Restrictive covenants are common conditions of zoning approvals. Municipal boards typically require applicants to record restrictive covenants as a condition of approval. These restrictive covenants are drafted to “run with...more
Recently in BMG Monroe I, LLC v. Village of Monroe Zoning Board of Appeals, the Second Department reinforced strict compliance with all State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”) visual impact findings and mitigation...more
1/8/2024
/ Building Permits ,
Construction Project ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Infrastructure ,
Real Estate Development ,
SEQRA ,
Site Plans ,
State and Local Government ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Zoning Board of Appeals
Last month, in Cuffaro v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Bellport (Index # 620453/2021), the Suffolk Supreme Court reinforced the existing and binding case law that a municipality’s issuance of a building permit to...more
Last month, the State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, upheld the Appellate Division’s decision annulling the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issuance of permits to Sand Land Corporation...more
Recently, the Suffolk County Supreme Court affirmed the Southampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) denial of a special permit to subdivide the subject property into two residential lots in the Village’s Office...more
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...more
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...more
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...more
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...more
Determining the width of a right-of-way may be more difficult than you think, even when the dimensions are specifically defined. New York courts take the approach that elevates the right of passage over full use an easement...more
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin. This pithy logic from Benjamin Franklin to prevent fires in colonial Philadelphia should serve as a reminder to municipal boards of the strict compliance...more
Surprise! During the summer of Covid-19, the Town Board of Oyster Bay passed Local Law 4 of 2020, amending Chapter 246, the Town’s zoning code, to eliminate apartments over stores or offices as a permitted principal use in...more
In D.P.R Scrap Metal. Inc., v Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of North Hempstead, __AD3d__, [2d Dept 2020], the Appellate Division affirmed the grant of the Article 78 Petition of D.P.R. Scrap Metal Inc. (DPR) annulling...more
In the Matter of Giora Neeman v Town of Warwick, __AD3d__, 2020 NY Slip Op 03112, the Second Department recently declared that a development agreement entered into between the respondent/defendant Black Bear Family...more
BANG! Yaphank, New York. In November 2019, after years of protracted ligation, Hunter Sports Shooting Grounds, Inc., (“HSSG”) the operator of the Suffolk County Skeet, Trap & Sporting Clays Range (“Range”), was dealt another...more
1/6/2020
/ Business Licenses ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Exemptions ,
Firearms ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Municipalities ,
Noise Complaints ,
Noise Control Ordinances ,
Nonconforming Use ,
Property Owners ,
Public Interest ,
Public Nuisance ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Takings ,
Urban Planning & Development
Builders, developers and property owners are often cited for zoning violations that become the subject of criminal enforcement proceedings in court (i.e. appearance tickets). Certainly, a party can have the court decide the...more
4/23/2019
/ Appeals ,
Building Codes ,
Certificates of Occupancy ,
Criminal Liability ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Local Ordinance ,
Motions to Stay Proceedings ,
Real Estate Development ,
Site Plans ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
The Second Department recently reversed a Suffolk County Supreme Court decision granting a use variance for a mother-daughter residence in the Village of Patchogue (the “Village”), in spite of statements made on the record by...more
A few days ago, the Town Supervisor of the Town of Southampton and the Town Trustee President sent a letter to the State Comptroller and State Park Commissioner requesting an opinion as to whether Town Trustee property, known...more
Long Island’s ever-evolving agricultural industry won a major battle in the Appellate Division this month when the court overturned Supreme Court Justice Whelan’s decision, which invalidated two local laws of the Suffolk...more
New York’s Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) mandates that agencies make all “records” available for public inspection and copying, subject to certain exemptions. See, Public Officers Law. ...more