No decision to carry out or approve an action other than an action listed in §
83-3B hereof or Section 617.12 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations as a Type II action shall be made by the Town Board or by any department, board, commission, officer or employee of the town until there has been full compliance with all requirements of this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting:
A. The conducting of contemporaneous environmental, engineering,
economic feasibility or other studies and preliminary planning and
budgetary processes necessary to the formulation of a proposal for
action which do not commit the town to approve, commence or engage
in such action; or
B. The granting of any part of an application which relates
only to technical specifications and requirements, provided that no
such partial approval shall entitle or permit the applicant to commence
the action until all requirements of this chapter and Part 617 of
Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations have been fulfilled.
For the purpose of assisting in the determination
of whether an action may or will not have a significant effect on
the environment, applicants for permits or other approvals shall file
a written statement with the Town Board or appropriate department,
board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction, setting
forth the name of the applicant, the location of the real property
affected, if any, a description of the nature of the proposed action
and the effect it may have on the environment. In addition, applicants
may include a detailed statement of the reasons why, in their view,
a proposed action may or will not have a significant effect on the
environment. Where the action involves an application, the statement
shall be filed simultaneously with the application for the action.
Such statement shall be accompanied by drawings, sketches and maps,
if any, together with any other relevant explanatory material required
by the Town Board or appropriate department, board, commission, officer
or employee having jurisdiction.
If the Town Board or appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction determines that the proposed action is not an exempt action, not an action listed in §
83-3B hereof or Section 617.12 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations as a Type II action and that it will not have a significant effect on the environment, the Town Board or appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction shall prepare, file and circulate such determination as provided in Section 617.7(b) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, and thereafter the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter. If the Town Board or appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction determines that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, the Town Board or appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction shall prepare, file and circulate such determination as provided in Section 617.7(b) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, and thereafter the proposed action shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
Following a determination that a proposed action
may have a significant effect on the environment, the Town Board or
appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee having
jurisdiction shall, in accordance with the provisions of Part 617
of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations:
A. In the case of an action involving an applicant, immediately
notify the applicant of the determination and shall request the applicant
to prepare an environmental impact report in the form of a draft environmental
impact statement.
B. In the case of an action not involving an applicant,
prepare a draft environmental impact statement. If the applicant decides
not to submit an environmental impact report, the Town Board or appropriate
department, board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction
shall notify the applicant that the processing of the application
will cease and that no approval will be issued.
Where more than one (1) agency is involved in
an action, the procedures of Sections 617.4 and 617.8 of Part 617
of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations shall be followed.
Actions undertaken or approved prior to the
dates specified in Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law
for local agencies shall be exempt from this chapter and the provisions
of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Part 617 of
Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations; provided, however,
that if after such dates the Town Board or appropriate department,
board, commission, officer or employee having jurisdiction modifies
an action undertaken or approved prior to that date and the Town Board
or appropriate department, board, commission, officer or employee
having jurisdiction determines that the modification may have a significant
adverse effect on the new environment, such modification shall be
an action subject to this chapter and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New
York Codes, Rules and Regulations.