Appeal of SPECTRUM COMMUNITIES, LLC, POCANTICO HOME & LAND COMPANY, LLC, C.B., J.B., C.K., M.S., P.S., F.D.C., L.C., L.A., J.B., R.B., B.S.L., A.S.L., A.M. and M.M. from action of Ronald L. Smalls, District Superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Westchester County, regarding a school district boundary.
Appeal of BRUCE C. EDELSTEIN from action of Thomas C. Elliott, Superintendent of the Pocantico Hills Central School District, the Pocantico Hills Central School District, Howard Smith, Superintendent of the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns, the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns and Ronald L. Smalls, District Superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Westchester County, regarding a school district boundary.
Appeal of SPECTRUM COMMUNITIES, LLC, POCANTICO HOME & LAND COMPANY, LLC, C.B., J.B., C.K., M.S., P.S., F.D.C., L.C., L.A., J.B., R.B., B.S.L., A.S.L., A.M. and M.M. from action of the Board of Education of the Pocantico Hills Central School District, the Pocantico Hills Central School District, Board of Education of the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns and the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns, regarding a school district boundary.
Decision No. 15,474
(October 5, 2006)
Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP, attorneys for petitioners Spectrum Communities, LLC and Pocantico Home & Land Company, LLC, Kevin J. Plunkett, Esq., of counsel
Morrison Cohen, LLP, attorneys for petitioners in the first and third appeals, Y. David Scharf, Esq., of counsel
Nobile, Magarian & DiSalvo, LLP, attorneys for petitioner Edelstein, Louis J. Maggiotto, Esq., of counsel
Donoghue, Thomas, Auslander & Drohan, LLP, attorneys for respondent Smalls, Daniel Petigrow, Esq., of counsel
Ingerman Smith, LLP, attorneys for the Pocantico Hills Central School District respondents, Neil M. Block, Esq., of counsel
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, LLP, attorneys for the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns respondents, Norma Meacham, Esq., of counsel
MILLS, Commissioner.--In the first two of these three related appeals, petitioners Spectrum Communities, LLC (n/k/a WCI Northeast U.S. Region, LLC) and Pocantico Home & Land Company, LLC (collectively referred to as “Spectrum”), individual homeowners (“homeowners”) residing within a subdivision known as The Legends at Pocantico Hills (“The Legends”), and petitioner Edelstein (“Edelstein”) appeal a boundary determination of Ronald L. Smalls, District Superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Westchester County (“Smalls”), that The Legends and Edelstein’s property are located entirely within the boundaries of the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns 1 (“Tarrytowns”). In the third appeal, Spectrum and the homeowners challenge the refusal of the Board of Education of the Union Free School District of the Tarrytowns (“Tarrytowns board”) and the Board of Education of the Pocantico Hills Central School District (“Pocantico Hills board”) to consent to a boundary alteration to include The Legends within the Pocantico Hills Central School District 2 (“Pocantico Hills”). Because the appeals raise similar issues of fact and law, they are consolidated for decision. The appeals must be dismissed.
In May 2003, Spectrum purchased property totaling approximately 11 acres located in the Town of Mount Pleasant, Village of Sleepy Hollow, for residential development. The parcels are identified on the Sleepy Hollow tax assessment map as Section 115.12, Block 2, Lots 35.1, 35.2, 35.3, 35.4, 35.5, 35.6, 36.7, 35.8, 35.9, 35.10, 35.11, 35.12 and 35.14 and are collectively known as The Legends. The homeowners are eight families that contracted with Spectrum between May 2003 and March 2004 to build homes in The Legends. Edelstein owns a home, purchased in January 2002, that is located on property identified on the tax map as Section 115.12, Block 2, Lot 42. His property is not part of The Legends.
When Spectrum purchased The Legends and the homeowners entered into contracts to build homes there, they believed The Legends was located in Pocantico Hills. This belief was based in part on tax maps, tax bills and tax assessment rolls maintained by the Town of Mount Pleasant indicating that The Legends was in Pocantico Hills. Spectrum also asked Pocantico Hills’ superintendent about the location of the property and he stated that the property was in the district listed on the tax bill. At the time of his purchase, Edelstein apparently believed, based on tax records, that the boundary between the two school districts intersected his property.
Sometime after Spectrum purchased The Legends, a dispute arose regarding the school district in which the property was located. On December 15, 2003, Spectrum petitioned Smalls for a boundary determination pursuant to Education Law §2215(1). On February 2, 2004, Smalls conducted a boundary determination hearing. Documents received into evidence included tax maps, tax rolls and bills, school district maps, correspondence, the 1947 New York State Master Plan for School District Organization, deeds, three boundary line alteration orders (dated June 25, 1951; June 23, 1952 and March 9, 1953) and excerpts from minutes of Pocantico Hills and Tarrytowns board meetings held between 1950 and 1957.
On March 8, 2004, Smalls issued his decision, determining that the boundary line between the two school districts traverses “the center lines of Bedford Road and County House Road” and finding that, therefore, The Legends is “located wholly within the geographic boundaries of ...Tarrytowns.” As a result of Smalls’ decision, Edelstein’s property was also located entirely within Tarrytowns.
In his decision, Smalls relied principally on the 1951, 1952 and 1953 boundary line alteration orders of Harold Hollister (“Hollister”), then District Superintendent of the Second Supervisory District of Westchester County. The record indicates that, in 1951, the Pocantico Hills board agreed to permit the transfer of certain property that included the parcels now comprising The Legends to Tarrytowns so Tarrytowns could build a new high school. The boards agreed that, if Tarrytowns’ voters failed to approve a bond to fund the purchase of a site on which to build the proposed high school, the property would be returned to Pocantico Hills. On June 25, 1951, upon consent of both boards, Hollister entered an order pursuant to Education Law §1507, altering the boundary line between the districts. As a result, the property transferred to Tarrytowns.
Tarrytowns’ bond proposition was defeated. On June 23, 1952, a second boundary line alteration order, consisting of the same bounded and described property was, upon written consent of the Pocantico Hills and Tarrytowns boards, entered by Hollister, transferring the property back to Pocantico Hills.
In 1953, Tarrytowns asked the Pocantico Hills board to consent to alter the boundary again so Tarrytowns could once more seek voter approval to build a new high school. On March 9, 1953, a third boundary line alteration order was, upon consent of both boards, entered and filed by Hollister altering the boundary between the districts to again transfer the property to Tarrytowns. Hollister certified that the 1953 order was filed with the district clerks of both districts, the town clerks of Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh, the Westchester County Clerk and the State Education Department (“Department”), as were the prior 1951 and 1952 orders. No further boundary alteration order has been entered and filed since the March 9, 1953 order.
Subsequent to the 1953 order, the Tarrytowns’ voters approved the construction of a new high school and a bond proposition to finance the project. Tarrytowns acquired title to some of the land within the transferred property and built the new high school on that land. The remaining parcels of the transferred property now include The Legends.
In his decision, Smalls noted that, despite the 1953 boundary alternation order, the Town of Mount Pleasant had assessed the transferred property to Pocantico Hills for almost 40 years 3 and Pocantico Hills received the school taxes. Smalls determined, however, that the 1953 order was undisputed and unambiguous and established the boundary between the districts as “the line bounded by the Old Croton Aqueduct on the west, the center lines of Bedford Road and Old County House Road, to the north and east, and Andre Brook to the south and east.”
Smalls noted Spectrum’s claims that the school districts intended the 1953 boundary alteration to be conditional on the use of the entire property transferred for Tarrytowns’ proposed high school and that any unused property would be transferred back to Pocantico Hills. Smalls held that, even if true, such was not controlling for purposes of his determination, as no further boundary alteration order was entered or filed after the 1953 order.
On March 19, 2004, upon receiving Smalls’ decision, Spectrum demanded that the Pocantico Hills and Tarrytowns boards alter the school district boundary line “pursuant to their 1953 Agreement ....” On March 22 and 23, 2004, respectively, the boards declined.
On April 5, 2004, Pocantico Home & Land Company, LLC (a Spectrum affiliate) and some of the homeowners commenced an action against Pocantico Hills and Tarrytowns in Supreme Court, Westchester County, for breach of contract and declaratory relief. Plaintiffs sought specific performance of the alleged 1953 agreement to alter the boundary so as to transfer certain property now comprising The Legends back to Pocantico Hills. In addition, plaintiffs sought a declaration of the school district boundary that would place The Legends in Pocantico Hills. Edelstein, J.B. and L.A. intervened in that action. Smalls was not a party.
On April 6, 2004, Edelstein and Spectrum Communities, LLC each commenced appeals under Education Law §310 challenging Smalls’ boundary determination. On December 13, 2004, the Supreme Court rendered a decision in favor of the plaintiffs declaring that The Legends and Edelstein’s property “is and should be within the Pocantico District” and ordering both boards to consent to alter the boundary accordingly. On December 14, 2004, Spectrum Communities, LLC withdrew its §310 appeal. On December 15, 2004, Edelstein withdrew his §310 appeal. By letter dated December 22, 2004, my Office of Counsel acknowledged that both appeals were withdrawn.
Tarrytowns and Pocantico Hills appealed the Supreme Court’s decision. On July 11, 2005, the Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed the Supreme Court on jurisdictional grounds, holding that the statutory authority to review a district superintendent’s boundary determination is vested in the Commissioner of Education pursuant to Education Law §§310 and 2217 and that plaintiffs were required to exhaust their administrative remedy before seeking court review.4 On August 4 and 9, 2005, respectively, Edelstein, Spectrum and the homeowners commenced the instant appeals seeking review of Smalls’ March 8, 2004 decision (hereinafter referred to as the “Edelstein appeal” and the “Spectrum/homeowners appeal”).
By letters dated, July 29, 2005, Spectrum and the homeowners requested that the Tarrytowns and Pocantico Hills boards consent to an alteration of the school district boundary line pursuant to Education Law §1507 to include The Legends in Pocantico Hills. On August 4 and 5, 2005, respectively, the Pocantico Hills and Tarrytowns boards refused to consent to the boundary alteration. On August 30, 2005, Spectrum and the homeowners appealed the boards’ refusals to consent (hereafter referred to as “the Consent appeal”).
Petitioners made several requests for interim orders in connection with their appeals which were denied. The most recent request, on August 28, 2006, for an interim order permitting the homeowners’ children to attend school in Pocantico Hills pending a determination on the merits of the appeals, was denied on August 31, 2006.
In the Spectrum/homeowners and Edelstein appeals, petitioners seek a review of Smalls’ boundary