JUDGE SET TO RULE ON PETITIONS PROPERTY ISSUE STILL UNRESOLVED.(Local)

Byline: Michael Gormley Staff writer

The constitutional question of whether Colonie's Town Board can make property ownership a criterion for signing petitions may be decided today.

For now.

State Supreme Court Justice Harold J. Hughes said Wednesday that he will announce his ruling today, the sixth day of a court hearing in which the all- Republican board is challenging a Democrat-organized petition. The petition, if upheld by Hughes, would force a mid-October referendum on a $17.5 million capital project approved by the board.

Either side, however, could appeal Hughes' decision to the Supreme Court's Appellate Division.

Arguments …