Avelli v. Town of Babylon

54 Misc. 2d 662, 283 N.Y.S.2d 261, 1967 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1286
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 28, 1967
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 54 Misc. 2d 662 (Avelli v. Town of Babylon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Avelli v. Town of Babylon, 54 Misc. 2d 662, 283 N.Y.S.2d 261, 1967 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1286 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1967).

Opinion

Jack Stanislaw, J.

In this action for judgment declaring an amendment to the Building Zone Ordinance of the Town of Babylon invalid and void the plaintiffs have asked for a preliminary injunction. This relief, to prevent any building activity on the subject property in furtherance of the purportedly improper change of zone, is objected to and those objections voiced concurrently with a motion to dismiss the complaint altogether.

On November 9,1966 the defendant Town Board held a public hearing on the proposed change of zoning of the property from Residence “ O ” District to Multiple Residence “ms” District. The amendment to the ordinance was enacted, whether properly or not, on December 20, 1966. Since the property affected lies within 500 feet of a State park and parkway, notice of the proposed change was allegedly required to be given to the Long Island State Park Commission (Town Law, § 264). Following the change, notice was also required to the Suffolk County Planning Commission (Suffolk County Charter, § 1304; L. 1958, ch. 278). Plaintiffs attack the propriety of the notice given the LISPC or the activity, or rather the inactivity, of the SCPC following notice as operating to nullify the amendment.

For their part the defendants, the town and an individual property owner, claim that the action must fail for plaintiffs’ lack of capacity to sue as ‘1 aggrieved parties ’ ’, for the insufficiency of allegations of special damages, and for nonjoinder of [663]*663an indispensable party. In any event a preliminary- injunction is said to be extraordinarily damaging to the defendant owner who has made a substantial investment accompanied by unproductive and continuing liabilities while this action remains unresolved and the status of the zoning of the property in doubt. Assuming plaintiffs are successful here defendant owner requests an undertaking of adequate magnitude to cover its relatively high cost of standing still with reference to its property (CPLB6312, subd. [b1]).

Special damages have been set forth in vague and ambiguous terms. However, we have recently had occasion to comment upon the probabilities of pleading special damages where required in zoning ordinance cases with any great degree of specificity (Tata v. Town of Babylon, 52 Misc 2d 667). Although the tenor of that determination quite likely operates to severely dilute the pleading requirement as to special damages the practical basis for the relaxation there constrains us to apply the same lesser criteria here. To the extent that plaintiffs might plead special damages at all in the context of this action they have done so adequately.

Since two distinct parcels were involved in the amendment of the ordinance the defendants call for dismissal of the complaint for failure to join the owner of the second parcel as a party to this action. But plaintiffs point out that the present defendant owner was the sole applicant for the amendment as to both parcels. After the amending resolution was adopted one of the parcels was conveyed to the three individuals who are not parties to this action. Thus, plaintiffs argue that the action remains valid as to at least the one parcel and either that the owners of the other may be joined, or that the instant defendant owner is representing the interests of its vendees in fact and so we can proceed as to both parcels on that basis (Brechner v. Incorporated Vil. of Lake Success, 23 Misc 2d 159).

The present owners of the second parcel will obviously be affected directly by the outcome of this action one way or the other. Their involvement is substantial, precise, and absolute, and clearly neither independent nor indirect. Plaintiffs cannot avoid the joinder of these owners by attaching their interests to those of the named defendant owner or a limitation of the action only to the extent of that defendant’s interest in the amendment resolved (cf. Challette, Inc., v. Town of Brookhaven, 43 Misc 2d 264). Nevertheless, the order herein may, among other things, provide for the joinder of these owners prior to any final disposition of the action on the 'merits (Brechner v. Incorporated Vil. of Lake Success, 23 Misc 2d 159, supra.)

[664]*664We have so far established the plaintiffs’ capacity to sue, allegations of special damages, and (subsequent proper) joinder of parties. With the complaint procedurally confirmed we may inquire with regard to its substantive aspects as attacked by the defendants’ motion to dismiss altogether or at least through denial of preliminary injunctive relief.

Section 264 of the Town Law requires 10 days’ notice of a public hearing to amend a zoning ordinance so as to affect property within 500 feet of a State park or parkway, to the regional commission having jurisdiction. The town indicates written notice actually forwarded seven days prior to the hearing, and though plaintiffs question even that much notice actually given, the fact is that alone it would be too short to validate the town’s hearing and determination anyway. But the town presents information in its papers to confirm the sending of the notice in the first place, though only seven days before the hearing, and the letter of counsel to the Park Commission relating its actual notice of the hearing as of October 28, 1966, some 12 days prior to the November 9 public hearing. The manner of. obtaining this actual notice is not spelled out and plaintiffs dispute it in fact and in efficacy, as they do the alleged November 2nd notice. A hearing would be necessary to resolve these issues if one or the other, or both, notifications might suffice to validate the statutory requirements (Town Law, § 264).

Notice properly given though not to the full number of days required has been declared a jurisdictional defect nullifying action taken at the noticed public hearing (Incorporated Vil. of Is. Park v. J.E.B. Associates, 21 Misc 2d 249 ; Matter of Briscoe v. Bruenn, 216 N. Y. S. 2d 799; Marcus v. Incorporated Vil. of Spring Val., 24 A D 2d 2021). The cited cases revolve around notice provisions contained in the Village Law, but are superficially pertinent to the instant situation. It goes without saying that invalidity will follow whether by virtue of the Town Law or the Village Law when there has been no notice given whatsoever (Bohan v. Town of Southampton, 227 N. Y. S. 2d 712).

There have been indications that statutory notice requirements may be capable of being waived or at least satisfied by less than complete adherence where notice has actually been received by whatever means or method (Matter of Dolomite Prods. Co. v. Kipers, 39 Misc 2d 627). Objections raised at the particular hearing go a long way toward minimizing subsequent arguments based upon improper notice in the first place, the rationale being one of waiver through actual notice and action, against which a technical jurisdictional defect would serve no real purpose (North Shore Beach Prop. Owners Assn. v. Town [665]*665of Broolchaven, 115 N. Y. S. 2d 670). The legal effect of extra-statutory notice apparently often proceeds, realistically enough, from knowledge and notice of a hearing as a matter of fact (see Shefler v. City of Geneva, 1 Misc 2d 807; but contra Matter of Lo Conti v. City of Utica, 52 Misc 2d 815).

Some conflict in authority is evident regarding a failure to comply with statutory notice requirements.

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Bluebook (online)
54 Misc. 2d 662, 283 N.Y.S.2d 261, 1967 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1286, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/avelli-v-town-of-babylon-nysupct-1967.