Town of Cazenovia, NY Article XXIV Procedures

§ 165-113 Board and CEO review procedures; certificates of occupancy or compliance.

The following procedures shall apply unless otherwise modified elsewhere in this Code:

A. Initiation of application. A property owner and his or her duly authorized agent or other persons having a contractual interest shall make an application required under this chapter for the subject property.

B. Compliance required. No application for a land use permit, site plan, special use permit, subdivision, interpretation of any law, rule, ordinance or regulation, zone change, map amendment or variance shall be accepted where there are existing violations or delinquent real estate, school, Town or county taxes assessed against the subject property and/or fees imposed by local law, except where such application is intended to cure the violations. Additionally, proof that all local, state and federal regulations and permits have been complied with or obtained shall be submitted as part of the application.

C. Simultaneous processing. Whenever two or more forms of review and approval are required under this chapter, applications for those development approvals may be processed simultaneously where not otherwise prohibited by law.

D. Application forms and application filing fees. Applications required under this article shall be submitted in a form and in such numbers as required by the CEO. Applications shall be accompanied by the fee amount that shall be established by the Town Board and elsewhere under the Code. The reviewing board shall have the authority to waive application requirements, except fees, that are not applicable to a specific project. Applications shall not be processed by the reviewing board where sufficient filing fees have not been remitted.

E. Application completeness. An application shall be considered received when it is accepted in the required form, includes all mandatory information, including all exhibits, and is accompanied by the applicable fee and is determined to be complete for purposes of processing by the CEO. Such determination shall be made within 10 days following submission of an application, but failure to make such determinations within the 10 days does not relieve the applicant of the requirement to submit a completed application. If an application is determined to be incomplete, the CEO will provide written notice to the applicant, along with an explanation of the application's deficiencies. No further processing of the application shall occur and no public hearings shall be scheduled until the deficiencies are corrected. If the deficiencies are not corrected by the applicant within 30 days, the application shall be considered withdrawn and the application will be returned to the applicant.

F. Referral to Madison County Planning Department. Applications subject to General Municipal Law § 239 shall be referred to the Planning Department at Madison County in accordance with the provisions of General Municipal Law § 239 unless otherwise so determined by law or agreement.

G. Notification for public hearings.

(1) Public hearings shall be required for the following:

(a) Zoning Map or zoning text amendments, by the Town Board.

(b) Site plan review, by the Planning Board specifically where required under such law.

(c) Special permit uses, by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

(d) Variances, by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

(e) Interpretations, by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

(f) Subdivisions, by the Planning Board pursuant to law.

(2) Setting hearing. For all matters properly brought before the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals for which a public hearing is required by this chapter, the body charged with conducting the hearing shall, upon receipt of a completed application, select a reasonable time and place for such hearing.

(3) Mailed and other notices.

(a) All owners of property located both within 500 feet of the subject property, as measured between nearest property lines, shall be given notice of the public hearing. At least 15 days in advance of the public hearing, the applicant shall be required to provide such notices to the Secretary of the reviewing board in stamped, sealed envelopes addressed to the required property owners along with a copy of such notice for the official Town file. Such notices shall be mailed by the Secretary of the reviewing board at least 10 days in advance of the public hearing date by regular United States mail.

(b) The cost of such notice or notices shall be borne by the appellant or applicant, as the case may be.

(c) Notwithstanding the specific notification rules contained in this section, each board may, in its own discretion, and as the case warrants, provide greater notice in the interest of fuller public participation.

(d) The applicant shall prominently display at the subject property the official notice on a form provided by the Codes Enforcement Officer for a period of no less than five days prior to said hearing. Such notice shall be easily visible from the street at all times.

(e) Failure to provide such notice shall not be deemed a jurisdictional default to processes listed herein, and in no event shall such failure be a basis or grounds for overturning a decision of the reviewing board.

(4) Published notice. Where published notice is required, it shall be placed in an official paper or a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least once, not less than five days before the date of the hearing.

H. Filing of approvals.

(1) The Town of Cazenovia Town Clerk or Secretary to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals shall file all applicable restrictions and other conditions (either in the form of minutes or a resolution) as approved by the Planning Board, Town Board or Zoning Board of Appeals as required by the Town Code with appropriate officers and agencies.

(2) All covenants, deed restrictions, easements and similar restrictions to be recorded in connection with the approval shall provide that they may not be modified, removed or released without the express consent of the Town Board and shall provide that they may be enforced by the Town of Cazenovia.

(3) All filing fees and expenses are the responsibility of the applicant.

I. Saving clause. Except as otherwise required by statute, failure to comply with any of the notice requirements as set forth in this section shall not invalidate any action taken by any board.

J. Certificates of occupancy or compliance.

(1) No structure hereafter erected shall be used and no land shall be used or changed in use until a certificate of occupancy or compliance therefor has been issued by the CEO.

(2) No structure hereafter altered shall continue to be used for more than 30 days after the alteration is completed unless a certificate of occupancy or compliance shall have been issued by the CEO.

(3) Except upon a written order of the Board of Appeals, no certificate of occupancy or compliance shall be issued for any structure or use that would be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.

(4) Applications for certificates of occupancy or compliance shall be made upon such forms and shall be accompanied by such layout or plot plans as shall be prescribed by the CEO to facilitate enforcement of this chapter in conjunction with the New York State Building Code, as amended.

K. Dismissal of application. In addition to other decision options available, the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals or Town Board ("Board") may dismiss any application pending before it, if the Board, in its discretion, reasonably exercised, determines that the application has not been or is not being actively pursued and moved forward by the applicant. Any such dismissal may be without prejudice, as may be determined by the Board.

§ 165-114 Criteria for decisions.

A. Considerations in granting or denying special permits. In granting or denying special permits, the reviewing board shall take into consideration the scale of the proposed project and the possible impact of the proposed project on the functioning of nearby farm operations, as well as any proposed conservation easements, architectural restrictions or other measures that would tend to mitigate potential adverse impacts and preserve or enhance the scenic, natural or historic character of the Town.

(1) Minor projects. Before granting a minor project special permit, the reviewing board shall determine:

(a) That it is consistent with the purposes of the land use district in which it is located and with all applicable provisions of this chapter.

(b) That it will not adversely affect surrounding land uses by creating excessive traffic, noise, dust, odors, glare, pollution or other nuisances.

(c) That it is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

(2) Major projects. Before granting a major project special use permit, the reviewing board shall make specific written findings that the proposed major project:

(a) Will comply with all provisions and requirements of this chapter and of all other local laws and regulations and will be consistent with the purposes of the land use district in which it is located, with the Comprehensive Plan and with the purposes of this chapter.

(b) Will not result in the release of harmful substances or any other nuisances, nor cause excessive noise, dust, odors, solid waste or glare.

(c) Will not cause undue traffic congestion, unduly impair pedestrian safety or overload existing roads, considering their current width, surfacing and condition.

(d) Will have appropriate parking and be accessible to fire, police and other emergency vehicles.

(e) Will not overload any public water, drainage or sewer system or any other municipal facility or service, including schools.

(f) Will not degrade any natural resource, ecosystem or historic resource, including Cazenovia Lake.

(g) Will be suitable to such conditions on operation, design and layout of structures and provision of screening, buffer areas and off-site improvements as may be necessary to ensure compatibility with surrounding uses and to protect the natural, historic and scenic resources of the Town.

(h) Will be consistent with the community's goal of concentrating retail uses in the Village and the Hamlet, avoiding strip commercial development and locating nonresidential uses that are incompatible with residential use on well-buffered properties.

(i) Will have no greater overall impact on the site and its surroundings than would full development of uses of the property permitted by right.

B. Special use permit amendments. The terms and conditions of any special use permit may be amended in the same manner as required for the issuance of a special use permit, following the criteria and procedures in this section.