Last month, the Appellate Division, Second Department, issued four decisions[1] in a series of hybrid proceedings challenging local laws in the Town of Riverhead (“Riverhead”). Plaintiff/Petitioner Calverton Manor, LLC (“Calverton Manor”), in connection with a site plan application, sought to annul several resolutions adopted by Defendant/Respondent Riverhead Town Board (“
Appellate Division Reverses Site Plan Approval Requiring Merger of Six Individual Lots into One Shopping Center Lot
It is not uncommon for municipal planning departments to require applicants who are seeking land use approvals involving multiple contiguous parcels to consolidate or merge the properties to form one single larger parcel. Consolidation or merger typically results in a new tax map number, a new single tax bill for the consolidated or merged lots,
Court Admonishes Village for Adopting Laws with a Discriminatory Purpose
Local governments in New York may regulate land use within their borders directly through their zoning codes and indirectly by adopting a variety of other statutes and regulations. There are, however, limits to their power. Municipalities, of course, must not discriminate on the basis of religion in violation of the U.S. or New York State
Failure to Refer Area Variance Application to County Planning Agency Poses Jurisdictional Defect and Nullifies Approvals
In Fichera, et al. v. New York State Dep’t of Envt’l Conserv., et al., decided last month, Petitioners commenced an Article 78 proceeding seeking to void actions taken and determinations made by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Sterling (“Sterling ZBA
Lack of Standing Is Fatal To Challenge
Standing is a threshold issue in challenges to administrative decisions. Prior blog posts have dealt with standing in cases involving challenges to local land use and zoning decisions. If standing is not established, the party seeking to overturn the administrative decision will see its proceeding dismissed without any consideration of the merits. Whether a party
The Continuing Saga Of NYSDEC’s Proposed Amendments To Its SEQRA Regulations
In 2012, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) proposed sweeping changes to its State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) regulations. These proposed changes were not adopted. Rather, five years later, in February 2017, the NYSDEC issued proposed amendments to the SEQRA regulations and a draft generic environmental impact statement, (GEIS), in which
Town of Babylon Imposes Moratorium on Use of Pine Barrens Credits to Increase Development Density
On March 28, 2018, the Babylon Town Board adopted a moratorium on any new land use applications that seek to increase a parcel’s wastewater limits established by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (“SCDHS”) by utilizing Pine Barrens Credits (“PBC”), which effectively transfer development rights from other parts of Suffolk County to properties within
Appellate Division Affirms ZBA Determination Denying Natural Resources Special Permit for Walls Built Without Permits on East Hampton Oceanfront Property
In the Matter of 278, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of East Hampton et al., dated March 21, 2018, the Appellate Division, Second Department upheld East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeal’s (“ZBA”) decision denying a natural resources special permit (“NRSP”) for two parallel 762 linear feet walls built without
Old MacDonald Has A Right To Build On His Farm: Sale of Development Rights In Suffolk County Does Not Preclude Certain Uses of Farmland
Long Island’s ever-evolving agricultural industry won a major battle in the Appellate Division this month when the court overturned Supreme Court Justice Whelan’s decision, which invalidated two local laws of the Suffolk County Legislature. See, Long Island Pine Barrens Society, Inc. v. Suffolk County Legislature, 2018 NY Slip Op. 01598 (March 14, 2018).
The Appellate
Border Wars – Queens versus Nassau
With all the talk about a border wall between the United States and Mexico, we were amused to come across a proposed law that is pending in both the Assembly and Senate of the New York State Legislature to establish a Nassau County and Queens County border task force to review jurisdiction and boundary disputes.