Troy Sand & Gravel Co. v. Town of NassauTroy Sand & Gravel Co. v. Town of Nassau
Troy Sand & Gravel Company, Inc., et al., Respondents, v Town of Nassau et al., Appellants. [957 NYS2d 444]—
Spain, J.
In November 2011, the Town Board held a special meeting concerning plaintiff‘s pending 2004 applications for a special
Plaintiffs also requested a preliminary injunction, during the pendency of the action and by order to show cause, restraining the Town from incurring any expense associated with hiring a consultant to review any issue that has already been determined in the SEQRA process. Supreme Court issued a written decision partially granting the requested preliminary injunction by enjoining the Town from reassessing, pursuant to the zoning regulations governing special use permits, the environmental impact of the proposed quarry to the extent already addressed by the SEQRA determination and further stated that any review of plaintiff‘s applications shall “not include a reconsideration of DEC‘s SEQRA determination” (Troy Sand & Gravel Co., Inc. v Town of Nassau, 34 Misc 3d 1219[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50182[U], *4 [Sup Ct, Rensselaer County 2012]). Defendants now appeal, challenging the grant of injunctive relief.
We find merit in defendants’ argument on appeal that Supreme Court erred in granting plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, which effectively precluded the Town from following its zoning regulations to the extent that they authorize consideration of environmental factors in its review of plaintiff‘s pending applications. Plaintiffs did not demonstrate a
To begin, we agree with Supreme Court that DEC‘s SEQRA determination, including its findings statement and accepted final environmental impact statement, are binding on the Town to the extent that it may not conduct its own or any de novo SEQRA review (see Matter of Gordon v Rush, 100 NY2d 236, 243 [2003]). However, local land use matters and zoning decisions—such as the consideration of special use permits—are within the exclusive responsibility of the Town, as representative of its local community, which “possess[es] the familiarity with local conditions necessary to make the often sensitive planning decisions which affect the development of [its] community” (Matter of Cowan v Kern, 41 NY2d 591, 599 [1977]; see Matter of Albany-Greene Sanitation v Town of New Baltimore Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 263 AD2d 644, 646 [1999], lv denied 94 NY2d 752 [1999]; Waste Mgt. of N.Y., LLC v Town of Albion, 18 Misc 3d 1133[A], 2005 NY Slip Op 52343[U], *8 [Sup Ct, Orleans County 2005], affd 32 AD3d 1295 [2006], lv denied 8 NY3d 805 [2007]; see
Thus, DEC‘s SEQRA determination did not supplant the Town‘s zoning regulations governing review of special use permit applications, nor did it predetermine the Town‘s decision on plaintiff‘s permit application. Likewise, the SEQRA findings did not bind the Town to issue the requested special use permit or preclude it from employing the procedures—and considering the standards—in its own local zoning regulations, including the environmental and neighborhood impacts of the project (see Matter of Albany-Greene Sanitation v Town of New Baltimore Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 263 AD2d at 646; Matter of Wal-Mart Stores v Planning Bd. of Town of N. Elba, 238 AD2d 93, 97 [1998]; Matter of Zagoreos v Conklin, 109 AD2d 281, 297 [1985]; see also Matter of Chadwick Gardens Assoc. v City of Newburgh Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 273 AD2d 232, 232 [2000]).
Indeed, DEC‘s SEQRA findings statement recognizes as much, specifically noting that DEC‘s “final decision on this proposal would not override the municipality‘s local land use or zoning ordinances, and [plaintiff] would be required to obtain any required local, state and federal approval prior to undertaking the [mining] activity.” Thus, while the SEQRA process is concluded and the Town is bound by DEC‘s SEQRA determination, the Town remains entitled to independently review plaintiff‘s application for the special use permit in accord with the standards contained in its zoning regulations, including consideration of the “health, safety, welfare, comfort and convenience of the public,” both in general and in the immediate neighborhood, as well as “the environmental impact” (Local Law No. 2 [1986] of Town of Nassau art VI [A]). The Town, in its review of, among other things, the environmental impact of the proposed quarry under its zoning regulations, will necessarily take into consideration and abide by DEC‘s SEQRA determination and mining permit approval, but these DEC determinations do not displace local special use permit review. Of course, the Town‘s ultimate determination is subject to
Moreover, while DEC issued a mining permit (see
As we have previously stated regarding this application, the MLRL does not “govern the manner in which decisions on special use permits must be made” (Matter of Troy Sand & Gravel Co., Inc. v Town of Nassau, 89 AD3d 1178, 1181 [2011]). Thus, under established law, “[a] municipality retains general authority [by means of its zoning powers] to regulate land use and to regulate or prohibit the use of land within its boundaries for mining operations, although it may not directly regulate the specifics of the mining activities or reclamation process” (Preble Aggregate v Town of Preble, 263 AD2d 849, 850 [1999], lv denied 94 NY2d 760 [2000]; see Village of Savona v Knight Settlement Sand & Gravel, 88 NY2d 897, 899 [1996]). Clearly, the statute expressly contemplates that municipalities retain the right to enact and enforce zoning ordinances that determine permissible uses in zoning districts, and the right to require a special use permit (see
Rose, J.P., Lahtinen, Kavanagh and McCarthy, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, without costs, motion denied in its entirety and preliminary injunction vacated, effective immediately.