N.Y. VIL Law § 7-718 — New York Code / Act VIL / Article 7 / Section 7-718
Planning board; creation, appointment
Status: in_force

§ 7-718 Planning board; creation, appointment. 1. Authorization. The\nvillage board of trustees of each village is hereby authorized by local\nlaw to create a planning board consisting of five or seven members.\nMembers and the chairperson of such planning board shall be appointed by\nthe mayor subject to the approval of the board of trustees. In the\nabsence of a chairperson the planning board may designate a member to\nserve as chairperson. The village board of trustees may, as part of the\nlocal law creating said planning board, provide for the compensation of\nplanning board members.\n  2. Appropriation for planning board. The village board of trustees is\nhereby authorized and empowered to make such appropriation as it may see\nfit for planning board expenses. The planning board shall have the power\nand authority to employ experts, clerks and a secretary and to pay for\ntheir services, and to provide for such other expenses as may be\nnecessary and proper, not exceeding in all the appropriation that may be\nmade therefor by the village board of trustees for such planning board.\n  3. Village board of trustees ineligible. No person who is a member of\nthe village board of trustees shall be eligible for membership on such\nplanning board.\n  4. Terms of members first appointed. The terms of members of the\nplanning board first appointed shall be so fixed that the term of one\nmember shall expire at the end of the village official year in which\nsuch members were initially appointed. The terms of the remaining\nmembers first appointed shall be so fixed that one term shall expire at\nthe end of each official year thereafter. At the expiration of the term\nof each member first appointed, his or her successor shall be appointed\nfor a term which shall be equal in years to the number of members of the\nboard.\n  5. Terms of members now in office. Members now holding office for\nterms which do not expire at the end of the village official year shall,\nupon the expiration of their term, hold office until the end of the\nvillage official year and their successors shall then be appointed for\nterms which shall be equal in years to the number of members of the\nboard.\n  6. Increasing membership. Any village board of trustees may, by local\nlaw, increase a five member planning board to seven members. Additional\nmembers shall be first appointed for single terms in order that the\nterms of members shall expire in each of seven successive years and\ntheir successors shall thereafter be appointed for full terms of seven\nyears. No such additional member shall take part in the consideration of\nany matter for which an application was on file with the planning board\nat the time of his or her appointment.\n  7. Decreasing membership. A village board of trustees which has seven\nmembers on the planning board may, by local law, decrease the membership\nto five, to take effect upon the next two expirations of terms. However,\nno incumbent shall be removed from office except upon the expiration of\nhis or her term, except as hereinafter provided.\n  7-a. Training and attendance requirements. a. Each member of the\nplanning board shall complete, at a minimum, four hours of training each\nyear designed to enable such members to more effectively carry out their\nduties. Training received by a member in excess of four hours in any one\nyear may be carried over by the member into succeeding years in order to\nmeet the requirements of this subdivision. Such training shall be\napproved by the board of trustees and may include, but not be limited\nto, training provided by a municipality, regional or county planning\noffice or commission, county planning federation, state agency,\nstatewide municipal association, college or other similar entity.\nTraining may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not\nlimited to, electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional\nclassroom training.\n  b. To be eligible for reappointment to such board, such member shall\nhave completed the training promoted by the village pursuant to this\nsubdivision.\n  c. The training required by this subdivision may be waived or modified\nby resolution of the board of trustees when, in the judgment of the\nboard of trustees, it is in the best interest of the village to do so.\n  d. No decision of a planning board shall be voided or declared invalid\nbecause of a failure to comply with this subdivision.\n  8. Vacancy in office. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by\nexpiration of term, the mayor shall appoint the new member for the\nunexpired term.\n  9. Removal of members. The mayor shall have the power to remove, after\npublic hearing, any member of the planning board for cause. Any planning\nboard member may be removed for non-compliance with minimum requirements\nrelating to meeting attendance and training as established by the\nvillage board of trustees by local law.\n  10. Chairperson duties. All meetings of the planning board shall be\nheld at the call of the chairperson and at such other times as such\nboard may determine. Such chairperson, or in his or her absence, the\nacting chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of\nwitnesses.\n  11. Appointment of agricultural member. Notwithstanding any provisions\nof this chapter or any general, special or local law, the mayor may, if\nan agricultural district created pursuant to section three hundred three\nof article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law exists\nwholly or partly within the boundaries of such village, include on the\nplanning board one or more members each of whom derives ten thousand\ndollars or more annual gross income from agricultural pursuits in said\nvillage. As used in this subdivision, the term "agricultural pursuits"\nmeans the production of crops, livestock and livestock products,\naquacultural products, and woodland products as defined in section three\nhundred one of the agriculture and markets law.\n  12. Service on other planning boards. No person shall be disqualified\nfrom serving as a member of the village planning board by reason of\nserving as a member of the town or county planning board.\n  13. Rules and regulations. The planning board may recommend to the\nvillage board of trustees regulations relating to any subject matter\nover which the planning board has jurisdiction under this article or any\nother statute, or under any local law of the village. Adoption of any\nsuch recommendations by the village board of trustees shall be by local\nlaw.\n  14. Report on referred matters; general reports. a. The village board\nof trustees may by resolution provide for the reference of any matter or\nclass of matters, other than those referred to in subdivision ten of\nthis section, to the planning board before final action is taken thereon\nby the village board of trustees or other office or officer of said\nvillage having final authority over said matter. The village board of\ntrustees may further stipulate that final action thereon shall not be\ntaken until the planning board has submitted its report thereon, or has\nhad a reasonable time, to be fixed by the village board of trustees in\nsaid resolution, to submit the report.\n  b. The planning board may review and make recommendations on a\nproposed village comprehensive plan or amendment thereto. In addition,\nthe planning board shall have the full power and authority to make\ninvestigations, maps, reports, and recommendations in connection\ntherewith relating to the planning and development of the village as it\nseems desirable, providing the total expenditures of said board shall\nnot exceed the appropriation provided therefor.\n  15. Planning commission. In any village in which there is a planning\ncommission created under article twelve-A of the general municipal law,\nthe board of trustees, instead of authorizing the appointment of a\nplanning board under this article, may provide that the existing\ncommission shall continue, the members thereof thereafter to be\nappointed in accordance with the provisions of such article twelve-A,\nand to have the powers and duties as specified for a planning board\nappointed under this article, provided, however, that in such village\nsection two hundred thirty-eight of the general municipal law shall not\nbe in force.\n  16. Alternate members. a. A village board of trustees may, by local\nlaw or as a part of the local law creating the planning board, establish\nalternate planning board member positions for purposes of substituting\nfor a member in the event such member is unable to participate because\nof a conflict of interest. Alternate members of the planning board shall\nbe appointed by the mayor, subject to the approval of the board of\ntrustees, for terms established by the village board of trustees.\n  b. The chairperson of the planning board may designate an alternate\nmember to substitute for a member when such member is unable to\nparticipate because of a conflict of interest on an application or\nmatter before the board. When so designated, the alternate member shall\npossess all the powers and responsibilities of such member of the board.\nSuch designation shall be entered into the minutes of the initial\nplanning board meeting at which the substitution is made.\n  c. All provisions of this section relating to planning board member\ntraining and continuing education, attendance, conflict of interest,\ncompensation, eligibility, vacancy in office, removal, and service on\nother boards, shall also apply to alternate members.\n  17. Voting requirements. Every motion or resolution of a planning\nboard shall require for its adoption the affirmative vote of a majority\nof all the members of the planning board. Where an action is the subject\nof a referral to the county planning agency or regional planning council\nthe voting provisions of sections two hundred thirty-nine-m and two\nhundred thirty-nine-n of the general municipal law shall apply.\n