The Appellate Division held a town planning board has no jurisdiction to review a site plan for construction of a dock in a state owned navigable waterway, unless such authority is specifically delegated by the State pursuant to Navigation Law section 46-a. In Matter of Hart Family, LLC. V. Town…
The Appellate Division found that issuance of a demolition permit for an historic structure, where there was no specific proposal for a redevelopment plan was not improper segmentation under SEQRA. In the Matter of Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation v. Boff, the Court upheld the issuance of a demolition permit that…
The Appellate Division reversed the Supreme Court and upheld the denial of an area variance for a rear yard setback to an in ground pool, despite prior approvals of rear yard setback variances for in ground pools at other properties. In Matter of Blandeburgo v Zoning Board of Appeals of…
The Journal Science has published an article suggesting that hydro tracking may be contributing to increases in the number and severity of earthquakes in the eastern United States. We do not usually discuss scientific articles in this Blog. In this instance, since the article discusses the need for regulation and…
The Appellate Division upheld a determination to deny the subdivision of an approximately three acre parcel containing two vacant buildings into two lots, each containing one of the two existing buildings. In a Matter of Center of Deposit, Inc. v. Village of Deposit, the Court held: “the Board identified a…
The Appellate Division upheld a SEQRA conditional negative declaration, as well as variances and site plan approval to construct a hotel. In Matter of Schaller v. Town of New Platz Zoning Board of Appeals et. al., the Court found the determinations of both the planning board and zoning board of…
The appellate division sustained a SEQRA negative declaration, but nonetheless reversed the grant of a special permit for failure to address all the criteria required for the issuance of a special permit. In the Matter of Frigault v. Town of Richfield Planning Board, the Court found that the Board took…
In a very brief decision, the Appellate Division held that a restaurant and concessions in Union Square Park did not violate the Public Trust Doctrine. In Union Square Park Community Coalition, Inc v. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Court held the uses: “are permissible park uses…
The Appellate Division ruled that the New York Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) does not prevent a Town from enacting zoning that prohibits hydrofracking. In Matter of Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden, the Court held that provisions of the ECL that regulate mining did not conflict with the…
The Appellate Division ruled that a zoning board correctly interpreted the zoning code when it held that keeping 40 racing pigeons was not what was intended in a zoning code that permits “customary household pets” as accessory to a residence. In Matter of LaRusso v. Neuringer the court found: “the…