Suffolk Asphalt Supply, Inc. v. Board Of Trustees Of The Village Of Westhampton Beach

Facts

P owns a parcel of real property that has been improved with an asphalt plant since 1945. In 1985, the Board of Trustees (D) amended the Village zoning code so that the use of the property as an asphalt plant became nonconforming. P acquired the property in 1994 and continues to operate the nonconforming asphalt plant. The plant is the only asphalt plant in the Village. In June 2000, D adopted Local Law No. 10. It provided that P's right to operate and maintain the nonconforming asphalt plant would terminate within one year unless the P applied to the Village Zoning Board of Appeals (the ZBA) for an extension of the termination date, which was not to exceed five years from the date the law was adopted. P obtained an extension. The ZBA directed P to terminate its asphalt operation effective July 2, 2005. P commenced this action for a judgment declaring Local Law 10 invalid and unconstitutional. With a whole lot of activity eventually, by an order dated March 30, 2011, this court found that neither P, not Ds had established its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. The case is now ready for trial, and the parties have agreed that there are three threshold issues that must be decided by the court in advance of trial. This motion ensued. The threshold issues are:

1. Which period of time prescribed by Local Law 10 will the court consider in determining whether the time period is adequate under constitutional standards for amortization laws?

2. In assessing the constitutional adequacy of the time period allowed by Local Law 10, is what is to be amortized the value of being able to operate and maintain the asphalt plant, the amounts invested in the plant, or some other measure?

3. If Local Law 10 is interpreted by the court as extending the permitted time period by adding to it the period of ongoing litigation challenging the law, does the measure of what is to be amortized include P's investment in such litigation?

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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