The purpose of this article is to establish the procedure for Planning Board review and action on applications for subdivisions or lot line adjustments. Whenever any subdivision of land or lot line adjustment is proposed, and before any contract for the sale or lease of, or any offer to sell or lease any lots in such subdivision or any part thereof is made, and before any permit for the erection of any structure in such proposed subdivision shall be granted, the applicant shall apply for and secure approval of such proposed subdivision or lot line adjustment in accordance with the following procedures. (Refer to the definition of "applicant" in Article
XII of this chapter.) Whenever anyone other than the property owner is acting as the applicant for a proposed subdivision or lot line adjustment, he/she must verify in writing to the Planning Board that the property owner(s) has authorized him/her to act on the property owner(s) behalf.
At the request of the applicant, an optional
preapplication conference for application information may be scheduled
with the Town Planning Board Chairperson or designated representative(s)
of the Planning Board. If the application is sufficiently complex,
or if the Planning Board Chairperson chooses, the application may
be placed on the agenda of a Planning Board meeting for an informational
conference. The applicant is encouraged to have such a preapplication
conference prior to making a substantial financial investment in the
project.
The Planning Board shall initiate the New York
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) process, as defined
in Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Part 617 of
the New York Code of Rules and Regulations, upon completion of the
sketch plan stage of the application process. The Planning Board shall
review the short or full environmental assessment form, and, if applicable,
the draft environmental impact statement submitted by the applicant
with the plat application materials, and determine the type of action
that is being proposed (Type I, Type II or unlisted action, as defined
by SEQR). Once the Planning Board has made a SEQR classification,
the applicant shall be informed by the Board as to whether the application
will be subject to additional environmental review as specified in
the SEQR regulations. All requirements of SEQR shall be completed
prior to any approval of the preliminary plat by the Planning Board.