[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Cheektowaga as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-18-2003 by L.L. No. 3-2003]
This article shall be titled "A Local Law to
Provide Minimum Requirements for Meeting Attendance and Training for
Members of the Town of Cheektowaga Planning Board and Zoning Board
of Appeals."
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Planning Board of the Town of Cheektowaga.
Town of Cheektowaga.
Town Board of the Town of Cheektowaga.
Town Clerk of the Town of Cheektowaga.
Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Cheektowaga.
A.
The Town Board finds that appropriate attendance at
meetings and training of Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board
members are essential.
B.
The State of New York has recognized the importance
of both meeting attendance and training in its recent amendments to
the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals statutes (§§ 271
and 267, respectively, of the Town Law).
C.
It is the purpose of this article to encourage Zoning
Board of Appeals and Planning Board members to attend their respective
Board meetings and to obtain training to enhance their ability to
carry out their duties under law. The Town Board is prepared to pay
the costs associated with meeting attendance and such training as
provided for in the Town's budget.
D.
It is also the purpose of this article to establish
required minimum meeting attendance along with training and continuing
education course requirements for such members.
A.
All members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning
Board shall be required to attend a minimum of 75% of their Board
meetings scheduled within a calendar year.
B.
Noncompliance with minimum requirements relating to
attendance at meetings shall be deemed a proper cause for removal
from office.
A.
Each member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning
Board shall complete, at a minimum, four hours of training each year
designed to enable such members to more effectively carry out their
duties. Training received by a member in excess of four hours in any
one year may be carried over by the member into succeeding years.
Any new member appointed to fill the last five months of a given year
shall complete, at a minimum, two hours of training in such year;
afterwards, he/she shall complete, at a minimum, four hours of training
in subsequent years.
[Amended 5-4-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
B.
Noncompliance with minimum requirements relating to
training shall be deemed a proper cause for removal from office.
C.
The costs of such seminars, workshops or continuing
education courses so designated shall be a Town charge. Members shall
also be reimbursed for travel and meal expenses according to Town
policies. Such training sessions shall be approved in advance by the
Town Board.
[Amended 5-4-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
A.
The following list of agencies, commissions, associations,
universities and other organizations are approved to provide training
to meet the state requirements when the training they provide pertains
to municipal planning, zoning, community design, environmental issues,
economic development and local government functions and practices:
(1)
The NYS Department of State; Department of Agriculture
and Markets; Office of the State Comptroller; Department of Health;
Department of Transportation; Department of Environmental Conservation;
Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Hudson River
Valley Greenway; and
(2)
The New York State Association of Towns; the New York
Conference of Mayors; the New York State Association of Counties;
the New York Planning Federation; the American Planning Association;
the Upstate New York Chapter of the American Planning Association
and its sections; and the Metro New York Chapter of the American Planning
Association and its sections; and
(3)
The Capital District Regional Planning Commission;
Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board; Herkimer-Oneida
Counties Comprehensive Planning and Development Board; Lake Champlain-Lake
George Regional Planning Board; Long Island Regional Planning Board;
Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board; Southern
Tier East Regional Planning Development Board; Southern Tier West
Regional Planning and Development Board; Genesee-Finger Lakes Regional
Planning Council; Hudson Valley Regional Council; Tug Hill Commission;
and Adirondack Park Agency; and
(4)
The New York State Planning Federation and subsections
thereof; Erie County Department of Environment and Planning; and Erie
County Soil and Water Conservation Districts; and
(5)
The Albany Law School Government Law Centre and Institute
for Legal Studies; Pace Law School; Cornell University and its Cooperative
Extension; State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Architecture
and Planning; and
(6)
On-line planning and zoning training programs offered
by the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal; Pace University and
Land Use Law Center; and the Lincoln Institute of Land Use Policy.
B.
The Town Board may, from time to time, by resolution,
approve additional or specific training which is deemed acceptable
training under this article. Other training activities may be approved
on a case-by-case basis by the Town Board upon the request of a Planning
Board or Zoning Board of Appeals member.
C.
It shall be the responsibility of each Zoning Board
of Appeals and Planning Board member to verify and prove that the
training he/she attends is acceptable training under this article
and New York State.
D.
Each Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board member
shall, within a reasonable time after attending the prescribed training,
file a certificate of attendance and other proof of attendance verifying
such training with the Coordinator of Employee Relations and the Chairperson
of his/her board.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the failure of
a member of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals to attend
the required percentage of meetings or obtain such training shall
not affect said person's appointment to serve on such Board, to entertain
applications, and to vote on such applications, or the validity of
such member's actions.
[Amended 5-4-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
The Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals
and the Chairperson of the Planning Board shall notify the Town Board
and the involved Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board member,
in writing, on or before October 1 in each year, of any member who
fails to comply with the minimum requirements for meeting attendance
and/or training in any calendar year. In the event a member of the
Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board fails to complete the minimum
attendance and/or training requirements set forth in this article,
then the Town Board may remove such member for cause as herein provided.
B.
Public hearing. Such notice shall specify a date,
not less than 10 nor more than 30 days from the date of mailing such
notice, when the Town Board shall convene and hold a public hearing
on whether or not such member should be removed from service on such
Board. Such notice shall also specify the time and place of such hearing.
C.
Public notice. Public notice of such hearing shall
be published in a paper of general circulation within the Town at
least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing.
D.
Conduct of hearing. The public hearing on the charges
shall be conducted before the Town Board. The member shall be given
an opportunity to present evidence and to call witnesses to refute
the charges. A record of such hearing shall be made. The decision
of the Town Board shall be reduced to writing, together with specific
findings of the Town Board with respect to each charge against such
member. Findings shall be filed in the Town Clerk's office and mailed
to the member within five business days of such filing by certified
mail, return receipt.
E.
Action by the Town Board. Following the hearing and
upon a finding that a member has not met the minimum meeting attendance
and/or training established by this article, the Town Board shall
remove such member from the Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board
(by a majority vote of the entire board).
[Added 5-4-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]
The Personnel Office/office of Coordinator of
Employee Relations of the Town of Cheektowaga shall forward a copy
of this article to any and all newly appointed members of the Zoning
Board of Appeals and Planning Board within a reasonable period after
his/her/their appointment.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to limit or restrict the Town Board's authority to remove a member from the Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board for cause (i.e., for other than the reasons enumerated herein). The procedural provisions of § 27-8, Procedure for removal of members, shall govern any hearing to remove a member for cause.
This article shall apply to all members of the
Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board regardless of the date
of their appointment to such Board.
