[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Newburgh 6-18-1990
as L.L. No. 3-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Environmental quality review — See Ch. 100.
The preservation and improvement of the quality of the natural environment
within the Town of Newburgh, in the face of population growth, urbanization
and technological change, with their accompanying demands on natural resources,
are found to be of increasing and vital importance to the health, welfare
and economic well-being of present and future inhabitants and require forthright
action by the governing body of the Town of Newburgh. It is recognized that
the biologic integrity of the natural environment, on which man is dependent
for survival, and the natural beauty of our surroundings, which condition
the quality of our life experience, cannot be protected without the full cooperation
and participation of all the people of the Town of Newburgh working in partnership
with local and state officials and with various public and private institutions,
agencies and organizations. Establishment of a council for conservation of
the environment is a necessary step in fostering unified action on environmental
problems.
There is hereby established the Conservation Advisory Council of the
Town of Newburgh, hereafter called the "Conservation Council," to advise in
the development, management and protection of the town's natural resources.
A.
The Conservation Advisory Council shall consist of nine
(9) members to be appointed by the Town Board, two (2) of whom, notwithstanding
any inconsistent provision of law, may be between the ages of sixteen (16)
and twenty-one (21). Members shall serve at the pleasure of the Town Board
for terms of two (2) years each, except that the members first appointed shall
be appointed as follows: four (4) for one (1) year and five (5) for two (2)
years.
B.
The presiding officer or Chairman of the Conservation
Advisory Council shall be designated by the Town Board from among the members
so appointed. At the first meeting of the Council, its members shall elect
from among themselves a Recording Secretary. The Town Board shall have the
authority to remove any member of the Conservation Council for cause after
a public hearing. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the
same manner as the original appointment.
The members of the Conservation Advisory Council shall serve without
compensation. The Town Board may provide for payment of the expenses of the
members of the Conservation Advisory Council actually and necessarily incurred
in the performance of their duties and may appropriate funds for the appointment
of such employees as the Conservation Advisory Council may from time to time
see fit to appoint, all within the appropriation made therefor. Such charges
and expenses so permitted by an appropriation of the Town Board shall be a
charge upon the taxable property of the town and shall be assessed, levied
and collected therefrom in the same manner as other town charges. Town officers
and employees shall provide technical assistance when requested by the Conservation
Advisory Council, with the approval of the Town Board.
The powers and duties of the Conservation Advisory Council shall be
to:
A.
Advise the Town Board on matters affecting the preservation,
development and use of the natural and man-made features and conditions of
the town insofar as beauty, quality, biologic integrity and other environmental
factors are concerned and, in the case of man's activities and developments,
with regard to any major threats posed to environmental quality, so as to
enhance the long-range value of the environment to the people of the town.
B.
Develop and, after receiving general approval by resolution
of the Town Board, conduct a program of public information in the community,
which program shall be designed to foster increased understanding of the nature
of environmental problems and issues and support for their solution.
C.
Conduct studies, surveys and inventories of the natural
and man-made features within the Town of Newburgh and such other studies and
surveys as may be necessary to carry out the general purposes of this chapter.
D.
Seek to coordinate the activities of unofficial bodies
organized for similar purposes and to cooperate with official municipal bodies
active in the area of community planning for the town.
E.
Prepare, print and distribute books, maps, charts, plans
and pamphlets which in its judgment it deems necessary for its work.
F.
Maintain an up-to-date inventory and map, as defined
in § 239-y of the General Municipal Law, of all open areas within
the town with the plan of obtaining information pertinent to proper utilization
of such open lands, including lands owned by the state, any other municipality
within the state or the town itself.
G.
Maintain an up-to-date inventory or index of all natural
landmarks, glacial and other geomorphic or physiographic features, streams
and their floodplains, open marsh lands, swamps and all other wetlands, unique
biotic communities, scenic and other open areas of natural or ecological value
and of the ownership, present use and proposed use of such open areas in a
like manner and may recommend to the Town Board a program for ecologically
suitable utilization of all such areas.
H.
Keep accurate records of its meetings and actions and
file an annual report with the Town Board on or before the 31st day of December
of each and every year. Once approved, the Town Board shall forward a copy
of this report to the State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation.
I.
Obtain and maintain, in orderly fashion, maps, reports,
books and other publications to support the necessary researches of the Council
into local environmental conditions.
J.
In addition to the foregoing, carry out any other duties,
tasks or responsibilities, consistent with the objectives of this chapter,
assigned to it by resolution of the Town Board.
When authorized by resolution of the Town Board, the Conservation Advisory
Council may accept, by gift, grant, bequest or otherwise, money or other personal
property in the name of the town for use in furtherance of the purposes of
General Municipal Law Article 12-F and this chapter. The Town Board may accept,
by gift, conditional or unconditional, grant, devise or otherwise, real property
in fee, or any lesser interest, including conveyance with limitations or reversions,
for the purposes of General Municipal Law Article 12-F and this chapter. In
addition, upon the written recommendation of the Conservation Advisory Council,
the Town Board may acquire, by purchase in fee or any lesser interest, through
negotiation or by condemnation, such real or personal property as may be needed
to fulfill the purpose of General Municipal Law Article 12-F and this chapter.
To assist the Conservation Advisory Council in carrying out its functions,
powers and duties, it may request the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation to:
A.
Prepare reports outlining objectives, priorities and
proposed relationships of the Conservation Advisory Council to the Town Board.
B.
Prepare descriptions of work to be undertaken, advantageous
techniques to be used and suggested roles of Conservation Advisory Council
members.
C.
Provide research on conservation facts and procedures.
D.
Provide, on a consulting basis, technical and research
assistance as may be required to assist the Conservation Advisory Council
in carrying out its work and to enable the Conservation Advisory Council to
offer recommendations to the Town Board.
E.
Describe particular areas of natural resources within
the town which require particular attention by the Conservation Advisory Council.
Within thirty (30) days following the effective date of this chapter,
written notification of the establishment of the Conservation Advisory Council
shall be sent by the Town Board to the State Commissioner of Environmental
Conservation.
The Town Board may, by resolution, pursuant to General Municipal Law
§ 239-y, redesignate the Conservation Advisory Council as a Conservation
Board, provided that the Conservation Advisory Council has prepared and submitted
to the Town Board the conservation open area inventory and map, as defined
in General Municipal Law § 239-y, which are accepted and approved
by the Town Board as the open space index of the town. Said Conservation Board
shall have the general powers and perform the duties set forth in General
Municipal Law § 239-y, as well as the functions and responsibilities
granted to the Conservation Advisory Council, as well as such duties assigned
to it by resolution of the Town Board.
