New York Ex Rel. Rosevale Realty Co. v. Kleinert
Headline: Court dismisses review of developer’s challenge to a local zoning change, leaving the city’s rezoning and the denial of the apartment permit in place because the federal claim wasn’t raised earlier.
Holding: The Court dismissed the writ because the developer did not raise its federal constitutional challenge in the state courts, so the high court lacks power to review the zoning amendment and permit denial.
- Leaves city rezoning and permit denial in effect, blocking the apartment project.
- Prevents Supreme Court review of the zoning amendment’s constitutionality now.
- Developer must seek other state or procedural avenues to challenge zoning.
Summary
Background
A real estate company bought a lot in a Brooklyn residential neighborhood and drew plans for a 40-family apartment building. The company filed those plans with the city building superintendent and briefly got a temporary permit. Neighbors petitioned the city board to change the neighborhood’s zoning from a C area to an E area, and after a public hearing the board amended the zoning. The superintendent then refused to approve the company’s plans under the new E rules, and the company sued in state court asking the court to order the superintendent to approve the plans.
Reasoning
The company argued that the zoning change deprived it of property in violation of the Constitution, but the company did not specifically press or have the state courts decide the precise federal constitutional question about the amendment itself. The Supreme Court explained it cannot review a state-court judgment on a federal constitutional issue that was not raised and decided in the state courts. Because the necessary federal question was not properly presented below, the Court declined to consider the merits and dismissed the company’s appeal.
Real world impact
The dismissal leaves the city’s zoning amendment and the superintendent’s denial of the building permit in place for now. The U.S. Supreme Court did not rule on whether the zoning restrictions are constitutional, so that substantive question remains unreviewed. The developer will need to pursue other state procedures or bring a properly preserved federal claim before higher review of the constitutional issue can occur.
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