Sunrise Plaza Associates, Ltd. v. Town Bd. of Town of Babylon, 479 N.E.2d 833 (1985)
When a local legislative body reserves the power to grant special exceptions, it is not necessarily required to provide specific standards for exercising that discretion, and the courts will generally defer to the board’s decision unless it is arbitrary or based on impermissible grounds.
Summary
Sunrise Plaza Associates sought to annul the Town Board’s grant of a special use permit to a nursery in an R-2A residential district. The ordinance allowed nurseries with a special permit, which the Town Board granted. Sunrise Plaza argued the Board exceeded its authority. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division’s order, holding that the Town Board had not exceeded its permissible bounds by granting the permit. The Court emphasized that the Board’s discretion is broad when granting special permits and that the court should not interfere unless the decision was based solely on impermissible grounds.
Facts
An intervenor applied for a special use permit to operate a nursery in an R-2A residential district. Sunrise Plaza Associates, a nearby property owner, opposed the permit. The Town Board granted the special use permit, subject to certain conditions designed to mitigate potential negative impacts, such as noise. Sunrise Plaza Associates then brought an action to annul the permit grant arguing the board overstepped its authority.
Procedural History
Sunrise Plaza Associates initiated a proceeding to annul the Town Board’s decision. The Special Term initially ruled in favor of Sunrise Plaza, finding a violation of the ordinance’s noise standards. However, the Appellate Division reversed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division’s order upholding the Town Board’s grant of the permit.
Issue(s)
Whether the Town Board exceeded its authority and discretion by granting a special use permit for a nursery in an R-2A residential district, despite arguments that the nursery’s operations might generate higher noise levels than typical residential uses and that the ordinance did not explicitly allow for commercial sale and display of nursery products.
Holding
No, because the Town Board has broad discretion in granting special use permits, and the court should only interfere if the board acted solely on grounds that, as a matter of law, may not control the discretion of the Board. The board’s determination that the nursery application met the ordinance standards was not contrary to those standards or beyond its discretion.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that when a legislative body reserves the power to grant special exceptions, it need not set forth specific standards for the exercise of its discretion. Citing Matter of Larkin Co. v Schwab, the court stated that the decision is left to the “untrammeled, but of course not capricious discretion” of the Board. The courts may only interfere when the Board has acted “solely upon grounds which as matter of law may not control the discretion” of the Board. The court found that the standards in section 435 of the ordinance were met as the board imposed conditions to mitigate potential problems. Specifically, the court addressed the noise issue: “The Board’s conclusion that noise from interve-nor’s nursery “can produce higher noise levels” does not constitute a finding that it will “be more objectionable.” The court emphasized that the board’s determination, with the imposed conditions, was neither contrary to the ordinance standards nor beyond its discretionary power. The court also noted that even if the ordinance sets forth standards, it does not divest the board of the power of further regulation unless the standards are so complete as to preclude the Board from considering other factors without amending the ordinance.