Town Sues Over DCC Dorm Plan (Pok. Journal 6/29/08)

June 29, 2008

Town sues over DCC dorm plan

Action cites failure to seek environmental review

By Michael Valkys
Poughkeepsie Journal

The Town of Poughkeepsie has initiated legal action that will likely delay Dutchess Community College's plan to open a dormitory complex next year off Cottage Road in the town.

The town, in court papers, claims the project failed to undergo the environmental review process known as SEQR, or state environmental quality review. The town argues that review should have been triggered when the county Legislature in March voted to pursue a lease agreement needed for the dorm project to proceed.

Town special counsel Rich-ard Cantor filed what is known as an Article 78 proceeding in state Supreme Court in Westchester County, asking it be heard in the court's Environmental Claims Part. Article 78 actions allow plaintiffs to challenge decisions by governing bodies or agencies.

A judge would eventually decide whether the town's case has merit.

The town, and three residents, are challenging the March vote by the Legislature that supported entering into a long-term lease agreement with the Dutchess Community College Association regarding county-owned land where the 450-student dormitory would be located.

Cantor said the town wants the Legislature's resolution nullified because it "required an environmental review before its adoption."

In court papers, the town asserts it is "an involved agency" for a SEQR review because the dorm project is subject to town land-use laws.

Residents join petition

Along with the town, residents Kenneth and Cheryl Rose and Karin Hanson are listed as petitioners in the action. Court papers said the residents live near the proposed dorm site and could be adversely affected if the complex is constructed.

Named as respondents in the town's case are the county, the college and its association.

County Attorney Ronald Wozniak did not immediately return a call Friday seeking comment, nor did college spokeswoman Ann Winfield.

While the Legislature ap-proved moving forward with a lease agreement, no final proposal from the college has been sent to that body for approval and no lease has been signed.

But in court papers filed June 20, Cantor argues the March vote indicates the agreement is essentially a done deal and "practically determinative" of a future course of action.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances," Cantor wrote, "the lease has for all practical purposes been approved."

Legislature Chairman Roger Higgins, D-New Hamburg, noted that body discussed many issues, including questions about environmental effects, before the March resolution was approved by a single vote, 13-12. He said approval of a final lease agreement is far from certain.

"To me it's very presumptive to think it's a done deal," Higgins said of the town's argument that the March vote was tantamount to final approval. "It would seem to me they are on somewhat shaky legal ground."

Court papers indicate the matter is due to be heard July 31 in White Plains.

2009 opening was sought

College officials have said they hoped to have the dorm complex open by fall 2009, which appears unlikely with the matter tied up in court.

The dorm proposal has also sparked concern from residents in the Fairview Fire District. Many are worried over rising fire taxes in a district dominated by tax-exempt properties.

To help ease the crunch on taxpayers and offset costs, the college association agreed to pay the fire district $75,000 next year. The payment would increase 3 percent each year until 2012, when the deal would be renegotiated.

Critics of the deal have said the payments will not be enough to cover increased costs the dorm might bring the fire district.

Town officials and residents are also concerned over traffic the dorm might generate, and its impact on safety in Fairview.

The dorm project faces other potential hurdles.

The town board is considering a nine-month moratorium on residential development in institutional zones. Such zones include land where local colleges and Saint Francis Hospital are located. A public hearing on the proposed moratorium is set for July 9.

Supporters of the dorm project have cited a 2005 study commissioned by the college association that found a need for affordable housing on campus.

College officials have said the complex would make DCC more attractive to students and eliminate commutes for many who live far from the school's Poughkeepsie campus.