As many of us continue to cocoon inside our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding supermarkets and anyone else for that matter, Long Island farms are seeing a resurgence in interest for locally grown produce and agricultural products. In some ways farmers are sometimes better off than town and city dwellers., because farmers can produce much of their own food
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Agriculture
Pine Barrens Credits-A Matter of Interpretation
The Long Island Central Pine Barrens Protection Act (“Act”), enacted in 1993, created the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission (“Commission”) which implements the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (“Plan”). Pursuant to the Act, a five-member Credit Clearinghouse Board (“Clearinghouse”) oversees a transfer of development rights program designed to maintain value in lands by providing for use and allocation…
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The Appellate Division, Third Department, Holds a Brewpub May Be an Accessory Use to a Golf Course
While the Town of Halfmoon (“Town”) in Saratoga County, New York, may be far from any given reader, the issues in Micklas v. Town of Halfmoon Planning Board, 170 A.D.3d 1483 (3d Dep’t 2019), are close to the heart: whether a golf course may brew beer on-site for its patrons, and does such a brewery constitute…
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Village Board’s Rejection of Application to Develop Single-Family Residence in Agricultural Overlay District Upheld
In Matter of Sagaponack Ventures, LLC v Bd. of Trustees of the Vil. of Sagaponack, the Second Department upheld the denial of an Article 78 proceeding seeking to vacate and annul a determination of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Sagaponack (the “Board”). In its determination, the Board denied the site plan application submitted by Sagaponack Ventures,…
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Town Considers New Zoning Regulations for Port Washington Waterfront

Following the adoption of a moratorium on development along Port Washington’s waterfront, North Hempstead Town officials have proposed new zoning regulations designed to preserve public access and prevent excess building in Port Washington’s Waterfront Business (“B-W”) District. The Town’s B-W District encompasses approximately 10 acres adjacent to Manhasset Bay, and runs along the west side of Main Street from Sunset…
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The Town of Riverhead’s Rural Preservation Efforts Encounter the Special Facts Exception and Section 239-m
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 (“Town Board”). These resolutions:…
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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 Division voted 3-1 to overturn…
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Sour Grapes At Southold Town Board Meeting: Proposed Regulations Aimed At Wineries Go Back To The Drawing Board
At its December 5, 2017 meeting, the Town Board of the Town of Southold (“Town Board”) was hit with a tidal wave of opposition to changes the Board was considering to the Town’s Zoning Code with respect to wineries. The proposed changes would have modified §280-13A(4) and §280-13C(10) of the Town Zoning Code. After a five-hour public hearing, the Town…
Town of Southold Expands Scope of Agricultural Use

On April 25, 2017, the Southold Town Board adopted Local Law No. 5 of 2017, which amends the Town’s Zoning Code as it relates to agricultural uses. Specifically, the local law amends and adds certain definitions to the Code in recognition of the changes in modern farm operations. The changes are also consistent with the expanded definitions of agriculture found…
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Hemp: Coming to a Farm Near You?
DEREGULATING INDUSTRIAL HEMP
Plans to expand New York’s Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program were recently announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo at one of his State of the State addresses. The program, which commenced in 2016, was authorized pursuant to the federal government’s passage of its 2014 Farm Bill, which specifically allows universities and state departments of agriculture to grow or…