A.
There is hereby created a Planning Board under New York State Town
Law § 271. The Planning Board shall consist of five members
who must be residents of the Town of New Windsor, and annual compensation
shall be set by the Town Board each year.
Establishment and membership of the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall be as follows:
A.
This section shall apply to the appointment, terms, functions and
powers of alternate members appointed to serve on the Planning Board
or Zoning Board in the Town of New Windsor.
B.
ALTERNATE MEMBER
MEMBER
PLANNING BOARD
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
An individual appointed by the Town Board of the Town of
New Windsor to serve on the Town Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals
when a regular member is unable to participate on an application or
matter before the respective board, as provided herein.
An individual appointed by the Town Board of the Town of
New Windsor to serve on the Town Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals
pursuant to the provisions of the local law which first established
such Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals.
The Planning Board of the Town of New Windsor as established
by the Town Board of the Town of New Windsor pursuant to the provisions
of § 271 of the Town Law.
The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of New Windsor as
established by the Town Board of the Town of New Windsor pursuant
to the provisions of § 267 of the Town Law.
C.
Authorization and effect. The Town of New Windsor hereby enacts this
section to provide a process for appointing alternate members of its
Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals. These individuals would serve
when members are absent or unable to participate on an application
or matter before the respective board.
(1)
Two alternate members for the Planning Board and two alternate
members for the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be appointed by the
Town Board of the Town of New Windsor for a term of five years.
(2)
The Chairperson of the Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals
may designate an alternate member to substitute for a member when
such member is unable to participate on an application or matter before
the Board. When so designated, the alternate member shall possess
all the powers and responsibilities of such member of the Board. Such
designation shall be entered into the minutes of the initial Planning
Board/Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at which the substitution is
made.
(3)
All provisions of state law relating to Planning Board/Zoning
Board of Appeals member eligibility, vacancy in office and service
on other boards, as well as any provisions of a local law relating
to training, continuing education, compensation and attendance, shall
also apply to alternate members.
D.
Statutory authority. This section is enacted pursuant to the Municipal
Home Rule Law. This section shall supersede the provisions of Town
Law to the extent it is inconsistent with the same, and to the extent
permitted by the New York State Constitution, the Municipal Home Rule
Law, or any other applicable statute.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have all the powers and duties
prescribed by law and by this chapter, which are more particularly
specified as follows, provided that none of the following provisions
shall be deemed to limit any power of the Board that is conferred
by law:
A.
Interpretation. On appeal from an order, requirement, decision or
determination made by an administrative official, or on request by
an official, board or agency of the Town, to decide any of the following
questions:
B.
Variances. To authorize, upon appeal in specific cases, such use
variances and area variances, as defined in § 267 of the
Town Law, as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing
to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, there are practical
difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the
strict letter of this chapter, subject to terms and conditions to
be fixed by the Zoning Board of Appeals; provided, however, that no
such use variance or area variance shall be granted unless the requirements
of § 267-b of the Town Law have been met.
(1)
The needs or desires of a particular owner or tenant or of a particular
prospective owner or tenant shall not, either alone or in conjunction
with other factors, afford any basis for the granting of a variance.
The fact that the improvements already existing at the time of the
application are old, obsolete, outmoded or in disrepair or the fact
that the property is then unimproved shall not be deemed to make the
plight of the property unique or to contribute thereto.
(2)
Where said Board finds the zoning classification of a particular
property to be conducive to the deprivation of the reasonable use
of the land or buildings and where said Board finds the same condition
to apply generally to other lands or buildings in the same neighborhood
or zoning district, said Board shall call this condition to the attention
of the Planning Board and Town Board.
(3)
In all cases where the Zoning Board of Appeals grants a variance
from the strict application of the requirements of this chapter, it
shall be the duty of such Board to attach such conditions and safeguards
as may be required so that the result of its action may be as nearly
as possible in accordance with the spirit and intent of this chapter.
C.
Temporary certificate of occupancy.
(1)
To authorize, upon denial by the Code Enforcement Officer of a certificate
of occupancy, the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy
by the Code Enforcement Officer for a period not to exceed 90 days,
for the completion of any alterations that are required under the
provision of any law or ordinance or for the completion of a part
of an uncompleted building, provided that the Board finds that:
(a)
The denial of a certificate of occupancy prior to completion
of said alterations or of the building would cause unnecessary hardship.
(b)
The safety of the occupants of the building and of adjacent
buildings and land would be adequately assured under such terms and
conditions as said Board may prescribe.
(2)
Such temporary certificate shall not be construed as in any way altering
the respective rights, duties or obligations of the owner or of the
Town respective to the use or occupancy of the land or building or
any other matter covered by this chapter.
The powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be
exercised in accordance with the following procedures:
A.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not decide upon any appeal for
a variance or interpretation of this chapter without first holding
a public hearing, notice of which hearing and of the substance of
the appeal or application shall be given by publication in the official
newspaper of the Town (at the applicant's expense) at least 10 days
before the date of such hearing. In addition to such published notice,
the applicant shall perform the following procedure:
(1)
All applicants shall obtain a certified list of names and addresses of property owners which lie within 500 feet of any lot line of the property for which relief is sought that are required by this chapter or Chapter 257, Subdivision of Land, to be notified of a specific action.
(2)
The applicant shall pay to the Town of New Windsor the appropriate
fee for obtaining the aforesaid list of names and addresses from the
Assessor.
(3)
The applicant shall prepare the legal notice to be mailed to the
property owners and shall present the legal notice to the proper Clerk
of the Board for approval prior to mailing in accordance with the
procedures set forth above.
(4)
The applicant shall place the name and address on an appropriate-size
mailing envelope, said address to be in the same form as on the Assessor's
records. In the event that two or more parcels have identical ownership,
only one notice shall be required to be mailed.
(5)
The applicant shall place the legal notice in the envelope and affix
the proper postage for first-class mail on the envelope and seal the
same.
(6)
The sealed, addressed, stamped envelopes shall be brought to the
Town Hall and delivered to the appropriate Clerk that is responsible
for the specific board requiring the notice.
(7)
The Clerk shall verify the names and addresses and compare the same
to the certified mailing list supplied by the Assessor and shall thereafter
deposit said envelopes in a United States postal depository within
the Town of New Windsor. The Clerk shall execute an affidavit of mailing
setting forth that said Clerk has compared all the envelopes addressed
to the certified list supplied by the Assessor and also finds that
the appropriate number of envelopes have been prepared. The affidavit
shall also set forth that the Clerk has personally deposited the envelopes
in a United States postal depository within the Town of New Windsor
and set forth the date upon which said deposit was made.
(8)
In the event that the property in question is located within 500
feet of cooperative residential or commercial site ("co-op") or residential
or commercial condominium site, the applicant shall notify the board
of managers of said condominium or the board of directors of the co-op
site, whichever applies, rather than mailing notices to all individual
owners of said co-op or condominium units, and this procedure shall
be deemed sufficient notice to all property owners within the co-op
or condominium site.
(9)
Provided that due notice shall have been published and that there
shall have been substantial compliance with the remaining provisions
of this section, the failure to give notice in exact conformance herewith
shall not be deemed to invalidate action taken by the Zoning Board
of Appeals in connection with the granting of any appeal or variance.
B.
All appeals and applications made to the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by a fee of not less
than the actual and necessary costs of advertising and holding a public
hearing. The basic fee shall be as determined in the Standard Schedule
of Fees of the Town of New Windsor[1] as may be adopted from time to time by resolution of the
Town Board. No fees shall be refundable.
C.
Each appeal or application shall fully set forth the circumstances
of the case, shall refer to the specific provision of the chapter
involved and shall exactly set forth, as the case may be, the interpretation
that is claimed, the details of the variance that is applied for and
the grounds on which it is claimed that the same should be granted.
D.
Should any appeal involve either of the two following conditions,
the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall transmit to the
designated office or official a copy of the official notice of the
public hearing not later than 10 days prior to the date of the hearing:
(1)
Any change in the boundaries of any district, which change would
occur within a distance of 500 feet of the boundary of any village
or town, shall be submitted to the Village or Town Clerk.
(2)
If the land involved in an appeal lies within 500 feet of any of
the following areas, such application, accompanied by the notice of
the public hearing, shall be forwarded to the Orange County Planning
Department for review in accordance with the provisions of Article
12-B, §§ 239-1 and 239-m, of the General Municipal
Law of the State of New York, at least 10 days prior to the public
hearing:
(a)
Municipal boundary.
(b)
Existing or proposed county or state park or other recreation
area.
(c)
Right-of-way of any existing or proposed county or state parkway,
thruway, expressway, road or highway.
(d)
Existing or proposed right-of-way of any stream or drainage
channel owned by the county or for which the county has established
channel lines.
(e)
Existing or proposed boundary of any county- or state-owned
land on which a public building or institution is situated.
E.
Prior to the date of any public hearing, the Secretary of the Zoning
Board of Appeals shall transmit to the Secretary of the Planning Board
a copy of any appeal or application, together with a copy of the notice
of such hearing. The Planning Board may submit to the Zoning Board
of Appeals an advisory opinion on said appeal or application at any
time prior to the rendering of a decision by the Board of Appeals.
F.
All the provisions of this chapter relating to the Zoning Board of
Appeals shall be strictly construed. Said Board, as a body of limited
jurisdiction, shall act in full conformity with all provisions of
law and of this chapter in compliance with all limitations contained
therein.
G.
Unless a building permit is obtained within 12 months of the date
of the granting of the application, the application shall become null
and void.
H.
Records of decisions.
(1)
Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be recorded in
accordance with standard forms adopted by the Board, shall fully set
forth the circumstances of the case and shall contain a full record
of the findings on which the decision is based. Every decision of
said Board shall be by resolution, and each such resolution shall
be filed in the office of the Town Clerk by case number under one
of the following headings, together with all documents pertaining
thereto:
I.
When an appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals has been duly processed
and denied upon a vote by at least four members of the Board, said
appeal shall not be eligible for reconsideration or rehearing for
a six-month period following such denial, except that an application
based on new facts or new considerations substantially different from
those in the denied application may be eligible for reconsideration
or rehearing within six months of the date of the denial of the original
appeal.
