ARTICLE XIX Zoning Chapter and Map Amendments

§ 198-126. Authority to amend chapter or map.

[Amended 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-294]



The Town Board may from time to time amend, supplement, modify, repeal or change this chapter or the Zoning Map on its own motion, on petition or application or on recommendation of the Planning Board but only after a public hearing has been held before the Town Board to consider said change of zone.



§ 198-127. Referral of change of zone proposals to Planning Board.

[Amended 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-2941



The Town Board shall refer changes of zone change proposals to the Planning Board for recommendation and written report thereon, unless specifically determined otherwise, as provided in § 198-128 herein. The Town Board may specify a reasonable time within which such report shall be submitted, and no public hearing shall be held until such report has been received or the specified time has elapsed.



§ 198-128. Applications for change of zone by property owners.

[Amended 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-294]



A. Application to amend this chapter may be made by any property owner, to the Town Board, by submitting the proper documents to the Town Clerk.



B. The Town Clerk shall then forward copies of the application form to the Town Board and copies of the complete application, including all supporting materials, to the Town Attorney and the Director of Planning.



C. Within thirty (30) days of receipt by the Director of Planning and the Town Attorney, they shall prepare and forward to the Town Board a synopsis of the application which identifies compatibility with adopted land use plans, local laws and surrounding land uses and zoning.



D. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the synopsis, the Town Board may determine whether to entertain the application, seek additional review or refer it to the Planning Board as provided in § 198-127 above. If no action is taken, the application will be forwarded to the Planning Board for analysis. The Planning Board shall, by resolution, forward a recommendation to the Town Board as to both the merits of the application and a declaration of significance pursuant to SEQRA.

**Webmasters Note: The previous sections, 198-121.E through 198-128.D, have been amended as per a supplement dated 9-25-2002.



E. The Town Board shall determine whether to further entertain the application. An affirmative determination requires scheduling a public hearing. A negative determination requires a resolution enumerating the Town Board's findings and terminates further SEQRA analysis.



F. If a public hearing is scheduled, after due deliberation the Town Board, by resolution, shall issue a determination of significance pursuant to SEQRA. When the Town Board issues a negative declaration or accepts a draft environmental impact statement as satisfactory with respect to its scope, content and adequacy, a public hearing may be scheduled for the purpose of commencing public review. The Town Board shall make a final decision only at the conclusion of the SEQRA process.



G. If a public hearing is scheduled, the Director of Planning shall coordinate [pursuant to § 52A-4B(2) of the Code] the SEQRA review and provide the Town Board with the studies necessary for its reasoned determination of the proposed amendment.



H. For residential zone changes see § 198-131 concerning affordable housing. [Added 12-12-2000 by L.L. No. 37-2000]



§ 198-128.1. Filing fees.

[Added 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-294]



A. Upon filing with the Town Board a request for a change of zone or amendment to the Zoning Ordinance or Map, the applicant shall pay to the Town Clerk the sum of five hundred dollars ($500.) as a base fee and the further sum of one hundred dollars ($100.) per acre or any part thereof.



B. An applicant who has filed a request for a change of zone and wishes to amend that request to a zoning classification or use not sought in the original request shall pay a fee to the Town Clerk equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the total original fee.



C. Should an applicant wish to change his/her requested yield (number of dwellings, industrial/commercial square footage or acreage) from what the original request was by fifteen percent (15%) or more, the amendment fee shall be twenty-five percent (25%) of the original fee (base fee plus the per acre fee).



D. No fee paid pursuant to this section shall be refunded.



§ 198-129. Hearing notice requirements.



A. By resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the Board, the Town Board shall fix the time and place of any public hearing upon an amendment to this chapter and shall give at least ten (10) days' notice thereof by publishing a notice in the official town newspaper as required by law and by posting a printed copy of such notice on the signboard maintained by the Town Clerk pursuant to § 30, Subdivision 6, of the Town Law.



B. 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.

C. In addition to the foregoing requirements, notice of any public hearing called pursuant to § 198-126 or 198-128 of this chapter to consider an amendment to the Zoning Map shall be given by mailing or serving a notice thereof to the owners of the subject property and of all adjoining property within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the applicant's total property holding, as shown on the latest assessment roll. The applicant shall be required to make such notification, when the hearing is noticed pursuant to § 198-128, and proof of service shall be submitted to the Town Clerk not less than fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the hearing. Noncompliance, by an applicant, with these notification requirements and submittal of such to the Town Clerk may mean postponement of any scheduled public hearing. In cases where the Town Board, on its own motion or on recommendation of the Planning Board, initiates an amendment, supplementation, modification, repeal or change in the Zoning Map which would affect only one contiguous parcel of land, the Town Board shall, by and through its designated agent, the Planning Department of the Town of Huntington, give notice of any prospective public hearing by mailing or serving a notice thereof to the owners of the subject property and to the owners of the adjoining property within five hundred (500) feet of the exterior limits of the property which is the subject of the prospective hearing. Such notice shall be given not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the hearing. The Town Board shall not call a public hearing upon any proposed zoning amendment until the applicant, excluding the Town Board or Planning Board, has paid the required filing fees to the Town Clerk and complied with the requirements of this section and with applicable disclosure requirements. [Amended 5-4-1976 by Ord. No. 76-ZC-62; 3-27-1984 by Ord. No. 84-ZC-127; 9-11-1984 by Ord. No. 84-ZC-134; 7-8-1997 by L.L. No. 14-1997]



D. In addition to notifying adjoining property owners by mail, the applicant or his agent shall erect a sign on each frontage of the property announcing the date, time and place of the public hearing. In cases where the Town Board, on its own motion or upon recommendation of the Planning Board, initiates an amendment, supplementation, modification, repeal or change in the Zoning Map, which would affect only one (1) contiguous parcel of land, the Town Board, by and through its designated agent, the Planning Department of the Town of Huntington, shall erect or arrange for the erection of the sign referred to herein. Said sign shall be placed at the center of the frontage and shall not be more than ten (10) feet from the street line. It shall not be less than two (2) feet nor more than six (6) feet above grade. The sign shall be erected on the property not more than ten (10) days nor less than five (5) days prior to the public hearing, and an affidavit of posting shall be submitted to the Town Clerk not less than four (4) days prior to the date of the hearing. The applicant shall be responsible for the removal of the sign within three (3) days after the hearing. [Added 6-3-1975 by Ord. No. 75-ZC-54; amended 3-27-1984 by Ord. No. 84-ZC-127; 9-11-1984 by Ord. No. 84-ZC-134]



§ 198-130. Application requirements for Zoning Map amendments.

[Amended 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-294]



Any applicant or petitioner who requests an amendment to the Zoning Map shall submit to the Town Clerk, with the application for such amendment, the following supplementary materials, with the number of copies of each item:



A. Deed(s) to property proposed for change of zone indicating in whom title to the property is presently vested.



B. Disclosure affidavits) executed by applicant, owners of record, contract vendees, lessors, lessees, sublessors, sublessees, contract lessors, contract lessees, contract sublessors, contract sublessees, holders of any beneficial interests, holders of encumbrances and contract holders of encumbrances of property proposed for change of zone.



C. Metes and bounds description of property proposed for change of zone, including Tax Map numbers of subject parcels, attached to the application as Schedule A.



D. A reproducible survey, eight and one-half (81/2) inches by eleven (11) inches in size, at a scale of one inch equals one thousand (1,000) feet, prepared by a duly licensed surveyor or engineer, indicating the area proposed for change of zone and surrounding property on which the zoning is designated by standard symbols shown on the official Zoning Map.



E. Land use and Zoning Map, indicating zone classifications and land uses within a distance of five hundred (500) feet of property proposed for change of zone.



F. A site plan showing proposed development of property that is subject of change of zone application.



G. A fully completed environmental assessment form. A draft environmental impact statement submitted voluntarily by an applicant with a change of zone application will be accepted in lieu of an environmental assessment form, pursuant to § 617.3(e) of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) Regulations; however, it will be considered only as an expanded environmental assessment form at that time.



H. Fee in the amount required by § 198-128.1 of this article.



§ 198-131. Procedure upon adoption.

[Amended 12-15-1992 by Ord. No. 92-ZC-294; 6-1-2004 by L.L. No. 19-2004]



A. Any amendment to these regulations shall, upon adoption, be entered in the minutes of the Town Board shall be published and posted according to law, and ten (10) days shall elapse from the date of publication, for the Zoning Map amendment to be in effect.



B. In the event the Town Board approves the change of zone upon special conditions or upon the fulfillment of specified requirements, such conditions or requirements shall be fully complied with by the applicant before the expiration of two (2) years of the date of adoption of the resolution. If the conditions and/or requirements are not fully complied with to the satisfaction of the Town within such period, then the resolution shall have no force and effect and the property shall retain its original zoning classification.

**Webmasters Note: The previous section has been amended as per Local Law No. 19-2004.