In the interest of prohibiting bulk propane storage to protect a residential area, grass-roots group North Branford Citizens Against Bulk Propane Storage (NBCABPS) has filed a legal complaint against North Branford, its Planning and Zoning Department and 40 Ciro Road property owner/former Town Council member Donald Fucci.

The complaint was filed on behalf of NBCABPS this morning by attorney Peter White, a North Branford citizen.  The legal action is the latest development in some rapidly unfolding events regarding the property and more than two years of effort by J.J. Sullivan Fuel Co. (Guilford), doing business as 2772 BPR LLC, to receive approval from the town to construct a proposed 60,000 gallon bulk propane/storage facility at 40 Ciro Road.

On Friday, February 10, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) notified the town that the state would issue 2772 BPR LLC its long-sought inland wetlands permit for the proposed facility at 40 Ciro Road (see the story here)

The facility has been on the town's radar since 2014, when the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) at the time voted to approve a text amendment allowing the storage/sale of bulk propane as an added industrial zone use at 40 Ciro Road.   The amendment was created after the PZC was approached by 2772 BPR, LLC with a request for the change as the first step in its pursuit of constructing such a facility at the site.

Today's NBCABPS complaint calls into question the propriety of then-acting Town Council member Donald Fucci and then-Mayor Anthony Candelora for attending a PZC meeting regarding the proposed text amendment. NBCABPS contends Fucci and Candelora, "...advocated for the change in zoning regulations to advance Fucci's personal pecuniary interests." The complaint continues that such conduct "...substantially conflicted with the proper discharge of their duties as elected officials of the town."

As reported by Zip06/The Sound, during a Town Council meeting in October, 2014, citizens had also raised questions specific to Fucci's potential conflict of interest as well as Candelora's involvement, and received answers at that meeting from the Town Council explaining  no conflict had occurred, and no future conflict would occur ( see the story here ).

NBCABPS goes on to list similar conflictive actions by Fucci and Candelora with regard to attending subsequent 2014 Inland Wetlands Watercourses Commission (IWWC) meetings involving 2772 BPR LLC's pursuit of approval for an inland wetlands permit to construct the faciltiy at 40 Ciro Road.

The complaint also lists other perceived conflictive town governance actions prior to  2772 BPR LLC's January, 2015 decision to instead seek an inland wetlands permit decision from the DEEP, after the IWWC failed to act within a designated window of 65 days of review.

One area the complaint lists as improper action taken by the town states the Planning and Zoning Department, in legal notices notifying of a public hearing on the zoning text amendment, described only the "sale of propane" and failed to note the introduction of a 60,000-gallon facility at 40 Ciro Road.  Among several other areas of concern, the NBCABPS complaint also discusses a 2014 vote taken by Town Council to replace two PZC members "...who had voiced concerns and objections to the change in zoning regulations."

The complaint also contends that, should zoning regulations be enacted to allow the bulk propane facility at 40 Ciro Road, the individual plaintiffs will "...suffer irreparable harm, resulting directly from the violations, in one or more of the following aspects: additional traffic onto Foxon Road, clogging an already congested commuter road; diminished property values due to the proximity of a potential industrial accident; ...anxiety from a small but extant risk of a catastrophic BLEVE [boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion]; and erosion of public trust in the town government."

The complaint concludes, "The Defendants' actions were not done to promote the general welfare of the community and were not in conformity with the stated purposes of the zoning law, but instead was influenced by circumstances which should not have been considered in that one or more members of the Town Council and Planning & Zoning Department, i.e., the advancement of the pecuniary and personal interests of Town Council members. The Defendants' acts weakened public confidence and undermined the sense of security of individual rights. Accordingly, the aforesaid change in the zoning regulations by the Town and the Department of Planning & Zoning must be declared to be invalid."

The defendants have a return date of February 28, 2017 to respond. The complaint will be filed in New Haven Superior Court.

The full complaint is posted with this article.