FORESTBURGH — The Town of Forestburgh issued a response to the public and press, as well as an official response to a letter of concern from New York’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) regarding the town’s rezoning ordinance known as Local Law 3 of 2023 (LL3).

Town Supervisor Dan Hogue Jr. said that the Attorney General’s letter “seriously mischaracterized” and “misled a wide variety of media outlets and others.” He went on to say that language from a press release from OAG had been disseminated, rather than language from the Attorney General’s letter, which requested the Town review the matter.

The letter from the OAG addressed to town officials  asked the town to review its zoning laws in relation to LL3, and noted concerns of the ordinance’s lawfulness in conjunction with Federal and state discrimination laws. The OAG highlighted three main points, which include; the severe minimum acreage requirements for places of worship is higher than secular locations, state and Federal law have prohibited against restrictions on religious use and took concern with Forestburgh’s compliance with Open Meetings Law (OML).

“We request that you promptly review Local Law 3 and make any amendments needed to comport with state and federal law. We further ask that you provide our office with any proposed amendments resulting from your review before their enactment,” concluded the OAG letter penned by Jill F. Faber, Chief Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs.

Representing the town is Harris Beach PLLC attorney, Javid Afzali, who wrote the town’s response to Faber and the OAG, saying that their “conclusions of law appear to be based on a selective or incorrect factual record.”

“The Town unequivocally rejects your contention that it “discriminates against Jewish New Yorkers” through its adoption of LL3. Moreover, the Town fully understands the scope of the OML and its obligations thereunder, and the Town has and will continue to fully comply with all applicable provisions of the OML.”

Afzali continues on, noting that LL3 does not exclude places of worship in any zoning district, does not place onerous requirements on religious uses and has no material impact on religious uses when compared to prior zoning. He also argued that the town does indeed comply with OML.

In a show of solidarity with their response, the Town Board unanimously passed a resolution to restate and confirm that regardless of LL3 the resort project [Lost Lakes Resort] is and continues to remain subject to a number of past standing amendments to the town’s zoning laws.