In July, the Appellate Division, Third Department issued a decision that dealt with lake bottoms and adverse possession. In LS Marina, LLC v ACME of Saranac, LLC, the appellate court found in favor of the marina operator and granted it summary judgment on its adverse possession claim. Here are the facts and analysis that led to that decision. In 2014, LS Marina purchased the only publicly accessible marina on Lower Saranac Lake. The marina…

The Ludovico Sculpture Trail (Trail) is located near the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, NY.  Its website can be found at  cnyhiking.com/LudovicoTrail.htm.  The Trail recently became a centerpiece of a land use dispute with the Town of Seneca Falls (Town). In Matter of Frank J. Ludovico Sculpture Trail Corp. v Town of Seneca Falls, the Fourth Department annulled a decision of the Town to acquire an easement along the Trail to install…

A recent decision from the Appellate Division, Third Department, concerned an unsuccessful challenge to a subdivision approval for five separate community solar projects.   First – a little background information. According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority  (NYSERDA) a community solar project, sometimes referred to as a solar garden or shared renewable energy plant, is “an array of solar panels installed in a sunny, offsite location. Anyone in the area can access the clean energy produced by these…

A recent decision from the Supreme Court of Warren County, John Carr v. Village of Lake George Village Board, demonstrates how a simple omission on a site plan approval application can upend an approved project, even though the municipality wants the project and enacted a local law to smooth the pathway for its approval. James Quirk (Quirk) owns property in the Village of Lake George (Village). In February 2018, Quirk applied to the Village…

A recent ruling by the Appellate Division, Second Department, Matter of Coney Island Boardwalk Community Gardens v City of New York, concerned the fate of a parcel of land located at the Coney Island boardwalk. That parcel was owned by the City of New York and had been used for several years as a community garden. When the City decided it wanted the site to be redeveloped as an amphitheater, the community gardeners objected.…

A recent case from the Third Department, Shea v. Signal Hill Road LLC, involved a dispute about untrimmed trees that blocked the view of the adjoining property owner to Lake Placid and the surrounding mountains. The trial court sided with the adjoining property owner, finding that the restrictive covenant contained in the deeds was enforceable, requiring the trees to be cut back, a ruling that was affirmed by the Third Department. The Third Department’s…

A recent case from the Appellate Division, Second Department, addresses one of our favorite topics, standing. It is a cautionary tale about how not to establish standing. Tilcon New York, Inc. v Town of New Windsor involved a hybrid proceeding in which the plaintiff/petitioner asserted nine separate causes of action. The appellate court determined that plaintiff/petitioner lacked standing on each of the causes of action, resulting in the dismissal of the petition/complaint. The case stems…