[Added 12-22-1997 by L.L. No. 4-1997]
A. Title. This section shall be known as a "Local Law
Designating the Appointment of an Alternate Member to the Town of
Phelps Zoning Board of Appeals."
B. Appointment; term; compensation. The Town Board of
the Town of Phelps, Ontario County, New York, hereby designates that,
in addition to the five regular members of the Zoning Board of Appeals,
one alternate member shall be appointed to serve on the Town of Phelps
Zoning Board of Appeals. An alternate member shall be appointed by
resolution of the Town Board, and the term of office shall be for
five years. The Town Board may provide for compensation to be paid
to said alternate.
C. Incompatible offices; conflict of interest. As with
regular members, the alternate member shall hold no elective office
in the Town of Phelps nor be permitted to act on any matter in which
he/she or she has, either directly or indirectly, any personal or
financial interest.
D. Voting privileges. The alternate member may participate
in discussions of the proceedings but may not vote except in the absence
of a quorum of a regular meeting. A vote shall not be delayed in order
that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. The
absent regular member shall not thereafter vote in any manner with
respect to that application.
E. Amendment of Town Law. The foregoing provisions shall,
where applicable, specifically amend and supersede § 267
of the Town Law of the State of New York. Where not so amended, § 267
shall remain in full force and effect.
[Added 1-17-2024 by L.L. No. 1-2024]
A. Requirements for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(1)
Training.
(a)
Training requirements. Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall be required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of training during
each calendar year, or portion thereof, designed to enable such members
to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received annually
in excess of 10 hours may be carried over into succeeding years to
meet the training requirements. Training sessions shall be approved
by the Town Board by resolution upon recommendation of the Zoning
Board of Appeals and may include training provided by municipal, county
or regional planning departments, planning federations, state agencies,
statewide municipal associations, colleges or other sponsoring entities.
The training may include electronic media, video, distance learning,
or traditional classroom training.
(b)
Reappointment. No member of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall
be eligible for reappointment to the Zoning Board of Appeals without
having completed the cumulative annual training required by this section.
(c)
Time and mileage reimbursement. Members attending training sessions
shall be reimbursed for mileage to and from the training at the federal
rate and for the time of attendance pursuant to the policies as adopted
from time to time by the Town Board.
(2)
Attendance. Each Zoning Board of Appeals member is required
to attend a minimum of 75% of all Zoning Board of Appeals meetings
scheduled in any calendar year. No Zoning Board of Appeals member
shall miss three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings. If a member
anticipates his or her absence from a meeting, the member should make
every effort to contact the Chairperson so an alternate may be notified.
B. Removal of Zoning Board of Appeals member.
(1)
Power to remove. The Town Board shall have the power to remove,
after public hearing, any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for
cause.
(2)
Basis for removal. Any Zoning Board of Appeals member may be
removed for noncompliance with the minimum requirements relating to
training or meeting attendance as set forth in this section or with
any other requirements applicable to such member in the Town's
Employee Handbook.
(3)
Procedure for removal. A Zoning Board of Appeals member or a
Town Board member may submit a written statement to the Town Board
requesting a Zoning Board of Appeals member be removed for failure
to meet the requirements contained in this section or in the Employee
Handbook. The Town Board shall consider same and may vote to file
a complaint against the member. Said written complaint must also be
filed with the Town Clerk, Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals
and the party complained of (the respondent), and include a recitation
of alleged facts supporting the complaint. The complaint shall provide
at least 15 days' notice for a public hearing before the Town
Board. The respondent shall have 10 days to admit or deny the complaint.
(4)
Public hearing. The Town Board has the burden of presenting
proof at the public hearing by a preponderance of the evidence that
the respondent has failed to meet the attendance requirements. The
respondent shall have an opportunity to be heard to refute the allegations
or offer an excuse for such absence. A majority vote of the Town Board
is required to remove the respondent upon a finding of failure to
meet the requirements of this section or of the Employee Handbook,
as amended.
C. Application to alternate Zoning Board of Appeals members. The provisions
of this section relating to Zoning Board of Appeals members shall
also apply to alternate members.
[Amended 10-3-1994 by L.L. No. 2-1994]
A. Orders, requirements, decisions, interpretations,
determinations. The Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly
or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation
or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement,
decision, interpretation or determination as, in its opinion, ought
to have been made in the matter by the administrative official charged
with the enforcement of such ordinance or local law and to that end
shall have all the powers of the administrative official from whose
order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination the
appeal is taken.
B. Use variances.
(1) The Board of Appeals, on appeal from the decision
or determination of the administrative official charged with the enforcement
of such ordinance or local law, shall have the power to grant use
variances, as defined herein.
(2) No such use variance shall be granted by a Board of
Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning
regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship. In
order to prove such unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate
to the Board of Appeals that under applicable zoning regulations the
applicant is deprived of all economic use or benefit from the property
in question, which deprivation must be established by competent financial
evidence; that the alleged hardship relating to the property in question
is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district
or neighborhood; that the requested use variance, if granted, will
not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and that the
alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(3) The Board of Appeals, in the granting of use variances,
shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and
adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proven by the applicant
and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood
and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
C. Area variances.
(1) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power,
upon an appeal from a decision or determination of the administrative
official charged with the enforcement of such ordinance or local law,
to grant area variances, as defined herein.
(2) In making its determination, the Zoning Board of Appeals
shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the
variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health,
safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant.
In making such determination the Board shall also consider whether
an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood
or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting
of the area variance; whether the benefit sought by the applicant
can be achieved by some method feasible for the applicant to pursue,
other than an area variance; whether the requested area variance is
substantial; whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect
or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood
or district; and whether the alleged difficulty was self-created,
which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Board
of Appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the
area variance.
(3) The Board of Appeals, in the granting of area variances,
shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and
adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character of
the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
D. Imposition of conditions. The Board of Appeals 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 and/or the period of time such variance shall be in effect.
Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of
this Zoning Chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing
any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
E. Special use permits. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to grant special use permits in accordance with Article
V.