NY Appellate Court Dismisses Lawsuit Involving Town’s Acquisition of Nature Preserve

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

An appellate court in New York dismissed an environmental review lawsuit on standing grounds in a case decided in January. The case involved the potential acquisition of a nature preserve by the Town of Poestenkill, an action that the town found would have “no adverse environmental impact.”

Neighboring property owners contended that the town failed to consider the traffic impacts from a parking lot and hiking trail, but the court found that they failed to allege any unique or distinct injuries sufficient to establish standing. The court also noted that their asserted injuries were essentially speculative because they didn’t arise from the town’s potential property acquisition but rather from conditions that had existed on the preserve for decades.

Although the standing issue was dispositive, the court also granted the town’s counterclaim for declaratory judgment because the environmental assessment form showed that the relevant environmental concerns were reviewed and considered, and the town had also demonstrated its intent to maintain the property as a nature preserve through its consideration of advisory committee findings and the preparation of a draft local law and management plan for the preserve. Matter of Hohman v Town of Poestenkill, 2020 NY Slip Op 00013 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. 1/2/202