## Facts

- Sun Beach Real Estate Development Corp. owned a 777-acre tract in the Town of East Hampton and proposed a residential subdivision totaling 188 single-family residences and 143 condominium units.
- On July 29, 1982, Sun Beach applied to the Town Planning Board for preliminary approval of a subdivision plat and submitted an Environmental Assessment Form for environmental-significance review.
- Town Law § 276(3) provides that if a planning board fails to act on a preliminary plat within 45 days, the plat is deemed approved.
- The proposal was also subject to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), which provides that when an environmental impact statement is required, an application is not “complete” until the lead agency accepts a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).
- On September 7, 1982, the Planning Board advised Sun Beach that processing would occur when the application became “complete,” either by a negative environmental-significance determination or by acceptance of a DEIS.
- Sun Beach submitted a DEIS in mid-September 1982.
- On October 15, 1982, before the Planning Board accepted the DEIS, Sun Beach demanded that the Town Clerk issue a certificate of preliminary plat approval, asserting the 45-day period ran from the July 29 filing and had expired.
- On October 27, 1982, the Planning Board determined the project might significantly affect the environment and accepted the DEIS.

## Issues

1. Whether the 45-day period in Town Law § 276(3) for action on a preliminary subdivision plat begins upon initial filing of the application or only after the Planning Board accepts a DEIS required under SEQRA.
2. Whether a preliminary subdivision plat can be deemed approved by inaction when SEQRA’s “completeness” requirement has not been satisfied.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division reversed the judgment that had directed issuance of a certificate of deemed preliminary approval.
- The court held that when a DEIS is required under SEQRA, the preliminary plat application is not “complete” until the DEIS is accepted.
- As a result, Town Law § 276(3)’s 45-day period did not begin to run until October 27, 1982, the date the Planning Board accepted the DEIS.
- Because the statutory clock had not run from the filing date, the plat was not deemed approved, and Sun Beach was not entitled to a certificate of approval.

## Legal Principles

- Preliminary subdivision plat approval determines important design features; SEQRA requires early environmental review at the preliminary-approval stage.
- When SEQRA requires an environmental impact statement, the application is not “complete” until the agency accepts the DEIS.
- Statutory timing provisions for subdivision review under Town Law § 276(3) commence only after SEQRA’s completeness requirement is satisfied where a DEIS is required.
- The absence of a specific statutory deadline for DEIS acceptance may permit delay, but any change to impose time limits is for the legislature rather than the courts.

## Conclusion

When SEQRA requires a DEIS, a planning board’s 45-day deadline under Town Law § 276(3) to act on a preliminary subdivision plat does not begin until the board accepts the DEIS; therefore, deemed approval cannot be based on inaction before DEIS acceptance.


Sun Beach Real Estate Dev. Corp. v. Anderson, 98 A.D.2d 367, 469 N.Y.S.2d 964 (App. Div. 2d Dep’t 1983)