After four weeks of deliberation, Supreme Court Justice Frank Williams dismissed the third appeal by landowners to overturn the decision by the Town of Ballston to ban construction of a Wal-Mart.
Frank and Rose Marie Rossi, and their daughter Gina Rossi Marozzi, all of Ballston Spa, have petitioned the courts three times since the Ballston town board voted to disallow the mega-center’s move into the northern end of town.
The Rossis have sought to nullify the board’s decision based on challenges against town zoning changes, attesting their usage for the land was approved before the zoning laws were changed. The Rossi family incurred out-of-pocket expenses totaling close to $1 million preparing the land for the construction, including water and sewer line installation and inspection fees.
In his ruling, released Friday, Judge Williams stated Wal-Mart failed to file a petition against Ballston for rewriting its zoning laws, and the Rossis, as the lawsuit’s petitioners, were not the applicants for the building project, and therefore had no legal leg to stand on.
This is the worst decision I’ve ever read, said Gina Marozzi Saturday of Judge William’s brief two-page narrative.
`How he could say we have no standing is way beyond me. This is the most political decision I’ve ever seen. He’s a Republican judge in Saratoga County, so I half expected this.`
Read more in the March 8 edition of the Burnt Hills Spotlight. “