[Adopted by the Zoning Board of Appeals 8-1-2006]
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Maine hereby adopts and approves the following general rules for the Town of Maine Zoning Board of Appeals.
A. 
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Maine shall be governed by the provisions of all applicable state statutes, local rules, ordinances and these rules.
B. 
The term "Board" as used in these rules shall mean the duly appointed Board of Appeals of the Town of Maine.
C. 
The Board shall become familiar with all the duly enacted ordinances and laws of the Town under which it may be expected to act as well as with the applicable state statutes.
D. 
The Board shall become familiar with the community goals, desires and policies as expressed in a "comprehensive plan," if any, and grant the minimum relief which will insure that the goals and policies of the plan are preserved and substantial justice is done.
A. 
The officers of the Board shall consist of the Chairperson, a person acting in the Chairperson's absence and a Secretary.
B. 
Chairperson. The Chairperson shall be designated by the Town Board and shall perform all duties required by law, ordinance and these rules and preside at all meetings of the Board. The Chairperson shall decide on all points of order and procedure, subject to these rules, unless directed otherwise by a majority of the Board. The Chairperson shall appoint any committees found necessary to carry out the business of the Board. The Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses as necessary to carry out the business of the Board. The Chairperson's signature shall be the official signature of the Board and shall appear on all decisions as directed by the Board.
C. 
Person acting in the Chairperson's absence. A person acting in the Chairperson's absence shall be designated by the members in attendance to serve in the absence of the Chairperson and shall have all the powers of the Chairperson during the Chairperson's absence, disability or disqualification.
D. 
Secretary. A Secretary shall be appointed by Town Board. The Secretary, subject to the direction of the Board and the Chairperson, shall keep minutes of all Board proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of all Board examinations and other official actions.
E. 
Vacancies.
(1) 
Should any vacancy on the Board occur for any reason, the Secretary shall give immediate notice thereof to the Town Clerk of the Town Board.
(2) 
Should such a vacancy occur among the officers of the Board subject to appointment by the Town Board, such office shall be filled by appointment, for the unexpired term, at the next meeting of the Town Board.
(3) 
Should the office of Chairperson become vacant, the Secretary shall add such fact to the notice required in this Subsection E of these rules. The Acting Chairperson shall handle the duties of the Chairperson until such time as the Town Board shall appoint a new Chairperson.
A. 
Regular meetings. The regular meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be held on the dates and times established by resolution of the Town Board at the annual meeting each year.
[Amended 3-17-2015 by L.L. No. 3-2015]
B. 
Annual meeting. The annual organizational meeting of the Board shall be the first regular meeting of the year.
C. 
Special meetings. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the Chairperson. At least 48 hours' notice of the time, place and business of the meeting shall be given each member of the Board.
D. 
The Chairperson shall call a special meeting within 10 days of receipt of a written request from any three members of the Board, which request shall specify the matters to be considered at such special meeting.
E. 
Cancellations of meetings. Whenever there are no appeals or applications for variance or other business to transact at a regular meeting, the Chairperson may dispense with such meeting by notice to all members.
F. 
Proceedings. The order of business at regular meetings/hearings shall be as follows:
(1) 
Call meeting to order;
(2) 
Pledge to the flag;
(3) 
Attendance recorded;
(4) 
Approval of the minutes of the preceding meeting;
(5) 
Action/continuation on held cases;
(6) 
Public hearing (when scheduled; see § 182-10E);
(7) 
Other business;
(8) 
Adjournment.
G. 
All meetings/hearings of the Board will be open to the public and in compliance with § 267 of the Town Law and the Open Meetings Law (Article 7 of the Public Officers Law).
A. 
Quorum. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Board.
B. 
No hearing or meeting of the Board shall be held, nor any action taken, in the absence of a quorum; however, those members present shall be entitled to request the Chairperson to call a special meeting for a subsequent date. All subsequent hearings shall be readvertised in accordance with the requirements of the applicable law.
C. 
Voting. All matters shall be decided by a roll call vote. Decisions on any matter before the Board shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire membership of the Board unless otherwise specified herein.
D. 
A tie vote or favorable vote by a lesser number than the required majority shall be considered a rejection of the application under consideration.
E. 
No member of the Board shall sit in hearing or vote on any matter in which he or she is personally or financially interested. Said member shall not be counted by the Board in establishing the quorum for such matter.
F. 
No member of the Board shall vote on the determination of any matter requiring public hearing unless he or she has attended the public hearing thereon; however, where such a member has familiarized himself or herself with such matter by reading the record, that member shall be qualified to vote.
G. 
Minutes of meetings shall be taken and shall be made available in accordance with the Freedom of Information Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law, § 84 et seq.
A. 
Appeals. The Board shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination made by an administrative official charged with the enforcement of any ordinance or local law adopted pursuant to Article 16 of the Town Law. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under Town of Maine Zoning Ordinances[1] or any other local law. Such appeal may be made by any person aggrieved, or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 450, Zoning.
B. 
Filing of appeals. An appeal must be made within 60 days after the filing of any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination of the administrative official, by filing with such administrative official and with the ZBA a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof and relief sought. Such notice shall be made on the form provided for that purpose. The administrative official from whom the appeal is taken shall be responsible, at the direction of the Board, for providing any applicant with the proper forms and for instructing the parties concerned on the proper manner for completing and filing said forms. All information required thereon shall be complete before an appeal is considered filed.
C. 
Applications for use variances must be accompanied by a completed environmental assessment form. Applications for area variances shall be accompanied by a completed environmental assessment form if required by applicable provisions of the state environmental quality review regulations (hereinafter SEQR; 6 NYCRR Part 617). The Board shall comply with all applicable SEQR regulations.
A. 
Time of hearings. The Board shall schedule a hearing on all appeals or applications within 60 days of the filing of the appeal or application.
B. 
Notice of hearing: zoning appeals. The Board shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal or other matter referred to it and shall give notice of such hearing by publication in the official newspaper of the Town at least five business days prior to the date of hearing thereof. If, however, in a specific case, applicable provisions of the state environmental quality review regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617) (hereinafter SEQR) require publication of such notice more than five business days prior to the date of such hearing, the requirements of SEQR shall be followed. The Board shall mail notices of the hearing to the applicant and to all other appropriate agencies/parties.
C. 
Ad hoc members. Ad-hoc members of the ZBA shall be appointed in accordance with, and shall have powers and duties as set forth in, Article I, Ad Hoc Members, of this Chapter 182 of the Code of the Town of Maine.
D. 
Form of notice. Such notice shall state the location of the structure, building or lot; the general nature of the question involved; the date, time and place of the hearing; and the nature of the relief sought.
E. 
Proceedings. The order of business at a hearing, which is a subset of § 182-7F, shall be as follows: (A) call to order of regular meeting (when applicable; see § 182-7F); (B) a ZBA member shall give a statement of the case; correspondence and reports received thereon, if any, shall be reported on; (C) the applicant and/or his/her representative shall present the case; (D) public comments received; (E) rebuttal by both sides; (F) additional cases; (G) adjournment of hearings.
F. 
General rules. Any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney.
G. 
The Chairperson or, in the absence of the Chairperson, the Acting Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses.
H. 
Rehearing. A motion for the ZBA to hold a rehearing to review any order, decision, or determination of the ZBA not previously reheard may be made by any member of the ZBA. A unanimous vote of all members of the ZBA then present is required for such rehearing to occur. Such rehearing is subject to the same notice provisions as an original hearing. Upon such rehearing the ZBA may reverse, modify or annul its original order, decision or determination upon the unanimous vote of all members then present, provided the ZBA finds that the rights vested in persons acting in good faith in reliance upon the reheard order, decision or determination will not be prejudiced thereby.
I. 
An application for a rehearing may be made in the same manner as provided for the original hearing. The application for rehearing may be denied by the Board if from the record it shall appear that there has been no substantial change in facts, evidence or conditions.
A. 
Zoning referrals. All matters requiring referral as specified by any ordinance enacted under Article 16 of the Town Law shall be so referred to the proper agency/party for its recommendations. Within 30 days (or as specified in the particular ordinance) after receipt of a full statement of such referred matter, said agency shall report its recommendations thereon to the Board, with a full statement of the reasons for such recommendations. If such agency fails to respond within the prescribed time the Board may act without such report. The Board shall not act contrary to any recommendation of the Broome County Department of Planning and Economic Development except by a vote of a majority plus one of all of the members of the Board and except by recording in the official record the reasons for such contrary action. The Chairperson shall read all such reports at the hearing on the matter under review.
B. 
County zoning referrals.
(1) 
Prior to taking action on any matter requiring a referral under § 239-1 or 239-m of the General Municipal Law, the Board shall make referrals to the Broome County Department of Planning and Economic Development (hereinafter "County Planning Department") or, in the absence of such County Planning Department, to a metropolitan or regional agency having jurisdiction in accordance with §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law.
(2) 
If within 30 days after receipt of a full statement of such referred matter, the County Planning Department to which referral is made disapproves the proposal or recommends modification thereof, the Board shall not act contrary to such disapproval or recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof and after the adoption of a resolution fully setting forth the reasons for such contrary action. The Chairperson shall read the report of the County Planning Department at the public hearing on the matter under review. If such County Planning Department fails to report within such period of 30 days or such longer period as may have been agreed upon by the Board and the County Planning Department, the Board may act without such report.
A. 
Time of decisions. The ZBA shall decide upon the appeal within 62 days after the completion of the public hearing. The time within which the ZBA must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the ZBA.
B. 
Form of decisions; imposition of conditions. The final decision on any matter before the Board shall be made by written order signed by the Chairperson. Such decision shall state the findings of fact which were the basis for the Board's determination. After such determination the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order or requirement of the administrative official appealed from. The decision shall also state any conditions and safeguards necessary to protect the public interest. The Board shall, in the granting of both use variances and area variances, have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property. Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of Chapter 450, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Maine and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
C. 
Basis for decisions. The Board, in reaching said decision, shall be guided by standards specified in the applicable ordinance as well as by community goals and policies as specified in the Town of Maine Comprehensive Plan and by the findings of the Board in each case.
D. 
Findings of fact for use variance. The ZBA, on appeal from the decision or determination of the administrative official charged with enforcement of Chapter 450, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Maine or other relevant Town ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant use variances in accordance with, and in compliance with, the provisions of Subdivision 2 of § 267-b of the Town Law.
E. 
Area variances. The ZBA, on appeal from the decision or determination of the administrative official charged with enforcement of Chapter 450, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Maine or other relevant Town ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant area variances in accordance with, and in compliance with, the provisions of Subdivision 3 of § 267-b of the Town Law.
F. 
Findings: contents. The findings of the Board and the supporting facts shall be spelled out in detail regardless of whether it is based on evidence submitted or on the personal knowledge of the Board. The Board should show that:
(1) 
It has made an intelligent review of the question.
(2) 
It has considered all of the information or evidence.
(3) 
It has heard all parties in question.
(4) 
Any intimate knowledge it has of the subject under question has been taken into account.
(5) 
It has made a personal inspection of the parcel in question and from this examination certain findings were ascertained.
G. 
Conflicts with other laws or regulations. If there is any conflict between these rules and any provision of the New York State Town Law, General Municipal Law, Environmental Conservation Law or any other United States or New York State statute, code, rule or regulation or any Town of Maine ordinance or local law, the applicable provisions of such United States or New York State statute, code, rule or regulation or Town of Maine ordinance or local law shall prevail.
H. 
Expiration of permits. Unless otherwise specified, any order or decision of the Board for a permitted use shall expire if a building permit or occupancy permit for the requested use is not obtained by the applicant within 90 days from the date of the order or the decision; however, the Board may extend this time for an additional 90 or more days.
I. 
Decisions on rehearings. After a rehearing, other than one based on a substantial change in conditions, the original order may be changed only by a concurring vote of all the members then present, but not less than a majority of the Board, and in conformance with § 182-10H of these regulations.
J. 
Filing of decisions. Decisions of the Board shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk within five business days after the day the decision is rendered, and a copy thereof shall be mailed to the applicant. Such decisions shall be made public records. The date of filing of each decision shall be entered in the official records and minutes of the Board.
K. 
Notice of decision. Copies of the decision shall be forwarded to the applicant, to the Town Board, the Town of Maine Planning Board and the County Planning Department when referral to the County Planning Department is required in the particular case.
L. 
Judicial review. Any person or persons, jointly or severally, aggrieved by any decision of the ZBA may apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for review by a proceeding under Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules. Such proceeding must be instituted within 30 days after the filing of a decision of the ZBA in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town. Other information about such judicial review is set forth in § 267-c of the Town Law.
A. 
Adoption. Upon adoption of these rules by the Board, the Secretary of the Board shall file a copy of these rules with the Town Clerk and they shall be a public record.
B. 
Amendment. These rules may be amended by an affirmative vote of not less than three members of the Board, provided that such amendment has been presented in written form at a regular or special meeting at which the vote was taken.
C. 
Filing. All amendments adopted shall be filed in the same manner as provided by the rules in Subsection A.
A. 
SEQR. The ZBA shall at all times comply with applicable provisions of the Environmental Conservation Law of the State of New York and applicable provisions of the state environmental quality review regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617) (hereinafter SEQR).
B. 
The General Governing Rules for the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Maine adopted by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Maine on May 7, 1991, and thereafter amended from time to time, be and the same are hereby repealed effective immediately. Such repeal shall not affect any decision or order approved by the Board prior to the effective date of such repeal.