Due to delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other factors, many municipalities across Long Island are experiencing significant backlogs of processing building permit applications. In some towns and villages, applicants are waiting several months to obtain a building permit. Currently, building permits can only be issued by local municipalities and their officials
Doctrine of Laches Bars Neighbor’s Challenge to Development
A recent Second Department decision applying the doctrine of laches highlights the importance of taking prompt action against a property owner who may be acting in violation of a zoning or building code.
The dispute in Kverel v. Silverman arose when the defendant contracted to purchase an undeveloped parcel of land (the “Premises”) in the
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
Municipalities Cannot Withhold Permits to Secure Infrastructure and Improvements
In Joy Builders, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 07110, 165 A.D.3d 1084 (2d Dept 2018), a developer (“Developer”), in connection with the development of two subdivisions, challenged a provision of the Town Code of the Town of Clarkstown (“Town”) which authorized the Town to withhold