Long Island Land Use and Zoning

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Town Takes Trailer: Enforcing Zoning Ordinance against Unresponsive Violators

January 12, 2020

In Town of Brookhaven v Golemi, 2019 NY Slip Op 51477(U) [Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2019], the Town of Brookhaven (“Brookhaven”) successfully sought and obtained injunctive relief to remove a structure that violated Brookhaven’s Town Code (“Code”). This case reminds landowners to be responsive to local governments in their enforcement of zoning ordinance. It is also a simple and helpful illustration of how municipalities can pursue a violator through to a remedy – even…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Suffolk County Trap And Skeet Range May Be Silenced By Town Noise Ordinance

By John C. Armentano

January 6, 2020

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 blow by the Supreme Court, Suffolk County in Hunter Sports Shooting Grounds, Inc. v Foley. Acquired by Suffolk County (“County”), in 1963 , the Range is a recreational trap, skeet and sporting clays facility located in the Town of Brookhaven (“Town”), and operated…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Big Changes in the Village of Westbury: Zoning Amendment Sows the Seeds for New Transit-Oriented Development

By Philip A. Butler

December 30, 2019

Cultural Sensitivity Map — Figure 1 to Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement prepared by VHB.

On December 5, 2019, the Village of Westbury Board of Trustees adopted legislation creating the Maple Union Transit-Oriented Development District (or “Maple Union TOD”). The sweeping new law eliminates the Village’s industrial zoning districts along the Long Island Railroad corridor and replaces them with seven mixed-use subdistricts serving as the foundation for a new downtown area consisting of medium-density residential buildings, ground-floor retail and commercial uses, and significant community and cultural amenities and open space.…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Village’s Vitiation of Riparian Rights Survives Initial Challenge

By John C. Stellakis

December 23, 2019

In Akeson v Inc. Vil. of Asharoken, 2019 NY Slip Op 32756(U), Index No. 57/2018 (Sup Ct, Suffolk County 2019), the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the Incorporated Village of Asharoken’s (“Asharoken”) decisions to deny permits for the construction of seasonal and removable docks at two residential properties along Northport Bay. The two properties lie situated within the “Ida Smith Property,” which runs lengthwise approximately three-quarters of one mile along a crescent beach (“Ida…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Walls and Fences Are Not The Same

By Charlotte Biblow

December 16, 2019

This blog post is about walls and fences (but probably not the ones you may be thinking about). The walls of concern to this blog post are located in the Town of Geneva, in a part of the state known as the Finger Lakes region. The three walls were constructed on lakefront property owned by Stephen Fox and consisted of a breakwall, septic system retaining wall, and a north side retaining wall. The Town…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Supreme Court, Suffolk County Upholds ZBA Determination Authorizing a Change In Nonconforming Use

By Elizabeth Vail

December 9, 2019

The Supreme Court, Suffolk County recently upheld a determination of the Southampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) perhaps ending a lengthy and controversial review of the development of a day camp on residentially zoned property with frontage on Little Fresh Pond. The subject property is located at 665 Major’s Path in North Sea, Southampton, on a 16.8 acre parcel, in the R-20 Zoning District. The property was improved with a pre-existing nonconforming tennis club/tennis…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Parking Ticket Fix Earns Counsel Two Years’ Suspension

By John C. Stellakis

December 2, 2019

In Matter of Weissmann, 2019 NY Slip Op 06170 (2d Dep’t 2019), the Special Prosecutor for the Village of Spring Valley Justice Court received a two-year suspension from the practice of law for helping select defendants favorably dispose of parking tickets at the direction of a Village Trustee. This cautionary case serves as a poignant reminder for private practitioners who cross the threshold into public service in their local municipalities. Mr. Weissmann was appointed as…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Unique Procedural Rule Requires Transfer of Article 78 Proceeding to Appellate Division

By Kyle Gruder

November 25, 2019

A recent Second Department decision, Matter of Reddock v New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, highlights a unique procedural quirk involving Article 78 proceedings where the challenge is based upon “substantial evidence”. The petitioners in Reddock own a 2.07-acre parcel of property in the Town of Smithtown adjacent to the Nissequogue River (the “Property”) and within the Nissequogue Recreational River Corridor (the “Corridor”), as defined in New York Environmental Conservation Law Section 15-2714(3)(ee)…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Standoff Between National Grid and New York State Over Gas Pipeline is Impacting Homeowners and Businesses

By Anthony S. Guardino

November 17, 2019

In May 2019, National Grid – the utility company that provides natural gas to approximately 1.8 million customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island – announced a moratorium on the processing of applications for new gas service. The moratorium was imposed following a May 15, 2019 Decision by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) denying a water-quality permit for a portion of a proposed 23-mile underwater gas supply pipeline, known…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

SEQRA Challenge Rejected by Appellate Court Because of Lack of Standing and Untimeliness of the Challenge

By Charlotte Biblow

November 11, 2019

Several prior blog posts discussed standing requirements under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and the timeliness of challenging a SEQRA determination. A decision from the Appellate Division, Third Department, Schulz v Town Board of the Town of Queensbury, issued on October 24, 2019, involved both of these elements and was a one-two punch that knocked out a challenge to a municipal decision. Here are the pertinent facts. The Town of Queensbury Sanitary Sewer…

Long Island Land Use and Zoning

Blog Authors

Town Takes Trailer: Enforcing Zoning Ordinance against Unresponsive Violators

Suffolk County Trap And Skeet Range May Be Silenced By Town Noise Ordinance

Big Changes in the Village of Westbury: Zoning Amendment Sows the Seeds for New Transit-Oriented Development

Village’s Vitiation of Riparian Rights Survives Initial Challenge

Walls and Fences Are Not The Same

Supreme Court, Suffolk County Upholds ZBA Determination Authorizing a Change In Nonconforming Use

Parking Ticket Fix Earns Counsel Two Years’ Suspension

Unique Procedural Rule Requires Transfer of Article 78 Proceeding to Appellate Division

Standoff Between National Grid and New York State Over Gas Pipeline is Impacting Homeowners and Businesses

SEQRA Challenge Rejected by Appellate Court Because of Lack of Standing and Untimeliness of the Challenge

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