Letter By Sean Hearty

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CITY OF DANBURY Planning and Zoning

DEPARTMENT OF PERMIT COORDINATION 155 DEER HILL AVENUE DANBURY, CONNECTICUT 06810

SEANP. HEARTY ZONING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

PHONE :(203) 796-1653 FAX:( 203) 797-4586

Pembroke Realty LLC c/o Michael J. Halas 28 Pembroke Road Danbury, CT 06811 Re:

31 Pembroke Road (Tax Assessots Lot #G07061)

Dear Mr. Halas: I had met with you in June at the Halas Farm site to discuss a change of use at the above referenced property. The intent of this letter is to clarify the City of Danbury's position on your right to expand and use this location. Back Ground Information:

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The subjectpropertywas purchasedby PembrokeRealtyCompanyon September29,2006.

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The property is located in the RA-40 zone and is approximately 1.16 acres in size. At the time of purchase the lot contained one principal dwelling unit with an accessory outbuilding. This principal dwelling contains approximately 1,404 square feet of living area. The use of property at time of your purchase was a single family dwelling.

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Since our discussion, I have reviewed the Zoning Board of Appeals file #97-57 (Michael J. Halas, 28 Pembroke Road). I have concluded that while it is interesting reading, it has no bearing on the subject property. That file relates to your business use located on different lot. This is not a question of the right for your business to exist but of an unauthorized change of use created by your expansion onto a nearby parcel without getting the necessary approvals. I offer the following excerpt from SecA.A.5.f.(8) of the Zoning Regulations, which details the Specific Use F.egulations for farming in the Single-Family Residential Districts (RA-8, RA 20, RA-40, RA-80): "Notwithstanding subsection (a) above, if an existing farm engaged in the retail sale of products, as herein defined, is expanded with the addition of an abutting parcel(s) to create one such lot, the retail sale of products as an accessory use is permitted on the expanded farm, provided such retail sales are in accordance with all provisions of this Regulation." In my opinion, your claim that the use in question is located on an abutting parcel is incorrect. Please note the definition of abutting is "to be adjacent; touch or join at the edge or border". Schedule A from the

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""wARRANTY DEED (Volume 1883/Pages 1160-1161) filed in the Danbury Land Records/Town Clerk's {Office describes the parcel in question as being bounded in the following manner:

"All that certain piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in the Town of Danbury, County of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, containing 1-1/2 acres, more or less, and bounded: Northerly and Westerly by Highway; Easterly by land of the United States Government (formerly land of Isaac F Haviland): and, Southerly by land now or formally of Stacy and Alice Johnson (formerly of Joel Merchant). " This legal property description details all of the abutting properties and your current business location is not listed. To further support this conclusion, please see the attached map which shows the current location of Halas Farms as well as the site of your current activity. There is no abutting property line. (Note that the Northwesterly line shows an unimproved public roadway. This maybe of additional concern, research is pending.)

Since there is no common boundary, it is not possible

"... to

create one

such lot ..." as described in SecA.A.5.f.(8) of the Zoning Regulations (quoted on the previous page). Therefore, Sec. 4.A.5.f.(8) does not apply to this parcel. As I promised you, I have spoken to the former Zoning Enforcement Officer Wayne Skelly, Planning Director Dennis Elpern and have researohed all of the Planning & Zoning Department records, but I can find no grounds to dissuade me from taking the following action. In ten days from the receipt of this letter, the City of Danbury will issue a Cease and Desist Order for the activity in question. This Order will require the discontinuance of all activity on this site, the removal of all materials deemed to be commercial or not related to residential use and the restoration of this property's legal use as a single family dwelling. During this time frame, please feel free to contact me with any additional information to support your claim to expand to this parcel or to arrange a meeting.

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Sean P. Heart~~7 Zoning Enforcement Officer Director of Permit Coordination Attachment