Last week, New York’s State Legislature passed a bill (A10001) seeking to amend NYS Environmental Conservation Law (“ECL”) §23-2703 in order to protect Long Island’s sole source aquifer. The amendment would allow local governments in Nassau and Suffolk counties the ability to prohibit sand mining operations where it is determined that mining is “inconsistent with
Municipal Development Agreement: Found To Be Illegal Contract Zoning
In the Matter of Giora Neeman v Town of Warwick, __AD3d__, 2020 NY Slip Op 03112, the Second Department recently declared that a development agreement entered into between the respondent/defendant Black Bear Family Campgrounds, Inc. (“BBFC”) and respondent/defendant, Town of Warwick, (“Town”) as part of a settlement of a separate civil proceeding, constituted illegal
Long Island Farmland Protection and the COVID-19 pandemic
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
Coronavirus & The Open Meetings Law: How To Hold Public Meetings During The COVID-19 Pandemic
The public health crisis created by COVID-19 has forced municipal officials statewide to cancel, suspend or postpone previously scheduled public hearings and meetings. How do public bodies conduct their necessary business during these uncertain times? Below is a brief analysis and summary of what options are available.
Background
On March 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued
Suffolk County Trap And Skeet Range May Be Silenced By Town Noise Ordinance
BANG! Yaphank, New York. In November 2019, after years of protracted ligation, Hunter Sports Shooting Grounds, Inc., (“HSSG”) the operator of the Suffolk County Skeet, Trap & Sporting Clays Range (“Range”), was dealt another blow by the Supreme Court, Suffolk County in Hunter Sports Shooting Grounds, Inc. v Foley.
Acquired by Suffolk County (“County”),
Nonconforming Uses – Don’t Abandon Them
Legal pre-existing nonconforming uses (aka grandfathered uses) have a tenuous existence in New York. Although protected by vested property rights in the Constitution, many local zoning ordinances seek to eliminate these vestigial uses with regulations that hinge on continual use. The allowance of nonconforming uses by the courts has been grudgingly tolerated, with the ultimate
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
Stopping A Zoning Enforcement Action In Court
Builders, developers and property owners are often cited for zoning violations that become the subject of criminal enforcement proceedings in court (i.e. appearance tickets). Certainly, a party can have the court decide the matter, however, an appeal to a Board of Zoning Appeals can be used to stay any and all court enforcement proceedings. This
Appellate Division Reverses North Hempstead Denial of Pre-Existing Nonconforming Two-Family Home In Business District
In Abbatiello v Town of North Hempstead, 164 A.D.3d 785 [2d Dept. 2018], the Second Department recently reversed Supreme Court, Nassau County and granted the petitioner’s CPLR Article 78 challenge to the Town of North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals (“Board”) denial of a use variance. In finding that the house was a “legal
Use Variance Denied By Second Department Regardless Of Alleged Prior Precedent: Village of Patchogue
The Second Department recently reversed a Suffolk County Supreme Court decision granting a use variance for a mother-daughter residence in the Village of Patchogue (the “Village”), in spite of statements made on the record by the Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) Chairman implying prior precedent approving such applications.
In June 2014, the petitioner applied to