East Haven property owner cited for Dodge Ave. rental car storage

On Aug. 8, East Haven Zoning Enforcement Officer Joseph Budrow performed an inspection at the property and found about 32 cars “with out-of-state license plates, inventory markings, and other evidence which suggests that these cars are owned and/or being used in the rental car business,” Budrow stated in his letter to Levenhartz.

Budrow cited Levenhartz for conducting a prohibited use at his property; the town’s zoning regulations do not allow car rental businesses or car rental storage in the zoning district where the property is located. Levenhartz also was cited in the notice for not acquiring a zoning permit that would have granted him a special exception for car rental storage at the property.

Budrow wrote that Perlich had asked him in the spring whether Avis could use the property to park its rental vehicles. “At that time, I informed Mr. Perlich that this use was not allowed within the zoning district,” Budrow stated. “Given this warning, this violation is quite flagrant.”

In a text message, Perlich denied initially being told that car rental storage was not an allowed use at the Dodge Avenue property.

“The statement is incorrect that we were notified in the spring this (use) was not allowed,” Perlich said. “We were informed that zoning would investigate and get back to us if there were any issues.

“In August, we received a call from zoning asking to speak,” Perlich added. “The second week of August we received notice they had determined this was not an approved use and sent notice at that time.”

The notice of violation, dated Aug. 17, states that Levenhartz had 15 days to fix the violation, otherwise “this office will proceed with issuing a Cease-and-Desist Order and performing other enforcement efforts,” Budrow said.

Perlich said Thursday that they would “comply with the wishes of East Haven as it pertains to the offsite parking.” Levenhartz did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Upon becoming aware of the zoning violation, Avis Budget Group said, it began the process to remove the vehicles. By Thursday morning, all of Avis’ rental vehicles had been removed from the property, according to town officials. 

Tom Rafter, executive director of Avports, which manages Tweed, said the airport had nothing to do with the car rental storage issue.

“HVN opens Southern Connecticut to travelers from all over the country, creating opportunities for airport vendors to work with local business owners,” Rafter said. “To that end, it’s exciting to see an increase in demand for convenient transportation options from the airport, which also serve to benefit the local East Haven economy.

“While we’re encouraged to see more opportunities for business owners, it’s important to understand that HVN is not a party to off-airport car rental storage, and is not involved with vendor operations that are not on airport property,” Rafter added.