The New York Court of Appeals reversed a decision of the appellate court, finding that the zoning board’s decision to grant a use variance for the construction of a commercial structure in a residentially zoned area was an abuse of discretion. The Court said that the zoning board failed to establish that the property was “unique” since according to the City’s zoning law, proof of uniqueness must be “peculiar to and inherent in the particular zoning lot” and not something that is “common to the whole neighborhood.” The Court concluded that, “The fact that this residentially-zoned corner property is situated on a major thoroughfare in a predominantly commercial area does not suffice to support a finding of uniqueness since other nearby residential parcels share similar conditions.”
Vomero v. City of New York, 2009 WL 3850150 (N.Y. 11/19/2009).
The opinion can be accessed at: http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/decisions/2009/nov09/157mem09.pdf
