Brighton Grassroots, a community group opposing the size of the Whole Foods Plaza development project, won a major court victory this afternoon. The Appellate Division reinstated the claims brought by Brighton Grassroots alleging that the Town of Brighton violated State law by providing an easement to the project developer without following all of the necessary steps and procedures. The transfer of the easements required the town to receive approval from the State legislature, which it failed to obtain. The transfer also should have been subject to a permissive referendum, allowing the public to have a vote. The town failed to do this as well.

Today’s victory revives two of the most significant portions of Brighton Grassroots’s claims against the town in this lawsuit. Moreover, it gives the community group significant momentum in the subsequent lawsuits yet to be decided.

“We are thrilled with this ruling! It confirms what we’ve been warning everyone about since day one - that the town has consistently failed to follow the law, while rewarding a deep pocketed and politically connected developer,” said Howie Jacobson, President of Brighton Grassroots. “We continue to call on the town to make the developer go back and do this the right way through the standard zoning process.”

‍