Petitioners owned land on which they operated a motor vehicle sales and service business. They bought an adjacent parcel of vacant land for the purpose of expanding their business. Both properties were zoned "Commercial C: Heavy Commercial District.," in which the motor vehicle sales and service business was a permitted use. The original parcel had been used for the motor vehicle business since prior to the adoption of the current Town Code, and had therefore not been subject to site plan review. The planning board recommended four conditions for the approval of the site plan, and the Town Board added eight more conditions, most of which were required for a special permit use. The Petitioners brought an Article 78 proceeding contending that Special Permit conditions were inappropriate because no Special permit was required in the zone where the property was located. The record disclosed that the conditions were imposed because of past behavior of the petitioners in the area of compliance with the Town Code. The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in modifying the judgment of the trial court, held that Special Permit conditions should not be imposed where the use was a permitted one without a special permit, and that site plan approval conditions should be related to the use of the property being reviewed, and not to the past conduct of the owners of that property.
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