Chapter 331 Environmental Quality Review

Projects or activities directly undertaken by any agency; or supported in whole or part through contracts, grants, subsidies, loans or other forms of funding assistance from one or more agencies; or involving the issuance to a person of a lease, permit, license, certificate or other entitlement for use or permission to act by one or more agencies.

CONSERVATION ADVISORY COMMISSION

Policies, regulations and procedure making.

AGENCY

Any state department, agency, board, public benefit corporation, public authority or commission and any local department, agency, board, district, commission or governing body, including any village, town, city, county and other political subdivision of the state.

APPLICANT

Any person making an application or other request for agency action.

The Conservation Advisory Commission of the Town of Mamaroneck.

ENVIRONMENT

The physical conditions which will be affected by proposed actions, including land, air, water, minerals, flora, fauna, noise, objects of historic or aesthetic significance, existing patterns of population concentration, distribution or growth and existing community or neighborhood character.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

A written document prepared in accordance with Section 617.6 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. An environmental impact statement may either be a draft or be final.

EXEMPT ACTION

Any one of the following:

Enforcement or criminal proceedings or the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in determining whether or not to institute such proceedings.

Ministerial actions.

Maintenance or repair involving no substantial changes in existing structure or facility.

With respect to the requirements of Subdivision 2 of § 8-0109 of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, actions requiring a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need under Articles VII and VIII of the Public Service Law and the consideration of, grant or denial of any such certificate.

Except as set forth in Section 617.5 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, actions undertaken or approved prior to the effective date(s) of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law. An action shall be deemed to be undertaken or approved prior to such date(s) if, in the case of construction activities, a contract for substantial construction activities has been entered into or if a continuous program of on-site construction or modification has been engaged in or if, in the case of an action involving federal participation, either a draft environmental impact statement or a negative declaration has been duly prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

(6)

Actions which are immediately necessary on a limited emergency basis for the protection or preservation of life, health, property or natural resources.

(7)

Actions of the Legislature of the State of New York or of any court.

MINISTERIAL ACTION

An action performed upon a given state of facts in a prescribed manner imposed by law without the exercise of any judgment or discretion as to the propriety of the action, such as the grant of a building permit, electrical or plumbing permits or licenses, dog licenses and the like, although such law may require, in some degree, a construction of its language or intent.

PERSON

Any agency, individual, corporation, governmental entity, partnership, association, trustee or other legal entity.

PLANNING COMMISSION

The Planning Commission of the Village of Larchmont.

VILLAGE

The territorial area of the Village of Larchmont.

VILLAGE BOARD

The Board of Trustees of the Village of Larchmont.

In the event of amendments to said Article 8 of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law (SEQR) additional definitions, if any, contained in such amendments shall be effective in the Village of Larchmont.

§ 331-2 Types of actions.

Purpose and scope.

The purpose of this section is to simplify the task of determining whether or not a proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment by identifying the types of actions which are likely to have a significant effect and those which will not have a significant effect.

Due to the complex and varied nature of actions, the lists in this section are not all-inclusive. Any omission from the Type I and Type II list of actions as set forth herein shall not be conclusive. In these instances, or if, in the opinion of the Planning Commission, a proposed project or activity may have a significant effect upon the environment, although it does not meet the specific standards set forth under Type I actions, the Planning Commission may, at its discretion, require that an environmental impact statement be prepared.

The following classification system is used in this section:

Type I: actions or classes of actions that are likely to require preparation of environmental impact statements because they will, in almost every instance, have a significant effect on the environment.

Type II: actions or classes of actions which have been determined as not to have a significant effect on the environment and which do not require environmental impact statements under this Part.[1]

NOTE: This Part[2] does not apply to actions by private persons where no agency action is involved. The following lists are intended to cover only actions of agencies or actions which must be approved, funded or otherwise acted upon by an agency.

[1]

Editor's Note: "This part" apparently refers to Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.

[2]

Editor's Note: "This part" apparently refers to Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.

Type I actions.

Construction of new or expansion by more than 50% of existing size, square footage or usage of existing:

(a)

Airports.

(b)

Public institutions, such as hospitals, schools and institutions of higher learning, correction facilities and major office centers.

(c)

Road or highway sections, including bridges, which require an indirect source permit under 6 NYCRR 203.

(d)

Parking facilities or other facilities with an associated parking area for 250 or more cars.

(e)

Dams with a downstream hazard of C classification under the Environmental Conservation Law § 15-0503.

(f)

Stationary combustion installations operation at a total heating input exceeding one thousand million (1,000,000,000) Btu's per hour.

(g)

Chemical pulp mills, portland cement plants, iron and steel plants, primary aluminum ore reduction plants, sulfuric acid plants, petroleum refineries, lime plants, sulfur recovery plants, fuel conversion plants, by-product coke manufacturing plants.

(h)

Incinerators operating at a refuse-charging rate exceeding 250 tons of refuse per twenty-four-hour day.

(i)

Storage facilities designed for or capable of storing 500,000 or more gallons of liquid natural gas, liquid petroleum gas or other liquid fuels.

(j)

Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems emitting air contaminants assigned an environmental rating of A under 6 NYCRR 212 and whose total emission rate of such A-contaminate exceeds one pound per hour.

(k)

Process, exhaust and/or ventilation systems from which the total emission rate or all air contaminants exceeds 25 tons per day.

(l)

A sanitary landfill for an excess of 25,000 cubic yards per year of waste fill.

(m)

Any facility, development or project which is to be directly located in one of the following critical areas:

[1]

Freshwater wetlands as defined in the Freshwater Wetlands Law of the Village of Larchmont.[3]

[3]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 341, Freshwater Wetlands.

[2]

Floodplains as defined in Article 36 of the Environmental Conservation Law.

[3]

Areas with slopes of 40% or greater.

(n)

Any facility, development or project having an adverse impact on any historic building, structure or site listed on the National Register of Historic Places or in the Statewide Inventory of Historical and Cultural Resources.

(o)

Any facility, development or project which would generate more than 2,000 vehicle trips per any hour or more than 10,000 vehicle trips per any eight-hour period.

(p)

Any facility, development or project which would use groundwater or surface water in excess of 50,000 gallons in any day.

(q)

Any industrial facility which has a yearly average discharge flow, based on days of discharge, of greater than 0.25 million gallons per day.

(r)

Any publicly or privately owned sewage treatment works which has an average daily design flow of more than 0.25 million gallons per day.

(s)

A residential development that includes 25 or more units in an unsewered area or 200 or more units in a sewered area.

(t)

Lakes or other bodies of water with a water surface in excess of 25 acres.

Any funding, licensing or planning activities in respect to any of the types of construction listed in Subsection C(1) above.

Application of pesticides or herbicides over more than 500 contiguous acres.

Clearcutting of 25 or more contiguous acres of forest cover or vegetation other than crops.

The proposed adoption of comprehensive land use plans, Zoning Ordinances, Building Codes, comprehensive solid waste plans, state and regional transportation plans, water resource basin plans, comprehensive water quality studies, area-wide water treatment plans, state environmental plans, local flood control plans and the like.

(6)

Commercial burial of radioactive materials, requiring a permit under 6 NYCRR 380.

(7)

Any action which will result in excessive or unusual noise or vibration, taking into consideration the volume, intensity, pitch, time duration and the appropriate land uses for both the source and the recipient of such noise or vibration.

(8)

Acquisition or sale by a public agency of more than 50 contiguous acres of land.

Type II actions.

Construction or alteration of a single- or two-family residence and accessory appurtenant uses or structures, but not if such construction or alteration:

(a)

Is in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more such residences.

(b)

Is in a critical area as described in this section for Type I actions.

(c)

May cause significant water supply, sewage disposal, drainage, fire-protection, traffic or noise problems.

The extension of utility facilities to serve new or altered single- or two-family residential structures or to render service in approved subdivisions.

Construction or alteration of a store, office or restaurant designed for an occupant load of 20 persons or less, if not in conjunction with the construction or alteration of two or more stores, offices or restaurants and if not in one of the critical areas as for Type I actions, and the construction of utility facilities to serve such establishments.

Actions involving individual setback and lot line variances and the like.

§ 331-3 Compliance required; exemptions.

Agricultural farm management practices, including construction, maintenance and repair of farm buildings and structures and land use changes consistent with generally accepted principles of farming.

(6)

Operation, repair, maintenance or minor alteration of existing structures, land uses and equipment.

(7)

Restoration or reconstruction of a structure in whole or in part being increased or expanded by less than 50% of its existing size, square footage or usage unless in a critical area as set forth in this chapter.

(8)

Repaving of existing highways not involving the addition of new travel lanes.

(9)

Street openings for the purpose of repair or maintenance of existing utility facilities.

(10)

Installation of traffic control devices on existing streets, roads and highways, other than multiple fixtures on long stretches.

(11)

Mapping of existing roads, streets, highways, uses, ownership patterns and the like.

(12)

Regulatory activities not involving construction or changed land use relating to one individual, business, institution or facility, such as inspections, testing, operating certification or licensing and the like.

(13)

Sales of surplus government property other than land, radioactive material, pesticides, herbicides or other hazardous materials.

(14)

Collective bargaining activities.

(15)

Operating expense or executive budget planning, preparation and adoption not involving new programs or major reordering of priorities.

(16)

Investments by or on behalf of agencies or pension or retirement systems.

(17)

Actions which are immediately necessary for the protection or preservation of life, health, property or natural resources.

(18)

Routine administrations and management of agency functions, not including new programs or major reordering of priorities.

(19)

Routine license and permit renewals where there is no significant change in preexisting conditions.

(20)

Routine activities of education institutions which do not include capital construction.

No decision to carry out or approve an action, other than an action listed as a Type II or an exempt action herein or in Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, shall be made by any department, board, commission, officer or employee of the village until there has been full compliance with all requirements of this chapter. However, nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting:

The conducting of contemporaneous environmental, engineering, economic feasibility or other studies and preliminary planning and budgetary processes necessary for the formulation of a proposal for action, which do not commit the village to approve, commence or engage in such action.

The granting of any part of an application which relates only to the 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 have been fulfilled.

§ 331-4 Processing of exempt and Type II actions.

By June 1, 1977, each department, agency, board or commission of the village will file with the Village Board a list of those permits or approvals issued by such department, agency, board or commission of the village which, in the opinion of such department, agency, board or commission of the village constitutes an exempt action or a Type II action. A new list or a supplements list may be filed with the Village Board by any department, agency, board or commission of the village at any time. All such lists are effective only upon approval by the Village Board.

Immediately upon receipt of an application for a permit or approval, each department, agency, board or commission of the village shall determine whether or not such type of permit or approval is contained on the list which has heretofore been approved by the Village Board. In the event that such type of permit or approval is on such list, the department, agency, board or commission may proceed to process the same without further regard to this chapter.

If the type of permit or approval being sought hereinunder is not contained on the approved list of such department, agency, board or commission of the village, such department, agency, board or commission shall be required to determine whether such type of permit or approval should be an exempt action or a Type II action, in accordance with § 331-2 herein.

If the appropriate department, agency, board or commission determines that the proposed permit or approval is an exempt action or a Type II action, as set forth in § 331-2 herein, the department, agency, board or commission may process same without further regard to this chapter.

§ 331-5 Environmental assessment required.

If the appropriate department, agency, board or commission determines that the proposed permit or approval is not an exempt action of a Type II action, as set forth in § 331-2 herein, the applicant shall be so notified and directed to complete an environmental assessment form, as provided in § 331-5 herein, prior to any further processing of the application.

All applicants for permits or other approvals from any officer, department, agency or board of the Village of Larchmont, other than exempt actions or Type II actions as determined by the applicable officer, department, agency or board, shall file a completed environmental assessment form with the Planning Commission, 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. Such statement shall also include a detailed explanation of the reasons why, in the view of the applicant, a proposed action may or will not have a significant effect on the environment.

When the action involves an application, the statement shall be filed simultaneously with the application for the action.

The environmental assessment provided herein shall be upon a form prescribed by the Planning Commission of the Village of Larchmont and shall contain such additional relevant information as shall be required in the prescribed form. Such statement shall be accompanied by drawings, sketches and maps, together with any other relevant explanatory material required by the Planning Commission.

§ 331-6 Notification of proposed actions.

Upon receipt of a completed application and an environmental assessment form, the Planning Commission shall cause a notice thereof to be posted on the signboard of the Village Hall maintained by the village and may cause such notice to be published in the official newspaper of the village, describing the nature of the proposed action and stating that written views thereon of any person shall be received by the Planning Commission no later than a date specified in such notice.

§ 331-7 Determination on proposed action.

The Planning Commission shall render a written determination on whether an environmental impact statement is required within 15 days following receipt of a completed application and environmental assessment form; provided, however, that no such application shall be deemed to be completed until the expiration of the time period provided for in § 331-6 hereof, and, further, provided that such period may be extended by mutual agreement of the applicant and the Planning Commission. The determination shall state whether such proposed action may or will not have a significant effect on the environment or is an exempt action. The Planning Commission may hold informal meetings with the applicant and may meet and consult any other person for the purpose of aiding it in making a determination on the application.

§ 331-8 Applicant fee.

Every application for determination under this chapter shall be accompanied by a fee as determined by the Village Board. Such fee will be to cover the costs incurred by the Planning Commission in making the determination and in publishing notice, if any, of said determination.

§ 331-9 Procedure for actions not requiring statements.

If the Planning Commission determines that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the environment, the Planning Commission shall prepare, file and circulate such determination with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the appropriate regional office thereof, the Village Clerk, the Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission and the applicant and give public notice as provided in § 331-6 herein. Thereafter, the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter.

§ 331-10 Procedure for actions requiring statements.

If the Planning Commission determines that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, the Planning Commission shall prepare, file and circulate such determination with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the appropriate regional office thereof, the Village Clerk, the Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission and the applicant and give public notice as provided in § 331-6 herein. Thereafter, the proposed action shall be reviewed and processed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

§ 331-11 Preparation of draft environmental impact statement.

Following a determination that a proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment, the Planning Commission shall, as provided herein, immediately notify the applicant of the determination and shall direct the applicant to prepare a draft environmental impact statement.

If the applicant does not submit a draft environmental impact statement, the Planning Commission may prepare, or cause to be prepared, the draft environmental impact statement or, in its discretion, notify the applicant that the processing of the application will cease and that no approval will be issued.

The draft environmental impact statement is a required document for the application and must be presented before the application is deemed complete for acceptance, preparatory to setting a date for a public hearing on the application under the regulations governing hearings required for processing such type of application.

The Planning Commission may require an applicant to submit a fee to defray the expense to the Planning Commission of preparing a draft environmental impact statement or reviewing same if it is prepared by the applicant. Such fees as shall be determined by the Village Board shall be submitted to the Planning Commission in advance.

§ 331-12 Notice of completion of draft environmental impact statement.

Upon completion of a draft environmental impact statement prepared by or at the direction of the village, a notice of completion, containing the information specified in Section 617.79(d) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, shall be prepared, filed and circulated as provided in Section 617.7(e) and (f) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the appropriate regional office thereof, the Village Clerk, the Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission, the applicant and owners of property within 250 feet of the perimeter of the subject property. In addition, the notice of completion shall be published in the official newspaper of the village, and a copy thereof shall also be posted on a signboard of the village. Copies of the draft environmental impact statement and the notice of completion shall be filed, sent and made available, as provided in Section 617(e) and (f) of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, and transmitted to the Environmental Quality Control Commission.

§ 331-13 Public hearing on draft environmental impact statement.

If the Planning Commission determines that a public hearing on a draft environmental impact statement should be held or if the applicant or 25 or more property owners or residents of legal age within the village or the Village Board requests such hearing, notice thereof shall be filed, circulated and sent in the same manner as the notice of completion and shall be published in the official newspaper of the village at least 10 days prior to such public hearing. Such notice shall also state the place where substantive written comments on the draft environmental impact statement may be sent and the date before which such comments shall be received. Notice of public hearing shall also be sent to the Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission, which may submit its own comments and recommendations to the Village Board prior to the hearing.

The hearing shall commence no less than 15 calendar days nor more than 45 calendar days from the filing of the draft environmental impact statement, except where the Planning Commission determines that additional time is necessary for the public or other agency review of the draft environmental impact statement or where a different hearing date is required as appropriate under other applicable law. The hearing will be conducted by the Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees.

The Village Board shall be required to make a determination as to whether the proposed action will or will not have a significant effect on the environment within 30 days of the close of the hearing. Such determination shall be based upon the draft environmental impact statement, the comments made during the public hearing and upon substantive written comments received in accordance with this section.

§ 331-14 Negative impact determination.

If, on the basis of a draft environmental impact statement and if no public hearing is held, the Planning Commission determines that an action will not have a significant effect on the environment, the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter.

If, on the basis of a draft environmental impact statement and if public hearing is held, the Village Board of Trustees determines that an action will not have a significant effect on the environment, the proposed action may be processed without further regard to this chapter.

§ 331-15 Final environmental impact statement.

If a determination has been made that an action will have a significant effect on the environment, the Planning Commission shall, as provided herein, immediately notify the applicant of the determination and shall direct the applicant to prepare a final environmental impact statement in accordance with the provisions of Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.

If the applicant does not submit a final environmental impact statement, the Planning Commission may prepare, or cause to be prepared, a final environmental impact statement in accordance with the provisions of Part 617 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations or, in its discretion, notify the applicant that the processing of the application will cease and that no approval will be issued.

If, in the opinion of the Planning Commission, the final environmental impact statement prepared by the applicant is inadequate, the applicant shall be so notified and directed to amend such statement prior to any further processing of the application.

Such final environmental impact statement shall be prepared within 45 days of the filing of the draft environmental impact statement if no public hearing is held or 30 days after the public hearing is closed. However, the Planning Commission may extend this time as necessary to allow adequate completion of the statement or where problems identified with the proposed action require material reconsideration or modification.

Where the action involves an application, such final environmental impact statement shall be accompanied by the fee specified to defray the expenses of the village in preparing or reviewing such final environmental impact statement. The fee shall be so determined by the Village Board.

§ 331-16 Notice of completion of final environmental impact statement.

A notice of completion of a final environmental impact statement shall be prepared, filed and sent in the same manner as provided in § 331-12 herein and shall be sent to all persons to whom the notice of completion of the draft environmental impact statement was sent. Copies of the final environmental impact statement shall be filed and made available for review in the same manner as the draft environmental impact statement.

§ 331-17 Consideration of final environmental impact statement required.

No decision of any agency to carry out or approve any action which has been the subject of a final environmental impact statement shall be made until after the filings and consideration of the final environmental impact statement.

§ 331-18 Written determination required for approval of actions having significant effect.

If an agency decides to carry out or approve an action which has been determined to have a significant effect on the environment, it shall make the following findings in a written determination:

Consistent with social, economic and other essential considerations of state policy, to the maximum extent practicable, from among the reasonable alternatives thereto, the action to be carried out or approved is one which minimizes or avoids adverse environmental effects, including the effects disclosed in the relevant environmental impact statement.

All practicable means will be taken in carrying out or approving the action to minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects, including the effects disclosed in the relevant environmental impact statements.

§ 331-19 Filing of determination.

For public information purposes, a copy of the determination referred to in § 331-18 shall be filed with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the appropriate regional office thereof, the Village Clerk, the Town of Mamaroneck Conservation Advisory Commission, the applicant and owners of property within 250 feet of the perimeter of the subject property.

§ 331-20 Time limitations.

To the extent practicable, the Planning Commission shall coordinate the time limitations provided in this chapter with other time limitations provided by statute or local law, ordinance or regulation of the village.

§ 331-21 Public records.

The village shall maintain files open for public inspection of all notices of completion, draft and final environmental impact statements and written determinations prepared or caused to be prepared by the Planning Commission.

§ 331-22 Coordination of multiple agencies; lead agency requirements.

When an action which may have a significant effect on the environment involves more than one agency, all involved agencies shall, to the fullest extent possible, coordinate their environmental reviews through a lead agency, to the end that the requirements of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and of this chapter are met by a single draft environmental impact statement, a single final environmental impact statement and, if conducted and practicable, a single hearing process. In order to expedite this coordination, applicants must specify in their applications to the Planning Commission which other agencies, to the best of their knowledge, will have jurisdiction by law over proposed actions.

Upon receipt of a complete application for an action which the Planning Commission determines may have a significant effect on the environment, the Planning Commission shall immediately notify all other agencies which may be involved in the proposed action and request full coordination of the environmental review of such action. The designation of the lead agency shall be made within 30 calendar days following the filing of a complete application.

In the case of an action involving an applicant, the lead agency shall immediately notify the applicant in writing that it is the lead agency and request the applicant to prepare a draft environmental impact statement.

If a question arises as to which agency is the lead agency, the agencies shall resolve the question themselves and designate a lead agency in writing on the basis of the following:

The agency to first act on the proposed action.

A determination of which agency has the greatest responsibility for supervising or approving the action as a whole.

A determination of which agency has more general governmental powers as compared to single or limited powers or purposes.

A determination of which agency has the greatest capability for providing the most thorough environmental assessment of the action.

A determination of whether the anticipated impacts of the action being considered are primarily of statewide, regional or local concern, e.g., if such impacts are primarily of local concern, the local agency should be the lead agency.

If such agencies are unable to resolve the question within the prescribed 30 days, they shall submit the question in written form to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, who shall, within five business days, on the basis of the criteria specified above, designate the lead agency.

If it should be determined that the Village of Larchmont is not the lead agency in regard to an action, it shall have no further obligations under this chapter with respect to the action being considered except:

To provide its views where appropriate and, to the extent practical, appropriate technical analysis and support.

To make the findings required by § 331-18 herein.