Monroe denies petition to incorporate Village of Seven Springs
Town Supervisor Tony Cardone issued a statement on Monday, indicating that the application has ultimately been denied by the town, after years of litigation, as non-compliant with the requirements of Article 2 of the New York state Village Law.
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A long-awaited decision was made to deny a petition to incorporate the Village of Seven Springs in the Town of Monroe.
Town Supervisor Tony Cardone issued a statement on Monday, indicating that the application has ultimately been denied by the town, after years of litigation, as non-compliant with the requirements of Article 2 of the New York state Village Law.
“A written description of the proposed village failed to utilize a metes and bounds description as required by NYS Village Law,” said Cardone. “Instead, the village description relied predominantly on tax dot lines. The description of the proposed village boundaries also relied on certain tax lot numbers that do not exist in the Town of Monroe, therefore, preventing the town from determining the extent and location of the proposed village."
The lead petitioner, Herman Wagschal, filed for incorporation in 2019 after some residents were reportedly disappointed by a land compromise that excluded properties from the growing community of Kiryas Joel.
In April, an appeals court panel shut down legal disputes from Monroe and Kiryas Joel to invalidate the incorporation petition - paving the way for its consideration.
“As the Town Supervisor, I recognize and respect the rights of people to petition the government as the petitioners have done here,” said Cardone. “However, I must also give appropriate weight to the rule of law, and the fact that under New York State Village Law, village incorporation petitions must strictly comply with the requirements of the New York State Village Law. When an incorporation petition fall short of those statutory requirements, as the Seven Springs petition, did, it must be rejected.”
The petition sought to create the new village in a roughly 2-mile section of northern Monroe.
Wagschal declined to comment on the petition’s rejection. When asked if he plans to re-file, he told News 12, “We’ll see.”
