“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin. This pithy logic from Benjamin Franklin to prevent fires in colonial Philadelphia should serve as a reminder to municipal boards of the strict compliance required by New York’s General Municipal Law (GML) §239-m mandated by the courts. In New York, the failure to
Appellate Division finds Village Responsible for Maintenance of Bulkhead Related to Drainage Easement
Plaintiffs own property in the Village of Freeport on Randall Bay and granted a drainage easement to the Village in 1961. The easement, dated September 6, 1961, allowed the Village to “construct and maintain one underground storm water drain and one tide gate accessory thereto for drainage purposes.” The Village constructed a drain pipe which
Second Department Affirms Limits on Site Plan Determinations
This month, in Gershow Recycling of Riverhead v Town of Riverhead, 2021 NY Slip Op 02156 [2d Dept 2021], the Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the motion court’s decision granting an Article 78 petition to annul the denial of a site plan amendment application. The motion court and the appeals court held the
New York’s Cannabis Law Legalizes Adult Recreational Use but Permits Local Governments to Ban Retail Sales and On-Site Consumption
After several stalled attempts, New York State became the 16th state to legalize recreational cannabis (marijuana) use. This occurred on March 31, 2021, when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act” (S.854-A/A.1248-A) that was passed by the legislature the night before. The stated intent of the law is to regulate,
Second Department Affirms Denial of Religious Organization’s Application for Conditional Use Permit
In Matter of Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Ctr., Inc. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of the Inc. Vil. of Brookville, the Second Department reviewed a local zoning board’s denial of an applicant’s request to expand and improve the facilities on its property. The applicant/petitioner, Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center, Inc. (“Petitioner”), is a “nonprofit
Appellate Division Rejects Neighbor Attempt to Add Variances to Scope of Property Owner’s ZBA Application.
Absent local legislation to the contrary, town and village zoning boards act solely as appellate bodies authorized to hear and decide appeals taken from decisions by local zoning enforcement officials (ZEOs) (see Town Law § 267-A[4] [McKinney’s]; Village Law § 7-712-A[4] [McKinney’s]). The most common example of such appeals occurs when an applicant property-owner or
Apartments Over Stores Are No More – In Oyster Bay
Surprise! During the summer of Covid-19, the Town Board of Oyster Bay passed Local Law 4 of 2020, amending Chapter 246, the Town’s zoning code, to eliminate apartments over stores or offices as a permitted principal use in the Nonresidence District designated as Neighborhood Business (“NB”), Central Business (“CB”), and General Business (“GB”).
This
Appellate Division Upholds Supreme Court Dismissal of Article 78 Petition Against East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals
In the Matter of Parsome, LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of East Hampton, decided February 10, 2021, the petitioner appealed the denial of an Article 78 Petition by the Supreme Court, Suffolk County. The Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld the Supreme Court’s determination. Specifically, petitioner purchased property in the manufacturing
Truck Beach – Drawing Lines In The Sands of East Hampton
The tide seems to have turned against the Town and the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of East Hampton (Trustees) in a recent decision by the Second Department. In Seaview at Amagansett v, Trustees, the Appellate Division reversed much of a trial court’s 2016 decision and seemed to erode the
Brookhaven Adopts Innovative Zoning Regulations to Foster Redevelopment of Vacant and Underutilized Commercial Properties
In an effort to stimulate the revitalization of abandoned, vacant or underutilized commercial shopping centers, bowling alleys and health club properties, the Brookhaven Town Board recently voted to adopt a new zoning classification, known as the Commercial Redevelopment District (“CRD”). In the past year, there were a number of retail and commercial recreational businesses