An appellate court upheld a zoning board determination that the owner of a commercial property maintained a legal preexisting nonconforming use of a parking lot. In Matter of Jacobsen v. Town of Bedford Zoning Board of Appeals, the court reiterated the rule that such a decision will not be overturned…
Last year we reported on the case of Goldstein v Pataki, 516 F3d 50 [2008] involving the proposed condemnation of property in Brooklyn, New York in order to build the so called Atlantic Yards Project which includes a huge residential and commercial development along with an arena for the New…
In denying summary judgment to a property owner who challenged the amortization period during which a non-conforming use must be discontinued under a local law, the court held the property owner failed to demonstrate the law is invalid on its face. In the Matter of Suffolk Asphalt Supply, Inc. v.…
The appellate division issued a decision last week which provides a concise summary of the various issues confronted by a zoning board of appeals in deciding area variances. In Matter of Millennium Custom Homes v. Young, the court upheld the zoning board of appeals noting that the decision was rational…
The appellate division dismissed a challenge to the continuation of a condition to a variance on the grounds that the challenge is barred by the doctrine of res judicata. In Matter of Calapai v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Babylon, the court held that a variance conditioned…
A town zoning ordinance, which established the specific number of residences and the form of ownership of the residences, as well as the size and ownership of recreational facilities for a specific property, was voided by the appellate division in Matter of BLF Associates LLC v Town of Hempstead. In…
A local zoning board’s interpretation of the application of a zoning ordinance provision to a particular property shall be upheld unless that interpretation is “unreasonable or irrational.” In Kennedy v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Patchogue, the appellate division reiterated this rule while upholding the zoning board’s…
When a findings statement fails to pass, SEQRA does not preclude a reconsideration of the exact same findings statement at a later date. In the Matter of East End Property Company #1 LLC v. Town Board of the Town of Brookhaven, the Appellate Division found that there was nothing in…
A Planning Board is not required to make a determination regarding a fee in lieu of parkland at the time of preliminary subdivision approval but may wait until it grants final subdivision approval. In the Matter of Davies Farms LLC v. Planning Board of the Town of Clarkstown, the Appellate…
Reiterating that “vested rights cannot be acquired in reliance upon an invalid permit” the Appellate Division of the First Department upheld a determination of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (“BSA”) in the case In re GRA, LLC v. Srinivasan. The petitioner owned property in the R6…