2022_11_Olivet ZBA Appeal_November 2022

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Charles J. Gottlieb One Commerce Plaza Partner Albany, New York 12260 518.487.7612 phone 518.487.7600 cgottlieb@woh.com November 15, 2022 VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS & EMAIL Chairperson Debra Kaufman and Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals Town of Dover 126 East Duncan Hill Road Dover Plains, New York 12522 Re: Notice of Violation - Appeal Olivet Campus Dear Chairperson Kaufman and Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals: This firm represents Dover Greens, LLC and its parent company Olivet University (collectively the “Appellant” or “Olivet”), the owner of approximately 513 acres in the Town of Dover, New York, identified as SBL: 7159-00-162702, 7159-00-65920 and 7259-00-814768 (the “Project Site”). Pursuant to Town of Dover Zoning Code (“Zoning Code”) § 149-59(A), this letter shall serve as an appeal (the “Appeal”) of the Town of Dover Building Inspector’s determination dated September 19, 2022 (the “NOV”). See Exhibit A [ZBA Application and NOV]. The NOV found that Olivet’s site plan approval and special use permit granted by the Planning Board had expired because Olivet had not secured all building permits for its proposed Phase 1 of the Olivet University development within 18-months of its approvals. As demonstrated below, we disagree with the NOV and respectfully request the Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) to overturn the NOV based on the below interpretation of the Town of Dover Zoning Code (“Zoning Code”). The ZBA should be cognizant that the Appellant is a religious entity seeking the free exercise of its religion on the Project Site. Therefore, the Town’s misapplication of its land use laws is a violation of Olivet’s rights under New York law, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), the U.S Constitution and the New York Constitution. Through this Appeal we hope that the ZBA will rectify the misapplication of the Town’s Zoning Code related to the proposed Olivet Campus.