| Matter of Lewis Family Farm, Inc. v New York State Adirondack ParkAgency |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 05890 [64 AD3d 1009] |
| July 16, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Third Department |
| In the Matter of Lewis Family Farm, Inc., Appellant, v New YorkState Adirondack Park Agency, Respondent. (Proceeding No. 1.) In the Matter of Lewis FamilyFarm, Inc., Respondent, v New York State Adirondack Park Agency, Appellant. (Proceeding No.2.) Adirondack Park Agency, Appellant, v Lewis Family Farm, Inc., et al., Respondents.(Action No. 1.) |
—[*1] Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Albany (Julie M. Sheridan of counsel), for New YorkState Adirondack Park Agency, respondent and appellant. Cynthia Feathers, Saratoga Springs, for New York Farm Bureau, amicus curiae.
Garry, J. Appeals (1) from a judgment of the Supreme Court (Ryan, J.), entered August 29,2007 in Essex County, which converted an action for declaratory judgment into a proceeding(No. 1) pursuant to CPLR article 78 and granted respondent's cross motion to dismiss the petitionin proceeding No. 1, (2) from a judgment of said court (Meyer, J.), entered July 2, 2008 in EssexCounty, which, in proceeding No. 2 pursuant to CPLR article 78 and action No. 1, partiallydenied a motion by the Adirondack Park Agency to dismiss certain causes of action inproceeding No. 2 and partially granted defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint in action No.1, and (3) from a judgment of said court (Meyer, J.), entered November 21, 2008 in EssexCounty, which, among other things, granted petitioner's application, in proceeding No. 2pursuant to CPLR article 78, to annul a determination of respondent Adirondack Park Agencydirecting petitioner to apply for a permit and pay a $50,000 civil penalty.
Lewis Family Farm, Inc. (hereinafter Lewis Farm) owns and operates a large organic farm inthe Town of Essex, Essex County, within the Adirondack Park and within an agricultural district.In the fall of 2006, Lewis Farm obtained a building permit from the Town and began buildingthree single-family dwelling units on the farm to be used to house farm workers. Afterconstruction began, Lewis Farm submitted an application to the Adirondack Park Agency(hereinafter the APA) for a permit under the APA's authority. The APA determined that theapplication was incomplete and requested additional information. A disagreement ensued, andthe APA eventually issued a cease and desist order prohibiting Lewis Farm from completing theconstruction until the dispute was resolved. Lewis Farm commenced an action for a judgmentdeclaring that the APA lacked jurisdiction over the project and enjoining it from interfering withthe construction. Supreme Court granted the APA's motion to convert the action to a CPLRarticle 78 proceeding (proceeding No. 1). The court then found that the APA had jurisdiction toenforce the permit requirement, but dismissed the petition as unripe because the APA had not yetissued a final determination. Lewis Farm appeals from this judgment.
The APA thereafter conducted an administrative enforcement proceeding that resulted, inMarch 2008, in a determination that by constructing the farm housing without an APA permit,Lewis Farm had violated the Adirondack Park Agency Act (see Executive Law art 27[hereinafter the APA Act]) and the Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System Act(see ECL 15-2705, 15-2709 [hereinafter the Rivers System Act]). The APA directedLewis Farm to apply for an "after-the-fact" permit and pay a $50,000 civil penalty.
Lewis Farm challenged this determination in a new proceeding under CPLR article 78(proceeding No. 2), and the APA commenced an action against Lewis Farm and its principals,defendants Salim Lewis and Barbara Lewis, to enforce its administrative determination. SupremeCourt joined these matters and, in July 2008, determined, among other things, that collateralestoppel did not bar any of the claims raised by Lewis Farm and dismissed the individualdefendants. The APA appeals from this judgment.
Subsequently, the parties cross-moved for summary judgment as to the APA's causes of[*2]action for enforcement of its administrative determination. InNovember 2008, Supreme Court, among other things, granted Lewis Farm's application inproceeding No. 2 and annulled the APA's March 2008 administrative determination. The courtalso granted summary judgment to Lewis Farm dismissing the APA's amended complaint in theenforcement action. The APA appeals from this judgment.
The APA Act creates a comprehensive land use plan that classifies all land within theAdirondack Park into six land use categories and sets forth primary and secondary compatibleuses for each category (see Executive Law § 805). The APA Act establishesspecific uses as class A and class B regional projects in each of the six land use categories(see Executive Law § 810), grants jurisdiction to the APA to review and approveall class A regional projects and certain class B regional projects (see Executive Law§ 809 [1]), and requires those who plan to undertake such projects to apply beforehand tothe APA for a permit (see Executive Law § 809 [2] [a]).
The farm is located in a "resource management" land use area (see Executive Law§ 805 [3] [g]). In such areas, "agricultural use structures" are primary compatible uses thatare neither class A nor class B regional projects and are exempt from APA jurisdiction andpermit requirements, so long as they are located a sufficient distance from neighboring rivershorelines (see Executive Law § 805 [3] [g] [4] [2]; § 810 [1] [e]; [2] [d]; 9NYCRR 577.6 [b] [3]). Where, as here, there is no approved local land use program,construction of a "single family dwelling" in a resource management area is a class B regionalproject that requires a permit from the APA (see Executive Law § 810 [2] [d] [1]).Similarly, the Rivers System Act accords jurisdiction to the APA to regulate the use of privatelyowned land in the immediate environs of certain river systems (see ECL 15-2701,15-2705, 15-2709 [1]). The disputed construction site on the farm is located within a"recreational river" area that is subject to APA permit requirements under the regulationsimplementing the Rivers System Act (see 9 NYCRR 577.4, 577.5 [c] [1]). However,"agricultural use structures" that otherwise comply with regulatory requirements are exemptfrom these permit requirements (see 9 NYCRR 577.4 [b] [3] [ii]; see also ECL15-2709 [2] [c]). The resolution of these appeals depends on whether the disputed housing unitson the farm are "single family dwelling[s]" as the APA determined in its administrativeenforcement proceeding and therefore subject to the APA's jurisdiction and permit requirementsunder the APA Act and the Rivers System Act, or "agricultural use structure[s]" exempt fromsuch requirements, as determined by Supreme Court.
The APA Act sets out definitions for 68 words and phrases and provides that "[a]s used inthis article, unless the context otherwise requires, [the defined] words and terms shall have themeaning ascribed to them" (Executive Law § 802). A "[s]ingle family dwelling" is definedas "any detached building containing one dwelling unit, not including a mobile home"(Executive Law § 802 [58]). An "[a]gricultural use structure" is "any barn, stable, shed,silo, garage, fruit and vegetable stand or other building or structure directly andcustomarily associated with agricultural use" (Executive Law § 802 [8] [emphasis added]).The implementing regulations for the Rivers System Act use the same definition of an"agricultural use structure" (see 9 NYCRR 577.2 [b]). A "[s]tructure" is "any objectconstructed, installed or placed on land to facilitate land use and development or subdivision ofland, such as buildings, sheds, single family dwellings, mobile homes, signs, tanks,fences and poles and any fixtures, additions and alterations thereto" (Executive Law § 802[62]). The APA Act further defines "[a]gricultural use" as "any management of any land foragriculture; . . . horticulture or orchards; including the sale of products grown orraised directly on such land" (Executive Law § 802 [7]).[*3]
As a preliminary matter, Supreme Court properlyconcluded that it was not required to defer to the APA's interpretation of the APA Act and theRivers System Act as the agency charged with their enforcement (see Matter ofTrump-Equitable Fifth Ave. Co. v Gliedman, 57 NY2d 588, 597 [1982]). " '[P]ure legalinterpretation' of clear and unambiguous statutory terms" such as the language at issue hererequires no such deference because there is little or no need to rely on any special expertise onthe agency's part (Kennedy v Novello, 299 AD2d 605, 607 [2002], lv denied 99NY2d 507 [2003], quoting Matter of Toys "R" Us v Silva, 89 NY2d 411, 419 [1996];see Matter of Raritan Dev. Corp. v Silva, 91 NY2d 98, 102 [1997]). The APA's March2008 administrative determination rested entirely on statutory interpretation, and neither thatinterpretation nor its application required " 'knowledge and understanding of underlyingoperational practices or entail[ed] an evaluation of factual data and inferences to be drawntherefrom' " (Town of Lysander v Hafner, 96 NY2d 558, 565 [2001], quotingKurcsics v Merchants Mut. Ins. Co., 49 NY2d 451, 459 [1980]).
We further agree with the conclusion reached by Supreme Court that the disputed housingunits on the farm are "agricultural use structure[s]" within the meaning of the APA Act. Theprimary goal of statutory interpretation is "to 'ascertain and give effect to the intention of theLegislature' " (Matter of EmigrantBancorp, Inc. v Commissioner of Taxation & Fin., 59 AD3d 30, 33 [2008], quotingRiley v County of Broome, 95 NY2d 455, 463 [2000]; accord Matter of DaimlerChrysler Corp. vSpitzer, 7 NY3d 653, 660 [2006]). "To that end, '[t]he statutory text is the clearestindicator of legislative intent and courts should construe unambiguous language to give effect toits plain meaning' " (Matter of Emigrant Bancorp, Inc. v Commissioner of Taxation &Fin., 59 AD3d at 33, quoting Matter of DaimlerChrysler Corp. v Spitzer, 7 NY3d at660). "A court must consider a statute as a whole, reading and construing all parts of an acttogether to determine legislative intent, and, where possible, should harmonize[ ] [all parts of astatute] with each other . . . and [give] effect and meaning . . . to theentire statute and every part and word thereof" (Friedman v Connecticut Gen. Life Ins. Co., 9 NY3d 105, 115[2007] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]).
Applying these precepts, Supreme Court examined the text of the pertinent statutorydefinitions and construed statutorily-defined terms or phrases within each definition by referenceto the other definitions and by reading them in the context of the APA Act as a whole.Accordingly, the court concluded that, since a "single family dwelling" is included within thestatutory definition of a "structure," and an "agricultural use structure" includes any "building orstructure directly and customarily associated with agricultural use," it was rational to concludethat a single family dwelling that is "directly and customarily associated with agricultural use"falls squarely within the statutory definition of an "agricultural use structure" and is thereforeexempt from APA regulation (Executive Law § 802 [8]). With regard to whetherfarmworker housing is "directly and customarily associated with agricultural use," the court tooknote of a related, though not controlling, statutory analysis determining that farmworkerresidences "contribute to the production, preparation and marketing of crops, livestock andlivestock products as a commercial enterprise" (Agriculture and Markets Law § 301 [11])and are therefore "farm operations" exempt from local zoning regulation under Agriculture andMarkets Law § 305-a (see Town of Lysander v Hafner, 96 NY2d at 562). Weagree with Supreme Court that there is no reason to conclude that the Legislature intended adifferent result within the Adirondack Park. Thus, although the farmworker residencesconstructed on the farm fall within the statutory definition of "single family dwelling[s]," theyare also "agricultural use structure[s]" exempt from APA jurisdiction because they are "directlyand customarily associated with agricultural use."[*4]
This conclusion is consistent with the APA Act'sproclamation that the need to "protect, manage and enhance" agricultural resources withinresource management areas is of "paramount importance," that such areas are of "considerableeconomic importance to segments of the park," and that the purposes and objectives of resourcemanagement areas include "encourag[ing] proper and economic management of . . .agricultural . . . resources" (Executive Law § 805 [g] [1], [2]). It is likewiseconsistent with the APA Act's explicit instruction that "[the APA's] rules and regulations. . . shall exclude . . . bona fide management of land for agriculture,livestock raising, horticulture and orchards . . . from review under this section"(Executive Law § 815 [4] [b]). It is further consistent with the constitutionally-mandatedstate policy to "encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for theproduction of food and other agricultural products" (NY Const, art XIV, § 4) and with thelegislative directive that "[i]t shall be the policy of all state agencies to encourage themaintenance of viable farming in agricultural districts and their administrative regulations andprocedures shall be modified to this end" (Agriculture and Markets Law § 305 [3]).Nothing in any of these provisions suggests, as the APA argues, that New York's strongpro-farming policy should apply differently to farms within the Adirondack Park than to farmselsewhere in the state.
The statutory language does not, as the APA contends, evince a legislative intent for theword "structure" in the definition of "[a]gricultural use structure" (Executive Law § 802[8]) to mean an "accessory structure." This term is specifically defined in the APA Act(see Executive Law § 802 [5]), and the Legislature had the opportunity to use it ifit had intended to limit the definition of "agricultural use structures" accordingly. It did not do so(see People v Tychanski, 78 NY2d 909, 911 [1991]; People v Dan, 55 AD3d 1042, 1044 [2008], lv denied 12NY3d 757 [2009]; McKinney's Cons Laws of NY, Book 1, Statutes § 74). The APA'sinterpretation would require this Court to disregard the clear statutory language (see Matterof Trump-Equitable Fifth Ave. Co. v Gliedman, 57 NY2d at 592) and render the word"structure" as used in the definition of "agricultural use structures" meaningless (see Matterof SIN, Inc. v Department of Fin. of City of N.Y., 71 NY2d 616, 621 [1988]).
Contrary to the APA's contention, the rule of ejusdem generis, by which general statutorylanguage is limited by the specific phrases preceding it, is inapplicable because the generallanguage at issue—here, the word "structure"—is separately defined and, therefore,"is definite and has a precise meaning" (Johnson v Hudson Riv. R.R. Co., 49 NY 455,455 [1872]). Further, "the rule of ejusdem generis is only a rule of construction; it must yield tothe Legislature's evident purpose in enacting the statute" (Mark v Colgate Univ., 53AD2d 884, 886 [1976]).
Finally, the separate treatment of "single family dwellings" and "agricultural use structures"in some provisions of the APA Act does not compel the conclusion that the Legislature intendedthe terms to be mutually exclusive. For example, Executive Law § 802 (50) (g) providesthat for the purpose of applying the APA Act's density guidelines to farm land, "all agriculturaluse structures and single family dwellings or mobile homes occupied by a farmer of landin agricultural use, his [or her] employees engaged in such use and members of their respectiveimmediate families, will together constitute and count as a single principal building" (emphasisadded). As Supreme Court noted, the definition of an "agricultural use structure" is broader inscope than that of a "single family dwelling," and not all single family dwellings located onfarms will qualify as agricultural use structures. Thus, listing them separately, here andthroughout the APA Act, was necessary to ensure that the provision applied to single familydwellings whether or not they also qualified as agricultural use structures. Nothing in the APA[*5]Act precludes a single family dwelling that is "directly andcustomarily associated with agricultural use" from qualifying as an agricultural use structure(Executive Law § 802 [8]).
Supreme Court properly concluded that the dwelling units constructed for farmworkerhousing on Lewis Farm's land are "[a]gricultural use structure[s]" within the meaning ofExecutive Law § 802 (8) and are therefore exempt from APA jurisdiction and permitrequirements. This determination renders academic the parties' claims with regard to the court'searlier judgments.
Mercure, J.P., Rose, Kane and Kavanagh, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgments areaffirmed, without costs.