Tractor Supply loses permit fight in court

LOWVILLE — A judge will not force the town and village code enforcement office to issue a building permit for a proposed Tractor Supply Co. store.

State Supreme Court Judge Joseph D. McGuire has dismissed a lawsuit from Patriot Enterprises of NY and Sphere Development LLC, two affiliated development companies from Cazenovia, seeking a court-ordered permit issuance.

The judge, in a 15-page decision received Thursday by the town, suggested that code officials "responded in a timely manner" to submissions from the developers and have not withheld a permit without cause.

"I'm just happy with the outcome," village and town Code Enforcement Officer Charles W. Stevens said. "It proves that we follow the rules and regs of the state."

Local code officials said they are continuing to work with the developer to collect information needed so a building permit can be issued as soon as possible.

Gregory S. Widrick, a managing partner at Sphere Development, could not be reached Friday afternoon for comment.

Sphere Development plans to construct a 124-by-150-foot store, with a fenced-in area in the rear for display of merchandise, on three acres of land at Number Four and Ross roads. Preliminary work on the project began in October, and it is tentatively scheduled for completion in March.

A few weeks ago Judge McGuire issued a temporary order requiring issuance of a limited building permit for foundation and asphalt work and assignment of an alternate code enforcement officer. Assistant Code Enforcement Officer Joseph J. Pfeiffer is now overseeing the project.

Mr. Pfeiffer likely will remain in that role, even though Judge McGuire's decision included a revocation of his temporary order.

"He knows more about it right now than I do," Mr. Stevens said.

The developers in the suit claimed that Mr. Stevens improperly withheld the permit, even after they had received conditional site plan approval Sept. 14 and submitted information they deemed sufficient.

The defense, handled by Village Attorney Mark G. Gebo, suggested that parts of the permit application lacked information required under state building codes.

Judge McGuire noted state law does not place time limits on a review and suggested that insufficient communication between the two parties had kept them from resolving any outstanding issues.

"Even had there been sufficient communication, it would be inappropriate for the court to take upon itself the administration of the Building Code," the judge wrote.

In another project development, the town and village Zoning Board of Appeals recently approved a variance allowing up to 248 square feet of sign space at the proposed store, clearing one potential hurdle.

While less than the developer's requested 270 square feet, that still allows for signs on two sides of the store and an 80-square-foot free-standing pylon sign, Mr. Stevens said.

Village zoning law restricts total square footage of signs on a commercial building to the length — in feet — of the structure's front.

Sphere Development officials argued the store could have up to 274 square feet of signs, since it would have a front on two roads. However, the ZBA ruled that only one side of the building constitutes its front, meaning developers had to seek a variance or settle for only 125 square feet of signs.