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On April 4, 2023, the Town of Riverhead joined the growing list of Long Island municipalities to have adopted special zoning regulations for Battery Storage Energy Systems (or BESS) projects. The law, which was filed with the State and took effect on April 15, 2023, is codified in Chapter 301, Article LIID of the Town Code, appropriately titled “Battery Energy…

Continue Reading Riverhead Gives the Green Light to New BESS Zoning Regulations
Grandfathered

Last month, in Cuffaro v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Bellport (Index # 620453/2021), the Suffolk Supreme Court reinforced the existing and binding case law that a municipality’s issuance of a building permit to a similarly situated lot effectively sanctions the subdivision of that property by deed without the requisite subdivision approval.  In a strongly worded decision…

Continue Reading “Grandfathering” By Issuance of Building Permits
Judge`s,Gavel,And,Law,Books.constitutional,Crisis

Following in the footsteps of the towns of Huntington, Babylon and East Hampton, the Town of Oyster Bay voted on March 7, 2023, to create a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication pursuant to Article 14-BB of the General Municipal Law (“GML”).  The bureau is an administrative tribunal that will process quality of life violations of the Town Code.  Under the GML…

Continue Reading Oyster Bay to provide for administrative adjudication of zoning and other code violations
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Josh Withers, Unsplash

Last month, the State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, upheld the Appellate Division’s decision annulling the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issuance of permits to Sand Land Corporation (“Sandland”) for renewal and expansion of sand mining operations at a 50-acre site in Southampton, New York and remanded the matter back to the DEC. The site, owned…

Continue Reading NYSDEC Mining Law Appears Further Undermined by the Court of Appeals
Took a walk on lunch break to create a collection of industry and “gas punk” type photos.
Patrick Hendry, Unsplash

            The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (“ESA”) is the quintessential environmental diligence tool for transactions involving real property.  A Phase I ESA includes a site inspection and review of current and past uses and ownership, among other things, to evaluate actual and potential environmental conditions.  If performed in accordance with the All Appropriate Inquiry Rule (“AAI Rule”), a Phase…

Continue Reading It’s Official! ASTM E1527-21 is the New Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Standard

The Huntington Town Board is currently seeking input from residents, businesses and others for a new plan for the redevelopment of the Melville Employment Center (“MEC”).  The new plan will build upon a prior plan that was adopted by the Town Board in 2016.  That plan – known as the Melville Employment Center Plan (“MECP”) – was adopted to help…

Continue Reading Town of Huntington Seeks Input on Future Redevelopment in the Melville Employment Center

For most people, the idea of “Green Energy” likely evokes images of solar panels and wind turbines. However, the movement toward renewable energy, and a more reliable and efficient power grid, involves many other forms of technology that may yet be unfamiliar to the average person. But as the push to expand Green Energy production grows, so too will the…

Continue Reading To BESS, or Not to BESS? The Emergence of Battery Storage Systems on Long Island

As part of her 2023 State of State address, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a statewide strategy to address New York’s housing crisis by building 800,000 new homes over the next decade. The plan, dubbed as the “New York Housing Compact,” is a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy that mandates local participation and grants incentives to achieve housing growth across the State.  It…

Continue Reading Governor Hochul’s Ambitious Statewide Strategy to Address New York’s Housing Crisis

Recently, the Suffolk County Supreme Court affirmed the Southampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) denial of a special permit to subdivide the subject property into two residential lots in the Village’s Office District. In 99 Sanford Place LLC, v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Incorporated Village of Southampton, (Sup. Ct. Suffolk County. Sept. 20, 2022) Justice Linda…

Continue Reading Is Prior Precedent Dead in the Village of Southampton? Depends on Who You Ask.
Sea-Cliff-Today

After more than half a century, the Village of Sea Cliff is in the process of adopting a new Comprehensive Plan to update the 1970 Village Master Plan.  New York State recommends that municipalities update their Comprehensive Plans on a regular basis, to identify changes and trends that the community is undergoing, as well as develop a shared vision and…

Continue Reading Village of Sea Cliff in the Midst of Developing a New Comprehensive Plan