Buffalo Crushed Stone, Inc. v. Town of Cheektowaga

OPINION OF THE COURT

Ciparick, J.

In this zoning case, the issue is whether Buffalo Crushed Stone, Inc. (BCS) established a prior nonconforming use to quarry certain subparcels of its 280-acre property, thereby relieving it from the Town of Cheektowaga’s zoning ordinances. Applying the analysis set forth in Matter of Syracuse Aggregate Corp. v Weise (51 NY2d 278, 284-287 [1980]), we hold that the long and exclusive quarrying operation of BCS and its predecessors and their preparations to use areas left as aggregate mineral reserves—consistent with the nature of quarrying— established a right of…