Whether Frost Ridge Campground can continue hosting live music concerts is a matter for the Town of Le Roy Zoning Board of Appeals to decide, Judge Robert C. Noonan ruled today.
In an order issued this afternoon, Noonan said that the ZBA has sole authority to make the decision, and insofar as a prior finding by the ZBA that concerts were a prior, non-conforming use was legally flawed, it's still up to the ZBA, not the courts, to make the determination.
The failure of the ZBA to properly issue public notice of a hearing on concerts at Frost Ridge on Sept. 25, 2013, does not affect their underlying authority to make the determination, Noonan said.
In short, Noonan recommends that Frost Ridge make a proper application, but with or without the application, the ZBA must hold a properly noticed public hearing and reach a properly recorded decision.
It's only after that process has been correctly executed that a court can weigh evidence and determine whether a plaintiff has any basis to overturn the decision, according to Noonan's ruling.
The autumn of 2013 finding by the ZBA has been a key point of contention in the pair of lawsuits filed by the Town of Le Roy and the Cleere/Collins family against Frost Ridge.
Board members reportedly reached a unanimous decision favoring live music at Frost Ridge, finding the use was grandfathered in because live music and amplified music at the recreational area pre-dated the creation of a residential-agricultural zone in that part of Le Roy.
The Cleere/Collins attorney sought to get the ZBA decision voided and foreclosed, bringing the campground's concert series "Jam at the Ridge" to an end.
Noonan wrote that case law establishes that a court must stay its hand until the proper agency has applied its expertise to the salient questions of the regulatory scheme.
That hasn't happened yet in the case of Frost Ridge.
Noonan's decision leaves the future of live music up to a ZBA board that has shown prior support for live, amplified music at Frost Ridge.
Pending a final ZBA determination, Noonan's modified order -- limiting but allowing concerts at Frost Ridge -- remains in effect, unless the Cleere and Collins families deposit $225,000 into an escrow account to protect the Frost Ridge owners against damages should they eventually succeed in the legal proceedings.
