Following in the footsteps of the towns of Huntington, Babylon and East Hampton, the Town of Oyster Bay voted on March 7, 2023, to create a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication pursuant to Article 14-BB of the General...more
After more than half a century, the Village of Sea Cliff is in the process of adopting a new Comprehensive Plan to update the 1970 Village Master Plan. New York State recommends that municipalities update their Comprehensive...more
According to a report published by the World Economic Forum, e-commerce sales ratios nearly tripled globally between 2014 and 2019. In 2020, the COVID pandemic was a catalyst that accelerated this already rising trend by...more
The Suffolk County legislature is currently considering a bill (I.R. 1478-2021) that would provide towns and villages with a greater opportunity to weigh in on certain zoning applications proposed in adjacent municipalities...more
In 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued an Order governing the installation of small cell nodes and other telecommunications facilities in an effort to speed up the deployment of the newest generation of...more
6/1/2021
/ 5G Network ,
Cell Towers ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
FCC ,
Municipalities ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Right of Way ,
State and Local Government ,
Telecommunications ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
After several stalled attempts, New York State became the 16th state to legalize recreational cannabis (marijuana) use. This occurred on March 31, 2021, when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Marijuana Regulation and...more
4/12/2021
/ Agribusiness ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Dispensaries ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Municipalities ,
Recreational Use ,
Retail Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Governments
This blog post provides an update to a post that was published on November 30, 2020, regarding a dispute over the Town of Oyster Bay’s recently adopted rules governing conduct at public meetings. The new procedures, which...more
In response to a resolution passed by the Oyster Bay Town Board on October 6, 2020, that purports to create rules of decorum at Town Board meetings and seeks to prohibit inappropriate behavior during board meetings, a Town...more
As the popularity of short-term rentals continues to grow and many local governments are adopting restrictions to keep their use in check, the authors of the Long Island Land Use and Zoning blog are closely monitoring how...more
As a “home rule” state, New York’s zoning and other land use decisions are typically made at the village, town, or city level. However, Section 239-m of the General Municipal Law (GML) requires a referral to, and a...more
The history of convenience stores in the United States can be traced back to 1927, when an employee of the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas, realized that people needed a place where they could buy basic necessities...more
The backyard chicken movement that has been rapidly gaining momentum across the United States has firmly taken hold on Long Island. The desire for homeowners to raise chickens takes various forms and can be rewarding on many...more
The Hempstead Town Board recently approved a sweeping rezoning of portions of North Lawrence and Inwood that are designed to encourage mixed-use, commercial and transit-oriented developments....more
A Town of East Hampton resident can continue to operate a home-based dog-walking and pet sitting business after the East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to overturn a previous determination by the Town’s...more
Due to the proliferation of advanced mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, wireless service providers anticipate a significant increase in data traffic over their networks in the next few years. ...more
12/17/2018
/ Cell Towers ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Mobile Devices ,
Municipalities ,
Right of Way ,
SEQRA ,
Telecommunications ,
Telecommunications Act ,
Wireless Industry ,
Wireless Technology
The generally accepted practice in towns and villages throughout New York is that public and private schools need not comply with the zoning rules applicable to other property owners. However, the Appellate Division, Third...more
Following the adoption of a moratorium on development along Port Washington’s waterfront, North Hempstead Town officials have proposed new zoning regulations designed to preserve public access and prevent excess building in...more
Local governments in New York may regulate land use within their borders directly through their zoning codes and indirectly by adopting a variety of other statutes and regulations. ...more
On March 28, 2018, the Babylon Town Board adopted a moratorium on any new land use applications that seek to increase a parcel’s wastewater limits established by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (“SCDHS”) by...more
Fire Island is a 32-mile long, slender barrier sand bar island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the South Shore of Long Island. The island, which varies in width from as little as about 550 feet to not more than about...more
10/30/2017
/ Beachfront Properties ,
Condemnation ,
Conservation ,
Department of the Interior ,
Land Developers ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Municipalities ,
National Park Service ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
State and Local Government ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
In this post, which is the second segment of a three-part series, we will highlight the various ways that local governments facing fiscal challenges have turned to imposing fees related to the administration of their zoning,...more
Local governments may not rely on zoning rules to prohibit renters in multi-family housing developments.
Many local governments (and residents) prefer property owners living in their communities rather than tenants. This...more
1/26/2017
/ Affordable Housing ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Condominiums ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Covenants that Run With the Land ,
Housing Developers ,
Legitimate State Interest ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Single Family Housing ,
Special Use Permit ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Urban Planning & Development ,
Variances ,
Zoning Laws
In an effort to generate revenue without raising taxes, many municipalities on Long Island, and elsewhere in New York State, are turning to the use of various forms of land development fees to meet their fiscal challenges. In...more
1/24/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Impact Fees ,
Land Developers ,
Land Use Fees ,
Land-Use Permits ,
Municipalities ,
Real Estate Market ,
State and Local Government ,
Zoning Laws