Bond Resolution for Upgrades to School District Buildings Does Not Constitute a School-District Debt—Petitioner Did Not Have Standing to Challenge School District’s Environmental Impact Determination

In a full-fledged opinion by Justice Spain, the Third Department determined that a bond resolution for the upgrading of school district buildings did not violate the school district’s constitutional and statutory debt limit and the petitioner did not have standing to challenge the school district’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) finding that the upgrading did not have a negative environmental impact.  The court held the bonds need not be included in the debt until they are sold, i.e., until the bonds are actually issued:

…[F]or purposes of the debt limit, “contract indebtedness” and “existing indebtedness” include only bonds that have been actually issued – i.e., sold – at that time, and exclude the value of bonds that have merely been authorized for future issuance. * *

…[P]etitioner lacks standing to challenge the School District’s SEQRA determination and process … .  Standing, even to raise environmental challenges, is not automatic and must be alleged and, when disputed, proven …; this petitioner failed to do.  To the extent that petitioner relies on the proximity of his property to one of the buildings scheduled for repurposing … to raise an inference of injury sufficient to confer standing, under our decisional law a distance of over 1,000 feet “is not close enough to give rise to the presumption that the neighbor is or will be adversely affected by the proposed project” … .  Further, petitioner failed to alleged or identify any actual injury or direct harm that he will suffer, environmental or otherwise, if the facilities project is undertaken that is distinct from the harm experienced by the general public… . Matter of O’Brien v NYS Commissioner of Education, 515382, 3rd Dept 11-7-13