The recent decision by the Lloyd Zoning Board of Appeals to allow vehicles to cross over a Light Industrial [LI] zone in order to access the Residential 1 acre section of a proposed development project known as Falcon Ridge caused controversy at last week’s Town Board meeting.

The entire matter started with a Determination made by Building Department Director Dave Barton in 2021, stating that crossing a Light Industrial Zone into a Residential Zone is not permitted by the town code, prompting developer Dan Gueron to appeal the Determination to the Zoning Board of Appeals. At the January 13, 2022 ZBA meeting the town’s Land Use attorney Paul Van Cott wrote a conflicting resolution. One key sentence states that Gueron’s appeal is denied and Barton’s Determination is upheld. But the last part of the sentence then modifies the Determination to allow the crossing through the Light Industrial zone, the exact thing that Gueron was seeking. Several months prior to this, Van Cott wrote a memo stating that no modifications would be made but this month Van Cott claimed that allowing the crossing is, “justified...in order to avoid unnecessary hardship or practical difficulties arising from a literal application of the Determination in this specific case.”

The ZBA unanimously approved the Resolution but board member Paul Garguilo was absent.

Councilman Mike Guerriero, who is liaison to the Zoning Board, said the town has to be more consistent in upholding its laws.

“The people bought this property knowing that was the zoning. They spent all this money and they didn’t realize they were land-locked?” he said.

Councilman Joe Mazzetti touched upon the actions of attorney Van Cott.

“The thing that I found most displeasing was the attorney said he was quoting legal opinion [but] he was quoting personal opinion on what he believes back in the late 1970s the people who wrote it might have thought or think, instead of sticking to what the law said. I don’t think that’s his place and is another reason this law firm, I really believe, needs to be re-examined; do we keep them because there are a lot of things happening with them; making mistakes [and] not doing their due diligence.”

Supervisor Dave Plavchak said he respectfully disagreed with that assessment of the firm. He said he reviewed this ZBA decision, “and there are two things to remember; we have the Zoning Board of Appeals in place for a reason. They are like an appellate division where we can’t influence them as a Town Board. Once they make a decision, it holds unless somebody takes the town to court. We put people on the Zoning Board and they do get legal advice from an attorney because they have to in some cases.”

Plavchak pointed out that NYS Town Law Sec. 267 (b), says that the Zoning Board of Appeals, “may affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination appealed from and shall make such order” or requirement as necessary. [in an oversight, Plavchak left out the words ‘reverse or’ that come just before affirm].

Plavchak also noted that state law says, “you can’t deprive somebody, without due process, of using their land without just compensation, which says there is a chance that they would have called this unconstitutional and have made the town compensate them by buying the land. I think that’s what they [ZBA] were thinking but it is not up to me to question the Zoning Board of Appeals because that’s why they’re in place.”

Mazzetti pressed his question of personal opinion vs. stating the law.

“I believe his role should have been quoting our law and letting the Zoning Board decide,” Mazzetti said.

During public input, ZBA member Russell Gilmore said the ZBA rejected the proposed Falcon Ridge development project based on the town code.

“It was kind of confusing because in our open session we were looking at whether or not we support the building inspector’s review, what his determination was and we all sat there and said yes,” Gilmore recalled. “A lot people interpreted that as yes to the project that the people of Falcon Ridge were looking for but we were actually supporting the Building Inspector and we rejected the Falcon Ridge project.”

Town Board members quickly corrected Gilmore’s notion of what the ZBA voted on, pointing out that their vote was not to deny the entire project but instead the ZBA granted the Developer the right to cross the LI zone.