[Adopted 8-1-1978 by L.L. No. 2-1978;
amended in its entirety 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006]
The Town Board holds, as a necessary objective,
the preservation and improvement of the physical environment within
the Town of Woodstock. The intent of this article is to establish
a commission which will define those areas of the environment that
require protection and to advise the Town Board when action is needed.
The establishment of an environmental advisory commission is viewed
as a necessary step in fostering unified action on environmental concerns.
The Town Board of the Town of Woodstock hereby
creates a commission which shall be known as the "Woodstock Environmental
Commission," hereinbelow called the "Commission." The Commission may
also be referred to as the "WEC."
The Commission shall consist of seven members
appointed by resolution of the Town Board. Only persons residing within
the Town of Woodstock shall be eligible for appointment as members
of the Commission. Town Board members may serve as additional nonvoting
ex officio members.
The appointment of members to the Commission
shall be for terms so fixed as to expire at the end of a calendar
year.
A.
At the time of the establishment of the Commission,
or the reestablishment of terms of an existing Commission, the terms
of appointment shall be as follows:
B.
All subsequent appointments, other than appointments
to fill vacancies occurring other than by the expiration of a term
of office, shall be made for a term of two years.
C.
A vacancy, occurring other than by the expiration
of a term of office, shall be filled only for the remainder of the
unexpired term.
A.
The Town Board shall, by resolution, annually designate
the Chairperson of the Commission. The Commission shall annually elect
a member to serve as Vice Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson
and the Vice Chairperson, the members of the Commission shall designate
a member to serve as Acting Chairperson.
B.
The Town Board shall, by resolution, designate a secretary
for the Commission.
Compensation for staff and payments and/or reimbursements
for expenses authorized by this article shall be paid from the appropriation
made by the Town Board for such purposes, provided that such compensation,
payments and reimbursements shall not exceed the annual budget and
appropriation authorized therefor.
A.
The members of the Commission, including ex officio
members, shall receive no compensation for their services as members
thereof.
B.
The members of the Commission, upon written authorization
by the Chairperson, may submit a written request to the Town Board
for reimbursement of reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred
in the performance of their duties.
C.
The Town Board shall provide compensation for the secretary designated pursuant to § 43-5B of this article.
D.
The Town Board may provide for payment of such other
expenses as the Town Board shall, by resolution, approve as necessary
and proper.
Subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings
Law,[1] the Commission may prescribe reasonable rules, regulations
and procedures for the conduct of its affairs.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. 7 of the State Public Officers Law.
The secretary of the Commission shall:
A.
Keep accurate written minutes of the meetings of the
Commission and shall ensure the timely submission of all such minutes,
after approval by the members of the Commission, to the office of
the Woodstock Town Clerk.
B.
Maintain accurate written and, where applicable, graphic
and/or pictorial records of all projects, actions and activities of
the Commission.
C.
Prepare an annual report detailing all actions and activities conducted by the Commission and, where applicable, listing such documents generated by the Commission as referenced in Subsection B. Said annual report shall be submitted to the Town Board on or before the 31st day of December of each year.
The functions of the Commission in its dealings
with other local agencies shall be advisory only.
A.
Research and inventories. The Commission shall:
(1)
Aid in the protection of the beauty, quality and biologic
integrity of the environment of the Town of Woodstock by calling to
the attention of the Town Board any major threat to the environment
proposed by human activities and developments.
(2)
Conduct researches, studies and surveys and create
inventories of natural and fabricated features within the Town of
Woodstock such as may be necessary to carry out the general purposes
of this article. The Commission shall:
(a)
Maintain an up-to-date inventory or index of all open
spaces in public or private ownership within the municipality, including
but not limited to natural landmarks; glacial and other geomorphic
and physiographic features; streams and their floodplains; unique
biotic communities; and scenic and other open areas of natural or
ecological value.
(b)
Keep an inventory and map of all open marshlands,
swamps and other wetlands and recommend to the Town Board a program
for ecologically suitable utilization of all such areas, in accordance
with local, state and federal guidelines.
(c)
Keep an inventory of the ownership, present use and
proposed use of such open areas so as to provide a base of information
for recommendations to the Town Board by the Commission for the preservation
and/or ecologically suitable utilization of such open spaces.
(3)
Obtain and maintain, in orderly fashion, maps, reports,
books and other publications to support the necessary researches of
the Commission into local environmental conditions.
(4)
Work independently or in cooperation with the Woodstock
Planning Board and/or other local agencies as may be appropriate to
formulate recommendations to the Town Board of proposals with regard
to:
(a)
Features, plans and programs relating to environmental
improvement for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan of the Town of
Woodstock.
(b)
Appropriate and desirable changes to existing local
laws, policies, rules and regulations relating to environmental control.
(c)
Appropriate and desirable new local laws, policies,
rules and regulations relating to environmental control.
(5)
Recommend to the Town Board that the Town of Woodstock
accept, by gift, grant, devise, bequest or otherwise, property or
interests in property, both real and personal, in order that open
spaces and other land or water resources within the boundaries of
the Town may be properly conserved and used.
B.
Programs and outreach. The Commission shall:
(1)
Develop and conduct, subject to approval by resolution
of the Town Board, a program of public information in the community
which shall be designed to foster increased understanding of environmental
problems and issues and to support their solutions and implementation.
Such programs as are so authorized by the Town Board may involve preparation,
printing and distribution of books, maps, charts, plans, pamphlets
and advertising in accordance with and furtherance of the purposes
of this article.
(2)
Seek to coordinate, assist and unify the efforts and
activities of individuals and of private groups and institutions organized
for similar purposes within the Town of Woodstock in accordance with
the purposes of this article.
(3)
Maintain liaison and communications with public and
private agencies and organizations of local, state and national scope
whose programs and activities have an impact on the quality of the
local environment or which can be of assistance to the Commission.
C.
The Commission shall carry out such other duties,
tasks and responsibilities, consistent with the objectives of this
article, as may from time to time be assigned to the Commission by
resolution of the Town Board.
