Site now used for b us parking lot. Enopac Holding LLC, which since 1995 operated a parking lot for 150- 180 school buses on its property located at 6055 -6065 Strickland Avenue in Brooklyn, sought a use variance from the BSA to allow the construction of six mini-storage buildings on the property. Although the site historically contained several heavy and light industrial uses, including a waste treatment facility, the City rezoned the area in 1996 to residential R3-1.

BSA denied the variance, finding that six large garage buildings would be extremely detrimental to a proposed adjacent development of 52 semi-detached homes, and would permanently change the character of the residentially- zoned neighborhood. BSA rejected consideration of Enopac’s claim that the 52-unit construction, due to high remediation costs, would be abandoned. BSA also found that, although the parking lot pre-existed the rezoning, it was less permanent than the six proposed structures.

Enopac filed an article 78 petition, seeking to vacate BSA’s decision, but Justice Edward Lehner upheld BSA’s decision, stressing that the court’s review was limited solely to whether BSA was arbitrary in its decision. Justice Lehner ruled that the BSA’s conclusion was not arbitrary. The court noted, however, that the mini-storage use seemed less offensive to adjacent residential uses than a large bus parking lot and that in the court’s opinion six new buildings did not seem more permanent than a surface parking lot.

In re Enopac Holding UC v. BSA, N.Y.L.J., Oct. 15, 2004 at 23, (N.Y.Cty.Sup.Ct.) (Lehner, J.) (Deidre Carson, Jay Segal, Greenberg Traurig LLP, for Enopac) ;BSA Cal. No. 2Bl -99-BZ (April 27, 2004)(6055 Strickland Ave, BK) .