Our local regulatory boards serve vital community function

Over the last two months, or longer, there has been an ad running in the local papers soliciting applications for membership on both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Maybe five letters of interest were received. But Hey!!!! It’s not too late!!

When this paper is printed, there will still be at least one more day left to get your letter of interest and resume in to the Town Clerk!

Membership on these two boards is vital. Each board has a specific function, different from the other.

The Planning Board is made up of seven members and one alternate.

The Zoning Board of Appeals is made up of five members and one alternate.

The alternate’s job, in either board, is to act in place of an absent, regular member. They may participate in the review, ask questions just like a regular member, but can only vote when another member can’t.

On rare occasions, a regular member may have to recuse themselves from a particular application due to a potential conflict of interest, whether real or perceived.

Or, they could have simply not been able to attend the meeting because of health or other personal reasons. This is when the alternate member can vote.

It is always preferred to have a full board to hear and vote on an application.

The full board is always an odd number. Therefore, there could never be a tie vote.

If in the event of an even number of members voting and the vote is a tie, it’s the same as a denial… because it was not approved.

Between the two boards there can be a hundred or more different applications each year.

Most are heard and decided on at the first meeting night or when the public hearing took place.

Occasionally, an application may be on the agenda several nights to exhaust the review process.

This is usually only for larger projects having a higher level of complexity and regulatory requirements.

The vast majority of the applications, probably 95%, are heard and decided in one meeting.

Most applications are for something relative to a single family dwelling or property.

Additions, expansions, docks, boathouses, decks, small garages and sheds are typical examples.

The more complex applications are usually subdivisions involving multiple lots.

Occasion-ally, there is a commercial project that draws a higher level of public interest.

These projects are subject to a higher level of regulatory oversight than the simpler addition to somebody’s home.

The regulatory process in New York State, and the potential jurisdiction of the Adirondack Park Agency, can be very intimidating, time consuming and expensive, depending on the issues involved.

The town’s Planning Board is charged with making sure this review process is completed.

Any concerns or problems are identified, and if found appropriate, mitigated to minimize significant negative impacts.

After exhausting this process, receiving comments from the public, they render a decision in a reasonable timeframe.

The Zoning Board of Appeals acts like a court of appeals… although in a very simplified manner.

This board was created many years ago just after the whole concept of zoning was becoming popular in New York State and around the country.

Because there were too many law suits ending up in the State or Federal court systems, thus clogging down the system, it became State law that towns and villages provide a relief valve.

Therefore, the local Board of Appeals was created to hear applicants’ requests to do something that was otherwise prohibited by the local zoning laws.

Through time, a recognized procedure and methodology has been adopted.

All Board of Appeals use this procedure to reasonably ensure that a rationale process is followed to help make final decisions.

This process is now referred to as the “Balancing Test.”

Both the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals are very important, often looked over and misunderstood bodies of any town or village.

Did you submit your letter of interest to the Town Clerk?