Judge dismisses developer Prologis' lawsuit over East Farmingdale warehouse plan
The company had proposed building a warehouse on 6 acres occupied by a vacant bowling alley and an indoor soccer facility. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
A lawsuit filed by a developer against the Town of Babylon’s zoning board for rejecting a proposed warehouse in East Farmingdale has been tossed by a state Supreme Court judge.
The Article 78 suit — a legal action used to challenge state and local government decisions — was filed against the town last fall by San Francisco-based Prologis Inc. The company had proposed building a 121,931-square-foot warehouse on 6 acres on Conklin Street where there is now a vacant bowling alley and an indoor soccer facility.
While warehouses are allowed under the site’s zoning, the proposed facility required five variances including enlarging the building area by 16,340 square feet and reducing the parking by 111 spaces beyond what the town allows under its code.
On Oct. 17, the town zoning board voted 7-0 to deny Prologis’ application, citing issues with the company’s traffic study and refusal to prohibit hazardous materials from being stored on site. In its denial, the board stated that the "detriment to the community clearly outweighs the benefits to the applicant."
On Monday, Judge Alison Napolitano dismissed Prologis’ suit, finding that the zoning board’s decision to deny Prologis’ proposal “was not arbitrary and capricious.”
In Napolitano’s decision, she notes that it is “well settled that local zoning boards have broad discretion in considering applications for variances.” A judge can only determine whether the board’s actions were “illegal, arbitrary or an abuse of discretion,” she wrote.
“The judge got it exactly right,” Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer told Newsday. “The company was well aware that if they wanted to proceed with their project, it had to be built in accordance with the town code and not by requesting all these very large variances, which would not fit into the community.”
Prologis will appeal the decision, said company spokeswoman Mattie Sorrentino.
“We are disappointed by the Court’s decision, especially since logistics is allowed under the current zoning rules, which the Court confirmed in its decision,” Sorrentino wrote in an email, adding that local businesses “need modern and sustainable distribution centers to operate and grow.”
Prologis has about 6,700 customers in facilities across 19 countries, according to the company's website.
In addition to building size and parking variances, Prologis had also asked for setback and trailer storage variances.
Napolitano wrote that the zoning board had “specific and detailed reasons” for its rejection of the building size and parking variances and that those denials render “the remaining variances moot.”
Sorrentino wrote in an email that Prologis is sticking with the site and “will work with local government officials and the community to design a plan which requires less variance relief if it also meets the operational needs of local businesses.”
Residents living near the site of the proposed warehouse had made their opposition to the project well known in letters and at public hearings. Many said the warehouse’s truck traffic would create dangerous conditions on already busy Conklin Street. They also opposed the size of the 39-foot-tall, one-story building with 21 loading bays and the uncertainty of operations there. Prologis officials said they don't know which tenants would occupy the warehouse or what types of products would be stored there.
Donna Sutherland, 56, who lives on a street across from the site, had petitioned the town to deny the application, rallying neighbors by walking door to door and distributing a packet of information she had compiled on problems at other Prologis warehouses.
“I’m so excited!” she told Newsday when learning of the judge’s decision. “All the hard work we did so that they wouldn’t come to our town and build in our neighborhood, it was all worth it.”
A lawsuit filed by a developer against the Town of Babylon’s zoning board for rejecting a proposed warehouse in East Farmingdale has been tossed by a state Supreme Court judge.
The Article 78 suit — a legal action used to challenge state and local government decisions — was filed against the town last fall by San Francisco-based Prologis Inc. The company had proposed building a 121,931-square-foot warehouse on 6 acres on Conklin Street where there is now a vacant bowling alley and an indoor soccer facility.
While warehouses are allowed under the site’s zoning, the proposed facility required five variances including enlarging the building area by 16,340 square feet and reducing the parking by 111 spaces beyond what the town allows under its code.
On Oct. 17, the town zoning board voted 7-0 to deny Prologis’ application, citing issues with the company’s traffic study and refusal to prohibit hazardous materials from being stored on site. In its denial, the board stated that the "detriment to the community clearly outweighs the benefits to the applicant."
On Monday, Judge Alison Napolitano dismissed Prologis’ suit, finding that the zoning board’s decision to deny Prologis’ proposal “was not arbitrary and capricious.”
In Napolitano’s decision, she notes that it is “well settled that local zoning boards have broad discretion in considering applications for variances.” A judge can only determine whether the board’s actions were “illegal, arbitrary or an abuse of discretion,” she wrote.
“The judge got it exactly right,” Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer told Newsday. “The company was well aware that if they wanted to proceed with their project, it had to be built in accordance with the town code and not by requesting all these very large variances, which would not fit into the community.”
Prologis will appeal the decision, said company spokeswoman Mattie Sorrentino.
“We are disappointed by the Court’s decision, especially since logistics is allowed under the current zoning rules, which the Court confirmed in its decision,” Sorrentino wrote in an email, adding that local businesses “need modern and sustainable distribution centers to operate and grow.”
Prologis has about 6,700 customers in facilities across 19 countries, according to the company's website.
In addition to building size and parking variances, Prologis had also asked for setback and trailer storage variances.
Napolitano wrote that the zoning board had “specific and detailed reasons” for its rejection of the building size and parking variances and that those denials render “the remaining variances moot.”
Sorrentino wrote in an email that Prologis is sticking with the site and “will work with local government officials and the community to design a plan which requires less variance relief if it also meets the operational needs of local businesses.”
Residents living near the site of the proposed warehouse had made their opposition to the project well known in letters and at public hearings. Many said the warehouse’s truck traffic would create dangerous conditions on already busy Conklin Street. They also opposed the size of the 39-foot-tall, one-story building with 21 loading bays and the uncertainty of operations there. Prologis officials said they don't know which tenants would occupy the warehouse or what types of products would be stored there.
Warehouse opponent Donna Sutherland in a February 2024 photo. Credit: Barry Sloan
Donna Sutherland, 56, who lives on a street across from the site, had petitioned the town to deny the application, rallying neighbors by walking door to door and distributing a packet of information she had compiled on problems at other Prologis warehouses.
“I’m so excited!” she told Newsday when learning of the judge’s decision. “All the hard work we did so that they wouldn’t come to our town and build in our neighborhood, it was all worth it.”
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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