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Neighbor Standing to Challenge SEQRA Determinations

By Stewart E. Sterk
March 01, 2020

When does an immediately adjacent neighbor have standing to challenge a SEQRA determination? In Matter of Sun-Brite Car Wash, Inc. v. Board of Zoning and Appeals, 69 N.Y.2d 406, the Court of Appeals made it clear that adjacent neighbors have presumptive standing to challenge zoning determinations. However, in Hohman v. Town of Poestenkill, 2020 WL 20407, a case decided in January, the Third Department, following its own precedent, has held that no similar presumption arises with respect to SEQRA determinations, at least when the SEQRA determination does not arise in the context of zoning. The Third Department's holding stands in contrast to Second Department cases applying the Sun-Brite rule to SEQRA determinations even outside the zoning context.

The Hohman case

In Hohman, the town entered into negotiations with the Nature Conservancy to acquire a 138-acre parcel owned and maintained by the Conservancy. The town board classified the action as a Type I action under SEQRA and prepared an environmental assessment form (EAF). Upon review of the EAF, the town board issued a negative declaration, concluding that the acquisition would have no adverse environmental impact. Neighbors brought this article 78 proceeding challenging the determination, but Supreme Court concluded that neighbors lacked standing.

In affirming, the Appellate Division conceded that neighbors own property directly adjacent to the nature preserve. But the court held that in challenges to SEQRA determinations, unlike challenges to zoning determinations, ownership of land in close proximity to the affected land does not create a presumption of standing. The court concluded that the harms alleged by the neighbors — increased vehicle and pedestrian traffic from a newly proposed parking lot and hiking trail — were not distinct from harms that would be suffered by the public at large. As a result, the court concluded that neighbors lacked standing. The court went on to conclude that the alleged injuries were speculative and conjectural, and the court held that Supreme Court had properly granted the town's counterclaim for a declaratory judgment that the town had complied with SEQRA.

Land Use Standing in the Court of Appeals

In Matter of Sun-Brite, the Court of Appeals articulated the general rule that standing to challenge administrative determinations requires proof that the challenger "sustained special damage, different in kind and degree from the community generally." But the court then noted that "it is desirable that land use disputes be resolved on their own merits rather than by preclusive, restrictive standing rules." Towards that end, the court created a presumption of standing for neighbors who own land in close proximity to the subject of the challenged zoning measure:

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