Court Rejects SOM Suit

Joseph Tagliarini will have to live with a new $146 million Yale School of Management ​“looming” over his house in East Rock.

Tagliarini had sought to block the construction of the massive new structure on Whitney Avenue, which is already under construction. He appealed a decision by the Board of Aldermen that one year ago created a Planned Development District (PDD) to allow Yale to build a structure larger than otherwise allowed by zoning regulations.

Judge Thomas Corradino has released a decision rejecting the appeal. Read the 65-page ruling here.

Tagliarini’s lawyer, Marjorie Shansky, had argued that the PDD approval process was ​“arbitrary and illegal.”

The proposed building is out of context in terms of mass with the neighborhood context and does not fit with the city’s comprehensive plan, Shansky argued. Others have criticized the 300-foot-long building, designed by renowned architect Lord Norman Foster, as airport-like.

In his decision, released last Friday, Judge Corradino found that the Board of Aldermen’s decision was not arbitrary and that aldermen fulfilled their legal obligations in considering the proposed PDD. The project will promote economic development and is in compliance with environmental concerns, he wrote.

The ​“most substantial challenge” was Tagliarini’s argument that his house will be adversely affected by the SOM, Corradino wrote. The judge then rejected Tagliarini’s arguments. The new building will actually be quieter than the former building, since traffic will be redirected under the building, the judge concluded.

Asked about the ruling, Tagliarini said: ​“As a concerned single family homeowner, I’m glad that I tried to do something to preserve the value of my home, but I’m disappointed by the outcome.”

He said he’s not planning further action, nor is he planning to leave town.

“We appreciate that the court has concluded its review of this matter and has issued its ruling,” said Mike Morand, Yale director of state communications.