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COMMUNITY RIGHTS COUNSEL FILES BRIEF
TO DEFEND LOCAL ZONING DECISIONS
Community Rights Counsel (CRC) filed a brief
this week in the New York Court of Appeals, New York's highest
court, to preserve the right of local communities to protect
their residents through reasonable zoning restrictions and
other land use planning efforts.
The brief, filed on behalf of the
American Planning Association, shows that courts should
defer to decisions by local officials regarding how best
to protect the community, and not subject those decisions
to "heightened" or "strict" scrutiny
in constitutional challenges by property owners.
The case -- Bonnie Briar Syndicate,
Inc. v. Town of Mamaroneck -- involves a 1994 zoning
ordinance enacted by the Town of Mamaroneck, N.Y. The
ordinance designates about 430 acres of property as a
Recreation Zone. This recreational zoning is designed to
protect open space, reduce flood risks, enhance
recreational opportunities, and preserve wildlife
habitat. Bonnie Briar Syndicate, the owner of about 150
acres of the property, challenged the zoning ordinance
even though the Syndicate may continue to use the
property to operate a profitable golf course, the
historic use of the property for more than 70 years.
The lower courts unanimously upheld the
zoning. The Syndicate argues that the Court of Appeals
should second-guess the Town's planners and overturn the
zoning so that the Syndicate may pursue dense residential
development of the property. If accepted by the Court,
the Syndicate's argument would subject every local
land use decision to heightened review by the courts and
thereby reduce the authority of local officials to
protect their communities by restricting harmful land
use.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1922
landmark zoning decision in Euclid v. Ambler Realty
Co., courts generally have deferred to reasonable
zoning and other land use decisions by local communities.
Community Rights Counsel's brief demonstrates that courts
should respect the decisions of local officials and
invalidate them only if they are wholly without a
rational basis.
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