Zoning Variance May Not Be Limited To The Term of Ownership of the Applicant

In upholding the decision of a zoning board denying an area variance, the Appellate Division in Fowlkes v Board of Zoning Appeals of the Town of North Hempstead noted that the variance could not have been limited in time to the term of ownership of the present applicant. Instead the Court noted: “the variances could not be limited to the term of her ownership of the premises because any condition imposed when granting a variance must be directly related to the property involved and to the underlying purpose of the zoning code, without consideration of the particular person owning or occupying it.”