Still in Court

We know firsthand how slow the court process can be, but there is movement in our case against the Town of Wappinger regarding the approval of a gas station in Hughsonville.

Earlier this month, we met with our attorney, and both sides have submitted proposed stipulations to the judge’s clerk. We are now waiting for the clerk to draft her own decision, review it with the judge, and for the court to rule on whether the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) properly answered the previous judge’s request for clarification—which we argue they did not.

Our expectation, based on the last conference, is that the court will first decide the ZBA Article 78 proceeding before holding a conference with all attorneys. If the court reverses and nullifies the ZBA’s decision, the next steps will involve addressing the Planning Board Article 78 proceeding. This step-by-step approach helps keep the legal issues clear and prevents any inadvertent overlap.

While we don’t yet have a final answer, the fact that the clerk is taking time to draft a decision is a promising sign—if the court intended to dismiss our case outright, it likely would have done so already. That means there is still real potential for the project to be sent back to the Planning Board.

We share in the frustration of these delays, especially since they ultimately benefit the developer. However, our legal team remains hard at work in discussions with opposing attorneys and preparing critical court documents. Financial contributions continue to be helpful in ensuring we have the resources to see this through.

Thank you for your ongoing support—there is still hope, and we are making progress!