Rochester Reporter

Pittsford village issued the following announcement on Dec 29.

Court Issues Two Major Rulings in Favor of Village of Pittsford in Westport Crossing Lawsuits, Upholding Decisions of Village Boards to Deny Project Approval

Since the receipt of the original application, the various boards of the Village of Pittsford have insisted the Westport Crossing Project fit within the established character of the community and enhance the unique canalside location.  In a pair of decisions issued today, Supreme Court Justice John J. Ark upheld the Village’s efforts, dismissing two major lawsuits brought by the Developer of the Westport Crossing Project, both of which were critical to the Developer obtaining all of the necessary approvals from the Village of Pittsford.   

In particular, the Court upheld rulings from the Village’s Historic Preservation Board (formerly the Architectural Preservation and Review Board) and its Planning and Zoning Board (acting as the reviewing authority for the Local Waterfront Revitalization program).  In each case, the Boards had previously issued determinations that the Project was not consistent with the Village’s criteria for approval.  The Developer sued to challenge those determinations.  Today, the Court ruled that both Boards had a rational basis for their determinations, which were neither arbitrary nor capricious and will not be overturned.  Specifically, the Court rejected the Developer’s argument that “zoning approval somehow limits historic and architectural review,” and noted the developer had “offered no arguments regarding the reasonableness ( or alleged lack thereof) of the APRB' s determination.”

Because both approvals were required for the Westport Crossing Project, these decisions strike a major blow to the Developer’s chances of proceeding with the Project, as currently proposed. As proposed to those boards, the Westport Crossing Project is essentially over.  

“We feel vindicated by these rulings, which confirm everything that our Village Boards have been pointing out for several years,” Mayor Bob Corby said.  “The Project, as currently proposed, simply is not consistent with the Village’s standards for historic architecture and waterfront development.  The ball is now back in the Developer’s court to propose an appropriately designed project that meets the Village’s standards.”

Original source can be found here.