Aliberti v. Town of Brookhaven

876 F. Supp. 2d 153, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88523, 2012 WL 2411908
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJune 25, 2012
DocketNo. 08-CV-5185 (TCP)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 876 F. Supp. 2d 153 (Aliberti v. Town of Brookhaven) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aliberti v. Town of Brookhaven, 876 F. Supp. 2d 153, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88523, 2012 WL 2411908 (E.D.N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PLATT, District Judge.

Before the Court is defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ remaining claim alleging a “class-of-one” equal protection violation.1 Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Federal Constitution by treating plaintiffs differently from similarly situated individuals by denying plaintiffs’ variance application to subdivide their property and build a new home on one of their lots. Because the Court holds that plaintiffs’ proposed comparators are not substantially similar to plaintiffs, defendants’ motion is hereby GRANTED.

I. BACKGROUND

Facts

In 1959, Albert and Muriel Aliberti (“plaintiffs”) acquired a 20,000 square foot parcel of land located at 79 Inwood Avenue, Selden, New York (“parcel one”). Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1. On August 21, 1964, plaintiffs acquired the adjacent 10,000 square foot parcel (“parcel two”). Id. at ¶ 2. Plaintiffs have resided in a one family, two-story 2,100 square foot home on parcel one since 1965. Id. at ¶ 3.

On or about December 27, 1988, the Town of Brookhaven rezoned the area in which plaintiffs’ property is located from a B-residence zoning to an A-l residence classification. Id. at ¶ 4. Prior to the rezoning, B-residence zoning required a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet per residential dwelling. Id. at ¶ 5. In contrast, the A-l residence classification requires a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet per residential dwelling as well as establishing other minimum requirements, including minimum frontage, minimum front yard setbacks, minimum side yard setbacks and minimum total side yards. Id. at ¶¶ 6, 7. The new ordinance' was passed to protect ground and surface water quality in parts of the Town without sewers as well as to protect and preserve wildlife. Id. at ¶ 8. The rezoning was also implemented to limit population growth and increased traffic in the area as well as to reduce the demand on community services such as schools, fire, ambulance and police departments as well as garbage [156]*156pick-up. Id. at ¶ 9. At the time the rezoning took place, the Town was aware that the rezoned areas were already fully or partially developed. One critical intention of the rezoning was to halt land divisions that created lots which lacked the minimum area required to protect ground and surface water quality. Id. at ¶ 10.

Plaintiffs’ parcels one and two were deemed nonconforming and substandard under the new ordinance and were merged into one single lot. Id. at ¶ 12. Brookhaven Town, however, continued sending plaintiffs two property tax bills, i.e., one for each lot. Pit. 56.1 Ctr. Stmt. ¶ 12. Despite the merger of parcels one and two, the property still measured a total of 30,-000 square feet, which fell short of the A-l Residence zoning requirement of 40,000 square feet. Consequently, after the merge, plaintiffs’ property continued to be nonconforming and substandard. Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 13.

In June 2003, the Town’s Department of Planning, Environment & Land Management (“PELM”) advised plaintiffs that they could not proceed with plans to build a small house on parcel two unless they obtained subdivision approval to divide the now 30,000 square foot parcel into two separate lots. Id. at ¶ 14. In or about the summer of 2003, plaintiffs retained Clare C. Leek, an expeditor who was the sole owner of Atlantic Consulting Services at the relevant time, to assist them in applying for land division approval. Id. at ¶ 15. Plaintiffs advised Leek that they wanted to build a smaller home on the smaller lot and sell their existing home. Id. at ¶ 16. During a meeting with plaintiffs in 2003, Leek advised them that they first needed

Lot One:

Minimum lot area: to obtain a certificate of existing use, which would require a title report, an assessment, survey, town fees and paperwork. MatT17.

After the title report was completed, Leek submitted the documentation to the Town and, on or about August 20, 2003, obtained the certificate for existing use. Id. at ¶ 18.' In or around June 2004, Leek filed with PELM plaintiffs’ application seeking a land division to split their property into two parcels to build a smaller house on the 10,000 square foot lot. Id. at ¶ 19. By letter dated October 18, 2004, PELM requested additional information, which plaintiffs submitted. Id. at ¶¶ 20, 21.

On May 1, 2006, the Town Planning Board (“Board”) held a hearing. On May 11, 2006, the Board issued a letter to plaintiffs advising them that the Board voted to recommend denial of the land division and the reasons for the Board’s decision. Id. at ¶¶ 22, 23. On May 19, 2006, the Board issued a subsequent letter clarifying the May 11th recommendation. Id. at ¶ 24.

Subsequently, on or about July 6, 2006, plaintiffs filed two applications with the ZBA seeking land division approval and variances for plaintiffs’ proposed lots. Id. at ¶ 25. Their combined applications requested a total of nine area variances which would enable plaintiffs to subdivide their lots and build on the smaller parcel. Id. at ¶26. Proposed parcel two was a fifty foot lot, meaning that it would be fifty feet wide at the front and generally deficient in terms of total area. Id. at ¶27. The nine variances requested from the ZBA were as follows:

40,000 square feet required; 10,000 square feet proposed, resulting in a 75% variance;
[157]*157Minimum road frontage:
Minimum side yard setback:
Minimum total side yards:
Lot Two (existing dwelling):
Minimum lot area:
Minimum road frontage:
Minimum side yard setback:
Minimum total side yards:
Accessory structure set back from lot line:

Id. at ¶ 28.

Defendants contend that the proposed variances were substantial in that they were collectively numerous and that each sought substantial relaxation of the minimum zoning requirements. Id. at ¶ 29. Plaintiffs point out that experts Sal Malguarnera and Clare Leek testified that the Aliberti’s requests were insubstantial. Pit. 56.1 Ctr. Stmt. ¶ 29.

To assist the ZBA members with their decision on plaintiffs’ application, they asked Thomas Chawner (“Chawner”) of the Town Planning Department, who served as planner to the ZBA at the relevant time, to: (1) review plaintiffs’ application and file; (2) examine the property; and (3) issue a recommendation. Def. 56.1 Stmt. ¶30. Chawner visited plaintiffs’ property, performed a site examination and spoke with Albert Aliberti. Id. at ¶ 31. Chawner preliminarily advised Aliberti that he did not think there would be a problem before the Board with plaintiffs’ application. Id. at ¶ 32. Chawner testi-

175 feet required; 50 feet proposed, resulting in a 71% variance;
25 feet required; 10 feet proposed, resulting in a 60% variance;
75 feet required; 20 feet proposed, resulting in a 73% variance.

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Bluebook (online)
876 F. Supp. 2d 153, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88523, 2012 WL 2411908, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aliberti-v-town-of-brookhaven-nyed-2012.