Criteria for Review of Planning Board’s SEQRA Determination and Zoning Board’s Granting a Variance

In upholding the approval of a site plan, the Third Department determined the planning board met the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and zoning board properly granted a height variance. In explaining the criteria for both reviews, the Third Department wrote:

“‘Judicial review of an agency determination under SEQRA is limited to whether the [lead] agency identified the relevant areas of environmental concern, took a hard look at them, and made a reasoned elaboration of the basis for its determination’….   “While judicial review must be meaningful, the courts may not substitute their judgment for that of the agency for it is not their role to ‘weigh the desirability of any action or [to] choose among alternatives'”….  The lead agency’s determination will only be annulled if it is arbitrary, capricious or unsupported  by  the evidence (see CPLR  7803  [3];…).     * * *

The [zoning board’s] determination to grant the variance is also valid.  In determining whether to grant a variance, the local zoning board must “‘engage in a balancing test, weighing the proposed  benefit to [the applicant] against the possible detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the community, as well as consider the five statutory factors enumerated in Town Law § 267-b (3)'”….  “Local zoning boards have broad discretion in considering applications for variances, and  judicial review is limited to determinating whether the action taken by the board was illegal, arbitrary or an abuse of discretion”….  Matter of Schaller, 515824, 3rd Dept 7-3-13