Matter of Penfield Panorama Area Community, Inc. v. Town of Penfield Planning Board

In Matter of Penfield Panorama Area Community, Inc. v. Town of Penfield Planning Board, 253 A.D.2d 342, 688 N.Y.S.2d 848, a proposed cluster subdivision had been approved on the condition that the owner "'perform specific site characterization that will result in an acceptable remedial action plan' for the cleanup of hazardous waste" on the site and that the owner obtain approval of its remedial action plan from the County Health Department and the DEC. (Matter of Penfield, 253 A.D.2d at 344). Noting that a lead agency under SEQRA may not delegate its responsibilities to another agency, the Court found that "deferring resolution of the remediation was improper because it shields the remediation plan from public scrutiny ...." and, therefore, "by deferring resolution of the hazardous waste remediation issue, the Planning Board failed to take the requisite hard look at an area of environmental concern." (Matter of Penfield, 253 A.D.2d at 349-350).