NY Gen Mun L § 239-M (2021)
2021 New York Laws GMU - General Municipal Article 12-B - County Planning Boards and Regional Planning Councils 239-M - Referral of Certain Proposed City, Town and Village Planning and Zoning Actions to the County Planning Agency or Regional Planning Council; Report The

§  239-m. Referral of certain proposed city, town and village planning and zoning actions to the county planning agency  or  regional  planning council; report thereon; final action. 1. Definitions. As used herein:  (a)  The  term  "proposed"  as used in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section shall  be  deemed  to include  only  those  recreation areas, parkways, thruways, expressways, roads or highways which are shown on a county comprehensive plan adopted pursuant to section two hundred thirty-nine-d of this article or adopted on an official map pursuant to section two hundred thirty-nine-e of this article.  (b) The term "referring body" shall mean the  city,  town  or  village body  responsible  for  final action on proposed actions subject to this section.  (c) The term "full statement of such proposed action" shall  mean  all materials  required  by  and  submitted  to  the  referring  body  as an application on a proposed action, including  a  completed  environmental assessment  form and all other materials required by such referring body in order to make its determination of significance pursuant to the state environmental  quality  review  act   under   article   eight   of   the environmental  conservation  law  and its implementing regulations. When the proposed action referred is the adoption or amendment  of  a  zoning ordinance  or  local law, "full statement of such proposed action" shall also include the complete text of the proposed ordinance or local law as well as all existing provisions to be affected thereby, if any,  if  not already  in  the  possession  of  the county planning agency or regional planning council.   Notwithstanding the  foregoing  provisions  of  this paragraph,  any referring body may agree with the county planning agency or regional planning  council  as  to  what  shall  constitute  a  "full statement" for any or all of those proposed actions which said referring body is authorized to act upon.  (d) The term "receipt" shall mean delivery of a full statement of such proposed  action,  as  defined  in  this section, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the county planning agency or regional planning council with respect to person, place and period of time for submission. In no event shall such rule or  regulation  define  delivery  so  as  to require  in  hand  delivery  or  delivery more than twelve calendar days prior to the county planning agency's  or  regional  planning  council's meeting date. In the absence of any such rules or regulations, "receipt" shall  mean  delivery  in  hand  or  by  mail to the clerk of the county planning agency or regional planning council.  Where delivery is made in hand, the date of receipt shall be the date of delivery. Where  delivery is  made  by mail, the date as postmarked shall be the date of delivery. The provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  preclude  the  rules  and regulations  of  the county planning agency or regional planning council from providing that the delivery may be a  period  greater  than  twelve days  provided  the  referring  body  and  the county planning agency or regional planning council agree in writing to such longer period.   2. Referral of proposed planning and zoning actions. In any city, town or village which is located in a county  which  has  a  county  planning agency, or, in the absence of a county planning agency, which is located within  the  jurisdiction  of  a  regional planning council duly created pursuant to the provisions of law, each  referring  body  shall,  before taking final action on proposed actions included in subdivision three of this  section, refer the same to such county planning agency or regional planning council.   3. Proposed actions subject to referral.  (a) The  following  proposed actions  shall  be subject to the referral requirements of this section,  if they apply to real property  set  forth  in  paragraph  (b)  of  this subdivision:  (i)  adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan pursuant to section two hundred seventy-two-a of the town law, section 7-722 of the  village law or section twenty-eight-a of the general city law;  (ii) adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or local law;  (iii) issuance of special use permits;  (iv) approval of site plans;  (v) granting of use or area variances;  (vi)  other  authorizations which a referring body may issue under the provisions of any zoning ordinance or local law.  (b)  The  proposed  actions  set  forth  in  paragraph  (a)  of   this subdivision  shall  be  subject  to  the  referral  requirements of this section if they apply to real property within five hundred feet  of  the following:  (i) the boundary of any city, village or town; or  (ii)  the boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park or any other recreation area; or  (iii) the right-of-way of any existing or  proposed  county  or  state parkway, thruway, expressway, road or highway; or  (iv)  the  existing or proposed right-of-way of any stream or drainage channel owned by the county or for  which  the  county  has  established channel lines; or  (v)  the  existing  or  proposed boundary of any county or state owned land on which a public building or institution is situated; or  (vi) the boundary of a  farm  operation  located  in  an  agricultural district,  as  defined  by article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law, except this subparagraph shall not apply to the granting of area variances.  (c) The county planning agency or regional planning council may  enter into  an agreement with the referring body or other duly authorized body of a city, town or village to provide that certain proposed actions  set forth  in  this subdivision are of local, rather than inter-community or county-wide concern, and are not subject to referral under this section.   4.   County planning agency or regional  planning  council  review  of proposed  actions;  recommendation,  report.  (a)  The county planning agency or regional planning council shall  review  any  proposed  action referred  for  inter-community  or county-wide considerations, including but not limited  to  those  considerations  identified  in  section  two hundred  thirty-nine-l  of  this article. Such county planning agency or regional planning council shall  recommend  approval,  modification,  or disapproval,  of the proposed action, or report that the proposed action has no significant county-wide or inter-community impact.  (b) Such county planning agency or regional planning  council,  or  an authorized agent of said agency or council, shall have thirty days after receipt  of  a  full  statement  of such proposed action, or such longer period as may have been agreed upon by the  county  planning  agency  or regional  planning  council  and  the  referring  body,  to  report  its recommendations to the referring body, accompanied by a statement of the reasons for such recommendations. If  such  county  planning  agency  or regional  planning  council  fails  to  report  within  such period, the referring body may take final action on the proposed action without such report.   However, any  county  planning  agency  or  regional  planning council  report  received after thirty days or such longer period as may have been agreed upon, but two or more days prior to final action by the referring body, shall be subject to the provisions of  subdivision  five of this section.    5.   Extraordinary   vote   upon  recommendation  of  modification  or disapproval. If such county planning agency or regional planning council recommends  modification  or  disapproval  of  a  proposed  action,  the referring body shall not act contrary to such recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof.   6.  Report of final action. Within thirty days after final action, the referring body shall file a report of the final action it has taken with the county planning agency or regional planning council.    A  referring body  which  acts  contrary  to  a  recommendation  of  modification  or disapproval of a proposed action shall set forth  the  reasons  for  the contrary action in such report.