Beginning in 2007, the petitioner had rented her property in a single family residential district for periods ranging from one night to three months. The Town amended its ordinance in 2010 to prohibit transient rental, defined as the “[r]ental of a dwelling unit for a period of less than 28 continuous days.” The zoning board upheld the determination of the code enforcement officer that the use of her property for transient rentals was not permitted and she directed to cease the offending use. The trial court dismissed her petition and the appellate court agreed, noting that the zoning board’s interpretation of its zoning ordinance is entitled to great deference and that judicial review is limited to determining whether the action was illegal, arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion. The Court found that the board properly concluded that the petitioner’s serial rental of the property was prohibited under the zoning ordinance and that it did not constitute a legal nonconforming use.
Devogelaere v Webster Zoning Board of Appeals, 2011 WL 4511099 (N.Y.A.D. 4 Dept. 9/30/2011)
The opinion can be accessed at: http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ad4/Clerk/Decisions/2011/09-30-11/PDF/1048.pdf
Why wouldn’t this particular landowner be allowed to continue her practice as a “grandfathered” use?
By: lizryancole on October 9, 2011
at 11:14 am