A.
Application form. Applications required under this chapter must be
submitted in a form and in such numbers as outlined. The Office of
the Village Clerk shall provide checklists of application submittal
requirements and make those checklists available to the public. Application
forms and checklists of required submittal information are available
in the Village Office.
B.
Review boards. For the purposes of this chapter the terms "reviewing
board" or "review board" shall refer to the Village board, commission,
or committee charged with review and/or approval authority as enacted
under this chapter.
C.
Violations prohibited. No applications provided for by this chapter
or otherwise provided for by any local law of the Village of Hamburg
shall be accepted or processed with regard to any building, structure,
premises, property, or use that is in violation of this chapter or
any other section of the Village Code or local law of the Village
of Hamburg. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the CEO for
applications intended to remedy any violation.
A.
Prior to submitting a formal application, it is recommended that
applicant request a sketch plan meeting with the reviewing board to
discuss the project and determine the procedure for moving forward
with an application.
B.
The purpose of the sketch plan meeting is to provide the applicant
with the opportunity to seek nonbinding, advisory direction from the
Village to better prepare the applicant and application for the review
process.
C.
A sketch plan meeting may occur at any scheduled meeting of the reviewing
board. Any comment provided by the reviewing board shall not be construed
as a formal decision or be legally binding in any way.
D.
Materials presented as part of a sketch plan may be incomplete and/or
conceptual in design. A formal application is required for official
review and approval of the project.
A.
Applications where required by this chapter shall be submitted to
the CEO.
B.
Only the property owner or their agent, with legally binding and
written permission of the owner, may file an application. Where there
are multiple land owners, a written consent agreement among all land
owners must be included within the application.
C.
At least four hard copies and one electronic copy of the required
materials shall be provided.
D.
Applications must be submitted to the CEO at least two weeks prior
to the meeting at which the applicant wishes to be considered.
A.
The CEO shall indicate that an application is considered accepted
and ready for processing only if it is submitted in the required number
and form, includes all required materials, and is accompanied by the
required application fee.
B.
The acceptance of an application by the CEO shall in no way be interpreted
as a determination of the completeness, adequacy, or accuracy of application
materials, but rather serve as an acknowledgement to the receipt of
required application materials. The CEO may consult with other Village
departments, officials, boards, committees, or consultants in making
such a determination.
C.
If an application is determined to be inadequate, the CEO must provide
paper or electronic written notice to the applicant along with an
explanation of all known deficiencies that will prevent competent
review. No further processing will occur until the deficiencies are
corrected. If the deficiencies are not corrected within 62 days, the
application will be considered withdrawn.
D.
No further processing of inadequate applications will occur; applications
will be pulled from the processing cycle. When the deficiencies are
corrected, the application will be placed in the next available processing
cycle.
A.
Issuance of decision.
(1)
Within 62 days following the close of the public hearing, where
required, the reviewing board shall issue a decision by majority vote.
(2)
The reviewing board may vote to approve, approve with conditions
or modifications, or deny the application.
(3)
Prior to issuing a decision on an accepted application, the
reviewing board shall by resolution determine the application to be
complete, noting any waived or additional required application materials.
B.
Written findings. Decisions shall contain written findings explaining
the rationale for the decisions considering the standards contained
in this chapter. Such decision may be amended from time to time to
add additional findings of fact.
C.
Filing of decision. A copy of the decision shall be filed in the
Village Clerk's Office and mailed to the applicant within five
days of the date of decision.
D.
Waiving application requirements. The reviewing board is authorized
to waive, in whole or in part, any of the application requirements
if one or more of the following is determined by the review board
chairperson that:
(1)
Any such requirement or part thereof is found not to be requisite
in the interest of the public health, safety, or general welfare;
(2)
Any such requirement is inappropriate or unrelated to the application;
or
(3)
Any such requirement will not mitigate adverse impacts generated
by the proposed project or will not aid in the buffering of dissimilar
uses.
E.
Additional application requirements. The reviewing board may require
additional information not listed herein be submitted as part of an
application if such additional material is deemed necessary for a
complete and adequate review. Upon request these materials shall be
presented in graphic form accompanied by a written text and/or prepared
by a licensed professional.
To aid in the review of development applications as required
by this chapter, the reviewing board may consult the following documents,
including any amendments or updates made thereto, in addition to the
regulations of this chapter and the Village of Hamburg Code.
A.
Internal referral. The reviewing board may refer any application
to another Village board, committee, department, or official for review
and comment. Within 30 days of referral, the receiving board or official
shall submit its recommendation in writing with a summary of findings
to the reviewing board.
B.
Professional referral. The reviewing board may seek the opinion of
any legal, engineer, design, or other professional to aid in the review
of an application. Any such costs incurred as a result of seeking
professional aid shall be reimbursed by the applicant.
C.
County referral.
(1)
The Village shall refer all materials to the Erie County Planning
Department pursuant to New York State General Municipal Law, as amended.
This shall include, but is not limited to any application affecting
the following:
(a)
Real property within 500 feet of the boundary of an adjacent
municipality;
(b)
The boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park
or other recreational area;
(c)
The boundary of any existing or proposed county or state roadway;
(d)
The boundary of any existing or proposed right-of-way for a
stream or drainage channel owned by the county for which the county
has established channel lines;
(e)
The boundary of any existing or proposed county- or state-owned
land; or
(f)
The boundary of a farm operation within an agricultural district
as defined in Article 25AA of the New York State Agriculture and Markets
Law.
(2)
No action shall be taken on applications referred to the County
Planning Department until its recommendation has been received, or
until 30 days have elapsed after the county's receipt of the
application, unless the county and Village agree to an extension beyond
the thirty-day requirement.
(3)
A majority plus one vote of the review board, otherwise known
as a super majority, shall be required to grant any application approval
that receives a recommendation of disapproval from the county. A resolution
must also be filed setting forth the reasons for such contrary action.
A.
Expiration. The approval of an application shall expire if one of
any of the following occur:
(1)
The approved use or uses cease operation for more than one year
for any reason;
(2)
The applicant fails to obtain necessary building permits or
certificates of occupancy within one year of the approval date;
(3)
The applicant fails to comply with the conditions of the application's
approval within one year of the date of issuance or completion of
construction, where applicable;
(4)
The applicant fails to initiate construction within one year
of the approval date;
(5)
The applicant fails to complete construction within three years
of the approval date; or
(6)
The applicant fails to renew a time limited permit prior to
the stated time period ending.
B.
Extensions. The reviewing board may grant an extension for any condition in Subsection A upon written request by the applicant. The applicant shall include in such request the desired time period for the extension, not to exceed one year, and the reasoning for requesting the extension.
C.
Revocation. The reviewing board may revoke approval if the applicant
violates the conditions of the approval or engages in any construction
or alteration not authorized by the approval.
D.
Enforcement. Any violation of the conditions of approval shall be
deemed a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to enforcement
action as provided herein.
The review and approval of all applications shall comply with
the provisions of SEQRA under Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation
Law and its implementing regulations. Where requirements of this chapter
may come in conflict with SEQRA law, the state regulations shall take
precedence.
