Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
Plans to renovate and expand the fire station in the Village of Fayetteville, NY ran into some unanticipated legal difficulties last week when two Fayetteville residents filed a lawsuit contending that the expansion would violate certain restrictive covenants in the deed to the property.
In June 2009 village residents approved a proposal to renovate the station. Officials say the upgrades are necessary to provide room for EMS vehicles and equipment. The plans call for tearing down part of the existing station and building a new, larger emergency medical services wing. The cost of the renovations is budgeted at $6.45 million.
The property is owned by the Central School District, and according to the lawsuit the deed restriction prohibits its use as a parking lot or garage unless it is built underground. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to block the renovations until the deed restrictions are properly modified.
Exactly why the plaintiffs’ feel compelled to take enforcement of the covenants into their own hands remains unclear. Perhaps they are folks who like to see deed restrictions honored – perhaps they have a personal stake in the matter, but the challenge is just one of many legal roadblocks that get thrown in front of fire departments from time to time.
