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
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
“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
As many of us continue to cocoon inside our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding supermarkets and anyone else for that matter, Long Island farms are seeing a resurgence in interest for locally grown produce and...more
Legal pre-existing nonconforming uses (aka grandfathered uses) have a tenuous existence in New York. Although protected by vested property rights in the Constitution, many local zoning ordinances seek to eliminate these...more
10/21/2019
/ Abandoned Property ,
Abandonment ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Grandfathered Status ,
Local Ordinance ,
Manufacturing Facilities ,
Municipalities ,
Nonconforming Use ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws
The Long Island Central Pine Barrens Protection Act (“Act”), enacted in 1993, created the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission (“Commission”) which implements the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (“Plan”). ...more
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
Generally, when a majority of the members of a zoning board of appeals (ZBA) either votes in favor of or against an action, the board is considered to have acted. What if a ZBA is unable to take any kind of majority action...more
Sometimes called a “case of the race,” the common law doctrine of vested rights is “one of the most troublesome areas of land use regulation.” Exeter Building Corp v Town of Newburgh, 114 AD3d 774 [2d Dept 2014]....more
Asharoken, N.Y. January 10, 2017–Swayed by public opinion and perceived elitism, the Incorporated Village of Asharoken (“Asharoken”) opted out of a federal beach nourishment plan implemented by the Army Corp of Engineers...more