Judge upholds Irish center zoning
Dismisses lawsuit filed by neighbors, saying other remedies not pursued
A judge has upheld the city Zoning Board of Appeals decision that the Abeel Street site of the proposed Irish Cultural Center is properly zoned for the facility.
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Mott backed the zoning decision in an eight-page ruling dated Tuesday that dismissed a lawsuit filed by neighbors of the site. Mott wrote that the plaintiffs — Hillary and Owen Harvey and Deanna Baum — had not exhausted all other possible administrative remedies to their complaints.
“Administrative remedies have not been exhausted, and there is no indication that such remedies would be futile or cause irreparable harm,” Mott wrote.
The suit named the Zoning Board of Appeals, Kingston Zoning Enforcement Officer Joseph Safford, the city and developer Irish Cultural Center Hudson Valley Inc. as defendants.
“We are disappointed,” Owen Harvey said in an email Wednesday afternoon.” At this time, we have not had the opportunity to meet with our attorney to discuss the decision.”
The lawsuit, filed last Dec. 15 in state Supreme Court in Kingston, challenged the Nov. 15, 2016, decision by the Zoning Board of Appeals that the Irish center would be in the Broadway/West Strand zoning district and therefore allowed. The plaintiffs argued the property is separate from the district.
The 0.44-acre parcel where the center is proposed to be built is bordered on two sides by private properties and to the rear by the city-owned Company Hill Path and a retaining wall.
Mott agreed with the city board, commonly called the ZBA.
“The detailed record provides a rational basis for the ZBA’s decision,” the judge wrote. “... Accordingly, the ZBA determination must be upheld.”
The Irish Cultural Center is proposed to be a 16,213-square-foot structure at 32 Abeel St. that would include a 171-seat theater and a 70-seat pub. A banquet area previously included in the plan has been dropped.
The proposal for the Irish Cultural Center is being reviewed by the Kingston Planning Board, which must grant site plan approval in order for the center to be built. The proposal, however, has not appeared on the Planning Board’s agenda for months.