Exterior work on historic Sage Hall may now proceed without restraint, thanks to a unanimous decision by the Appellate Division of Third Department of the New York State Supreme Court on June 14.
The Heritage Coalition Inc. of Syracuse, a preservation group, and local resident Barbara Ebert had argued that two city of Ithaca boards -- the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Planning and Development Board -- acted improperly when they granted Cornell permission to renovate and save the 123-year-old Sage Hall from deterioration. Sage is to become the new home of the university's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. It must meet strict standards for renovation because it was declared a local landmark in 1990.
The appellate ruling upholds a lower-court decision in March by State Supreme Court Justice Philip Rumsey, who dismissed the suit for "lack of standing" by either the coalition or Ebert.
"The Supreme Court's opinion added that, even if the petitioners had standing, neither city board had acted improperly," said Shirley K. Egan, associate university counsel, who represented Cornell in the case.
Both Ebert and the coalition appealed the Rumsey decision and requested a preliminary injunction pending appeal. The preliminary injunction, granted April 10, halted exterior work on Sage Hall until the appellate division could issue its ruling in the case. The university's motion for an expedited appeal was granted, and written arguments from the petitioners, the city and the university were submitted in late April and early May.
The case was heard on June 4, with Egan arguing on behalf of the university. In a three-page ruling, the appellate division unanimously affirmed the lower court's ruling that the Heritage Coalition and Ebert did not have legal standing to bring the action.
Preliminary site work and asbestos removal were not affected by the injunction and have proceeded. Exterior work is slated to begin later this month, and construction is scheduled for completion in summer 1998.