2023 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.