PRESCOTT, J.
Ordinarily, an appeal in a zoning case must be commenced by an aggrieved party within fifteen days from the date the land use board publishes notice of its decision. General Statutes § 8-8(b). In subsection (r) of § 8-8,
Resolution of this appeal requires us to consider the interplay of subsection (r) of § 8-8 with General Statutes § 8-7d (a),
Following our grant of certification, the defendants East Brook F, LLC, East Brook T, LLC, and East Brook W, LLC, whose application for a special permit to build an addition to the East Brook Mall (mall) was approved by the Town of Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission (commission),
The following facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. The defendants filed a special permit application with the commission
The commission scheduled a public hearing on the application for January 3, 2012. The commission published notice of the hearing in the Willimantic Chronicle on December 20, 2011, and again on December 28, 2011. The public hearing commenced on the date noticed and was continued to and then closed on February 6, 2012. No party came forward during the public hearing to speak in opposition to the special permit application. The commission granted the application on February 21, 2012, with certain conditions. Pursuant to General Statutes § 8-28, notice of the commission's decision was published in the Willimantic Chronicle on February 27, 2012.
Nearly eight months later, on October 26, 2012, the plaintiff commenced an appeal to the Superior Court from the commission's decision. In its appeal, the plaintiff alleged that it was an abutting property owner aggrieved by the granting of the defendant's application because it had easement rights over the mall property that would be adversely affected by the proposed development. The plaintiff claimed that the commission improperly granted the defendants' special permit application because neither the defendants nor the commission had provided the plaintiff with notice as required by the Mansfield Zoning Regulations (regulations) or by statute.
The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing that the plaintiff had filed its appeal more than fifteen days after publication of the commission's decision
Following two days of hearings, the court, Berger, J., denied the motion to dismiss, agreeing with the plaintiff's argument and concluding that the commission had a duty to ensure that the plaintiff received written notice pursuant to the regulation that it had adopted pursuant to § 8-7d (a), despite having delegated the responsibility for service of notice to the defendants. According to the court, the commission's failure to ensure compliance by the defendants extended the time period in which to appeal pursuant to § 8-8(r). The defendants moved for reconsideration, which the court denied.
On February 14, 2014, the court, referencing its August 6, 2013 memorandum of decision denying the motion to dismiss, issued an order sustaining the plaintiff's appeal. The court indicated that the commission's decision was invalid because proper notice was not provided to the plaintiff, and it ordered the matter "remanded to the commission to commence the proceedings anew giving proper notice." The defendants filed a petition for certification to appeal in accordance with § 8-8(o), which this court granted. This appeal followed.
The defendants claim that the trial court improperly denied their motion to dismiss the underlying appeal as untimely on the basis of an erroneous determination that the extended appeal period provided for in § 8-8(r) was applicable. For the reasons that follow, we agree.
We begin our analysis with our standard of review as well as other applicable legal principles. "A motion to dismiss... properly attacks the jurisdiction of the court, essentially asserting that the plaintiff cannot as a matter of law and fact state a cause of action that should be heard by the court.... A motion to dismiss tests, inter alia, whether, on the face of the record, the court is without jurisdiction.... [O]ur review of the court's ultimate legal conclusion and resulting [determination] of the motion to dismiss [is] de novo." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) R.C. Equity Group, LLC v. Zoning Commission, 285 Conn. 240, 248, 939 A.2d 1122 (2008).
"Administrative agencies [such as the commission] are tribunals of limited jurisdiction and their jurisdiction is dependent entirely upon the validity of the statutes vesting them with power and they cannot confer jurisdiction upon themselves.... [It] is clear that an administrative body must act strictly within its statutory authority.... No administrative or regulatory body can modify, abridge or
Likewise, "[t]here is no absolute right of appeal to the courts from a decision of an administrative agency.... Appeals to the courts from administrative [agencies] exist only under statutory authority.... Appellate jurisdiction is derived from the ... statutory provisions by which it is created, and can be acquired and exercised only in the manner prescribed." (Citations omitted; emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted.) Brookridge District Assn. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 259 Conn. 607, 611-12, 793 A.2d 215 (2002). "A statutory right to appeal may be taken advantage of only by strict compliance with the statutory provisions by which it is created." Bridgeport Bowl-O-Rama, Inc. v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 195 Conn. 276, 283, 487 A.2d 559 (1985). "[S]tatutory appeal provisions are mandatory and jurisdictional in nature, and, if not complied with, the appeal is subject to dismissal." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Fedus v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 278 Conn. 751, 760, 900 A.2d 1 (2006). Our Supreme Court has "uniformly held that failure to file a zoning appeal within the statutory time period deprives the trial court of jurisdiction over the appeal." Upjohn Co. v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 224 Conn. 96, 102, 616 A.2d 793 (1992).
Our analysis entails the construction of both the General Statutes and the commission's zoning regulations, which raises questions of law over which we exercise plenary review. Zimnoch v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 302 Conn. 535, 547, 29 A.3d 898 (2011). We construe zoning regulations in the same manner as we construe statutes, following the ordinary rules of statutory construction. Schwartz v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 208 Conn. 146, 153, 543 A.2d 1339 (1988). In construing a statute or regulation, "[o]ur fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature.... In other words, we seek to determine, in a reasoned manner, the meaning of the statutory language as applied to the facts of [the] case, including the question of whether the language actually does apply.... In seeking to determine that meaning, General Statutes § 1-2z directs us first to consider the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered.... The test to determine ambiguity is whether the statute, when read in context, is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Tayco Corp. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 294 Conn. 673, 679, 986 A.2d 290 (2010). "Common sense must be used in construing [zoning regulations], and we assume that a rational and reasonable result was intended by the local legislative body." Spero v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 217 Conn. 435, 441, 586 A.2d 590 (1991). "Because zoning regulations are in derogation of common-law property rights, they must be strictly construed and not extended by implication." (Emphasis added.) Graff v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 277 Conn. 645, 653, 894 A.2d 285 (2006).
With these principles in mind, we turn to the primary issue raised on appeal — namely, whether the plaintiff timely commenced its appeal of the commission's decision
The commission rendered its decision granting the defendants' special permit application on February 21, 2012. Pursuant to § 8-8(b),
The plaintiff nevertheless contends, and the trial court agreed, that because the plaintiff did not receive written notice from the defendants in accordance with the town's zoning regulations and the commission failed to ensure compliance with the regulations, it was permitted, pursuant to § 8-8(r), to file its appeal anytime within one year of the date of the commission's decision granting the application. Accordingly, the plaintiff contends that its October 26, 2012 appeal was timely. We are not persuaded.
In considering whether § 8-8(r) is applicable under the facts presented, we turn first to the language of the statute. Section 8-8(r) provides: "In any case in which
First, it is undisputed that it was the defendants, not the commission, that failed to give the plaintiff the written notice required by article 5, § B(3)(c) of the town's zoning regulations, which provides in relevant part that "the applicant shall be responsible for notifying in writing all [neighboring] property owners...." (Emphasis added.) Although the defendants certified as part of the application process that they would give the additional notice, they concede that they never did so. The plain and unambiguous language of § 8-8(r), nevertheless, indicates that the one year appeal period is triggered only when the commission itself fails to comply with a notice requirement. The commission was required by statute only to give constructive notice by publication of the public hearing on the application. Likewise, as previously discussed, the commission was required by statute to publish notice of its action, i.e., its decision, on the application. The commission complied with both requirements. If the legislature had wanted to extend the scope of § 8-8(r) to encompass instances in which someone other than the board failed to provide notice in accordance with law, it could have done so explicitly. Our role is not to second-guess the wisdom of the language used by the legislature, but to give effect to its intent. Lash v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 236 Conn. 318, 329 n. 15, 673 A.2d 84 (1996).
The plaintiff and the trial court rely heavily on the fact that, pursuant to § 8-7d (a), the commission chose to adopt a regulation requiring special permit applicants to provide written notice to abutting landowners by certified mail. According to the trial court, once the commission did so, it assumed by implication a duty to ensure that the regulation was followed, and it was the breach of that duty that triggered § 8-8(r) in this case.
In support of its position, the court relied heavily upon Wright v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 174 Conn. 488, 490-91, 391 A.2d 146 (1978). The court's reliance on Wright, however, is misplaced. In Wright, the primary issue on appeal had nothing to do with whether an applicant's failure to comply with an additional notice requirement adopted by a land use board should be attributable to the board for purposes of determining whether the one year appeal period contained in § 8-8(r) applies. The issue, rather, was whether the board
Whether to adopt additional notice requirements was a choice that the legislature left entirely to the commission's discretion. There is no language in § 8-7d (a) indicating that if a commission chose to adopt a regulation requiring an applicant to provide additional notice, the commission was concomitantly assuming a duty to ensure compliance with the additional notice requirement adopted. More importantly, there is no language in § 8-7d (a) indicating that if the commission chose to impose on an applicant a supplemental notice requirement by regulation, the applicant's failure to comply with the supplemental notice provision would be attributable to the commission and trigger the lengthy appeal period in § 8-8(r).
The only statutory obligation expressly imposed on the commission by § 8-7d (a) is that any additional notice regulation it chooses to adopt "shall include provisions that the notice be mailed to persons who own land that is adjacent to the land that is the subject of the hearing or be provided by posting a sign on the land that is the subject of the hearing, or both." The regulation adopted by the commission complied with those requirements. Indeed, the commission was not obligated to adopt any regulation at all pursuant to § 8-7d (a), and instead could have chosen to leave notice limited to publication in the newspaper. In the absence of any express language, we are unwilling to graft by implication onto § 8-7d (a) requirements or
Our decision to construe § 8-8(r) narrowly comports with the notion that zoning issues should be resolved with reasonable dispatch. See Carpenter v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 176 Conn. 581, 597, 409 A.2d 1029 (1979) (noting legislative purpose behind brief fifteen day appeal period is "speedy determination of the issues involved"). We have long recognized "the need for stability in land use planning and the need for justified reliance by all interested parties — the interested property owner, any interested neighbors and the town — on the decisions of the zoning authorities." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Gangemi v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 255 Conn. 143, 149-50, 763 A.2d 1011 (2001). We note that, in the present case, by the time the appeal was taken, construction on an expensive project was well under way, and, in fact, has since been completed. There is no doubt that construction projects of this nature are often time sensitive; see, e.g., Coppola Construction Co. v. Hoffman Enterprises Ltd. Partnership, 157 Conn.App. 139, 147, 117 A.3d 876, certs. denied, 318 Conn. 902, 122 A.3d 631, 123 A.3d 882 (2015); and may rely upon financing that may only be available from lenders during specified time periods. Such factors reinforce our reluctance to expand the scope of § 8-8(r) beyond that expressly provided for by the plain and unambiguous language of the statute. Furthermore, we are conscious that it is the legislature who has the authority to determine the time limit for filing appeals and whether additional exceptions or restrictions are warranted, and the legislature's choice generally to impose a short fifteen day appeal period deserves due deference. See Carbone v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 126 Conn. 602, 607, 13 A.2d 462 (1940) ("[s]tatutes and special laws such as the one before us fixing a rather brief time in which appeals may be taken to the courts from the orders and decisions of administrative boards are evidently designed to secure in the public interest a speedy determination of the issues involved; and to make it possible to proceed in the matter as soon as the time to take an appeal has passed if one has not been filed").
In sum, we conclude that the court incorrectly denied the defendants' motion to dismiss on the basis of its determination that the appeal to the Superior Court was timely filed in accordance with § 8-8(r). Although, as acknowledged by the defendants, their failure to provide written notice was a procedural irregularity that potentially may have rendered the commission's approval of the application voidable, the plaintiff should have raised that issue in an appeal filed within the ordinary fifteen day appeal period given that the plaintiff had the benefit of the notice by publication as required by statute.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to dismiss the appeal.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.