TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the transfer of development rights (TDR) component of its comprehensive plan was not properly adopted under the General Municipal Law:
The instant hybrid proceeding/action challenges the Town Board’s adoption of Local Law No. 12 (2005), which amended the Town’s zoning code to implement the transfer of development rights component of the Comprehensive Plan (hereinafter the TDR law). The TDR law designated the property subject to the petitioner’s site plan application as a sending district, meaning that it was an area of land from which development rights were to be transferred to receiving districts … . …
“General Municipal Law § 239-m provides that a proposed amendment of a zoning ordinance by a town must be referred to the county planning agency if the amendment affects real property located within 500 feet of the boundary of any city, village, or town”… . That statute requires a town to refer a “full statement”… of its proposed action, which is defined as including “the complete text of the proposed ordinance or local law,” to the relevant county planning agency … .
Here, the Town Board adopted a resolution on January 19, 2005, in which it directed the Town Clerk to publish a copy of the final draft of the TDR law and notice of a hearing to be held 10 days later regarding the proposal. Around that time, the Town Board attempted to refer the proposed TDR law to the Suffolk County Planning Commission (hereinafter the Planning Commission) in accordance with General Municipal Law § 239-m. The Planning Commission, however, responded by letter dated February 9, 2005, in which it explained that the proposed TDR law would “not be reviewed until the following information is submitted through the offices of the municipal referring agency. Complete revised text of proposed TDR amendment.” There is no evidence in the record contradicting the Planning Commission’s statement that it never received the text of the proposed TDR law. Consequently, the Town Board failed to refer a “full statement” of its proposed TDR law before enacting it as required under the statute … . Matter of Calverton Manor, LLC v Town of Riverhead, 2018 NY Slip Op 02611, Second Dept 4-18-18
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT))/MUNICIPAL LAW (TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT))/ZONING (TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT))/LAND USE (TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT))/TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS LAW (TDR) (ZONING, TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR) COMPONENT OF TOWN’S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS NOT PROPERLY ADOPTED UNDER THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW (SECOND DEPT))