the regulation, is to stretch east across the parking lot to Main Street.

In October 2011, Resh submitted its second application to the town's zoning commission, which narrowly rejected it. Although three out of five members voted in favor of the proposal, the motion needed four to pass.

Resh appealed that decision to the board of zoning appeals, which last week denied the application with a unanimous vote.

"No doubt" they will appeal the latest denial in court, Lorentson said.

Bishop said the denial of the second application in effect outweighs the approval of the first, and the opportunity to use the first application's approval to one's advantage in court has passed.

The town attorney added that the case will ultimately be determined in how the judge decides to measure the 200 feet that serves as a barrier to a residential area from a liquor store.

Lorentson said it could take a year or more before the case is resolved in court.

"These are never quick," he said.