Matter of County of Monroe

In Matter of County of Monroe, 72 N.Y.2d 338, 530 N.E.2d 202, 533 N.Y.S.2d 702, the Court addressed the applicability of local zoning laws where a conflict arises between two governmental entities. There, the issue was whether the expansion and accessory uses of a county-owned airport located within the City of Rochester were subject to the City's zoning regulations. Abandoning the traditional governmental-proprietary classification standard used to resolve competing land use claims between governmental units, we articulated a "balancing of public interests" test (County of Monroe, 72 N.Y.2d at 341). Balancing a number of factors, including "the nature and scope of the instrumentality seeking immunity, the kind of function or land use involved, the extent of the public interest to be served thereby, the effect local land use regulation would have upon the enterprise concerned and the impact upon legitimate local interests," we held that they weighed in favor of granting the County immunity for the airport's expansion (id. at 343. The Court also concluded that such immunity extended to additional structures, including an airport terminal, an air freight facility and parking lots, and that such exemption was appropriate despite the fact that portions of the new structures were to be leased for use by commercial entities (see id. at 344-345).