Two families who live on Ledyard Avenue have filed suit in state supreme court against the village of Cazenovia, claiming that the Western Gateway rezoning law approved in September 2014 was illegal spot zoning that is inconsistent with the village comprehensive plan and should therefore be annulled.

The lawsuit, filed by Cazenovia attorney Barry Schreibman on behalf of Ledyard Avenue residents William and Cynthia Loftus and Martin and Betty Smith, contends that the law is spot zoning because it would benefit only two individuals, Richard Hubbard, owner of the Brewster Inn, by allowing him to expand his business into a non-conforming use for the neighborhood, and Town Councilor Liz Moran, a tenant at 5 Ledyard Ave., by having what was her unlawful commercial use in the building legalized.

The lawsuit also argues that the rezoning serves no purpose since it claims to prevent neighborhood blight when there is no current blight; that the improved economic development proposed in the law is redundant and therefore unnecessary, and more appropriate for the Village Edge North and Village Edge South areas, which have identical zoning; and that the rezoning would not help historic preservation in the neighborhood but would most likely undermine such preservation by allowing the expansion of existing historic structures for non-residential uses.

The Western Gateway rezoning law, approved in September 2014, established a new “Western Gateway” zoning district and changed the zoning of certain land parcels on both sides of Ledyard Avenue from Route 13/Lakeland Park to the western village boundary by the Trush property. The intention was to emphasize new and more potential uses for the large old homes on Ledyard Avenue as a way to prevent deterioration of those properties, to maximize land use by allowing more commercial development and to help beautify the village entranceway area overall, according to the legislation

Nearly every resident in the Ledyard Avenue neighborhood opposed the legislation during its four-month public hearing process in 2014, stating that it was an ill-conceived and under-developed plan that would turn the spacious residential corridor into a soulless commercial strip. Many opponents also claimed that the law was proposed mainly to benefit Hubbard and his previously existing plans to purchase the houses at 8 and 10 Ledyard Ave. and turn them into wedding and overnight expansions for The Brewster Inn.

Members of The Cazenovia Club, also located on Ledyard Avenue, and the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation opposed the law during its debate citing concerns that the rezoning would undermine the historic character of the Ledyard Avenue neighborhood.

The law went through multiple public hearings before the village board unanimously passed it on Sept. 2.

On Sept. 22, at least two Ledyard Avenue residents received a letter from local attorney Barry Schreibman stating that he was about to initiate legal proceedings against the village to overturn the Western Gateway law and warning them against seeking to apply for any special permits under the new law to undertake any site work as allowed by the law because such permits would be overturned if his clients’ litigation was successful.

Schreibman filed suit in state supreme court in Madison County on April 20.

In a letter to the editor submitted to the Cazenovia Republican, Schreibman stated that his clients’ complaint “is that the rezoning adulterates their neighborhood by introducing commercial uses into a district whose dominant use has been residential since Cazenovia was first incorporated as a village in 1810.”

Mayor Kurt Wheeler, who was named in the suit and accused of creating the rezoning law specifically to benefit Hubbard so he could expand his business and Town Councilor Liz Moran who has an office at 5 Ledyard Ave., said he had not received the lawsuit yet and had no comment until he receives and reads it.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].