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ARCHITECTURAL PLANS BRIEFLY LEFT WITH THE TOWN PLANNER AND DISPLAYED AND DISCUSSED AT A MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD WERE RECORDS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, PETITION SEEKING THE DOCUMENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND SANCTIONS FOR BRINGING THE PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IMPOSED.

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Dickerson, reversing Supreme Court, determined shopping center development plans which were left for a few days with the town planner, and which were displayed and briefly discussed at a planning board meeting, were “records” within the meaning of the Public Officers Law (Freedom of Information Law). Therefore petitioner’s request for the documents was not frivolous and sanctions, her petition should not have been denied, and attorneys fees should not have been assessed against her:

The Court of Appeals has “required that FOIL be liberally construed and its exemptions narrowly interpreted so that the public is granted maximum access to the records of government'” … . “The legislative purpose is mainly accomplished through the definitions of Agency’ and Record.’ . . . Record’ is broadly defined to include any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency . . . in any physical form whatsoever'” … . “[T]his very broad definition is not limited by the purpose for which a document was originated or the function to which it relates” … .

Here, it is undisputed that Camarda, the developer’s owner, left the subject architectural renderings in the possession of Williams, the Town Planner, for a number of days, and that Williams displayed the renderings at the meeting of the Planning Board … . Thus, the renderings were “kept” and “held” by an agency, and were “records” within the meaning of FOIL … Since the definition of “record” is not limited by the purpose for which a document was originated or the function to which it relates, the fact that Camarda did not formally submit the renderings as part of an application for approval of an amended site plan is irrelevant. Matter of Fanizzi v Planning Bd. of Patterson, 2016 NY Slip Op 08361, 2nd Dept 12-14-16

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW (ARCHITECTURAL PLANS BRIEFLY LEFT WITH THE TOWN PLANNER AND DISPLAYED AND DISCUSSED AT A MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD WERE RECORDS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, PETITION SEEKING THE DOCUMENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND SANCTIONS FOR BRINGING THE PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IMPOSED)/MUNICIPAL LAW (ARCHITECTURAL PLANS BRIEFLY LEFT WITH THE TOWN PLANNER AND DISPLAYED AND DISCUSSED AT A MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD WERE RECORDS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, PETITION SEEKING THE DOCUMENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND SANCTIONS FOR BRINGING THE PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IMPOSED)/TOWN PLANNING BOARD (ARCHITECTURAL PLANS BRIEFLY LEFT WITH THE TOWN PLANNER AND DISPLAYED AND DISCUSSED AT A MEETING OF THE PLANNING BOARD WERE RECORDS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, PETITION SEEKING THE DOCUMENTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND SANCTIONS FOR BRINGING THE PETITION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IMPOSED)

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