{"id":897289,"date":"2020-04-06T16:32:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T22:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=897289"},"modified":"2020-04-08T10:27:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T16:27:44","slug":"government-approval-construction-permit-not-sure-bet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/government-approval-construction-permit-not-sure-bet\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Approval: When It\u2019s Not a Sure Bet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Virginia Trunkes | Robinson & Cole<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can the issuance of a construction permit by one branch of government be invalidated because of community opposition?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month\u2019s court decision ordering the removal of potentially 20 floors of a high-rise building (The Committee For Environmentally Sound Development v. Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates, Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co., Index No. 157273\/2019) shook the local development community. How can the issuance of a construction permit by one branch of government be invalidated because of community opposition? And when can a developer rely upon final determinations of the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA)? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dispute involves the DOB\u2019s issuance of a permit authorizing the construction of a 55-story, 668-foot-high residential and community facility building on a development site with 110,794 square feet of lot area. The development site\u2019s \u201czoning lot\u201d was created over 28 years by agreements made with contiguous neighbors to subdivide and merge land parcels and partial land parcels within the block. Each time the agreements were made, \u201cdeclarations\u201d were recorded as conveyances that established the modified tracts of land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the developer obtained the building permit, even though the proposed new building\u2019s dimensions complied with the requisite mathematical formulae based on the size of its zoning lot, opponents of the project contended that the permit was not validly issued because the underlying zoning lot did not comply with Zoning Resolution \u00a7 12-10(d). Section 12-10(d) defines a \u201czoning lot\u201d as \u201ca tract of land, either unsubdivided or consisting of two or more lots of record contiguous for a minimum of 10 linear feet, located within a single block, which at the time of filing for a building permit \u2026 is declared to be a tract of land to be treated as one zoning lot for the purpose of this Resolution.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way in which such a declaration may be made is \u201cin separate written Declarations of Restrictions covering parts of such tract of land and which in the aggregate cover the entire tract of land comprising the zoning lot,\u201d as had been the case here over 28 years. Section 12-10 also provides: \u201c[a] zoning lot, therefore, may or may not coincide with a lot as shown on the official tax map of the City of New York, or on any recorded subdivision plat or deed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opponents of the project sought the permit\u2019s revocation, arguing that the 39-sided \u201czoning lot\u201d assembled by \u201cgerrymandering\u201d over three decades was not a proper zoning lot. They claimed it was comprised of several partial tax lots, and so was neither \u201cunsubdivided\u201d nor \u201cconsist[ed] of two or more lots of record\u201d as required by the ZR. In opposition, the developer urged that historically, the DOB interpreted the definition of \u201czoning lot\u201d as including partial tax lots, including in a 1978 departmental memorandum that articulated the DOB\u2019s policies for implementing and interpreting the 1977 amendment to the ZR that had added subparagraph (d) to the definition of a \u201czoning lot\u201d in \u00a7 12-10. The Memorandum stated that \u201ca single zoning lot \u2026 may consist of one or more tax lots or parts of tax lots, as shown on the official tax map whether in common ownership or not.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, the opponents appealed to the BSA, during which time the DOB actually backtracked on its earlier interpretation of \u00a7 12-10, disavowing the 1978 Memorandum, and stated that a zoning lot should not be comprised of partial tax lots. In a split panel, the BSA, after hearing from numerous interested groups, associations and politicians, found that the development site met the definition of a \u201czoning lot.\u201d Its rationale was that the development site was a \u201ctract of land\u201d that was \u201cunsubdivided,\u201d and thus it did not need to reach the question of whether the development site \u201cconsist[ed] of two or more lots of record.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opponents brought an Article 78 proceeding. The developer emphasized that there were at least 34 precedents where the DOB approved zoning lots containing partial tax lots. Yet, the Supreme Court agreed with the opponents that the assemblage of a \u201czoning lot\u201d through \u201cdeclarations\u201d that consist of partial tax lots contravenes the plain language of the ZR. The court vacated the determination and remanded the matter to the BSA \u201cwith instructions to review DOB\u2019s approval of the building permit application in accordance with the plain language of the ZR and in accordance with this decision and order.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court\u2019s directive, although subtly expressed, did not sway the BSA. On remand, the BSA issued a \u201cRevised Resolution\u201d describing in greater detail its analysis and its determination that the opponents failed to demonstrate that the development site does not comply with the definition of \u201czoning lot\u201d in ZR \u00a7 12-10(d). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opponents again brought an Article 78 proceeding. In opposition, the developer explained the history of zoning-lot creation and how the provision in ZR \u00a7 12-10\u2019s definition of \u201czoning lot\u201d that a \u201czoning lot, therefore, may or may not coincide with a lot as shown on the official tax map\u201d affirms the concept that the owner has the right to \u201cdeclare\u201d a \u201ctract of land\u201d to be a zoning lot, without regard to tax lot boundaries. The developer emphasized the amount of construction and investment already incurred, including the enormous amount of work performed and expenditures incurred following the prior court order. Regardless, even at the time that the opponents first challenged the building permit\u2019s issuance, the developer could never have just built a \u201csmaller tower.\u201d Any major change would require preparation of new construction plans, procurement of new financing, application for and issuance of different permits, and termination of existing contracts and entry into new ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the court again granted the petition. This time it ordered the DOB to revoke the permit and compel the developer to remove all floors that exceed the bulk permitted under the ZR. The court reasoned that resolution of this dispute could not be achieved without determining and applying the correct definition of the term \u201czoning lot,\u201d which the BSA twice \u201csidestepped.\u201d To the court, interpreting \u201czoning lot\u201d to include a composition of partial tax lots \u201cwould render superfluous the word \u2018unsubdivided\u2019, because if a tract of land is \u2018unsubdivided,\u2019 it cannot include parts of tax lots.\u201d As such, \u201cthe presence of the word \u2018unsubdivided\u2019 in the definition of zoning lot excludes the interpretation \u2026 improperly applied by BSA in the Revised Resolution.\u201d The court added: \u201cSuch construction of plain language \u2026 violates the public policy of transparency imbued in the zoning rules and regulations which are intended to provide proper notice and protection to the public to avoid unwarranted confusion and promote clarity in the application of these regulations to further the City\u2019s interest in ensuring zoning compliance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the prejudice to the developer in having to remove multiple stories of its now-constructed building, the court declined to apply the doctrine of \u201cestoppel.\u201d From the court\u2019s perspective, the developer \u201chas been aware of challenges to its Permit from the start,\u201d as the opponents\u2019 first appeal was commenced as early as installation of building footings. The court added that during the first Article 78 proceeding, to avoid the possibility that injunctive relief would cause delays, the developer stipulated that it would not rely on its progress in construction and development, or its project expenditures, to justify entitlement to continue or complete construction, \u201cincluding any argument premised on retroactivity, vesting rights, estoppel, mootness, laches or other equitable defenses.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The developer and city have each taken an appeal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Virginia Trunkes | Robinson & Cole How can the issuance of a construction permit by one branch of government be invalidated because of community opposition? Last month\u2019s court decision ordering the removal of potentially 20 floors of a high-rise building (The Committee For Environmentally Sound Development v. Amsterdam Avenue Redevelopment Associates, Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co.,… Continue reading Government Approval: When It\u2019s Not a Sure Bet<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14],"tags":[9895,12,11128],"class_list":["post-897289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction","tag-construction-permit","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nGovernment Approval: When It\u2019s Not a Sure Bet - 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