A. The Board of Appeals shall make rules as to the manner of filing appeals or applications for special use permits or special exceptions or variances from the terms of this chapter and as to any other matter requiring action by said Board.
B. Upon the filing with the Board of Appeals of an appeal or of an application for a special use permit or special exception or variance from the terms of this chapter and upon payment of required fees, the Board shall fix a time and place for a public hearing thereon and shall give notice of such hearing as follows:
(1) By publishing a notice thereof once a week for two (2) weeks in the official Town newspaper. The first such publication shall be at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of the public hearing. The second such publication shall be no more than twenty (20) days prior to the date of the public hearing. [Amended 8-6-2002 by L.L. No. 31-2002]
(2) By sending notice thereof to the Town Clerk and to the Supervisor and the Town Board. [Amended 1-20-1976 by Ord. No. 76-ZC-61; 6-11-1996 by Ord. No. 96-ZC-12]
C. Notice of hearing shall state the location of the building or premises, the name of the owner and applicant and the general nature of the application. Any specific variance or other relief from the zoning code not duly noticed as stated in Subsection B above and included in the mailing as in Subsection E below, shall be cause for the cancellation of a scheduled public hearing, and the applicant must then request a new date for said hearing and renotify and remail notice at the applicant's expense, as was required for the original hearing. [Amended 6-17-2003 by L.L. No. 22-2003 ]
D. Cost and expense of providing the above notice shall be borne by the applicant. [Added 7-6-1976 by Ord. No. 76-ZC-64]
E. Mailing of notices; rescheduling of public hearing. [Added 7-8-1997 by L.L. No. 14-1997; amended 3-24-1998 by L.L. No. 9-1998]
(1) The applicant shall mail notices, postmarked no less than thirty (30) days nor more than thirty- five (35) days before the hearing, to the owners as well as the occupants of all adjoining properties within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the applicant's total property holding, as shown on the current tax roll; with the exception of applications the R-15, R-10, R-7 and R-5 Zoning Districts, where notification to adjoining property owners and occupants shall be to those within two hundred (200) feet of the exterior limits of the applicant's total property holding, as shown on the current tax toll. In addition, the applicant shall provide a certificate of mailing for each recipient, which legibly indicates the name and address of the person, including the occupant, to which the notice was mailed, and is duly certified by the post office. The applicant shall also file an affidavit of mailing, together with the duly certified certificates of mailing, to the Zoning Board of Appeals office in no less than five working days before the hearing. Said affidavit shall include the name of the person that actually mailed the notices and the names and addresses of the property owners and the addresses of the occupants that were notified. Failure to mail the notices and/or provide the affidavit and/or the certificates of mailing to the Zoning Board of Appeals office may result in postponement of the public hearing. [Amended 6-17-2003 by L.L. No. 22-2003 ]
(2) If a public hearing is rescheduled for any reason, then the new public hearing date shall provide enough time to be advertised and a new mailing to neighbors shall be sent announcing said hearing. Re-advertising and re-mailing notices shall indicate that this is a hearing that was rescheduled from a specific date. If the applicant causes a postponement, for any reason, then he/she shall be responsible for the cost of re-advertising and re-mailing the notices as described above. If for any reason the Board postpones a public hearing, then the cost for advertising and mailing shall be borne by said Board.
F. [Added 7-8-1997 by L.L. No. 14-1997] As well as the notification provision in Subsection E above, the applicant or his/her authorized agent shall also post a sign on each frontage of the subject property giving notice that an application is pending before the Zoning Board of Appeals and the nature of that application as well as the date, time and place at which the public hearing will take place.
(1) The sign(s) shall be twenty (20) inches by thirty (30) inches and shall be supplied to the applicant by the Town Planning Department for a fee. Said sign shall be located at the center of the frontage of the property, not more than ten (10) feet back from the property line. It shall be nailed to a tree, pole or post not less than two feet nor more than six (6) feet above grade and it must be clearly visible from the street. On or before the date and time of the public hearing the applicant or his/her agent shall certify, in writing, in a notarized affidavit to the Board, that he/she has erected the sign as described herein. At the discretion of the Board, failure to erect the sign or submit the affidavit may mean cancellation of the hearing.
(2) Such sign or signs shall be displayed for a period of not less than five (5) days immediately preceding the public hearing and shall be removed by the applicant or his/her agent within three days after the hearing has taken place.
G. The Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Town Attorney are hereby directed to inform the Zoning Board of Appeals, in writing, of the nature and extent of any code enforcement proceedings pending against any persons, entities or properties which have made application to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall provide said Departments with sufficient information of pending applications that allows the Departments of Public Safety and Town Attorney to search its records. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall take the existence of stayed code enforcement proceedings into consideration when determining whether and/or to what extent requests for adjournment should be granted. [Added 8-6-2002 by L.L. No. 30-2002]
H. In the event there is a tie vote, or a failure to obtain a majority when less than seven (7) Board members have voted, and the Board determines that a member who was not present at the public hearing should vote, then such member shall, prior to casting a vote, visit the site of the subject application and review the minutes and record of the public hearing. In addition, a public hearing to supplement the record of the initial public hearing shall be scheduled by the Board for the purpose of affording the applicant or the public the opportunity to present any comments to the Board member who will be casting the deciding vote. [Added 10-29-2002 by L.L. No. 58-2002]
**Webmasters Note: The previous section has been amended as per Local Law No. 22-2003.
After the Board of Appeals has approved the issuance of a special use permit, a special exception or a variance, such approval or grant shall expire at the end of one year unless a building permit shall have been issued. The Board of Appeals may extend such permit for an additional year upon a finding that conditions and circumstances incident to the original grant have not changed, and no hearing shall be required as a basis for making such determination.
