TOWN PLANNING BOARD PROPERLY RESCINDED A 1987 NEGATIVE SEQRA DECLARATION FOR A SUBDIVISION BECAUSE OF THE NEW REGULATORY LANDSCAPE, COURT’S REVIEW POWERS ARE LIMITED TO WHETHER THE BOARD SATISFIED SEQRA PROCEDURALLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined the town planning board's rescission of a 1987 negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) was proper. The board found that the regulatory landscape in 2013 constituted new information or a change in circumstances justifying rescission. The court noted that its review powers are limited to whether the board's action satisfied SEQRA procedurally and substantively, and cannot include determining whether the board was “correct:”
The record supports the Planning Board's conclusion that changes in the regulatory landscape for environmental matters constituted new information or a change in circumstances … . Moreover, in determining that the project may result in significant adverse environmental impacts, the Planning Board identified specific environmental concerns relevant to the criteria for determining significance … .
The petitioners argue that the Planning Board's conclusion was incorrect. However, “it is not the role of the courts to weigh the desirability of any action or choose among alternatives, but to assure that the agency itself has satisfied SEQRA, procedurally and substantively” … . Our review is limited to “whether the agency procedures were lawful and whether the 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” … . Here, the Planning Board satisfied this standard. Leonard v Planning Bd. of the Town of Union Vale, 2018 NY Slip Op 05757, Second Dept 8-15-18
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (TOWN PLANNING BOARD PROPERLY RESCINDED A 1987 NEGATIVE SEQRA DECLARATION FOR A SUBDIVISION BECAUSE OF THE NEW REGULATORY LANDSCAPE, COURT'S REVIEW POWERS ARE LIMITED TO WHETHER THE BOARD SATISFIED SEQRA PROCEDURALLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY (SECOND DEPT))/STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (SEQRA) (TOWN PLANNING BOARD PROPERLY RESCINDED A 1987 NEGATIVE SEQRA DECLARATION FOR A SUBDIVISION BECAUSE OF THE NEW REGULATORY LANDSCAPE, COURT'S REVIEW POWERS ARE LIMITED TO WHETHER THE BOARD SATISFIED SEQRA PROCEDURALLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY (SECOND DEPT))/ADMINISTRATIVE LAW (ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, TOWN PLANNING BOARD PROPERLY RESCINDED A 1987 NEGATIVE SEQRA DECLARATION FOR A SUBDIVISION BECAUSE OF THE NEW REGULATORY LANDSCAPE, COURT'S REVIEW POWERS ARE LIMITED TO WHETHER THE BOARD SATISFIED SEQRA PROCEDURALLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY (SECOND DEPT))/APPEALS (ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, TOWN PLANNING BOARD PROPERLY RESCINDED A 1987 NEGATIVE SEQRA DECLARATION FOR A SUBDIVISION BECAUSE OF THE NEW REGULATORY LANDSCAPE, COURT'S REVIEW POWERS ARE LIMITED TO WHETHER THE BOARD SATISFIED SEQRA PROCEDURALLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY (SECOND DEPT))