Date: Fri 25-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Booth-Library-lawsuit-Baumer

Full Text:

Couple Sues Town Over Accessway To Handicap Parking

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

A couple that owns a house next to Booth Library has sued the town and the

library, seeking a court order to halt construction of a handicapped parking

lot for the library that lies between the library and the couple's house.

In a lawsuit filed September 2 in Danbury Superior Court, Edwin and Jean

Baumer of 23 Main Street seek a temporary restraining order to: prevent the

town from working at the construction site; prevent the impairment of their

property rights; and prevent their driveway from serving as a public accessway

to the library, among other relief.

Attorney Randall Carreira represents the Baumers in the lawsuit.

The Baumers have long argued with the library and the town over the expansion

of Booth Library at 25 Main Street. The Baumers filed several lawsuits in the

past against the town in seeking to prevent the expansion. The expanded

library opened to the public last January.

In their lawsuit, the Baumers challenge the boundary line between the town's

real estate and their real estate in the area which is known as the "right of

way," and also referred to the as the plaintiffs' "driveway." Through the

suit, the Baumers seek to have a judge determine the location of the boundary

line between their property and the library property.

The parking lot construction project now underway would extend an accessway

from Main Street to a small handicapped parking lot between the library and

the Baumer property. That accessway would lie on town property for which the

Baumers have exercised a "right of way" for their driveway since 1972.

After the library was expanded, the spaces that had been designated for

handicapped parking in the library's large rear parking lot were found to be

inadequate under the terms of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.

Handicapped parking plans were then revised to provide access to a small

handicapped parking lot from the library's rear lot.

The Baumers, however, contended that such an arrangement would create an

exitway from the large rear parking lot to Main Street via their driveway.

In yet another revision to the plans, the Baumers and the library in June

reached a written agreement to instead provide access to the handicapped lot

directly from Main Street via the Baumer's driveway.

In their lawsuit, the Baumers contend that the library and the town later

breached that agreement and gained approval for a revised site plan over the

Baumers objections to it.

The lawsuit contends that because the town has provided an exclusive right of

way to the Baumers for their driveway for more than 20 years, the town has, in

effect, given the Baumers the exclusive possession of the driveway. It adds

that if the handicapped parking lot accessway is extended from Main Street, it

would damage the Baumer's property value.

"Plaintiffs are both elderly and this kind of activity is very disruptive to

their quiet enjoyment of their property, creates a significant danger in

accessing their barn/garage area, (and) places traffic in areas where it

creates a hazard," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that the town erroneously told the Borough Zoning

Commission that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) would not allow a

driveway cut to be made on Main Street to provide direct access to a

handicapped parking lot. The suit alleges that the DOT would allow such a

driveway cut to be made, eliminating the need to use the Baumer's driveway for

access to a handicapped lot.

In the lawsuit, the Baumers contend that the use of their driveway for access

to the handicapped lot constitutes retribution against them for their past

opposition to the library expansion project.

The town is scheduled to appear in court October 16 to answer the allegations

made in the lawsuit.