[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Williston
Park 3-21-1977 by L.L. No. 3-1977 (Ch. 31 of the 1975 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
Unless the context shall otherwise require, the terms, phrases, words
and their derivatives used in this chapter shall have the same meanings as
those defined in § 8-0105 of the Environmental Conservation Law
and 6 NYCRR 617. "Village" shall mean the Village of Williston Park.
No decision to carry out or approve an action, other than an action listed in § 87-4 hereof, shall be made by the Board of Trustees or by any department, board, commission, officer or employee of the village until there has been full compliance with all requirements of this chapter and 6 NYCRR 617; 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 formulation of a proposal for action which do 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 6 NYCRR 617 have been fulfilled.
Consistent with 6 NYCRR 617 and the criteria therein, the following
actions are likely to have a significant effect on the environment:
A.
Construction of new (or expansion by more than 50% of
existing size, square footage or usage of existing):
(1)
Airports.
(2)
Public institutions, such as hospitals, schools and institutions
of higher learning and correction facilities, and major office centers.
(3)
Road or highway sections (including bridges) which require
an indirect source permit under 6 NYCRR 203.
(4)
Parking facilities or other facilities with an associated
parking area for 250 or more cars, only if such facility would require an
indirect source permit under 6 NYCRR 203.
(5)
Dams with a downstream hazard of "C" classification under
Environmental Conservation Law § 15-0503.
(6)
Stationary combustion installations operating at a total
heating input exceeding 1,000 million BTUs per hour.
(7)
Chemical pulp mills.
(8)
Portland cement plants.
(9)
Iron and steel plants.
(10)
Primary aluminum ore reduction plants.
(11)
Incinerators operating at a refuse charging rate exceeding
250 tons of refuse per twenty-four-hour day.
(12)
Sulfuric acid plants.
(13)
Petroleum refineries.
(14)
Lime plants.
(15)
By-product coke manufacturing plants.
(16)
Storage facilities designed for or capable of storing
1,000,000 or more gallons of liquid natural gas, liquid petroleum gas or other
liquid fuels.
(17)
Sulfur recovery plants.
(18)
Fuel conversion plants.
(19)
Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems emitting
air contaminants assigned an environmental rating of "A" under 6 NYCRR 212
and whose total emission rate of such "A" contaminants exceeds one pound per
hour.
(20)
Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems from which
the total emission rate of all air contaminants exceeds 50 tons per day.
(21)
A sanitary landfill for an excess of 100,000 cubic yards
per year of waste fill.
(22)
Any facility, development or project which is to be directly
located in one of the following critical areas:
(a)
Tidal wetlands as defined in Article 25 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
(b)
Freshwater wetlands as defined in Article 24 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
(c)
Floodplains as defined in Article 36 of the Environmental
Conservation Law.
(d)
Wild, scenic and recreational river areas designated
in Title 27 of Article 15 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
(23)
Any facility, development or project having an adverse
impact on any historic or prehistoric building, structure or site listed on
the National Register of Historic Places or in the Statewide Inventory of
Historical and Cultural Resources.
(24)
Any development, project or permanent facility of a nonagricultural use in an agricultural district which requires a permit, except those listed in § 87-4 hereof.
(25)
Any facility, development or project which would generate
more than 5,000 vehicle trips per any hour or more than 25,000 vehicle trips
per any eight-hour period.
(26)
Any facility, development or project which would use
groundwater or surface water in excess of 2,000,000 gallons in any day.
(27)
Any industrial facility which has a yearly average discharge
flow, based on days of discharge, of greater than 0.5 MGD.
(28)
Any publicly or privately owned sewage treatment works
which has an average daily design flow of more than 0.5 MGD.
(29)
A residential development outside any standard metropolitan
statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, that includes
50 or more units in an unsewered area or 250 or more units in a sewered area
or within a standard metropolitan statistical area that includes 50 or more
units in an unsewered area or 2,500 or more units in a sewered area.
(30)
Lakes or other bodies of water with a water surface in
excess of 200 acres.
B.
Any funding, licensing or planning activities in respect of any of the types of construction listed in Subsection A above.
C.
Application of pesticides or herbicides over more than
1,500 contiguous acres.
D.
Clear-cutting of 640 or more contiguous acres of forest
cover or vegetation other than crops.
E.
The proposed adoption of comprehensive land use plans,
zoning ordinances, building codes, comprehensive solid waste plans, state
and regional transportation plans, water resource basin plans, comprehensive
water quality studies, area-wide wastewater treatment plans, state environmental
plans, local floodplain control plans and the like.
F.
Commercial burial of radioactive materials requiring
a permit under 6 NYCRR 380.
G.
Any action which will result in excessive or unusual
noise or vibration, taking into consideration the volume, intensity, pitch,
time duration and the appropriate land uses for both the source and the recipient
of such noise or vibration.
H.
Acquisition or sale by a public agency of more than 250
contiguous acres of land.
Consistent with 6 NYCRR 617 and the criteria therein, the following
actions are deemed not to have a significant effect on the environment:
A.
Construction or alteration of a single- or two-family residence and accessory appurtenant uses or structures not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more such residences and not in one of the critical areas described in § 87-3.
B.
The extension of utility facilities to serve new or altered
single- or two-family residential structures or to render service in approved
subdivisions.
C.
Construction or alteration of a store, office or restaurant designed for an occupant load of 20 persons or fewer, if not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more stores, offices or restaurants and if not in one of the critical areas described in § 87-3, and the construction of utility facilities to serve such establishments.
D.
Actions involving individual setback and lot line variances
and the like.
E.
Agricultural farm management practices, including construction,
maintenance and repair of farm buildings and structures and land use changes
consistent with generally accepted principles of farming.
F.
Operation, repair, maintenance or minor alteration of
existing structures, land uses and equipment.
G.
Restoration or reconstruction of a structure, in whole
or in part, being increased or expanded by less than 50% of its existing size,
square footage or usage.
H.
Repaving of existing highways not involving the addition
of new travel lanes.
I.
Street openings for the purpose of repair or maintenance
of existing utility facilities.
J.
Installation of traffic control devices on existing streets,
roads and highways, other than multiple fixtures on long stretches.
K.
Mapping of existing roads, streets, highways, uses, ownership
patterns and the like.
L.
Regulatory activities not involving construction or changed
land use relating to one individual, business, institution or facility, such
as inspections, testing, operating certification or licensing and the like.
M.
Sales of surplus government property, other than land,
radioactive material, pesticides, herbicides or other hazardous materials.
N.
Collective bargaining activities.
O.
Operating, expense or executive budget planning, preparation
and adoption not involving new programs or major reordering of priorities.
P.
Investments by or on behalf of agencies or pension or
retirement systems.
Q.
Actions which are immediately necessary for the protection
or preservation of life, health, property or natural resources.
R.
Routine administration and management of agency functions
not including new programs or major reordering of priorities.
S.
Routine license and permit renewals where there is no
significant change in preexisting conditions.
T.
Routine activities of educational institutions which
do not include capital construction.
For the purpose of assisting in the determination of whether an action
may or will not have a significant effect on the environment, applicants for
permits or other approvals shall file a written statement with the Village
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 resolution by the Village Board of Trustees 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, 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.
A.
The Village Board of Trustees shall render a written
determination on such application within 15 days following receipt of a complete
application and statement; provided, however, that such period may be extended
by mutual agreement of the applicant and the Board of Trustees. The determination
shall state whether such proposed action may or will not have a significant
effect on the environment. The Board of Trustees may hold informal meetings
with the applicant and may meet with and consult any other person for the
purpose of aiding it in making a determination on the application.
B.
The time limitations provided in this chapter shall be
coordinated with, to the extent practicable, other time limitations provided
by statute or local law, ordinance or regulation of the village.
Every application for determination under this chapter shall be accompanied by a fee as provided in Chapter 93, Fees, to defray the expenses incurred in rendering such determination.
If the Board of Trustees determines that the proposed action is not an exempt action, not an action listed in § 87-4 hereof and that it will not have a significant effect on the environment, the Board of Trustees shall prepare, file and circulate such determination with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Regional Office of the Department of Environmental Conservation and the office of the Village Clerk, and thereafter the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter. If the Board of Trustees determines that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, the Board of Trustees shall prepare, file and circulate such determination as provided above, and thereafter the proposed action shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and 6 NYCRR 617.
A.
Following a determination that a proposed action may
have a significant effect on the environment, the Board of Trustees shall,
in accordance with the provisions of 6 NYCRR 617:
(1)
In the case of an action involving an applicant, immediately
notify the applicant of the determination and shall request the applicant
to prepare an environmental impact report in the form of a draft environmental
impact statement.
(2)
In the case of an action not involving an applicant,
shall prepare a draft environmental impact statement.
B.
If the applicant decides not to submit an environmental impact report, the Board of Trustees shall notify the applicant that the processing of the application will cease and that no approval will be issued. The Board of Trustees may require an applicant to submit a fee to defray the expense to it of reviewing the draft environmental impact statement if it is prepared by the applicant. Such fees shall be determined as set forth in § 87-13.
A.
Upon completion of a draft environmental impact statement
prepared by or at the request of the village, the village shall issue a notice
of completion containing the following information:
(1)
A brief description of the action covered by the statement
and the location of its potential impacts and effects;
(2)
A statement indicating where and how copies of the statement
can be obtained from the village; and
(3)
A statement that comments on the statement are requested
and will be received and considered by the village at 494 Willis Avenue, Williston
Park, New York 11596, for a period not less than 30 calendar days from the
first filing and circulation of the notice of completion pursuant to this
section or not less than 10 calendar days following a public hearing at which
the environmental impacts of the proposed action are considered.
B.
The notice of completion shall be sent to all other agencies
involved in the action, persons who have requested it, the editor of the state
bulletin, the state clearinghouse and the relevant regional clearinghouse
designated under Federal Office of Management and Budget Circular A-95. The
village shall maintain a file open to public inspection of notices of completion
and draft environmental impact statements it has requested an applicant to
prepare or has prepared.
C.
Copies of the draft environmental impact statement and
notice of completion shall immediately be filed as follows:
D.
If the Board of Trustees determines to hold a public
hearing on a draft environmental impact statement, notice thereof shall be
filed, circulated and sent in the same manner as the notice of completion
and shall be published in the official newspaper of the village, if any, or
if none in a newspaper having general circulation within the village at least
10 days prior to such public hearing. Such notice shall also state the place
where substantive written comments on the draft environmental impact statement
may be sent and the date before which such comments shall be received. The
hearing shall commence no less than 15 calendar days nor more than 60 calendar
days after the filing of the draft environmental impact statement, except
as otherwise provided where the Board of Trustees determines that additional
time is necessary for the public or other agency review of the draft environmental
impact statement or where a different hearing date is required as appropriate
under other applicable law.
If, on the basis of a draft environmental impact statement or a public
hearing thereon, the 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.
A.
Except as otherwise provided herein, the Board of Trustees
shall prepare or cause to be prepared a final environmental impact statement
in accordance with the provisions of 6 NYCRR 617, provided further that if
the action involves an application, the Board of Trustees may direct that
the applicant shall 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 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.
B.
Where the action involves an application, such final
environmental impact statement shall be accompanied by the fee specified in
this section to defray the expenses of the village in evaluating the same.
The fee for evaluating both draft and final environmental impact statements
shall be an amount necessary to reimburse the village for sums actually expended
for reviewing and analyzing the impact statements, including fees of stenographers,
attorneys, engineers, planning consultants, surveyors and other professionals,
but such fee shall in no event exceed 1/2 of 1% of the action's total cost
as to the applicant.
C.
A notice of completion of a final environmental impact statement shall be prepared, filed and sent in the same manner as provided in § 87-11 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 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 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 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 thereto, 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; and
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 6 NYCRR 617.8 and 617.9.
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 Board of Trustees.
Where more than one agency is involved in an action, the procedures
of 6 NYCRR 617.9 and 617.14 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 6 NYCRR 617; provided, however, that if after such dates the Board
of Trustees modifies an action undertaken or approved prior to that date and
the 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 6 NYCRR 617.
