LAVINE, J.
The plaintiffs, Richard Civie and Victor Civie, appeal from the judgment of the trial court dismissing their administrative appeal from a decision of the defendant, the Connecticut Siting Council (siting council), granting the intervening defendant, Connecticut Light and Power Company (power company),
The plaintiffs appealed from the final decision of the siting council to the Superior Court.
In its memorandum of decision, the court found that the plaintiffs failed to prove aggrievement sufficient to confer standing in order to appeal from the final decision of the siting council. The court concluded that the plaintiffs were not classically aggrieved, and, therefore, it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs' appeal. Specifically, the court found the plaintiffs lacked aggrievement "(1) because they have not shown [a] direct, cognizable loss arising from the clearance of vegetation beneath the new transmission line because (a) that activity is authorized by the relevant easements, and (b) they have not adduced sufficient proof of monetary harm; and (2) because the tower warning lights (a) are authorized by
"It is well settled that [p]leading and proof of aggrievement are prerequisites to a trial court's jurisdiction over the subject matter of an administrative appeal. . . . It is [therefore] fundamental that, in order to have standing to bring an administrative appeal, a person must be aggrieved. . . . Aggrievement presents a question of fact for the trial court and the party alleging aggrievement bears the burden of proving it. . . . We do not disturb the trial court's conclusions on appeal unless those conclusions are unsupported by the subordinate facts or otherwise violate law, logic or reason." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Wallingford v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 146 Conn.App. 567, 575, 79 A.3d 115, cert. denied, 310 Conn. 964, 83 A.3d 346 (2013).
"In reviewing a finding of aggrievement, our standard of review is well settled. Aggrievement presents a question of fact for the trial court. . . . We do not, therefore, disturb such a finding unless the subordinate facts do not support it or it is inconsistent with the law. . . . We will reverse the trial court only if its conclusions are clearly erroneous and violate law, logic, or reason or are inconsistent with the subordinate facts." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Lewis v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 62 Conn.App. 284, 287, 771 A.2d 167 (2001).
On appeal, the plaintiffs claim that the court erred in concluding that they were not classically aggrieved by the siting council's decision. Specifically, the plaintiffs contend that they proved a nonspeculative injury to their specific, personal, and legal interest in this case. After reviewing the record on appeal, we are persuaded that the decision of the trial court should be affirmed.
"Aggrievement is essentially a question of standing; without it, a court must dismiss an action for want of jurisdiction. . . . Two broad yet distinct categories of aggrievement exist, classical and statutory. . . .
"Classical aggrievement requires a two part showing. First, a party must demonstrate a specific, personal and legal interest in the subject matter of the decision, as opposed to a general interest that all members of the community share. . . . Second, the party must also show that the agency's decision has specially and injuriously affected that specific personal or legal interest." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Brouillard v. Connecticut Siting Council, 133 Conn.App. 851, 856, 38 A.3d 174, cert. denied, 304 Conn. 923, 41 A.3d 662 (2012).
In its memorandum of decision, the court found that the plaintiffs demonstrated that they had a "`specific, personal and legal interest' in the controversy because the construction of the new transmission line runs in a right-of-way across their property and will require the removal of trees which they own." The court reasoned, however, that the plaintiffs' appeal failed on the second requirement that a
"Aggrievement is established if there is a possibility, as distinguished from a certainty, that some legally protected interest . . . has been adversely affected. . . . A fair reading of relevant decisional law makes it clear, nevertheless, that proof of a possibility of specific harm is not the same as mere speculation regarding harm." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Goldfisher v. Connecticut Siting Council, 95 Conn.App. 193, 197-98, 895 A.2d 286 (2006).
The plaintiffs claim they are injured by the removal of trees. They argue that their "personal property, the forest, will be destroyed, a renewable resource will be lost forever, and there will be no future timber harvests." The court found, however, that the plaintiffs' claim of diminution of its harvesting timber revenue was insufficient to prove aggrievement because the claimed harm is explicitly permitted under the applicable easement. The existing easement provides in relevant part that the power company has: "[T]he right to trim, cut, take down and remove, at any and all times, such trees, parts of trees, limbs, branches, underbrush and structures, within or projecting into the above described right of way. . . ."
The plaintiffs contend that their injury was nonspeculative because they presented evidence of the value of the harvested timber from the forest, which was approximately $1658. This evidence was countered by the defendants' evidence that the cleared wood would be left for the plaintiffs to remove and sell. In addition, the plaintiffs testified that any future values of the timber could not yet be predicted.
Lastly, the court found that the plaintiffs' claim that the warning lights on the new towers will overburden the easement was insufficient to establish aggrievement. The Federal Aviation Administration directed that warning lights should be placed on top of the new transmission towers because of their proximity to a local airport. The court concluded that "the warning lights are incident to the transmission towers and are fixtures or appurtenances authorized under the easement." The plaintiffs also failed to present non-speculative evidence of any impact the warning lights would have on their property value or its esthetic condition.
Because the existing easement explicitly allows the construction of the new transmission line and the plaintiffs failed to prove a specific legal detriment, the court properly concluded they were not classically aggrieved. In coming to this conclusion, the court made factual findings that are supported by the record and the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that the court's findings were clearly erroneous. Accordingly, we conclude that the court properly dismissed the plaintiffs' appeal.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.