AMHERST
Effort to shut Amherst auto shop rejected
Published: November 20, 2009, 12:30 am
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A judge Thursday refused to close down a collision shop on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst, rejecting environmental complaints from the owner of a nearby day care center.
The Doodle Bugs day care center had sought a preliminary injunction against Carstar Collision of Amherst, a 14-employee business that opened Nov. 10.
State Supreme Court Justice Diane Y. Devlin, who heard arguments last Friday, determined that air-quality complaints lodged against Carstar were “highly speculative” and not based “in fact.” The complaint was lodged by attorneys for the day care center at 100 North French Road, across the street from Carstar.
Doodle Bugs attorneys Marc
A. Romanowski and Sunil Bakshi said they are weighing a possible appeal.
Carstar attorneys David G. Boniello, Jeffery Palumbo and Christopher A. Cardillo said the repair shop, owned by David Snell, is located in an old car dealership and called it one of the most-regulated businesses in the area.
Devlin ruled that Doodle Bugs attorneys “failed to demonstrate any harm” the repair shop might cause to the children or employees of the nearby day care center or nearby homeowners.
During the Nov. 13 court hearing, Romanowski and Bakshi argued that neither the state Department of Environmental Conservation nor the Amherst Town Board performed the necessary environmental quality review before giving Snell the green light for his venture.
Snell’s attorneys argued that the town took the legally required “hard look” at the body shop and that the state agency found its operating plans do not pose a health hazard from paint fumes.
mgryta@buffnews.com
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