Town of Union, NY Article 61 Text Amendments

§ 300-61.1 Authority to file.

Amendments to the text of this Zoning Ordinance may be initiated only by the governing body or by a petition requesting the amendment presented to the governing body.

§ 300-61.2 Notice of hearing.

Notice of required public hearings on Zoning Ordinance text amendments must be provided as required by the governing body and by state law. (See § 300-60.3C for additional information on public hearing notices.)

§ 300-61.3 Planning Board review and report.

The Planning Board must review all proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendments and prepare a report that evaluates the proposed amendment in light of adopted plans, the relevant provisions of this Zoning Ordinance and the review criteria of § 300-61.7.

§ 300-61.4 Referrals.

A. Whenever required under §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law, Zoning Ordinance text amendments must be forwarded to the County Planning Department for review prior to final action by the governing body.

B. If any proposed amendment consists of a change in the district classification applying to real property within 500 feet of a municipal boundary, the Town Clerk shall refer the proposed amendment to the chief elected official of the affected municipality, prior to final action.

§ 300-61.5 State Environmental Quality Review.

For Zoning Ordinance text amendment applications subject to SEQR requirements, all required environmental reviews must be completed before final action is taken on the amendment.

§ 300-61.6 Hearing and final action by governing body.

A. After receiving the report of the Planning Board, the governing body must deny the proposed amendment or convene its own public hearing on the proposed text amendment.

B. Following the public hearing, the governing body may act to approve the proposed text amendment, approve the proposed text amendment with modifications or deny the proposed text amendment. The governing body may also return the application to the Planning Board for further consideration.

C. The governing body may act by a simple majority vote of those governing body members, except when a valid protest petition has been submitted in accordance with § 300-61.8, approval or approval with modifications requires a majority plus one vote of the governing body.

D. The municipal Clerk shall notify, by mail, the petitioner of the action taken by the governing body.

E. If the governing body approves the amendment, supplement, change or modification to the text of this chapter, the Zoning Code shall be amended after publication as required by local law.

F. The governing body may, in order to protect the public health, safety, welfare and environmental quality of the community, attach to its resolution approving the petition, additional conditions deemed necessary to achieve the review criteria.

§ 300-61.7 Review criteria.

In reviewing and making decisions on Zoning Ordinance text amendments, the Code Enforcement Officer, Planning Board and governing body must consider at least the following criteria:

A. Whether the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment corrects an error or inconsistency in the Zoning Ordinance or meets the challenge of a changing condition;

B. Whether the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment is in substantial conformance with the adopted plans and policies of the municipality; and

C. Whether the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment is in the best interests of the municipality as a whole.

§ 300-61.8 Protest petitions.

In the case of a protest against any amendment, such amendment shall not become effective except in accordance with the provisions of Village or Town Law.