Typically, zoning variances “run with the land”, and absent a specific time limitation, they continue until properly revoked. See, St. Onge v. Donovan, 71 NY2d 507, [1988]. As a result, variances cannot be made to apply only to the current owner. But under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), reasonable accommodations can be made that are essentially personal variances
Continue Reading Zoning – Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing ActZoning – Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing Act
Zoning codes are constantly evolving in response to perceived or real threats of overdevelopment. Generally, a municipality may in the reasonable exercise of its police power, amend its zoning code to be more restrictive in the bulk area requirements required for development of a parcel. Known as a “merger provision” when a landowner purchases an adjacent substandard parcel of land,
When requesting deviation from setback minimums or minimum lot size requirements, a developer must request an area variance. Even if the lots are zoned residential and the developer only wants to build a single-family residence, there is no guarantee that a Zoning Board of Appeals will allow deviations and grant an area variance, as in 
The “Special Use Permit” is a zoning term and process used by a municipality to encourage, but still regulate, land use in a zoning district by making it subject to a special review and criteria detailed in the zoning ordinance. See, Town Law Section 274-b, Village Law Section 7-725-b and City Law Section 27-b.
In 
Generally, many property owners assume that where a lot is held in single and separate ownership they are entitled to an area variance “as of right.” That is not entirely true. An exception to the single and separate doctrine is the doctrine of merger. Undersized lots that share a common boundary and are owned by the same person or entity
In 
Surprise! During the summer of Covid-19, the Town Board of Oyster Bay passed