Matter of BKP Harrison, LLC v. Town/Vil. of Harrison

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed a judgment that annulled the Town/Village of Harrison Planning Board's denial of an amended site plan application for a restaurant with a drive-through. The court held that the denial was arbitrary and capricious because it relied on speculative traffic concerns, subjective delivery-hour concerns, an improper zoning interpretation, and a study not disclosed to the applicant.

Holdings

1. Judicial review is limited to determining whether the planning board's action was illegal, arbitrary and capricious, or an abuse of discretion, and the determination must have a rational basis in the record.
2. The Planning Board's denial was arbitrary and capricious because it relied in part on speculative predictions about motorists' conduct and subjective concerns that the applicant would not honor delivery-hour restrictions.
3. The Planning Board improperly relied on its conclusion that the applicant needed a zoning variance for the width of its entrance driveways because planning boards lack authority to interpret local zoning laws; that authority belongs exclusively to local code enforcement officials and zoning boards of appeals.
4. The Planning Board improperly relied on a study that the applicant did not know about until the Board referred to it in the determination.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Planning Board's denial of the amended site plan application was arbitrary and capricious or lacked a rational basis in the record.
2. Whether the Planning Board improperly interpreted the local zoning law by determining that the applicant needed a zoning variance for the width of its entrance driveways.
3. Whether the Planning Board improperly relied on a study that was not disclosed to the applicant before the determination.

Disposition

affirmed