| Matter of Valentine v McLaughlin |
| 2011 NY Slip Op 06852 [87 AD3d 1155] |
| September 27, 2011 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| In the Matter of David Valentine, Respondent, v MichaelMcLaughlin et al., Respondents. Jonathan Blum,Intervenor-Appellant. |
—[*1] Phillip A. Grimaldi, Jr., Hawthorne, N.Y., for petitioner-respondent.
In a proceeding pursuant to CPLR article 78 to review a determination of the Planning Boardof the Town of Mount Pleasant dated October 1, 2009, which, after a hearing, denied thepetitioner's application for approval of a site plan, Jonathan Blum appeals from (1) a judgment ofthe Supreme Court, Westchester County (Loehr, J.), entered July 22, 2010, which granted thepetition, annulled the determination, and directed the Planning Board of the Town of MountPleasant to approve the petitioner's site plan application, and (2) an order of the same courtentered December 6, 2010, which denied his motion for leave to renew his opposition to thepetition.
Ordered that the judgment is reversed, on the law, the petition is denied, and the proceedingis dismissed; and it is further,
Ordered that the appeal from the order is dismissed as academic in light of our determinationon the appeal from the judgment; and it is further,
Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the appellant.
This appeal concerns the proposed improvement of a right-of-way easement in the Town ofMount Pleasant. The easement benefits a parcel owned by the petitioner, David Valentine, andburdens a parcel owned by Jonathan Blum, among others. The right-of-way, commonly known asTerrace Place (hereinafter Terrace Place), runs down a steep hill and around an approximately90-degree curve.
After purchasing his parcel, Valentine sought approval from the Planning Board of the Townof Mount Pleasant (hereinafter the Planning Board) to develop Terrace Place. Valentine's siteplan included, inter alia, extensive excavations, the removal of several large trees, and theerection of retaining walls which, at points, reached 12 feet in height along the sides of a roadwaywhich was proposed to be constructed below the grade of the adjacent lot. Although the question[*2]of whether Terrace Place satisfied the street accessrequirements of Town Law § 280-a was raised, the Planning Board, after a hearing,ultimately denied approval for Valentine's proposed site plan on the basis that it was unsafe andcontrary to the public welfare.
Valentine commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding challenging the Planning Board'sdetermination, and the Supreme Court granted Blum leave to intervene as a respondent in theproceeding. In a judgment, the Supreme Court thereafter granted the petition on the ground thatthe Planning Board's determination to deny the petitioner's application was arbitrary andcapricious, annulled the determination, and directed the Planning Board to approve Valentine'ssite plan, but did not make explicit findings regarding the legal status of Terrace Place. Blumthereafter moved to renew his opposition to the petition, but the Supreme Court denied hismotion. Blum appeals from both the judgment and the order.
The authority to approve or deny applications for site development plans is generally vestedin local planning boards (see Town Law § 274-a [2] [a]). "Site plans shall show thearrangement, layout and design of the proposed use of the land on said plan. The ordinance orlocal law shall specify the land uses that require site plan approval and the elements to beincluded on plans submitted for approval. The required site plan elements which are included inthe zoning ordinance or local law may include, where appropriate, those related to parking,means of access, screening, signs, landscaping, architectural features, location and dimensions ofbuildings, adjacent land uses and physical features meant to protect adjacent land uses as well asany additional elements specified by the town board in such zoning ordinance or local law"(Town Law § 274-a [2] [a]; Matter of Home Depot, U.S.A. v Town Bd. of Town of Hempstead, 63AD3d 938, 939 [2009]). Town Law § 274-a (4) provides that a planning board, whereauthorized by ordinance or local law, "shall have the authority to impose such reasonableconditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to a proposed site plan." ThePlanning Board has been given that authority pursuant to Code of Town of Mount Pleasant§ 218-97.
"In conducting . . . site plan review, the Planning Board is required to setappropriate conditions and safeguards which are in harmony with the general purpose and intentof the Town's zoning code, and which give particular regard to, inter alia, achieving conformanceof the final site development" with any town development plan (Matter of Commerce Bank N.A. v PlanningBd. of Town of Bedford, 47 AD3d 810 [2008]). To this end, a planning board mayproperly consider criteria such as whether the proposed project is consistent with the use ofsurrounding properties, whether it "would bring about 'a noticeable change in the visualcharacter' of the area," and whether the change would be irreversible (Matter of Home Depot,USA v Town of Mount Pleasant, 293 AD2d 677, 678 [2002], quoting Matter ofWal-Mart Stores v Planning Bd. of Town of N. Elba, 238 AD2d 93, 98-99 [1998]; cf.Matter of De Sena v Board of Zoning Appeals of Inc. Vil. of Hempstead, 45 NY2d 105, 109[1978]).
In applying these criteria to proposed site plans, "[a] local planning board has broaddiscretion . . . and judicial review is limited to determining whether the action takenby the board was illegal, arbitrary, or an abuse of discretion" (Matter of In-Towne Shopping Ctrs., Co. v Planning Bd. of the Town ofBrookhaven, 73 AD3d 925, 926 [2010] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Matter of Layne v Eastchester PlanningBd., 75 AD3d 643, 644 [2010]; Matter of Koncelik v Planning Bd. of Town of E.Hampton, 188 AD2d 469, 470 [1992]). Where a planning board's decision has a rationalbasis in the record, a court may not substitute its own judgment, even where the evidence couldsupport a different conclusion (seeMatter of Metro Enviro Transfer, LLC v Village of Croton-on-Hudson, 5 NY3d 236,241 [2005]; Matter of MLB, LLC vSchmidt, 50 AD3d 1433, 1435-1436 [2008]; Matter of Centennial Hill Partnership vTown of Warwick Planning Bd., 221 AD2d 529 [1995]; see also Matter of Matejko v Board of Zoning Appeals of Town ofBrookhaven, 77 AD3d 949 [2010]; Matter of In-Towne Shopping Ctrs., Co. vPlanning Bd. of the Town of Brookhaven, 73 AD3d at 926; Matter of Halperin v City of NewRochelle, 24 AD3d 768, 772 [2005]).
Here, as the basis for its denial of approval of Valentine's site plan, the Planning Board cited(1) the grade of the driveway, combined with the 90-degree turn and deep cut bordered by highretaining walls; (2) the fact that emergency vehicles, and, in particular, fire trucks, would havedifficulty negotiating the turn; (3) the proposed erection of "[e]xcessively large retaining [*3]walls"; (4) the failure to adequately demonstrate how the retainingwalls could be constructed without encroaching on neighboring properties; (5) the possibility thatconstruction of the retaining walls might require excavation or grading on the neighboringproperties; (6) the failure to make provisions for snow removal; and (7) the lack of safepedestrian access. Given the specificity of these conclusions and the evidence supporting them,the Planning Board's denial of the petitioner's application was "premised on clear findings ofdeleterious changes that adversely affect the adjoining area" (Matter of Eastern N.Y. Props. vCavaliere, 142 AD2d 644, 646 [1988]). Moreover, although there was conflicting evidenceon some of these points, the Planning Board's commonsense judgment that the petitioner's siteplan was not suitable to the topography of the area or to the character of the neighborhood waswell supported by the record before it (see Matter of Market Sq. Props. v Town ofGuilderland Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 66 NY2d 893, 895 [1985]; Matter of Green vPlanning Bd. of Town of New Castle, 220 AD2d 415, 416 [1995]; compare Matter ofMLB, LLC v Schmidt, 50 AD3d at 1435-1436; Matter of Home Depot, USA v Town ofMount Pleasant, 293 AD2d at 677-678; New City Off. Park v Planning Bd. of Town ofClarkstown, 144 AD2d 348, 349 [1988]). Accordingly, the Supreme Court erred insubstituting its judgment for that of the Planning Board (see Matter of Metro Enviro Transfer,LLC v Village of Croton-on-Hudson, 5 NY3d at 241; Matter of Centennial HillPartnership v Town of Warwick Planning Bd., 221 AD2d at 529), and in consequentlyannulling the Planning Board's determination.
In light of the foregoing, we need not address the parties' remaining contentions regarding thejudgment. Likewise, in light of our disposition of the appeal from the judgment, Blum's appealfrom the order has been rendered academic. Dillon, J.P., Angiolillo, Dickerson and Cohen, JJ.,concur.