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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLL 10 of 2002 Amend LL 4 of 1993 re Cons Board.pdfTOWN OF ITHACA \ LOCAL LAW NO.10 OF THE YEAR 2002 A LOCAL LAW MODIFYING THE GOVERNANCE PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE CONSERVATION BOARD AND AMENDING AND RESTATING LOCAL LAW NUMBER FOUR OF THE YEAR 1993 WHICH REDESIGNATED THE TOWN OF ITHACA CONSERVATION ADVISORY COUNCIL AS THE TOWN OF ITHACA CONSERVATION BOARD Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca as follows: Whereas,the Town ofIthacaTownBoard established a ConservationAdvisoryCouncilin February 1990; and Whereas, Section 239-y of New York State General Municipal Law states "The local legislative bodyof anycity,townor village,whichhas heretofore createda conservation advisory councilmay,by resolution, redesignatesuchcouncil asaconservation boardprovided suchcouncil haspreparedand submitted to thelocallegislativebodytheconservationopen areasinventoryand map which are accepted and approvedby the local legislative body as the open space index of the municipality;"and Whereas, the Town Board oftheTown ofIthaca accepted and approved theDecember 1992 OpenSpaceReport prepared by the Conservation AdvisoryCouncil as the Town of IthacaOpen Space Index (the "Index")on December 7,1992;and Whereas, the Town Board by Town of Ithaca Local Law Number 4 of the year 1993 redesignated the Conservation Advisory Council as the Town's Conservation Board in accordance withSection239-yofthe General Municipal Law,withcertainchangesinpowersand procedures as set forth therein;and Whereas, the Town Board desires to amend Local Law Number 4 to change certain of the governingrules related to theConservationBoardandtoprovidefortheappointmentof associates to work with the Conservation Board as set forth below; THEREFORE,BE ITFURTHER ENACTED thattheremainderofLocalLawNumber4oftheyear 1993 be amended and restated to read as follows: Section 1.Redesignation of Conservation Advisory Council as Conservation Board.The Town of Ithaca Conservation Advisory Council is hereby redesignated as the Town of Ithaca Conservation Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board")to assist the Townof Ithacain the development of sound open space planning and assure preservation and protection of natural and scenic resources. Section 2. Powers and Duties. The Boardshall have the following powers and duties: ,a.Those powers and duties set forth in General Municipal Law Section 239-y except as Consenntioii BoardAmendment &Restatement ofCovewing local latr;Hal: \VT8.0;JCBIthaca Local Laws;December 10,2002 (11:42AM) modified below. b. The board shall review applications (such as, for example,applications for rezoning, subdivision approval,siteplanapproval,specialapproval,fillpermitsor variances)received bytheTown Board,Planning Board,ZoningBoard of Appeals,orotheradministrative body, whichseekapprovalfortheuseordevelopment of anyopenareaidentifiedintheIndexand which application involves property or a project that is: (i) A Type I action under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and related regulations;or (ii) Within or contiguous to a Critical Environmental Area or Unique Natural Area designated by the appropriate governmental entity; or (iii) Within cin Environmental Protection Overlay Districtand requires a special approval fromtheTownPlanningBoardor a variance from theTownBoardof Appeals;or (iv)Involves five or more acres of land;or (v)Would create five or more building lots; or (vi) Would be reasonablyanticipated (basedon recognized trafficgenerationguides) to create fifty or more vehicle trips per peak hour. c. TheBoardshall review anyother applications that involve land identified inthe Index upon (i) The requestofthe Town Planner orTownEngineer and theconcurrenceoftheChair of the Board;or (ii) The concurrence of theChairof the Board andtheChairofthe entity receiving the application. d. The Board shall exercise any of the functions and responsibilities heretoforegrantedto the Conservation Advisory Council in the February 12, 1990 Town Board resolution that established such Council. e. The Board shall perform any duties assigned to it by resolution of the Town Board. f. The Board may request the assistance of the Department of Environmental Conservation in the preparation of any report. g.The Board shall notify the Department of Environmental Conservation of its establishment within thirty days of the adoption of this local law. Section 3.Procedures Applicable to Review of Applications. 2 Consen-ation Board Amendment &Restatement orCoterning local latr;Hal:MT8.0;JCB Idntca Local I^trs;December 10,2002 (Il:i2/\M) ^a.The Chair ofthe Board shall be notified ofall subdivision proposals,and applications for rezonings, whetheror not review is required pursuantto the provisionsabove, within five daysofreceiptofsamebytheTown of IthacaPlanningDepartment Inaddition,theChairof theBoard shallbe notifiedof anyother application (special approvals,site plan approvals, variances,fill permits, etc.) forwhich review of theBoardisrequiredbythislocal lawwithin fivedays ofreceiptofsamebythePlanning DepartmentorotherappropriateTown Official. b. The Board, at its option, with concurrence of the Director of Planning, may decline to perform a formal review on a specific project. c. The Board shall have at least 15 working days to complete its review and shall submit a writtenreporttothe referring Boardorentityatleast5workingdaysbeforeaprojectistobe considered by the applicable entity so that Board recommendations can be included in the referral entity's mailing. d. Suchreport shallevaluatetheproposed use ordevelopment of theopenareainthecontextof the Open Space Indexand the land use planning objectives of theTown. The report may make recommendations astothemostappropriateuseor development of theopen areaand may include preferable alternative use proposals consistent with open areas conservation. e. A copy of the report shall be filed with the referring board or entity and made available for public inspection at Town Hall. f.Adequate staff time will be allocated to the Board to assist with the review.Such time will be determined by the Director of Planning with input from the Chair of the Board and the Chair of the referring entity. g.Accurate summary records or minutes ofthe Board's meetings and activities shallbekeptand reportedtotheTownBoardasrequested. Suchrecordsshallbemadeavailableto thepublic in accordance with the New York State Freedom ofInformationLaw and any related local laws and procedures. Section 4.Membership. 1. The Board shall consist of no less than three (3) members and no more than nine (9) members,appointed bytheTown Board,who shall servefor terms of two (2)years.Any person residing within the Town of Ithaca who is interested in the improvement and preservation of environmentalquality shall be eligibleforappointment.Each member shall be entitled toone vote. Approximately one half oftheinitial appointmentstotheBoard shall bemadefora termofoneyearonly,so astocreatestaggeredtermssuchthat approximately one half of the Board shall be considered for appointment each year. Terms of office shall commence(exceptwhenfillingvacanciesoccurringotherthanonDecember 31)January 1 and expire December 31 following the next January 1. Appointments made other than on January 1shall be for theremainingunexpired termof the memberbeing replaced. Consen'ation Board Amendment &Restatement of Governing locai law;HaJ:\\T8.0;JCB Idiaca Local Laws;December 10,2(X)2 (11:42AM) 2. Inaddition,oneormoreassociatesmaybe appointed bytheTownBoard. An associate shall be entitled to participate in meetings,discussions,and activities of the Board including its committees, but shall not have the right to make, second, or vote on motions of the Boardor committee ofthe Board.The number of associates,if any,shall be determined bythe Town Board.If appointments of associates are made,the terms shallbeas determined bytheTown Boardbutshallnormallybe forperiods commencing January1andexpiringDecember 31 followingthenextJanuary 1.Persons tobe considered forappointmentas associates shallbe nominated bya majority vote of the entire Conservation Board.The rationale for having associatesappointedis to allowtheBoard tohavethe benefitof volunteer assistance,which wouldbe encouraged and recognized bythe honorarystatusof associate. Associates would be distingushed from other concerned citizens by their appointment as associates to the Board and their participation in Board business either ona temporary basis,fora specific project, or on a regular long-term basis. 3. One of the full members of the Board shall be recommended by the Town Board to Tompkins Countyto be the Town=s representative totheTompkins CountyEnvironmental Management Council. The Conservation Boardmaymakea recommendation inthisregard to the Town Board. Sections.Officers. a. TheTownBoardshall annually appointfromthetotal membership oftheBoardapersonto serve as Chair of the Board. b. The Board shall elect a Vice-Chair who shall assume the responsibilities of the Chair in the absence of the Chair. c.IfboththeChairor Vice-Chair are absent from a meeting,theBoardshallelecta temporary Chair to conduct such meeting. Section 6.Other Procedures and Reports.The Board a. Shallreceivestaff andclerical assistance fromtheTown astheTownBoard,upontheadvice of the Chair of the Conservation Board and the Director of Planning, may determine to be necessary or appropriate; b. Mayadoptitsownrules,regulations,or bylaws fortheconductofitsbusinessprovidedthat the same shall not be inconsistent with the terms of this local law and provided further that the same shall be subject to the approval of the Town Board before they become effective; c. In order to accomplish its reviews, may create one or more committees made up of at least threeof its membersto which the functionofreviewingdevelopmentapplicationsmaybe delegated. The vote of a majority of the members of such duly constituted committee shall be necessaryto forward any reports or recommendationsto any referring entity. 4 Consemidon Boaixi Amendment &Restatement of Gowming tocailair;Hal:WP8.0;JCB Idiaca Local Lam;December JO,2002(II:42AM) Section 7.Compensation and Expenses.The members ofthe Board shall receive no compensation fortheir services as members thereof but may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in performanceof theirduties withinthe appropriationsmadeavailabletherefor. Section 8.Town Board Resolution.This local law shall be considered a resolution of the Town Boardfor purposesof redesignation of theConservationAdvisoryBoardtoa ConservationBoard pursuant to General Municipal Law Section 239-y. To the extent that any provision of General MunicipalLaw Sections239-xor 239-yareinconsistentwiththe provisions of this local law, the termsofthislocallaware intended,pursuant to Municipal HomeRuleLaw 10 andotherprovisions of law, to supercede those provisions insofar as they pertain to theConservationBoard of the Town of Ithaca. Section 9.Invalidity.If any provision of this law is found invalid byanycourtof competent jurisdiction,such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions of this local law which shall remain in full force and effect. Section 10.Effective Date. This law shall take effect immediately.