A commission is hereby created which shall be known as the "Great Neck
Estates Commission for Conservation of the Environment."
The Chairman of the Commission shall be designated by the Village Board.
At the organizational meeting of the Commission, its members shall elect from
among themselves a Recording Secretary, who shall serve until a successor
has been elected at the next annual organizational meeting. In addition to
its regular meetings, the Commission shall hold an annual organizational meeting,
at which time it shall elect a secretary, adopt rules and procedures for its
meetings and conduct such other business as it may deem proper and necessary.
It shall keep accurate records of its meetings and activities and shall file
an annual report as hereinafter provided in this chapter.
The powers and duties of the Commission shall be as follows:
A. Advise the Village Board of Trustees on matters affecting
the preservation, development and use of natural and man-made features and
conditions of the Village with respect to beauty, quality and environmental
factors.
B. Conduct a program of public information in the community
designed to increase understanding of the nature of environmental problems
and suggested solutions.
C. Conduct such studies, surveys and inventories of natural
and man-made features within the Village as may be necessary to carry out
the general purposes of this chapter.
D. Maintain an up-to-date inventory or index of all open
spaces in public or private ownership within the Village, including but not
limited to natural landmarks, physiographic features, streams, swamps, marshlands,
wetlands, biotic communities and scenic or other open areas of ecological
value so as to provide a base of information for recommendations by the Commission
for their preservation and/or use.
E. Seek out and encourage persons to make gifts, grants,
conveyances, devises, bequests or otherwise, of real or personal property,
to the Village of Great Neck Estates for the purpose of conservation and utilization
of open spaces, land and water resources within the Village.
F. Carry out such other duties as may be designated from
time to time by the Village Board of Trustees.
The Commission shall submit an annual written report to the Village
Board of Trustees, not later than the first day of March of each year, concerning
the activities and work of the Commission; and from time to time it shall
submit such reports and recommendations as may be necessary to fulfill the
intention and purposes of this chapter.
The members of the Commission shall receive no compensation for their
services as members thereof. However, reasonable and necessary expenses may
be incurred by the Commission only after they have been submitted to the Village
Board of Trustees for authorization and approval. Thereafter, payment shall
be made upon the presentation to the Board of proper vouchers.
This chapter shall be deemed an exercise of the powers of the authority
of the Incorporated Village of Great Neck Estates to preserve and improve
the quality of the natural and man-made environment on behalf of the present
and future inhabitants thereof. This chapter is not intended and shall not
be deemed to in anywise limit or impair the powers of the Board of Trustees
or any other public corporation.