Hampton Hills Villas Condo. Bd. of Managers v. Town of Amherst Zoning Bd. of Appeals

In Hampton Hills Villas Condo. Bd. of Managers v. Town of Amherst Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 13 A.D.3d 1079 (4th Dept. 2004), a determination by the Commissioner of Building of the Town of Amherst regarding a dual use driveway was appealed to the ZBA, which upheld the commissioner's determination. The court wrote in Hampton Hills: "Under a zoning ordinance which authorizes interpretation of its requirements by the board of appeals, specific application of a term of the ordinance to a particular property is . . . governed by the board's interpretation, unless unreasonable or irrational" (Matter of Frishman v. Schmidt, 61 NY2d 823, 825, 462 N.E.2d 134, 473 N.Y.S.2d 957 [1984]; see Matter of J.H., Jr., & E.T., Sr. Wurz Realty Partnership v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Vil. of N. Y. Mills, 249 AD2d 984, 985, 672 N.Y.S.2d 557 [1998], lv denied 92 NY2d 813, 703 N.E.2d 764, 680 N.Y.S.2d 906 [1998]; Matter of Saglibene v. Baum, 246 AD2d 599, 600, 668 N.Y.S.2d 39 [1998]). Here, the ZBA's interpretation of the zoning ordinance is neither unreasonable nor irrational, and we therefore reverse the judgment and dismiss the petitions. (Id. at 1080.)