Town of Southampton GIS

Ronald A. Kaye, the property owner at 39 Actors Colony Road, Village of North Haven, sought to subdivide his 157, 241 square foot property into two residential lots. The subject property is located in the Residence R-1 Zoning District where the minimum lot size is 80,000 square feet. In October of 2016,
Continue Reading Appellate Division Upholds Denial of Article 78 Petition Against Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of North Haven

In Matter of Magid Setauket Assoc., LLC v The Town of Brookhaven Bd. of Zoning Appeals, the petitioners were the owner and the operator (“Petitioners”) of a Shell gas station located in the Old Setauket Historic District (the “Historic District”) Transition Zone, in the Town of Brookhaven (the “Town”).  Petitioners applied for an area variance to permit them to
Continue Reading Court Upholds Zoning Board’s Denial of Gas Station’s Area Variance Application

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 Town of Southampton (the “Town”) 
Continue Reading Doctrine of Laches Bars Neighbor’s Challenge to Development

Oklahoma-City-Vacant-House-BuyerThe Towns of Babylon and Hempstead have recently enacted legislation designed to combat the blight associated with “zombie” homes and other vacant and abandoned properties. Both laws create a registry and require the payment of fees to offset the costs associated with monitoring and inspecting properties that are required to register.

Town of Babylon

The Town of Babylon’s law, known

Continue Reading Nassau and Suffolk Towns Enact Tougher Laws to Combat Vacant and Abandoned Properties

pumpkinsBeginning in 1974, Suffolk County enacted a series of laws, now codified as Chapter 8 of the Suffolk County Code, which sought to preserve agricultural lands. In exchange for paying an owner for the development rights of his/her farmland, the owner agreed to a covenant restricting the land to agricultural or open space. Between 1974 and 2010, more than 9,000

Continue Reading Suffolk County’s Program To Develop Preserved Farmlands Is Rejected By The Court

In prior posts, we discussed sand mining in Southampton, Pine Barrens Credits and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). A recent case out of Suffolk County touches on all three areas, so we decided to write a blog post on it.

pbmap_article_slideshow_03The case, Matter of the Application of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, et al. v. The Central

Continue Reading Long Island Pine Barrens Society Has Standing To Challenge

In recent years, advances in technology have not only enhanced our ability to connect with one another on a professional and social level but also, advances in technology have allowed the government, at all levels, to peep into our lives at every turn. th[2]

Today, criminal defendants’ cases can easily rise and fall on the nature of a defendant’s Facebook or
Continue Reading FROM PEEPING TOMS TO PEEPING DRONES: Help! Big Brother Government is Peeping in My Backyard

In an area of shifting sands, the Suffolk County Supreme Court in Semlear, et al. v. Albert Marine Construction, Inc., delineated property rights landward of the crest of the dune, the “line of demarcation”, and the rights of the Southampton Town Trustees to regulate the placement of shoreline protection structures along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean.  The Town Trustees

Continue Reading Drawing a Line in the Sand: Court Defines Southampton Trustees’ Authority To Regulate Erosion Protection Structures Along the Shoreline