In re Nehemiah Associates, Inc.

Nehemiah Associates, Inc., appeals from a decision of the Environmental Board, which denied Nehemiah’s application for an Act 250 permit to subdivide and develop a 3.38-acre lot. Nehemiah argues that the Board improperly applied the doctrine of collateral estoppel to deny a permit amendment. We agree and reverse.

In 1989, Nehemiah purchased twelve acres of land on Route 3 in Pittsford and obtained an Act 250 permit authorizing it to subdivide the land into eleven lots: ten residential lots each less than one acre and a single 3.38-acre lot. Nehemiah proposed to preserve the 3.38-acre lot…