The Town of Wheatfield believes that it would be beneficial to set certain
minimum training requirements and minimum meeting requirements for the members
of the Town of Wheatfield Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and to
provide for a mechanism for the removal of members who do not meet the minimum
training requirements or minimum attendance requirements. The purpose of this
chapter is to set forth certain minimum training and attendance requirements
and to establish a mechanism for the removal of members of the Planning Board
and Zoning Board of Appeals who do not meet such minimum requirements.
Members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals shall be entitled
to compensation on an annual basis, to be paid quarterly, at a rate to be
set by the Wheatfield Town Board.
All members of the Town Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals shall
be required to attend a minimum of eight hours in relevant training courses
within 12 months from the date of their initial appointment and thereafter
attend training sessions of not less than eight hours every three years thereafter.
Such training sessions shall be approved in advance by the Wheatfield Town
Board, and the Town of Wheatfield shall reimburse the member for the cost
incurred in connection with any such training, e.g., mileage, tuition, lodging
and meals. Training sessions may include any programs offered by New York
State, other municipalities, governmental associations, education institutions,
or in-house updates or seminars. Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals
approval is required when the training is offered at no charge within reasonable
travel distance.
The Chairperson of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals shall
notify the Town Board, in writing, on or before December 1 in any year of
any member who fails to comply with the minimum requirements for training
or the minimum attendance requirements in any calendar year. The Town Board
shall then conduct a hearing upon 15 days' written notice to the member to
determine whether good cause exists for the removal of any such member, and
if good cause exist, then the Town Board shall remove such member. Failure
to obtain the training required by this chapter or failure to meet the minimum
attendance requirements set forth in this chapter shall be prima facie evidence
of good cause for removal. At any such hearing, the member whose removal is
sought shall be entitled to be represented by counsel at his or her expense.
The hearing shall be held as required by the New York State Open Meetings
Law. In the event that the a member is removed from office, the Town Board
shall appoint a successor member to serve the remainder of the term of the
member so removed.