Toulouse Et Al. v. Board of Zoning Adjust

This is a petition for the writ of certiorari made under the provisions of the Public Laws of Maine, Chapter 24, Laws of 1945; Revised Statutes (1944), Chapter 80, new Section 88-A. The petition for the writ was fully heard by the presiding justice of the Superior Court in Kennebec County. The petition was granted and the writ ordered to issue directed to the Board of Zoning Adjustment as a board of appeal. The case comes to the Law Court on exceptions to the order of the Superior Court for the writ to issue. The facts found by the Board of Zoning Adjustment and recognized by the court on granting the petition for the writ of certiorari, are these: The property in question is located on the Oakland Road in Waterville, and was owned in 1949 by a Mrs. Connell. Her husband, with her permission, had previously erected a poultry house on the premises in 1947 and conducted therein the business of raising chickens until in December 1948, when the building ceased to house poultry, although the premises continued to be used for the poultry business. Mr. Connell, with the consent of Mrs. Connell, sold the poultry house on March 29, 1949, and it was removed from the premises. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Connell separated, and Mrs. Connell instituted divorce proceedings. She obtained her divorce in June 1949 and immediately thereafter, on June 16, 1949, sold the premises to Henry F. Toulouse, the petitioner. On December 19, 1949 these petitioners applied to the Building Inspector for a permit to construct a new poultry house upon the premises and for permission to use the premises for conducting a poultry business. The building to be erected to be slightly smaller than the one previously used. On December 22, 1949 the Inspector of Buildings for the city of Waterville granted the permit asked for by Mr. Toulouse. An appeal from the action of the Building Inspector was taken by one Lacombe and interested parties, to the Board of Zoning Adjustment, which Board on February 13, 1950 sustained the appeal and denied the permit. The pending petition was filed on March 14, 1950 with the Superior Court asking for writ of certiorari to order the Board of Zoning Adjustment to certify its records relating to the application for the permit that ""they may be presented to this court to the end that the same, or as much thereof as may be illegal may be quashed or modified in whole or in part."" Upon hearing on this petition, asking for the writ of certiorari, the court ordered the writ to issue, and the pending exceptions were taken to the order.