Second suit filed over Henderson island development

Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Apr. 29—HENDERSON — A second lawsuit has been filed against the town of Henderson alleging that it violated state laws when it adopted a local law last year to turn Hovey Island into a Planned Development District.

The suit, filed Friday in state Supreme Court, mirrors one filed in March in that it claims the adoption of the law violated, among other things, state Open Meetings Law and state Municipal Home Rule Law and did not involve the proper completion of a review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The local law changing Hovey Island's zoning from an Island District and a Corridor Overlay District to a Planned Development District allows for Sun Communities to build seasonal cabins/cottages on the island. Sun Communities plans to build a maximum of 117 seasonal cabins/cottages, with all lot sizes at least 5,000 square feet.

Sun currently owns and operates an RV campground on nearby Association Island, but no RVs will be allowed to camp on Hovey Island.

Many nearby property owners, particularly along narrow Snowshoe Road leading to Association and Hovey islands, have expressed concerns about the project's impact on traffic and the environment, as well as on the overall rural nature of the area.

In March, Tessa Heyer, trustee of the Tessa Lorraine Heyer Revocable Trust, filed suit against the town and Sun Communities in an attempt to overturn the town's law. The trust owns property on Snowshoe Bay opposite Hovey Island. That action remains pending.

Now, Francis I. Walter III and Elaine L. Walter, Syracuse, owners of two parcels on Snowshoe Road, have filed a separate suit asking a judge to declare the local law null and void. The suit also seeks, among other things, to have the proposed project declared as inconsistent with the town's Comprehensive Land Use Plan and its zoning law.