In an effort to challenge the granting of a variance for an accessory apartment, the petitioners, three individuals and an association of homeowners, were found to lack standing to commence the action since they failed to establish that any of the named parties would suffer an environmental “injury that is in some way different from that of the public at large” or that the alleged injury “falls within the ‘zone of interests,’ or concerns, sought to be promoted or protected by the statutory provision.” The petitioners had crossed-moved for leave to amend the petition to add additional petitioners, for the purposes of satisfying the criteria for standing.

 

While the appeals court agreed with the trial court that adding petitioners would not have resulted in surprise or prejudice to respondents, it also agreed that the trial court did not err in denying the request to amend the petition since none of the petitioners proposed to be added would have had standing. Although one of the proposed new petitioners resided about 250 feet from the subject property, and hence was considered to be in “close proximity” to the property, his interests were not within the “zone of interests” to be protected by the statute. The court noted that the petitioners’ generalized allegations of increased traffic as well as the effect on the water table by adding one or two new tenants to the subject property were insufficient to establish standing. This is because these alleged environmental harms were not any different from that suffered by the public at large.

 

Shelter Island Association v. Zoning Board of Appeals of Town of Shelter Island, 2008 WL 5376563 (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept. 12/23/2008).

 

The opinion can be accessed at: http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2008/2008_10170.htm