Connecticut Couple to Resume Renting Trails to Hikers After Town Zoning Officials Fail to Respond to Request for Zoning Interpretation

ROXBURY, Conn.—Today, Roxbury couple, Charles and Eli Copley, and their attorneys from the Institute for Justice (IJ), sent a letter to town officials informing them that they will resume opening their hiking trails to hikers and dogwalkers following months of stonewalling from local officials. The Copleys will begin advertising their trails again this Friday.

“For more than a year, the Copleys have been reaching out to local officials to get a clear answer on whether they can resume having hikers on their trails, but the town has refused to give a clear answer, so the Copleys will reopen their trails,” said IJ Attorney John Korevec. “What the Copleys want to do with their property is perfectly legitimate and any ban on allowing them to have hikers on their trails would be unconstitutional. If the town takes any action against the Copleys, we’re prepared to resume legal action.”  

The Copleys bought their secluded 50-acre property in 2022, hoping to restore the forest. As part of the forest restoration plan, they began offering their trails to hikers to keep low-growth vegetation at bay. But in 2025, the town sent the Copleys a “possible notice of violation.” After trying to work with the town for over a year, the Copleys teamed up with IJ in August 2026 to send a letter to town officials demanding they acknowledge the Copleys’ right to open their trails to hikers. In a September 2026 letter from Roxbury’s First Selectman, the town seemingly doubled down on its argument that the Copleys are not permitted to have hikers on their trails, leading the Copleys to appeal to the zoning board of appeals.  But the town continues to try to trap them in bureaucratic limbo, insisting that the First Selectman’s letter does not reflect the formal stance of the town. So the Copleys intend to resume. 

“We’re looking forward to welcoming hikers back on our trails and we expect that the town will allow us to resume this harmless activity without any issues,” said Charles. “We’ve tried to be cooperative throughout this process, but it remains unclear what else we should do in order to get our trails re-opened.”   

Through its Zoning Justice Project, IJ fights for the right of people to use their property in harmless ways, free from unreasonable zoning restrictions. Last year, IJ won a case on behalf of a Montana shelter after local zoning officials sought to shut it down. IJ is also currently representing a Pennsylvania man whose decades-old home mechanic shop is being threatened because of a personal vendetta from a town official and a South Carolina woman whose business offering backyard swim lessons is being threatened by local zoning officials.