Trustees Of Union College v. Members Of The Schenectady City Council

91 N.Y.2d 161, 690 N.E.2d 862, 667 N.Y.S.2d 978 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P is the owner of seven properties located in an area known as the General Electric Realty Plot. The area was established in 1899 and developed as an 'ideal residential section' to attract General Electric managers, scientists, and others to Schenectady. The Realty Plot matured into a distinctive, turn-of-the-century residential neighborhood encompassing a nine-block area adjacent to P's campus. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. D adopted Ordinance No. 78-45, which established an A-2 Single Family Historic District incorporating the Realty Plot. The ordinance limited property uses to large, single-family residences. Educational, religious, philanthropic, and eleemosynary institutions could, however, apply for special use permits within the Historic District. D amended its zoning provisions in 1984 and restricted special permit uses to public utility facilities, substations, and structures (City Code § 264-8 [C] [1]). It excluded special permits for educational uses. In 1992 D proposed that City Code § 264-8 (C) be amended to include any nonresidential educational use as a special permit use within the District, but then confined its proposal to 'faculty offices, administrative offices and homes for visiting dignitaries and guests of the College.' After getting no response P commenced this declaratory judgment action against D claiming City Code § 264-8 was unconstitutional on its face. The Supreme Court granted P’s motion and the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed. D appealed.