Westchester County is engaging in “total obstructionism” instead of complying with the terms of a federal consent decree to build more affordable housing in the affluent county and implement fairer housing regulations, a federal appeals court said April 28.

“The county would be well-advised to stop making excuses, and to complete its obligations under the consent decree with diligence and dispatch,” said Judges Guido Calabresi, Denny Chin and Raymond Lohier of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a terse, seven-page order affirming decisions by a district court.

The panel's decision came one week after it heard oral arguments in United States v. Westchester County, 16-2540-cv, and is the latest development in an 11-year court battle regarding the county's fair housing practices.