[Adopted 10-14-1974 by L.L. No. 4-1974 (Ch. 14 of the 1976
Code)]
The Village Board of Trustees of the Village of Lancaster shall
be authorized from time to time to promulgate and publish such rules
and regulations as it deems necessary to facilitate compliance with
Article 6 of the Public Officials Law, which said article is commonly
known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
The Village Board of Trustees of the Village of Lancaster hereby
designates, pursuant to the above-mentioned rules and regulations,
that the following records shall be available for public inspection
and copy, which records shall include the following information and
any additional records which the Village Board may designate from
time to time:
A.
Police Department records such as daily reports, arrests, accidents,
complaints, police blotter and booking records and miscellaneous reports
to the extent that said records are not determined by the Police Department
of the Village of Lancaster to be of a confidential nature.
B.
Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as
well as orders rendered by the Justice Court, the Assessor, the Planning
Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Building Inspector and/or
Plumbing Inspector of the Village of Lancaster.
C.
Any statements of policy and interpretation which have been adopted
by the Assessor, the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals,
the Clerk-Treasurer, the Building Inspector or the Plumbing Inspector
of the Department of Public Works of the Village of Lancaster.
D.
The minutes of any meetings held by the Village Board of Trustees,
the Assessor, the Planning Commission, the Board of Zoning Appeals,
the Building Inspector or the Plumbing Inspector of the Village of
Lancaster.
E.
Statistical or factual tabulations made by or for the Village of
Lancaster or any of its departments by the Department of Audit and
Control of the State of New York or any other auditors.
F.
Fire records as they may pertain to or be of interest to any member
of the public.
G.
Statistics and/or information pertaining to birth and death certificates
and copies thereof.
H.
Tax rolls, bills, water bills, assessments, budgets, payrolls, information
pertaining to Village bonded indebtedness, Village ordinances and
accounts payable and receivable of the Village of Lancaster.
The above-mentioned records, documents and information pertaining
to the Village of Lancaster may presently be found in the following
locations:
A.
Police Department records are in the custody of the Chief of Police
or Detective Lieutenant in the Municipal Building, 5423 Broadway,
Lancaster, New York.
B.
Fire Department records are in the custody of the Fire Chief, Municipal
Building, 5423 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
C.
Vital statistics, birth and death certificates are on file in the
office of the Village Registrar located at 15 Legion Parkway, Lancaster,
New York. Microfilm copies of all said information may be found in
the Village Clerk's office.
D.
[1]Legal documents, actions pending for and against the Village
of Lancaster, contracts, deeds and other miscellaneous legal documents
are on file in the office of the Village Attorney, Municipal Building,
5423 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
E.
Decisions and opinions issued by the Village Justice and Acting Village
Justice of the Village of Lancaster are on file in the office of the
Village Justice, Municipal Building, 5423 Broadway, Lancaster, New
York.
F.
Tax information, tax rolls, exemptions, property transfers, grievances
and disposition of the same are on file in the office of the Clerk-Treasurer,
Municipal Building, 5423 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
[Amended 10-30-1989 by L.L. No. 5-1989]
G.
Planning Commission information, Zoning Maps, records of recommendations
to the Village Board of Trustees and other miscellaneous information
pertaining to the Village of Lancaster Planning Commission are on
file in the office of the Chairman of the Planning Commission, Department
of Public Works, 5200 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
H.
Zoning appeals decisions of the Zoning Board of Appeals in regard
to variances requested are on file in the office of the Chairman of
the Zoning Board of Appeals, Department of Public Works Building,
5200 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
I.
Other miscellaneous documents, bills and assessments, tax rolls,
water bill assessments, budget records, minutes (the minutes of the
Board of Trustees of the Village of Lancaster), Zoning Board of Appeals
decisions, ordinances and local laws are on file with the Village
Clerk-Treasurer of the Village of Lancaster, Municipal Building, 5423
Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
J.
Building and plumbing permits are on file with the Building Inspector
and Plumbing Inspector respectively, in the Department of Public Works
Building, 5200 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
K.
Engineering diagrams and maps are on file in the office of the Superintendent
of the Department of Public Works, 5200 Broadway, Lancaster, New York.
The Village Clerk-Treasurer of the Village of Lancaster shall
be in charge of all records and documents presently belonging to the
Village of Lancaster and may from time to time arrange for the acquisition
of copies of said documents from the chairmen or department heads
who are responsible for the custody and daily use of said documents.
A.
Request for copy; time limit for response.
[Amended 6-25-1979 by L.L. No. 5-1979]
(1)
Any individual desiring to obtain a copy of any document or record
belonging to the Village of Lancaster shall make written request for
said document or record specifically identifying the document or record
which he wishes to procure from the Village Clerk-Treasurer of the
Village of Lancaster between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding any recognized legal holidays.
[Amended 11-17-2008 by L.L. No. 7-2008]
(2)
The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall respond to the written request
for a record which is reasonably described within five business days
of the receipt of such record by making the record available to the
person requesting it or shall deny such request in writing.
(3)
If for any reason more than five business days are required to produce
the records, the Village Clerk-Treasurer shall acknowledge receipt
of the request within five business days and include an estimate of
the date that the request will be granted or denied.
B.
The individual requiring the information in question will then, where
practicable, be referred to the appropriate Chairman or department
head who has custody of the records which the individual wishes to
examine.
C.
If, however, the individual desires copies of certain records, he
shall so advise the Village Clerk-Treasurer, who shall provide a copy
of such record and upon request certify that the copy is correct,
or upon failure to locate the records certify that he does not have
possession of such records or that the records cannot be found after
a diligent search.
[Amended 6-25-1979 by L.L. No. 5-1979]
D.
The above-mentioned photo copies or reproductions of any records
presently owned by the Village of Lancaster shall be rendered to individuals
requesting same upon payment in advance of the fee set forth below
within a reasonable period of time after requesting said information
from the Village Clerk-Treasurer of the Village of Lancaster.
E.
Appeals from denial.
[Added 6-25-1979 by L.L. No. 5-1979]
(1)
Any person denied access to a record may, within 30 days, appeal
in writing such denial to the head, chief executive or governing body
of the Village of Lancaster, or the person therefor designated by
such head, chief executive or governing body, who shall, within seven
business days of the receipt of such appeal, fully explain in writing
to the person requesting the record the reasons for further denial
or provide access to the record sought. In addition, each agency shall
immediately forward to the Committee on Public Access to Records a
copy of such appeal and the determination thereon:
Committee on Public Access to Records
Department of State
162 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12231
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(2)
A final determination of access to a requested record, as provided
for above, shall be subject to Court review, as provided for in Article
78 of the Civil Practice Laws and Rules.
A.
To the extent that an individual will require copies of the Village
of Lancaster ordinances, plumbing ordinances, zoning ordinances or
the like upon which there has been established a set fee, that fee
shall be charged to the individual in question upon the procurement
of the desired ordinances.
B.
To the extent that the established fee has been set by local law, ordinance or the like, the individual desiring the records in question shall pay to the Village Clerk-Treasurer well in advance, the sum as provided in Chapter 144, Fees, of the Code of the Village of Lancaster, for each page of records or documents to be reproduced and any additional fee which may be authorized or allowed by other statutes of the State of New York.
[Amended 6-29-1976 by L.L. No. 11-1976; 12-27-1976 by L.L. No.
23-1976]
The Village Board of the Village of Lancaster shall from time
to time have the authority to amend or modify the above-mentioned
regulations by resolutions by adding to the list of documents covered
by said regulations or by amending the regulations and charge fees
applicable to procurement of said documents in a manner which the
Village Board feels to be in the best interest of the public in general.
[Added 6-25-1979 by L.L. No. 5-1979; 4-26-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2021]
If any provision of Article I of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of Article I or the application thereof to other persons and circumstances.