By Andrew Getty
Question & Answer
Q: Why are new members needed for these two boards?
A: Because several current members have resigned for personal reasons.
Q: Don’t they have to wait for the elections?
A: No, these are not elected positions, they are appointed.
Q: Are the new members appointed by each board?
A: No. The town board makes all appointments.
Q: Aren’t these part of the town board?
A: No. Town board members must run in a general election. The planning board and zoning board of appeals are very different from the town board and have very different responsibilities.
Q: Okay, what does the planning board do?
A: They review, approve, deny or approve with rational conditions a host of proposals dealing with a wide range of development, both residential and commercial.
Q: Are there minimum qualifications needed to be appointed to a planning board or appeals board?
A: You need to be a property owner / resident in the Town of Webb and have a good working knowledge of the town.
Being familiar with the town’s Zoning Ordinance and the Compre-hensive Master Plan is highly recommended.
Q: Can the town board tell them what to approve or deny?
A: No, they can’t. The planning board operates independently from the town board. ]
There are certain types of project proposals that the local zoning ordinance may require some interaction between the town board and the planning board, but all that is well spelled out in local law.
Q: What is the Appeals board?
A: The Zoning Board of Appeals acts very independently from either the town board or the planning board.
Although local law requires the planning board to render an “opinion only” on all applications to the Appeals Board, those recommendations are just that… recommendations only.
Q: Does the town board have any say on applications to the appeals board?
A: No. The Zoning Board of Appeals must act very independently. There are specific rules and criteria they use to make a decision for any application.
Q: Are those rules created by either the Planning Board or the Town Board?
A: No, absolutely not. Since the mid 1990’s all local appeal board (in NYS) must use the “Summary of Area—or Use—Variance Criteria” otherwise known as the balancing test.
The criteria spell out four or five questions that must be considered (depending if the application is considered an Area or Use Variance).
This ‘balancing test’ was developed after years of litigation in higher courts and is supported by years of case law all around New York State.
Q: Why is there a need for a Zoning Board of Appeals anyway? If a local law says ‘no’ isn’t that enough?
A: Good question. Example, if a building permit is denied because the proposed structure was too close to a property line, or for any other reason, the applicant always has the right to appeal the denial; thus the need for a Zoning Board of Appeals.
Many, many years ago, before appeal boards were mandated by state law, the higher courts were inundated with lawsuits because of zoning or other local requirements.
The Supreme Court systems were buried with back logged problems.
Now, if a municipality has zoning, they must also have a local board of appeals.
And that board must operate without influence of any other local board.
Q: Back to the need of new members……who is needed right now?
A: The Planning Board has seven regular members and one alternate member who has full voting privileges when there is an absence of any regular member.
There is a vacancy for one regular member and the alternate member at this time.
Q: What about the Zoning Board of Appeals?
A: Currently there is the need for an alternate member, they have a five member board.
Q: How can I get on either board?
A: Send your letter of interest to Nanci Russell, Town Clerk at P.O. Box 157, Old Forge, NY 13420, or drop it off at the Town Clerk’s office at the information center across from the Police Station.