[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Ossining as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 12-20-2017 by L.L. No. 9-2017]
It is the intention of the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Ossining in adopting this chapter to set out the minimum requirements
for boards and commissions within the Village of Ossining relating
to terms of office, attendance and, where applicable, training.
A.
For
those boards and commissions where the term of office is five years,
no person shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.
Terms shall not be considered consecutive when the person being appointed
has not been a member of such board and/or commission for a period
of one year of more.
B.
For
those boards and commissions where the term of office is three years,
no person shall be appointed for more than three consecutive terms.
Terms shall not be considered consecutive when the person being appointed
has not been a member of such board and/or commission for a period
of one year or more.
C.
For
those boards and commissions where the term of office is two years,
no person shall be appointed for more than four consecutive terms.
Terms shall not be considered consecutive when the person being appointed
has not been a member of such board and/or commission for a period
of one year or more.
D.
Members
of boards and commissions whose terms have expired shall continue
to serve as members until the member is reappointed, resigns or a
new member is appointed in place of the departing member.
E.
If
the member has served for the maximum number of consecutive terms,
that member shall not apply for membership on the particular board
or commission the member served on until at least one year has passed
since the expiration of the member's last term in office. This
subsection shall not prohibit a member from applying for membership
with another board or commission after his/her term expires.
F.
If
the Board of Trustees or the Village Manager are unable to appoint
a new member to such board or commission for which the Board of Trustees
or Village Manager make such appointments as a result of lack of interest
or for any other reason, despite best efforts to do so, the Board
of Trustees may, by resolution following notification from the Village
Manager for appointments to boards or commissions made by the Village
Manager or by notification to the Board of Trustees for appointments
to boards or commissions made by the Board of Trustees, either:
A.
All
members of Village boards and commissions shall be required to attend
a minimum of 75% of the meetings scheduled within a calendar year.
B.
Noncompliance
with minimum requirements relating to attendance at meetings shall
be deemed a proper cause for removal by the Board of Trustees.
C.
For
those boards and commissions for which there are stated training requirements,
noncompliance with the minimum requirements related to training shall
be deemed a proper cause for removal by the Board of Trustees.
D.
The
chairperson of each board and commission or his/her designee shall
have attendance taken at each meeting, and such attendance records
shall be maintained by the chairperson or his/her designee.
E.
The
chairperson of each board and commission shall notify the Village
Manager in writing on or about December 1 in any year, or at any other
time if so warranted, of any member who fails to comply with the minimum
requirements for meeting attendance and/or training in any calendar
year.
Notwithstanding any training and attendance requirements, the
failure of a member of any board or commission to attend the required
percentage of meetings or obtain such training shall not affect said
member's authority to entertain applications, to deliberate and
vote on such applications or otherwise affect the validity of the
member's actions.
[Adopted 6-5-2019 by L.L.
No. 2-2019]
There are occasions when a duly appointed member of the Village
of Ossining Planning Board/Board of Architectural Review, Zoning Board
of Appeals, Historic Preservation Commission and Environmental Advisory
Council cannot attend a meeting of said Board, Commission or Council
(hereinafter "boards") because of conflict of interest, absence, disqualification
or otherwise cannot vote on a matter to be considered by said boards,
resulting in less than full Boards and in some cases lack the quorum
for the conduct of business. It is the purpose of this chapter to
permit the Mayor upon approval by the Board of Trustees to appoint
alternate member(s) to said boards to attend such meeting(s) and to
vote in place of such absent or disqualified member(s).
A.
This
article provides a process for appointing no more than two alternate
members to the Village's Planning Board/Board of Architectural
Review, Zoning Board of Appeals, Historic Preservation Commission
and Environmental Advisory Council when a member of one of these boards
has recused himself or herself or is otherwise precluded from consideration
of a matter or is absent or otherwise unable to participate at a meeting
of one of the listed boards.
B.
The
Village Manager is hereby authorized to appoint no more than two alternate
members of the Village's Planning Board/Board of Architectural
Review, Zoning Board of Appeals and Historic Preservation Commission.
These alternate members may serve when the members are absent or unable
to participate on an application or matter before the listed boards.
C.
The
Board of Trustees is hereby authorized to appoint no more than two
alternate members of the Village's Environmental Advisory Council.
These alternate members may serve when the members are absent or unable
to participate on an application or matter before the Council.
D.
An
alternate member shall have all of the rights, privileges and responsibilities
of a member of the Planning Board/Board of Architectural Review, Zoning
Board of Appeals, Historic Preservation Commission and Environmental
Advisory Council. When an alternate member is voting or counting toward
the calculation or composition of a quorum, that circumstance shall
be noted in the minutes of the particular board meeting.
E.
All
provisions of state law and local law relating to member eligibility,
vacancy in office, removal, compatibility of office, ethical requirements,
training and service on other boards also shall apply to alternate
members.
F.
Alternate
members shall attend all meetings of the boards to which they are
appointed (Planning Board/Board of Architectural Review, Zoning Board
of Appeals, Historic Preservation Commission and Environmental Advisory
Council) including executive sessions, shall sit with and participate
in all deliberations of the respective boards on all matters and shall
substitute for a member who has recused himself or herself or is otherwise
precluded from consideration of a matter or is absent or is otherwise
unable to participate at a meeting of the respective board, but an
alternate member shall not vote or count toward the calculation or
composition of a quorum unless her or she is substituting for a member.
G.
Insofar
as practicable, service by the alternate members shall rotate among
the alternate members.
H.
Alternate
members shall be appointed for terms similar to those of members of
the respective boards (Planning Board/Board of Architectural Review:
five years; Zoning Board of Appeals: five years; Historic Preservation
Commission: five years; and Environmental Advisory Council: two years).
This article is hereby adopted pursuant to the provisions of
§§ 10 and 22 of the New York State Municipal Home Rule
Law. It is the intent of the Village of Ossining Board of Trustees
to supersede the provisions of any existing law relating to the appointment
of members of the Village's Planning Board/Board of Architectural
Review and Zoning Board of Appeals to the extent that this article
is contrary to §§ 7-712 and 7-718.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See McKinney's Village Law §§ 7-712
and 7-718.
