The purpose of this chapter is to comply with Article 8, State Environmental
Quality Review Act, of the Environmental Conservation Law of the State of
New York and with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto by the
New York Environmental Conservation Commissioner.
No decision to carry out or approve an action other than an action listed in §
66-4B hereof or Section 617.13 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations as Type II actions shall be made by the Board of Trustees of the Village or by a department, board, commission, officer or employee of the Village until there has been full compliance with all requirements of this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting:
A. The conducting of contemporaneous environmental, engineering,
economic feasibility or other studies and preliminary planning and budgetary
processes necessary to the formation of a proposal for action which does not
commit the Village to approve, commence or engage in such action; or
B. The granting of any part of an application which relates
only to technical specifications and requirements, provided that no such partial
approval shall entitle or permit the applicant to commence the action until
all requirements of this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes,
Rules and Regulations have been fulfilled.
For the purpose of assisting in the determination of whether an action
may or will not have a significant effect on the environment, an applicant
for any building permit or other approvals shall file a written statement
with the Board of Trustees of the Village setting forth the name of the applicant;
the location of the real property affected, if any; a description of the nature
of the proposed action; and the effect it may have on the environment. In
addition, applicants may include a detailed statement of the reasons why,
in their view, a proposed action may or will not have a significant effect
on the environment. Where the action involves an application, the statement
shall be filed simultaneously with the application for the action. The statement
provided herein shall be upon a form prescribed by the Village Administrator
and shall contain such additional relevant information as shall be required
in the prescribed form. Such statement shall be accompanied by drawings, sketches
and maps, if any, together with any other relevant explanatory material required
by the Village Board of Trustees.
Upon receipt of a complete application and a statement which indicates
that a Type I action may be undertaken, the Village Board of Trustees shall
cause a notice thereof to be posted on the signboard, if any, of the Village
maintained by the Village and may also cause such notice to be published in
the official newspaper of the Village, if any, or in a newspaper having general
circulation within the Village, describing the nature of the proposed action
and stating that written views thereon of any person shall be received by
the Village Board of Trustees no later than a date specified in such notice.
Every application for determination under this chapter shall be accompanied
by a reasonable fee set forth in this section to defray the expenses incurred
in rendering such determination. The fee shall be as follows: $10.
If the Village Board of Trustees determines that the proposed action is not an exempt action, not an action listed in §
66-4B hereof or Section 617.13 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations as a Type II action and that it will not have a significant effect on the environment, the Village Board of Trustees shall prepare, file and circulate such determination as provided in Section 617.7(b) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, and thereafter the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter. If the Village Board of Trustees determines that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, the Village Board of Trustees shall prepare, file and circulate such determination as provided in Section 617.7(b) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, and thereafter the proposed action shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
If, on the basis of a draft environmental impact statement or a public
hearing thereon, the Village Board of Trustees determines that an action will
not have a significant effect on the environment, the proposed action may
be processed without further regard to this chapter.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the Village Board of Trustees shall prepare or cause to be prepared a final environmental impact statement in accordance with the provisions of Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations; provided, further, that if the action involves an application, the Village Board of Trustees may direct the applicant to prepare the final environmental impact statement. Such final environmental impact statement shall be prepared within 45 days after the close of any hearing or within 60 days after the filing of the draft environmental impact statement, whichever last occurs; provided, however, that the Village Board of Trustees may extend this time as necessary to complete the statement adequately or where problems identified with the proposed action require material reconsideration or modification. Where the action involves an application, such final environmental impact statement shall be accompanied by the fee specified in this chapter to defray the expenses of the Village in preparing and/or evaluating same. The fee shall be as set forth in §
66-10 above.
A notice of completion of a final environmental impact statement shall be prepared, filed and sent in the same manner as provided in §
66-11 herein and shall be sent to all persons to whom the notice of completion of the draft environmental impact statement was sent. Copies of the final environmental impact statement shall be filed and made available for review in the same manner as the draft environmental impact statement.
No decision to carry out or approve an action which has been the subject
of a final environmental impact statement by the Village Board of Trustees
or by any other agency shall be made until after the filing and consideration
of the final environmental impact statement. Where the Village Board of Trustees
has been the lead agency for an action, it shall make a decision whether or
not to approve the action within 30 days of the filing of the final environmental
impact statement.
When the Village Board of Trustees decides to carry out or approve an
action which may have a significant effect on the environment, it shall make
the following findings in a written determination:
A. Consistent with social, economic and other essential
considerations of state policy, to the maximum extent practicable, from among
the reasonable alternatives hereto, the action to be carried out or approved
is one which minimizes or avoids adverse environmental effects, including
the effects disclosed in the relevant environmental impact statements.
B. All practicable means will be taken in carrying out or
approving the action to minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects.
For public information purposes, a copy of the determination shall be
filed and made available as provided in Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York
Codes, Rules and Regulations.
The Village shall maintain files open for public inspection of all notices
of completion, draft and final environmental impact statements and written
determinations prepared or caused to be prepared by the Village Board of Trustees.
Where more than one agency is involved in an action, the procedures
of Sections 617.4 and 617.8 of Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes,
Rules and Regulations shall be followed.
Actions undertaken or approved prior to the dates specified in Article
8 of the Environmental Conservation Law for local agencies shall be exempt
from this chapter and the provisions of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation
Law and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations;
provided, however, that if, after such dates, the Village Board of Trustees
modifies an action undertaken or approved prior to that date and the Village
Board of Trustees determines that the modification may have a significant
adverse effect on the environment, such modification shall be an action subject
to this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.