Neighbors for a True Oasis v. Village of Port Washington North

A New York trial court dismissed a lawsuit in which residents of the Village of Port Washington North challenged Village actions taken in 2008, 2018, and 2024 with respect to a 7.45-acre parcel that was part of a 40.9-acre property. In 2002, the Village Board of Trustees rezoned the 40.9-acre property for senior citizen housing. The owner and Village executed a “Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions” (Covenants) that provided that the owner would not eliminate an 8-acre parcel at the northern end of the property as permanent open space, and in 2005, the owner of the property agreed to deed that parcel (now 7.45 acres) to the Village. After the Village sold the 7.45-acre parcel to a private owner in 2007, the Village Planning Board in 2008 granted subdivision approval for a 44-unit age-restricted community. In 2018, after the property was sold again, the Planning Board re-adopted the 2008 approval with minor modifications. In April 2024, the Planning Board recommended approval of an application for site plan approval and referred the application to the Village Board, which had not yet rendered a final determination. The petitioners filed their suit on or around May 31, 2024. The court dismissed their claims challenging the April 2024 recommendation under the Green Amendment and the State Environmental Quality Review Act because the recommendation was neither final nor binding. The court dismissed claims challenging the 2018 approval under the Green Amendment and public trust doctrine, as well as a cause of action seeking the imposition of a constructive trust on the 7.45-acre parcel and vacating the 2018 approval, as time-barred under Village Law § 7-712-c(1), which provides for a 30-day limitations period and which the court concluded governed the petitioners’ claims. Similarly, the court dismissed a claim challenging the 2008 approval under the Village Law as time-barred. The court also dismissed a cause of action seeking specific performance of the Covenants, finding that the provisions of the Covenants imposed restrictions on the 2002 owner referable to the 40.9-acre property and not upon the Village with respect to the 7.45-acre parcel. In addition, the deed that conveyed the property to the Village did not contain restrictions or refer to the Covenants. Because there was no determination yet by the Village Board and thus no violation of any rights, the court dismissed the petitioners’ cause of action seeking a permanent injunction preventing the Village Board from approving the application.

A lawsuit filed in the New York Supreme Court challenged a plan by a village on Long Island, New York to sell a 7.45-acre forested area for development of 44 townhomes. The petitioners alleged that the area had been dedicated for use as permanent open space in connection with an earlier development project. The petitioners asserted that the village respondents violated the New York State Constitution’s Environmental Rights Amendment, SEQRA, and the public trust doctrine. The SEQRA cause of action included allegations that the village planning board did not consider adverse impacts of greenhouse gas emissions or the “the creation of ‘heat islands’ through the extensive paving” of the site. The petitioners also asked the court to impose a constructive trust over the area.