Updated March 3 at 12:13 p.m.
Days before the Harrison Town Council may issue a final approval allowing a Brighview Senior Living Center on the site of the former Lake Street Quarry, the state Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the town’s 2016 decision to change that property’s zoning in anticipation of the development.
But a resident group, which launched the initial lawsuit in June, may look to appeal the court’s decision.
On Feb. 22, Judge Gretchen Walsh ruled in favor of Brightview and various Harrison agencies, including the Town Council and Planning Board in a suit filed by Save Harrison Inc., a group of West Harrison residents who claim that the proposed senior living center would adversely impact the surrounding area, which had been zoned for low-density residential properties.
Save Harrison’s lawsuit aimed to dispute several steps in the process leading to Brightview’s pending approval, but was centered on a controversial zoning amendment passed by the Town Council last May, which allowed the construction of a senior living center on the potential Brightview property—600 Lake St.—as well as several other residentially zoned properties throughout Harrison.
File photo
The lawsuit alleged that Harrison’s amendment to the zoning code at the request of Brightview was an instance of spot-zoning, an illegal zoning process in which a municipality rezones a small parcel of land to benefit a property owner that comes at the detriment of neighboring owners. However, the court ruled against this claim, explaining in its ruling that the zoning amendment was in line with Harrison’s comprehensive plan and in the best interest of the community.
“We are quite pleased that this important zoning amendment and the town’s meticulous review of the extensive record was upheld by the court as entirely lawful,” said David Steinmetz, an attorney representing the Brightview project.
Now that the lawsuit has been resolved, Brightview must clear one last hurdle before it can begin construction of its 160-unit, 165,000-square-foot senior facility.
The Town Council was scheduled to continue a public hearing on March 2 that began in mid-February. That hearing has since been delayed until March 23, when the council could vote on final approval for the senior living center after closing that hearing.
Meanwhile, Save Harrison may look to extend the legal battle.
According to Al Pirro, an attorney for Save Harrison, the resident group plans to appeal the judge’s ruling.
“[My] clients have spoken to me and have advised me that they disagree with certain portions of the decision,” Pirro said. “I think certainly that there are some very significant portions of the judge’s decisions to be reviewed.”
If approved, the senior center would be built on the site of the now-defunct Lake Street Quarry, which, according to town records, had been operating outside of the zoning code for decades. To settle land use violations cited by the town, Lawrence Barrego, the owner of the property, arranged a settlement in 2014, which included selling the property to a developer to build a senior living facility on the 7.3-acre site. The settlement also required Barrego to sell all heavy machinery left on the property and to stop excavation. In return, Harrison waived charges of violations which could have been worth more than $800,000.
