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New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Town Law § 281 (2026)

Municipal improvements in streets

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 281. Municipal improvements in streets. No public municipal street
utility or improvement shall be constructed by the town in any street or
highway within that part of the town outside the limits of any
incorporated city or village until it has become a public street or
highway and is duly placed on the official map or plan, provided,
however, that subject to the discretion of the town board, a subsurface
utility or improvement operated for revenue by the town or by a special
district may be constructed by the town in a private street, provided a
public easement satisfactory to the town board is obtained for such
utility or improvement.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases, 1985–1993 · leading case: Friends of Shawangunks, Inc. v. Knowlton, 476 N.E.2d 988 (NY 1985).
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Friends of Shawangunks, Inc. v. Knowlton, 476 N.E.2d 988 (NY 1985). · cites it 13× “A conservation easement is not an “applicable requirement” within the meaning of Town Law § 281 (b), and nothing in the Town Law or the Environmental Conservation Law forecloses the owner of the fee under land thus burdened from using it as open area required under the cluster…”
Bayswater Realty & Capital Corp. v. Plan. Bd., 560 N.E.2d 1300 (NY 1990). · cites it 7× “ot so limited and that — provided it makes the determinations called for by Town Law § 277 (1) to the effect that additional recreational land is, in fact, needed in the town and that such need will not be met by open lands created within the plat itself— the Board may demand…”
Ahearn v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Shawangunk, 158 A.D.2d 801 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990). · cites it 6× “Petitioner contends that the Board and respondent Planning Board of the Town of Shawangunk (hereinafter collectively referred to as respondents) erred in ignoring the density restriction contained in Town Law § 281 (b). It has been said that Town Law § 281 is "a statute enacted…”
Bayswater Realty & Capital Corp. v. Plan. Bd. of Lewisboro, 149 A.D.2d 49 (N.Y. App. Div. 1989). · cites it 6× “Thereafter,, the petitioner filed a proposed cluster plat pursuant to Town Law § 281 which contained 115 lots and approximately 60 acres of open space.”
Suffolk Hous. Servs. v. Town of Brookhaven, 109 A.D.2d 323 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985). · cites it 3× “It also allows for cluster developments as provided by Town Law § 281, and for four different types of multifamily developments, designated “MF-1”, “MF-2”, “PRC” and “PRC-3”.”
Ellington Constr. Corp. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Inc. Vill. of New Hempstead, 566 N.E.2d 128 (NY 1990). “I On April 29, 1975, the Town of Ramapo Planning Board accepted for filing petitioner’s "average density” subdivision plat (see, Town Law § 281). As a condition of its "average density” approval, the town required that 12.”
Done Holding Co. v. State, 144 A.D.2d 528 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988). · cites it 3× “The evidence amply supports the determination that the highest and best use of the subject parcel, a property comprised largely of wetlands, would be a cluster-type development pursuant to Town Law § 281. The State of New York failed to establish the existence of any ordinance…”
Moriarty v. Plan. Bd. of Vill. of Sloatsburg, 119 A.D.2d 188 (N.Y. App. Div. 1986). “Nor may a Planning Board exceed its power to vary zoning regulations under Town Law § 281 by demanding conveyance of land for park use.”
SRW Assocs. v. Bellport Beach Prop. Owners, 14 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1493 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). “The plaintiff SRW Associates, the owner of an undeveloped parcel of real property located in East Patchogue, submitted an application to the Planning Board of the Town of Brookhaven to cluster develop the parcel pursuant to Town Law § 281. The Planning Board approved the…”
Casement v. Town of Poughkeepsie Plan. Bd., 162 A.D.2d 685 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990). “The petitioner’s second cause of action sought, inter alia, a declaration to the effect that Town Law § 281 does not authorize condominium development and is limited to subdivision *687 application.”
Ellington Constr. Corp. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of the Inc., 152 A.D.2d 365 (N.Y. App. Div. 1989). “The subdivision application was for average density zoning pursuant to Town Law § 281, which, at that time, permitted the construction of 31 single-family residences on lots having a minimum area of 22,500 square feet.”
Suffolk Hous. v. Town of Brookhaven, 511 N.E.2d 67 (NY 1987). “Thus, under the Brookhaven zoning scheme, a developer may apply for permission to "cluster” developments in single-family residential districts ("the section 281” application) (see, Town Law § 281). Only after a public hearing may the Town Board by resolution grant the developer…”
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