N.Y. TWN Law § 170 — New York Code / Act TWN / Article 11 / Section 170
Establishment and extension of fire, fire alarm and fire protection districts
Status: in_force

§ 170. Establishment and extension of fire, fire alarm and fire\nprotection districts. 1. The town board of any town or, if the proposed\ndistrict or extension includes territory in more than one town, the town\nboards of each of the towns in which such proposed district or extension\nis situated, acting jointly by a majority vote of the members of each of\nsuch town boards, upon a written petition as hereinafter provided, may\nestablish or extend fire districts, fire alarm districts and fire\nprotection districts in said town or towns; provided, however, that any\nsuch district or extension shall be outside of any incorporated village\nor city, or existing fire, fire alarm or fire protection district. A\nfire district shall not be extended pursuant to the provisions of this\nsubdivision except upon the consent in writing of a majority of the\ncommissioners of such fire district. Such consent shall be acknowledged\nor proved in the same manner as a deed to be recorded.\n  2. Upon its own motion and without a petition, the town board of any\ntown or, if the district as proposed or proposed to be extended includes\nterritory in more than one town, the town boards of each of the towns\nacting jointly by a majority vote of the members of each of such boards\nmay establish or extend fire districts or fire protection districts in\nsuch town or towns outside of any incorporated village or city or\nexisting fire, fire alarm or fire protection district therein, after a\npublic hearing thereon. The notice of such hearing shall be published\nand posted and such hearing shall be held in the manner provided in this\narticle for a hearing upon the establishment of a fire district or fire\nprotection district upon petition. After such hearing and upon the\nevidence given thereat, the town board or boards shall determine by\nresolution whether it be in the public interest to establish the\nproposed fire district or fire protection district or extend the\nexisting fire district or fire protection district, as the case may be.\nIf it be determined that the establishment or extension of such district\nbe in the public interest, the town board or boards shall determine\nwhether all the property, property owners and interested persons within\nthe proposed district are benefited thereby and whether all property or\nproperty owners benefited are included therein and such town board or\nboards shall so alter the boundaries of the proposed district or\nextension, so that all property and property owners and only such\nproperty and property owners as are benefited shall be included within\nits limits.  In the event, however, that it is found that any property,\nproperty owners or any interested persons not included in the district,\nas originally proposed, will be benefited thereby, a further notice\nshall be posted and published and another hearing held as provided\nherein, unless all said additional property owners or interested persons\nexecute and file written consents to be included in such district or\nextension. When the boundaries of such fire protection district or\nextension shall have been finally determined, the town board or boards\nshall adopt a resolution establishing or extending the district and\nshall comply with the provisions of subdivision one of section one\nhundred seventy-three of this chapter. When the boundaries of such fire\ndistrict or extension shall have been finally determined the town board\nor boards shall adopt a resolution approving the establishment or\nextension of the district, and shall comply with the provisions of\nsubdivisions two and four of section one hundred seventy-three of this\nchapter, other than filing a certified copy of a petition as provided in\nsuch subdivision two. A fire district shall not be extended pursuant to\nthe provisions of this subdivision except upon the consent in writing of\na majority of the commissioners of such fire district. Such consent\nshall be acknowledged or proved in the same manner as a deed to be\nrecorded.\n  3. If a fire alarm district or fire protection district is proposed to\nbe established, or extended, and the district or extension will be\nsituated in whole or in part in any town which is wholly or partly\nwithin the Adirondack park and has within the town boundaries state\nlands subject to taxation assessed at more than thirty per centum of the\ntotal taxable assessed valuation of the town as determined from the\nassessment rolls of the town, as completed from time to time, the town\nboard or boards shall not adopt a resolution establishing or extending\nany such fire alarm district or fire protection district unless the\nstate comptroller, on behalf of the state, previously has consented to\nthe establishment or extension of the district.\n  4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,\nand subdivisions one and two of section one hundred seventy-one of this\nchapter, if a fire district embraces an area outside a village and also\nembraces more than fifty per centum of the area of such village, and if\nthe village was incorporated after the fire district was established,\nthe town board of the town in which such fire district and such village\nare situated, after a public hearing and upon the petition of the\nvillage board of such village and the board of fire commissioners of\nsuch fire district, may adopt a resolution, subject to permissive\nreferendum, extending such fire district to include the portion of such\nvillage which is not in such fire district. The notice of public hearing\nshall be posted and published, and such hearing shall be held in the\nmanner provided in this article for a hearing upon the establishment or\nextension of a fire district. The provisions of sections ninety and\nninety-one of this chapter shall apply in relation to such referendum\nexcept that a petition filed pursuant to such section ninety-one only\nneed be signed by twenty-five qualified electors of the area of such\nextension, or if there are not twenty-five electors, then by at least\nfifty per centum of the qualified electors of such area. All of the\nother provisions of this article not inconsistent herewith shall be\ncomplied with in relation to any such extension.\n