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
Remediation of Petroleum Spills Amount to Continuation of Nonconforming Use
In Matter of HV Donuts, LLC v. Town of LaGrange Zoning Board of Appeals, the Second Department recently held that a property owner’s nonconforming use rights continue despite a temporary business interruption caused by a fuel truck accident and gasoline spill.
The property owner, Leemilt’s Petroleum, Inc. (the “Owner”), leased the subject property (the
Getting Lost in the “Open Space” of New York City’s Superblocks
In Peyton v. New York City Bd. of Standards and Appeals, (2018 N.Y. 06870, 166 A.D.3d 120 (1st Dept 2018), Petitioners-community residents (“Petitioners”) commenced a proceeding to challenge the City of New York (“City”) Board of Standards and Appeals’s (“Board”) resolution upholding the City Department of
Appellate Division Finds Town of Southold’s Local Law Up-Zoning Property Valid
In 1999, the Greenport Group, LLP (“Greenport Group”) acquired a 31 acre parcel of land located on the east side of Chapel Lane and the north side of the Main Road in Greenport in the Town of Southold. The southerly portion of the property was zoned “Limited Business” and the northerly portion was zoned “Hamlet
Potential Conflicts and Interplay between the Village of Southampton Board of Architectural and Historic Preservation and the Village of Southampton Zoning Code
In a decision dated October 30, 2018, Supreme Court Judge Joseph Pastoressa remanded a decision made by the Southampton Village Architectural and Historic Board (BARHP) for further consideration. Manger et al. v. Board of Architectural Review and Historic Review of the Village of Southampton.
The property owner in Manger applied to the BARHP
Commercial Development around a Residential Parcel Supports Hardship Element for Use Variance
A use variance is arguably one of the most difficult zoning approvals to obtain and is rarely granted. Petitioners in 54 Marion Ave., LLC v. City of Saratoga Springs, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 04611, 162 A.D.3d 1341 (3d Dep’t 2018), commenced a hybrid proceeding/action to challenge and annul a determination of the Zoning
Appellate Division Revives Challenge to New York City’s Moratorium on Hotel Conversions
In Real Estate Bd. of New York, Inc. v. City of New York, Petitioner-Plaintiff Real Estate Board of New York, Inc. (“REBNY”) commenced a hybrid article 78 proceeding and plenary action against the City of New York (“City”) challenging the City’s adoption of Local Law No. 50 of 2015 (“
Second Department Upholds Board of Zoning Appeals Decision Finding Vacant Land Was Not Single and Separate
Given the complex zoning regulations that govern development of vacant land, in recent years, it has become uniquely challenging to develop smaller tracts of vacant land that do not conform to the current zoning code. Further, the doctrines of merger and single and separate add to the complications. Unless a buyer is absolutely certain that
The Domain of Interpreting Zoning Ordinance: “Resort” to the Zoning Board of Appeals
In opposing Crossroad Ventures, LLC’s (“Crossroad Ventures“) endeavor to construct a vacation resort partially within the Town of Shandaken, (“Town“), grassroots preservation organization Catskill Heritage Alliance, Inc. (“Alliance“) commenced two consecutive Article 78 proceedings challenging certain approvals. The Court addressed multiple appeals from both proceedings in Catskill Heritage Alliance,
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