Matter of Iorio v. The Town of Mount Pleasant

Matter of Iorio v. The Town of Mount Pleasant, (131 Misc2d 395) involved the Town Board's issuance of a negative declaration in connection with condemnation proceedings that had been initiated to obtain land for the purpose of widening Kensico Road. The Court found that even if the agency properly classified the action as an unlisted action, the determination of non-significance was made by the Town Board in an arbitrary and capricious manner and was not based upon substantial evidence. The Court found that the agency had failed to take the requisite "hard look" prior to the declaration of non-significance because "the record demonstrated that the environmental concerns of the Kensico Road project in toto were given short shrift by the Town in their last minute rush for approval." (Matter of Iorio, 131 Misc2d at 403). Notably, the Court explained the reason for why it was so important to take the environment into consideration as early as possible. In that case, the court cautioned that "if such determination 'is not prepared at an early stage' later governmental decisions may be influenced by prior governmental decisions or commitments.'" (Matter of Iorio, 131 Misc2d at 398). The court further explained that "'the initiatory action by the Town Board might well have been practically determinative. In effect, the purpose of SEQRA is to assure the preparation and availability of an Environmental Impact Statement at the time any significant authorization is granted for a specific proposal.'" (Id.)