[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Babylon 4-18-1961 (Ch. A251 of the 1981 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
Pursuant to § 7-712 of the Village
Law of the State of New York and the Building Zone Ordinance, Village
of Babylon, New York,[1] the following shall constitute the rules and regulations
of the Board of Appeals of said Village of Babylon:
A.
Rule 1: Board of Appeals Office. The office of the
Village Clerk shall be the office of the Board of Appeals. The Village
Clerk is designated the Clerk of the Board of Appeals, and all papers
necessary to a hearing before the Board of Appeals shall be served
on or filed with the Village Clerk, and the same shall be deemed served
on or filed with the Board of Appeals.
B.
Rule 2: Time to Appeal. Appeals from any order, requirement,
decision or determination made by an administrative official charged
with the enforcement of the Building Zone Ordinances[2] adopted pursuant to the Village Law shall be filed with
the Clerk of the Board of Appeals within 30 days from the date of
the filing of said order, requirement, decision or determination with
the Village Clerk.
C.
Rule 3: Form of Appeal. All applications for a hearing
before the Board of Appeals shall be in writing and on the prescribed
form and shall specify the particular section(s) of the Building Zone
Ordinance[3] applicable thereto, the residential district wherein the
property lies and the specific variance or special permission requested
by the appellant.
D.
RULE 4: Proper Party To Appeal. An appeal shall be
brought in the name of the owner or contract-purchaser of the property
involved or by any aggrieved party.
E.
Rule 5: Time and Place of Hearing. The Board of Appeals
shall meet and hear appeals at 8:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of
each month in the Village Hall or such other place designated by the
Board in the notice of hearing. The Board of Appeals may hold special
meetings at the call of the Chairman and at such other times and at
such places as the Board may determine.
[Amended 1-10-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
F.
Rule 6: Notice of Hearing. All applications for a
hearing must be filed with the Clerk of the Board of Appeals by the
close of business on the Friday preceding the first Tuesday of the
month in which the hearing will be held. Immediately upon receipt
by the Clerk of the Board of Appeals or his duly authorized representative,
all applications shall be date-stamped, numbered and placed in order,
as received, upon the Board's calendar.
G.
Rule 6-a: Notice to Public. The notice of appeal for
publication in the local newspapers shall be prepared by the Clerk
of the Board of Appeals and approved for accuracy and completeness
by at least one member of the Board of Appeals. The notice of hearing
shall be published in the official newspaper of the Village at least
once in each of the two weeks immediately preceding the date set for
the hearing and in the manner prescribed in the Building Zone Ordinance.[4] A copy of the notice of appeal shall be mailed to the
owners of property abutting and opposite to that property which is
the subject of the appeal.
H.
Rule 6-b: Notice to Planning Board. Notices of all
hearings of the Board of Appeals shall be sent to the Planning Board
for its information and for such opinions, expressions or observations
it desires to bring to the attention of the Board of Appeals.
I.
Rule 7: Personal Appearance at Hearing. All applicants
must appear in person or by duly authorized representative.
J.
Rule 8: Hearing Procedure. All cases will be heard
in the order in which they are advertised unless otherwise directed
by the Chairman of the Board of Appeals. The procedure at each hearing
shall be as indicated below.
K.
Rule 8-a: Order of Hearing.
(1)
Applicant will present and explain his application.
(2)
Hearing those in favor.
(3)
Hearing those in opposition.
(4)
Applicant may present rebuttal.
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The Board of Appeals may, however, in its discretion,
at any time before or during a hearing, depart from or dispense with
the above order of hearing.
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L.
Rule 8-b: Rules of Evidence.
(1)
Since the Board of Appeals is desirous of hearing
the views of all interested parties, the strict legal rules of evidence
will not be followed.
(2)
The applicant or any interested party may call such
witnesses as he feels necessary to the hearing. Witnesses may be questioned
by the person calling the witness or by any member of the Board of
Appeals, Cross-examination of witnesses may be conducted at the discretion
of the Chairman of the Board of Appeals. An interested party may,
in writing, request the Chairman to compel the appearance of a witness,
subject to the Board of Appeal's sole discretion that the appearance
of such witness is necessary to the hearing. The Chairman may compel
the appearance of a witness. A witness may be required to testify
under oath.
M.
Rule 8-c: Reception of Evidence. All evidence and
exhibits received by the Board of Appeals shall be appropriately marked
and be deemed a part of the record. Any person requesting the return
of an original exhibit shall furnish the Board of Appeals with a certified
true copy or a photostat thereof. Where an exhibit is in the form
of a petition containing signatures of various individuals in favor
of or in opposition to an application under consideration, the authenticity
of the signatures on said petition shall be verified by the person
obtaining said signatures before a notary public.
N.
Rule 8-d: Copies of Transcript of Testimony. Any interested
party who desires a copy of the proceedings will be entitled to the
same, upon agreement to pay the necessary fees therefor.
O.
Rule 8-e: Quorum Necessary for Decision. The concurring
vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to effect a decision
of the Board. A quorum of three members present shall be necessary
to conduct a hearing. In the Chairman's absence, the Secretary of
the Board shall be the Acting Chairman, with the same powers and authority
vested in the Chairman. In the absence of both the Chairman and Secretary,
the remaining members shall designate among their number one who shall
act as Chairman, with the same powers and authority vested in the
Chairman.
P.
Rule 8-f: Adjournments. The hearing of any application
may be adjourned at an advertised hearing to a later date at the discretion
of the Board of Appeals and without further notice to the interested
parties.
Q.
Rule 8-g: Written Notice of Decision. The decision
of the Board of Appeals shall be signed by the Secretary of the Board
of Appeals and shall be mailed to the applicant and such other persons
who request same prior to the completion of the hearing. The date
of the decision of the Board of Appeals shall be indicated on the
certificate of occupancy subsequently issued by the Building Inspector.
R.
Rule 9: Effective Date of Decision. All decisions
of the Board of Appeals shall indicate the date of filing in the office
of the Board.
S.
Rule 10: Rehearing Appeals. There shall be no rehearing
of an appeal for a period of one year from the date when such appeal
was heard, where no apparent or noticeable change has taken place.
The Board shall, in its sole discretion, determine whether the change
is sufficient to warrant a rehearing.
T.
Rule 11: Multiple Applications. Where an applicant
seeks relief on more than one parcel of land, such relief must be
requested by a separate application for each parcel of land, and a
separate fee shall be paid for each application.
U.
Rule 12: Printed Rules To Be Available. Copies of
these rules shall be printed by the Village and be made available
to any interested party upon request.
V.
Rule 13: Applications for Special Permission Pursuant to Village Code § 365-20B.
[Added 6-10-2008 by L.L. No. 9-2008]
(1)
When an applicant seeks special permission for a use under § 365-20B and the building exists and the structure has a duly issued certificate of occupancy, an application for special permission for a proposed change as to the use of such building requiring special permission may be made by completion of and filing an application to the Zoning Board of Appeals and including the following information and/or documentation:
(a)
A copy of a survey or accurate site plan depicting
the building and lot as it presently exists;
(b)
A copy of the existing certificate of occupancy
for the building;
(c)
A written statement of the use or uses currently
in existence at the time of the application and, to the extent the
premises or a part thereof are not then in use, the most recent or
last use to which such vacant portion was put;
(d)
A statement as to the number of parking spaces
provided on the premises; and
(e)
An application for issuance of building permit
requesting a permit to change the use of the existing building or
a part thereof to the proposed use.
(2)
The Village Clerk shall disseminate a copy of the
application and the Building Inspector's report to each of the Board
members, at least one of whom shall also inspect the premises. The
Clerk shall also refer the application to the Building Inspector,
requesting the Inspector to confirm the validity of the certificate
of occupancy as to the building as presently exists and to inspect
the premises and review the application.
(3)
Subject to the following conditions, the Zoning Board
of Appeals may elect to waive requirements of Rules 6 through 8-C,[6] inclusive, and may summarily determine the application
by approval thereof at any regularly scheduled meeting.
(a)
Prior to the meeting, the Clerk shall have duly
posted a list of all such requests to be considered by the Board at
the meeting.
(b)
The Building Inspector shall have provided written
confirmation of the validity of the existing certificate of occupancy
and provided a report on the inspection indicating that there are
no existing violations.
(c)
The Building Inspector shall have reviewed the
application and issued a report indicating that the proposed use is
compatible with the existing building and the establishment thereof
is not likely to have any material adverse impact upon the traffic
and/or parking conditions surrounding the premises.
(4)
Approval of the application subject to a condition
that the use of the building or portion thereof for professional and/or
general office shall require further approval which may be issued
upon a request identifying the portion of the building to be so used,
the nature of business use proposed, the maximum number of persons
to be occupying the portion of the building at any given time for
purposes of conducting the business use proposed and the hours of
such operation, together with any other information the applicant
deems relevant for the Board's consideration, and, upon receipt thereof
the Board may approve the request without further public hearing in
accordance with the procedures pursuant to Rule 13 applicable to existing
buildings.
[Amended 3-28-2017 by L.L. No. 4-2017]
Said Board of Appeals may, at any time, repeal,
amend or modify the foregoing rules.
The rules and regulations of the Board of Appeals
shall be maintained by and kept in the custody of the Village Clerk.
Said rules and regulations shall be kept in
a book similar to but separate and apart from the books containing
the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Appeals.
Said book shall be entitled "The Rules and Regulations
of the Board of Appeals, Village of Babylon, State of New York."
Said rules and regulations, as well as all official
records of the Board of Appeals, shall be open to the public.
