Muttontown ends ban on subdividing lands

Muttontown has ended its moratorium on subdividing large properties, saying strides made in reviewing the village's master plan no longer warrant the ban.

"This does not mean that the master plan committee is done with its work," Mayor Julianne Beckerman said Tuesday. "It just means that they believe their work and the board's work with regard to the moratorium has been effectuated."

The moratorium was adopted in May 2010 and was extended via a second identical measure approved last July. It was ended on a 5-0 vote, with two members absent.

The ban drew a lawsuit in October from a family seeking to build about two dozen homes on its 100-acre parcel bordering the Muttontown Preserve. The Hall family claimed the ban was unconstitutional, and the case is making its way through federal court.

A letter filed Wednesday by Muttontown's attorney, Steven Leventhal, and addressed to U.S. District Court Judge E. Thomas Boyle argued that the Hall family could no longer claim the moratorium constitutes an illegal "taking" of their property.

"Accordingly, it is respectfully urged that plaintiff's demand for declaratory and injunctive relief in respect to the moratorium is now moot," Leventhal, of Roslyn, wrote.

Stephen Conlon, a Cold Spring Harbor-based attorney representing the Hall family, Wednesday said the subdivision ban had done its damage.

"By depriving the Halls of any reasonable use of their property for two full years, the mayor has once again exposed the village to substantial monetary damages," Conlon said.

Muttontown trustees at Tuesday's meeting said the village moved toward protecting its natural attributes when it passed legislation last month to preserve slope lands, freshwater wetlands and other features. But critics said the move would severely limit subdivisions.