New York landowner sues village over 50-foot strip that left his 50 acres landlocked and worthless

A landowner is suing the Village of Sloatsburg, New York, after local officials blocked vehicles from using a 50-foot-wide strip that had provided access to roughly 50 acres of property for more than four decades. Ramapo Fields, LLC, claims the village’s zoning decision effectively cut off the only route to its larger parcel, leaving the land undevelopable and potentially worthless. According to Rockland County Business Journal, the dispute centres on whether vehicle access should be treated as a separate land use under the village’s zoning code. The company is asking the court to overturn the decision, prevent enforcement and award damages for the alleged loss in property value.The strip at the centre of the disputeRamapo Fields owns three parcels with a combined area of about 50 acres. The larger parcel, measuring approximately 48 acres, lies in the Town of Ramapo near the border with Sloatsburg. The property is landlocked, meaning it does not have an independent route connecting it to a public road.For more than 40 years, vehicles and commercial trucks reached the larger tract through a 50-foot-wide strip of land connected to Sterling Mine Road. The strip is located within the V...