Kaufman v. Zoning Commission

In Kaufman v. Zoning Commission, 232 Conn. 122, 129-30, 653 A.2d 798 (1995), the plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court from the defendant zoning commission's denial of his application for a zone change so that he could develop his land as an affordable housing project. The court, after concluding that the applicable statute required the zoning commission to approve the application, reversed the decision of the commission and remanded the case to allow the commission to impose reasonable conditions and changes. The commission appealed from the court's decision, and our Supreme Court, before addressing the merits of the case, concluded that the court's remand order was a final judgment. Id., at 129-31. In reaching that conclusion, the Supreme Court "attached significance to the fact that the trial court's judgment did not order further evidentiary determinations on remand." Id., at 130. "Even more important, the trial court's judgment required the commission to approve the plaintiff's application." Id., at 131. Thus, "with respect to that central issue, the trial court's decision so concluded the rights of the parties that further proceedings could not affect them." Id.