Nicholson v. Connecticut Half-Way House, Inc.

218 A.2d 383 (Conn. 1966)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps are property owners and residents of Irving Street in Hartford. D is the owner of a residential dwelling at 10-12 Irving Street. Shortly after taking title to this property, D announced plans to maintain it as a residence for persons paroled from the Connecticut State Prison, under a program having as a primary objective the assistance of such persons in making a favorable and responsible adjustment to society. It is a middle-class neighborhood of Hartford devoted almost exclusively to residential uses. There are twenty-nine residences on the block in question, most of which are three-story dwellings housing a separate family on each floor. They are on lots with frontages averaging fifty to sixty feet. The numerous children who live on the block play in front of their houses, on the sidewalk, or in the street. D's property is a three-family house. D plans to house up to fifteen men at one time, excluding, under its present policy, sex offenders, drug addicts, and alcoholics. As a prerequisite to parole, these men will have either secured or been promised outside employment. The proposed use does not violate any zoning restrictions, and the sole question is whether it constitutes an equitably abatable nuisance. Ps sought to enjoin the proposed use of D's property on the ground of nuisance, alleging that the peaceful use and enjoyment of the surrounding properties were threatened. The court concluded that the anticipated use of the property constituted a nuisance in fact and granted a permanent injunction, from which D appealed.