The on-going court fight

Dear Supporters of the Effort to Fight the Town's Approval to Build a Gas Station in the Hughsonville Hamlet,

We know that the recent construction activity has been deeply disruptive to the lives and property of many of our Hughsonville neighbors. When we withdrew our request for a Temporary Restraining Order more than a year ago, we did so in good faith, believing that the courts would render a timely and well reasoned decision.

Unfortunately, that did not happen. The first judge assigned to our Article 78 action against the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) narrowed the case and directed the ZBA to identify the section of the Town Code on which it based its approval. The ZBA essentially responded that it didn't need to point to any specific provision, and simply reaffirmed its decision. Shortly afterward, that judge recused himself due to a potential conflict involving one of our co-petitioner's attorneys.

The case was then reassigned to a second judge (the third since the beginning of the case). After significant delay, during which her clerk consumed considerable time and resources becoming familiar with the case, the court issued a decision in August of this year, 18 months later. That ruling took a complete turn from the path the previous judge had carefully outlined. It also ventured into issues never raised or briefed by the parties, depriving us of an opportunity to be heard, contrary to the basic litigations rules. The judge inexplicably sidestepped issues of law that had been previously laid out and decided by the preceding judge that were required to be followed. But they were not, raising the potential for strong appellate challenges.

We did not immediately publicize that decision. Over the past several years, we have learned that litigation is like chess: strategy matters, each side takes turns, and sometimes you lose a piece or two before positioning for a win. We wanted to avoid signaling our appellate (and long term) strategy prematurely.

Last week, we filed our Notice of Appeal with the New York State Appellate Division, and we have also moved for a stay of construction while the appeal is pending.

Here is the good news:

1. The case is now out of Dutchess County, and therefore removed from the local influences that have plagued this project from the beginning, which was/is often at odds with the will of the Hughsonville community.

2. The Appellate Court will hear the appeal.

3. The issues on appeal are particularly well-suited for appellate review and reversal. The August decision presents clear, well-defined legal errors that the Appellate Division can address directly.

4. Our separate Article 78 proceeding against the Planning Board remains pending.

We must continue to hold our local government--both elected and unelected officials--accountable. While there has been some progress, the Town Board recently tabled, permanently, a resolution that would have restored key zoning provisions eliminated during this process. Without those protections, similar developments could occur elsewhere in our town.

We also continue to see inconsistent application of site plan review standards and amendment procedures. If you would like more information about these issues, please reach out. Most importantly, please continue to voice your concerns to Town officials about zoning integrity and quality-of-life impacts in our community.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It means a great deal to all of us working to protect Hughsonville as well as the rest of the Town.