A. 
Purpose. This article is intended to provide the general procedures, requirements, and review criteria for all development and permit applications submitted to the Town.
B. 
Applicability. The provisions of this section apply to all the articles in this part (Part 4) unless otherwise stated.
C. 
Review body. For the purposes of this chapter the terms "reviewing body," "review body," or "decision-making body" shall refer to any Town board, commission, committee, or agent with review and/or approval authority as enacted under this chapter.
D. 
Properties in violation prohibited.
(1) 
No applications that include a building, structure, property, or use that is in violation of this zoning code, other laws of the Town of Clarkson, or NYS laws, rules, and/or regulations shall be accepted or processed.
(2) 
Applications which, in whole or in part, include a proposal to rectify violations on such property may be considered in accordance with this zoning code.
A. 
Purpose. The purpose of a predevelopment meeting is to provide the applicant with the opportunity to seek nonbinding, advisory direction from the Town to better prepare the applicant and project application for the development review process. This process is optional and has no bearing on action on a formal application.
B. 
Conference recommended. It is recommended that applicants request a predevelopment meeting prior to entering the formal application review process to discuss the nature of the proposed application and to determine the best course of action for submittal. Meetings may be held with the CEO and/or the appropriate application review body during a scheduled public meeting.
C. 
Advisory opinion. In no way shall any comments or feedback provided by the Town during a preapplication meeting be construed as an indication of decision or be legally binding in any way.
D. 
Application material. Materials presented during the preapplication meeting may be incomplete and/or conceptual in design. A formal, complete application is required to be considered for approval prior to action.
A. 
Submittal. All applications considered under this chapter shall:
(1) 
Be submitted to and processed by the Town's Code Enforcement Officer or other duly designated Town official.
(2) 
Require the signature of the owner(s) of the subject property. Where there are multiple land owners, a written consent agreement among all land owners must be included. Tenants may submit applications with written consent of the property owner(s).
(3) 
Be provided in the required number and form, including at least 15 hard copies and one electronic copy (digital PDF) upon request. Site plan applications shall include at least two stamped hard copies of all maps and site plans at the size and scale requested by the Code Enforcement Officer. Electronic copies of application materials may be required upon request.
(4) 
Include all application fees as established by § 140-40.8 and as may be required elsewhere in this chapter.
B. 
Deadlines. Applications shall be submitted prior to the meeting at which the applicant wishes to be considered, in accordance with the meeting schedule and filing deadlines, set by resolution of the Town Board. Such schedule may be amended from time to time as deemed necessary by the reviewing body.
C. 
Acceptance and processing.
(1) 
Within 30 days of an application being filed, the Town's Building Department shall determine whether to accept the application as ready for processing or reject the application as not ready for processing.
(2) 
An application is considered accepted and ready for processing only if it is submitted in the appropriate number and form, is facially complete, includes all required materials, and is accompanied by the required fee.
(3) 
The acceptance of an application by the Town shall in no way be interpreted as a determination of the completeness, adequacy, or accuracy of application materials, but rather serve as an acknowledgement to the receipt of required fee and application materials in the correct number and form.
(4) 
If an application is determined to be not ready for processing, a paper or electronic written notice shall be provided to the applicant.
(5) 
No further processing of unaccepted applications will occur. When the deficiencies are corrected, the application will be placed in the next available processing cycle. If the deficiencies are not corrected within 62 days, the application will be considered withdrawn.
D. 
Applicant responsibilities.
(1) 
The applicant and/or their agent is expected to attend all meetings at which the application is to be discussed.
(2) 
In all cases, the burden is on the applicant to show that their application complies with the Town of Clarkson local laws and regulations, and any other applicable NYS laws, rules, and regulations.
A. 
Initiation of review. The review process(es) provided herein shall begin within 30 days of application acceptance by the Town's Building Department. The review and decision period does not begin until such time that the Town's Building Department notifies the applicant that the application is ready for processing and the materials submitted are acceptable for review.
B. 
Public hearing. Where required by this chapter and NYS Law, the reviewing body shall hold at least one public hearing prior to the issuance of a decision.
C. 
State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR). Where required by NYS Law, the review body shall complete all required documentation and procedures in accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
D. 
Issuance of decision.
(1) 
Within 62 days following the close of the public hearing the reviewing body shall issue a decision to approve, approve with conditions or modifications, or deny the proposed application.
(2) 
Prior to issuing a decision on an accepted application, the reviewing body shall determine by resolution the application to be complete, noting any waived or additional application materials.
(3) 
Where county referral is required, no decision shall be issued by the reviewing body until the referral process is complete.
(4) 
The time period in which a decision must be rendered on the application may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the reviewing body.
E. 
Written decision.
(1) 
A written decision shall be provided by the Town explaining the rationale and findings of the reviewing body based upon the standards and review criteria contained in this chapter. The written decision shall also make note of any conditions or modifications of the approval, where applicable.
(2) 
A copy of the decision shall be promptly filed with the Town Building Department and sent to the applicant.
F. 
Findings. The findings of the review body may be based on evidence submitted or the personal knowledge of the review body to show that:
(1) 
It has made an intelligent review of the question.
(2) 
It has considered all the information or evidence.
(3) 
It has heard all parties in question.
(4) 
Any intimate knowledge it has of the subject under question has been considered.
(5) 
It has made a personal inspection of the parcel in question and from this examination certain findings were ascertained.
G. 
Waiving application requirements. A reviewing body is authorized to waive or modify, in whole or in part, required application material if in their opinion one or more of the following apply:
(1) 
Any such material, or part thereof, is not requisite in the consideration of impact to public health, safety, or general welfare;
(2) 
Any such material is inappropriate or irrelevant to the proposal;
(3) 
Any such material is deemed unnecessary for an adequate, informed review.
H. 
Additional application requirements. A reviewing body may require the applicant to provide additional application material if it is found to be necessary for a complete, adequate, and informed review.
A. 
Internal referral. The reviewing body may refer any application to another Town board, committee, department, or official for review, comment, and advisement. Within 30 days of referral the receiving body shall submit its recommendation in writing with a summary of findings to the reviewing body.
B. 
Professional referral.
(1) 
The reviewing body may seek the opinion of any engineering, architectural, historical, planning, technical, environmental, legal consultant or attorney, or other expert or professional to aid in the review of an application.
(2) 
The applicant shall reimburse the Town for any costs incurred as part of such professional review in accordance with § 140-40.7.
C. 
County referral. The Town shall refer applications to the Monroe County Planning and Development Department pursuant to NYS GML 239-m and in accordance with any planning referral agreements between the Town and county.
D. 
Other local, regional, and state referrals. Referrals to other local, regional, and state agencies shall also be made in accordance with Town, county, and NYS Law.
A. 
Conducting public hearings.
(1) 
The reviewing body shall schedule, notice, and conduct a public hearing for applications as required by this chapter and NYS Law.
(2) 
The reviewing body may review multiple applications (e.g., special use permit and site plan review) for a single property, use, or development concurrently and may conduct concurrent or joint public hearings, if desired.
(3) 
A public hearing for which proper notice was given may be continued to a later date without providing additional notice as long as the continuation is set for specified date and time and that date and time is announced during the public hearing.
(4) 
If a public hearing is tabled, deferred or postponed for an indefinite period of time from the date of the originally scheduled public hearing, new public notice must be given before the rescheduled public hearing.
(5) 
If the applicant requests a postponement, the applicant must pay all costs of renotification.
B. 
Public hearing notices.
(1) 
Newspaper. Whenever the provisions of this chapter require, notice must be published at least 10 days in advance of such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town.
(2) 
Mail. Whenever the provisions of this chapter require, notice may be sent by mail. Such notice should:
(a) 
Be based on the latest property ownership information available from the Real Property Assessment Records. When required notices have been properly addressed and deposited in the U.S. mail, failure of a party to receive such notice will not be grounds to invalidate any action taken.
(b) 
Follow the minimum distance requirement for mailed notices to nearby property owners as set by NYS Law. Where the provisions of this chapter may be in conflict, the greater requirement shall apply.
(3) 
Online notice. Notice may also be posted to the official website and/or social media accounts of the Town.
A. 
Fee Schedule established. A schedule of fees for all permits, applications, deposits, and copies shall be provided in a Fee Schedule, set by resolution of the Town Board. Such schedule may be amended from time to time as deemed necessary by the Town Board.
B. 
Consultant fees.
(1) 
A review body may refer an application presented to them for professional engineering, architectural, historical, planning, technical, environmental, landscaping, or legal consultation, or attorney, as shall be deemed reasonably necessary to enable an adequate, informed review.
(2) 
The amount of a consultant fee shall be determined and approved by the Town Board. Consultants shall estimate their fees based on the services to be rendered on behalf of the Town from a review of the application, including such documents, maps, plans, specifications, drawings and the like as may be a part thereof.
(3) 
The consultant will be retained pursuant to the procurement policy of the Town. The applicant shall make an escrow deposit with the Town, equal to the amount of the fees so determined. This escrow deposit shall be utilized to pay the cost of the special consultant's fees involved. The application shall not be deemed complete until such time as said escrow deposit has been made. If during the review the need for further specialist consultation is deemed reasonably necessary by the Board, the same cost estimate and escrow deposit procedure shall be followed.
A. 
Once all required reviews and approvals of this chapter have been obtained and compliance with all standards herein is verified by Town Development Staff, the applicant shall be granted a zoning permit by the Code Enforcement Officer.
B. 
The issuance of a zoning permit shall be independent of and in no way indicate approval of a building permit or certificate of occupancy. The authorization and issuance of a building permit shall be at the discretion of the Code Enforcement Officer as provided in § 140-52.5 of the Town of Clarkson Code.
C. 
Such permit shall expire 90 days after the issuance thereof unless construction shall have been commenced within said period, and it shall expire 18 months after the date of issue in any event.
A. 
Requirement. No building or other structure or part thereof hereafter erected or altered in its use or structure shall be used or occupied until the Code Enforcement Officer shall have issued a certificate of occupancy stating that such building, structure or part thereof and the proposed occupancy or use thereof are found to be in conformity with the provisions of all applicable state and local laws and conditions of approval of any approvals authorized by this chapter.
B. 
Issuance. Within five days after notification that a building or structure or premises is ready for occupancy or use, it shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to make a final inspection thereof and issue a certificate of occupancy if the land, building, structure or part thereof is found to conform to the provisions of all applicable state and local laws.
C. 
Refusal. If the Code Enforcement Officer, after such final inspection, refuses to issue a certificate of occupancy, the Code Enforcement Officer shall state such refusal, in writing, with the cause and immediately thereupon mail notice of such refusal to the applicant to the address indicated on the application.
D. 
Upon transfer of title to a new owner or execution and recording of a mortgage upon said building, or said building becoming vacant, no two-family dwelling, multifamily dwelling, or nonresidential building shall be occupied in whole or in part until the issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the Code Enforcement Officer that said dwelling conforms in all respects to the requirements of this chapter. The Code Enforcement Officer may, on the request of the owner or certified agent, issue a temporary certificate of occupancy in their discretion.
A. 
Upon written request from the owner of the premises, a certificate of legal preexisting nonconformance for any structure or premises lawfully existing or used at the time this chapter takes effect shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer certifying that the continuance of such use is permissible under the provisions of Article 43 of this chapter.
B. 
The certificate shall specifically state wherein the nonconforming use or structure differs from the provisions of this chapter.
A. 
The Planning Board, in its discretion, may grant temporary nonconforming permits for a period not exceeding six months for use or occupancy for a nonconforming use designated in such permit within any district. Such temporary permits shall be limited as to time and may be extended for not more than one six-month period. Upon the expiration of such temporary permit and any extension thereof, the nonconforming use permitted thereby shall thereupon cease.
B. 
A temporary certificate of occupancy may be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer for a period not exceeding six months during alterations or partial occupancy of the building pending its completion, provided that such temporary certificate shall include such conditions and safeguards as will protect the safety of the occupants and the public.