An appellate court upheld a decision finding that a proposed in-ground swimming pool does not violate a restrictive covenant. In Kemp v. Village of Scarsdale the Appellate Division held “the plaintiff established her prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, as the plain language of the restrictive…
A court denied a use variance to conduct a motorcycle sales operation at a location which previously obtained a use variance to operate an antique furniture store. In Matter of 194 Main Inc. v. Board of Zoning Appeals for Town of North Hempstead, the Appellate Division affirmed the denial of…
The First Department upheld a $250,000 penalty imposed by the DEC. In Matter of Longwood Assoc., LLC v New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, the court held that the penalty imposed for placing an unregistered 2000 gallon petroleum bulk storage tank in violation of the Environmental Conservation Law and…
In a decision issued today, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division and found that a non-conforming mining operation had attained vested rights in that use. In Glacial Aggregates LLC v. Town of Yorkshire, the Court concluded that the expense of the permitting process, coupled with taking…
In a decision addressing two separate claims of substantial burden under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reached two different conclusions as to the effects of municipal actions on religious groups. In World Outreach Center v. City of Chicago and Trinity…
The Appellate Division ruled that a zoning board of appeals need not justify the denial of an area variance under all five factors in the balancing test established by Town Law. In Matter of King v/ Town of Islip Zoning Board of Appeals the court upheld the denial of an…
In the Matter of Harris Bay Yacht Club, Inc. v. The Town of Queensbury the Appellate Division, Third Department found that the town assessor had acted illegally when, after a town wide reassessment in 2005, the Yacht Club was singled out for a further reassessment in 2006 and again in…
The New York Appellate Division, Second Department, in Matter of Baker v Village of Elmsford has unanimously held that the Village of Elmsford may not demap and discontinue portions of Vreeland Avenue and River Street unless the Village Board determines the streets are useless and it takes a hard look…
The New York Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Appellate Division requiring release of documents by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), despite a claim by ESDC that the documents are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). In a rebuke to procedures followed by…
In a case that appears to break new ground, the Appellate Division, First Department, found that the proposed condemnation of a number of parcels to make way for a new Columbia University Campus should be rejected. In Matter of Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corporation the split court…