Village of Lowville, NY Zoning Board of Appeals Bylaws

Appointments to the Board are made by the Village Board of Trustees.

The Board consists of five voting members and may contain two alternate members.

The term of each member is five years, with the alternate members being appointed for a term of three years.

(4)

When there is a permanent vacancy, the Village Board of Trustees shall appoint a person to serve for the unexpired term, as soon as possible.

(5)

Any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals may be removed for cause in accordance with these bylaws.

(6)

Appointees must be legal residents of the Village of Lowville when appointed and while serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Zoning Board of Appeals members have an obligation to attend regular monthly meetings and special meetings. A vacancy shall be declared whenever a member is absent for two consecutive meetings without appropriate excuse, or whenever a member absents himself or herself for more than 30% of the meetings in a calendar year without appropriate excuse.

Payment of a set amount, determined by the Board of Trustees, will be made for attendance of meetings. Payment is made on a bi-yearly basis, typically January and July.

Zoning Board of Appeals members shall meet the minimum annual hourly requirements and obtain certified training in accordance to the standards set by the Village Board to qualify for membership on the Board and reappointment. (See § A232-6, Training requirements.)

Reimbursement will be made for training courses for up to four hours of education.

Reimbursement will be made for attending one training course equal to the amount paid for attending a meeting.

Vacancies.

Should any vacancy occur among the members of the Zoning Board of Appeals by reason of death, resignation, disability or otherwise, immediate notice thereof shall be given to the appropriate Village Clerk by the Chairperson of the Board. Should such vacancy occur among the officers of the Board, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Village Board of Trustees as soon as possible, the officer so elected to serve the unexpired term of the office in which such vacancy occurred.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may make recommendations regarding the vacancy to the Village Board of Trustees for consideration for appointment to a vacancy. If such recommendations are made on behalf of the Zoning Board of Appeals, appointments shall be made only after an affirmative vote thereon. This does not prohibit individual members of the Board from recommending individual preferences to fill vacancies.

Removal.

Any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals may be removed for cause at a meeting of the Village Board of Trustees at any time; provided, however, that before any such removal, such member shall be given an opportunity to respond to allegations of such cause in writing to the Village Board of Trustees and at a hearing before said Board as hereinafter provided. Cause for removal of a member shall include:

Any undisclosed or unlawful conflict of interest.

Any violation of the codes, ordinances or rules applicable to the member's performance of his or her duties.

Failure to complete the training requirements.

Failure to attend meetings in accordance with these bylaws.

Notice and hearing.

A notice stipulating the reasons for removal of a Zoning Board of Appeals member pursuant to this article shall be given to the Zoning Board of Appeals member scheduled for removal 10 days prior to such removal.

Removal of a Zoning Board of Appeals member from the Zoning Board of Appeals will be effective 10 days after notice is given to the Zoning Board of Appeals member scheduled for removal unless such Zoning Board of Appeals member requests a hearing before a meeting of the Village Board of Trustees to contest the removal. The request for a hearing shall be directed to the Village Mayor and filed with the Village Clerk.

A hearing request pursuant to this article will be held at a special meeting of the Village Board of Trustees following such request. The decision of the Board at said hearing will be final and effective as of the date of the decision or 10 days after notice of the Zoning Board of Appeals member, whichever is later.

§ A232-2 Officers and their duties.

The officers shall be a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.

The Chairperson of the Board shall be appointed by resolution of the Village Board of Trustees from amongst the appointed members, and such officers shall be appointed at the first meeting of the Village Board of Trustees in January.

The duties of the officers shall be as follows:

Chairperson.

To preside at all meetings.

To call special meeting in accordance with these bylaws.

To sign, together with the administrative support personnel, all official documents of the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with the requirements of these bylaws.

To see that all reports, documents, and actions of the Zoning Board of Appeals are properly made, executed, filed or taken, as the case may be, in accordance with law and actions and regulations of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

(e)

To serve as liaison to the Lowville Village Board of Trustees.

Vice-Chairperson.

During the absence, disability or disqualification of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall perform all the duties, exercise the powers and be subject to all the responsibilities of the Chairperson.

Administrative support.

Such support may be provided by the Village Clerk's Office or other separately hired staff at the Village Board of Trustee's discretion.

Shall be responsible for minutes of all meetings before being presented to the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval. Minutes shall be type-written, signed and submitted to the Code Enforcement Office for filing within 10 business days in accordance with New York State law.

Assure the Zoning Board of Appeals that all notices required by law or by the bylaws are served, posted, or advertised as required by law.

To affix to any official document of this Zoning Board of Appeals the official signature hereof whenever the same shall be required by law or regulations of the Board.

(e)

Shall sign all minutes after their preparation and at the end of each year and shall certify that all minutes of the proceeding minutes are true and correct copy of the same.

(f)

Previous meeting minutes and proposed agenda for the future meeting be available to Board members seven days prior to scheduled meeting.

§ A232-3 Administrative support duties.

The Administrative Support Staff shall perform such duties listed below but not limited to:

Administrative support to the Board and its Chairperson.

Shall supervise all clerical work of the Board, including:

All correspondence of the Board.

Publishing, posting, advertising, and mailing all notices required by law and these bylaws.

Receive all applications, petitions and related plans submitted to the Board.

Maintain all files and indexes.

(e)

Shall cause each member to be notified of the time, date and place for each meeting.

(f)

Shall provide each member applications, petitions, related plans and information necessary and in accordance to law, before any regular or special meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

§ A232-4 Alternate members.

The Village Board shall, at its discretion, appoint up to two alternate members.

Alternate members may attend all meetings and participate in the proceedings, but may vote only when designated by the Chairperson to sit for a member.

When a member is unable to participate for any reason, the Chairperson shall designate an alternate member to act for the regular member until the action is decided.

Alternate members shall receive the same compensation as other Zoning Board of Appeals members for any and all meetings which require their services as stipulated by these bylaws.

Alternate members shall serve a three-year term to be staggered if members are appointed in any one fiscal year.

§ A232-5 Meetings.

A schedule of Zoning Board of Appeals meetings shall be posted yearly at the Village Municipal Building.

Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson, or by any three members, on three days' written notice to each member, or shorter notices may be waived by a motion of a majority of the Board voting prior to conducting any business of the Board of a special meeting. Notification of special meetings may be supplied via electronic mail and/or telephone.

A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members who are eligible to vote for any regular or special meeting.

All members shall have equal voting rights.

The following shall be the order of business of meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals:

Roll call.

Communications and reports.

Public hearings, if necessary.

(4)

Unfinished business.

(5)

New business.

(6)

Reading and approval of minutes of previous meetings.

(7)

Preliminary agenda for the next succeeding meeting based on unfinished business or other items per the Chair.

(8)

Adjournment.

Except where these rules and regulations otherwise provide, Robert's Rules of Order, as revised, shall govern. All meetings shall be conducted pursuant to the New York State Open Meetings Law; including regular, annual and special meetings. Executive meetings shall be conducted pursuant to § 105 of the Open Meetings Law.

In the case of a referral made to the County Planning Department in accordance with New York Law 239-m, "Extraordinary vote upon recommendation of modification or disapproval. If such county planning agency or regional planning council recommends modification or disapproval of a proposed action, the referring body shall not act contrary to such recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof."

No official business shall be conducted without a quorum present. A quorum consists of three members, including any appointed alternates, present and voting. It does not include anyone who cannot participate due to a conflict of interest, as defined in these bylaws or state or local law.

To pass a motion, a majority of the full Board is required to pass a motion, except where required by a supermajority.

All applications to be reviewed must be received 10 days prior to the scheduled meeting date.

All meetings shall be adjourned no later than 10:30 p.m. except with agreement of the majority of the Board.

Work sessions.

With approval of the majority of the Board, work sessions may be called to consider amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance, Site Plan and Subdivision Regulations, bylaws and other items related to the Zoning Board of Appeals' activities.

Work sessions shall be open to the public. The public is not permitted to address the Board at work sessions except with permission of the Board.

Executive session.

The Zoning Board of Appeals may meet in executive session upon vote of 3/5 of the members present and voting.

Executive sessions shall be held only for purposes expressly authorized by state law. No other matters shall be considered in any session.

§ A232-6 Training requirements.

The Village Board of Trustees have enacted by resolution New York State training required by Chapter 662 of the Laws of 2006 which shall include:

Training is or may be provided by a municipality, county planning office, state agency, college, or other similar entity by, but not limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning or classroom training or other such training as approved by the Village Board of Trustees.

Shall require that Zoning Board of Appeals members appointed by the Lowville Village Board of Trustees shall complete a minimum of four hours of training each year.