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Zoning
Almost every municipality in the United States has some form of zoning
law. The first zoning law was enacted in New York City in 1916 in response
to the construction of the 40-story Equitable building in lower Manhattan.
This building blocked the sun from a large swath of the neighborhood and
the citizens feared that similar construction would be the norm. Following
this example, other cities enacted zoning laws. In a landmark United States
Supreme Court decision in 1926, Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty
Co., it was determined that the exclusionary nature of zoning was appropriate
and in the public interest as a means to reduce nuisances, and as such
overrode the interests of individual property owners.
There are many variations of zoning law that address residential areas.
In high-density areas, large buildings with many housing units are allowed.
Sometimes, retail and residential buildings coexist in the same area, even
within the same building. Zoning law also allows for low-density single-family
and two-family areas with single houses on individual lots (typically called
R-1 and R-2 districts). Preserving the characteristics of low-density single-family
neighborhoods via zoning is a correct and proper use of a municipality's
regulatory powers (specifically, the police power delegated by the
United States constitution). This is a basic concept, applied throughout
the country, and has been upheld by the New York State and United States
Supreme Courts. In Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 1974, the United
States Supreme Court upheld the right of a municipality to restrict occupancy
to a family or a defined equivalent of a family.
The New York State Office of General Counsel has said "An appropriate
definition of 'family' is basic to density and use prescriptions of zoning
laws ... any successful zoning scheme which purports to create and attain
a single-family zoning district must contain a definition of family."
That definition of family must include both biological families and non-traditional
families (otherwise known as the functional and factual equivalent of
a family).
WSNA is committed to solving a large and growing problem on the West
Side of Binghamton: The decline of the quality of housing caused by
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failure of code enforcement
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illegal conversion from single-family homes to rooming houses.
Our Zoning and Code Enforcement Committee has prepared a form - the ZAP
form - for use by anyone on the West Side of Binghamton who has knowledge
of a house that has been illegally converted and wants to take action to
stop it. Here is what you can do.
Know the zoning law
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City Zoning law requires that houses or duplexes in areas zoned single-
or two-family residential (either R-1 or R-2) have either a single family
or the functional and factual equivalent of a
family living in them. Specific to this law, the New York State
Supreme Court has ruled in two instances,
James Barvinchak, Donald Barvinchak, and John Hills v. City
of Binghamton Zoning Board of Appeals and David Chadwick, Supervisor of
Building and Construction, October 27, 2000,
and
David King v. City of Binghamton Zoning Board of Appeals and David Chadwick,
Supervisor of Building and Construction, and Jeffery Schell and Julie Schell,
May 17, 2002,
that typical student rentals are temporary arrangements and do not conform
to the definition of a functional and factual equivalent of a family.
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Landlords who rent to unrelated individuals who are not a family are violating
the law.
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They often violate not only zoning, but also code regulations.
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Other landlords, though they do not violate R-1 or R-2 zoning, are nonetheless
guilty of failing to comply with City codes governing such matters as off-street
parking, electrical safety, and fire protection.
What you can do
If you know of a house that has been converted to a rental/rooming house
and that has several unrelated persons living in it, or one that is in
violation of City Codes, we invite you to fill in the ZAP form, have two
people sign it, and return it to the address indicated on the form.
What we will do
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When we receive your complaint, WSNA, Inc. will forward the information
(without your name) to the person charged with investigating zoning and
code violations.
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If he finds that the property is in violation, he will issue a Citation
against the landlord:
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Landlords found in violation have no choice but to comply;
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penalties for illegal conversion include up to 15 days in jail and $150.00
fine for each day.
Alternatively
If you wish to contact the City yourself, please write to:
Mr. Tom Costello
Supervisor of Buildings and Construction
City Hall
Binghamton, NY 13901-3776
You can use our property research procedures
to obtain background information.
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