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BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DRAFT MINUTES
Town of Danby Board of Zoning Appeals
Minutes of Hearing and Meeting
April 23, 2019
DRAFT
PRESENT:
Lew Billington
Gary Bortz
Toby Dean
Betsy Lamb
Earl Hicks (Chair)
OTHER ATTENDEES:
Town Planner John Czamanske
Town Councilperson Leslie Connors
Recording Secretary Alyssa de Villiers
The meeting was opened at 7:02pm.
1. CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA REVIEW
No items were added to the agenda. It was clarified that there does not need to be a motion to
open and close the meeting, but there should be to open and close public hearings.
Board members introduced themselves to Planner Czamanske and Planner Czamanske reviewed
current contact information and members’ terms. Email should be sent through Town accounts so the email
is archived and a record created; also, this way a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request would not be
for a personal email account. Emailing between Board members must take into account rules about ex
parte communication and should not be related to a current appeal.
2. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
MOTION: Approve minutes from the December 18th meeting
Moved by Dean, seconded by Lamb
The motion passed.
In favor: Billington, Bortz, Dean, Lamb, Hicks
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BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DRAFT MINUTES
Draft meeting minutes are posted within two weeks to the website. Board members have the
opportunity to suggest edits, and then once the edited minutes are approved, the draft minutes are
replaced in the Laserfiche archive by the finalized minutes.
3. DISCUSS POTENTIAL FUTURE BOARD TRAINING SESSION
Planner Czamanske asked board members what type of training, if any, they have had, and if that
included a basic Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) training. While many members had had training, it was
largely general rather than focused on the BZA. It was agreed that Czamanske would a rrange a BZA-
specific training focused on fundamentals to be led by Town Lawyer Guy Krogh in May. Bortz cannot meet
at the usual May meeting time.
Czamanske presented the Board with a number of resources from the James A. Coon Local Government
Technical Series including “Zoning Board of Appeals,” “Guidelines for Applicants to the Zoning Board of
Appeals,” “Conducting Public Meetings and Public Hearings,” and “Guide to Planning and Zoning Laws of
New York State.” He also mentioned NYS’s “Local Government Handbook,” a guidebook on BZAs put out
by Syracuse University, a presentation by Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning, and “The Zoning
Board of Appeals,” part of Westchester County’s municipal planning primer series , as potentially valuable
resources.
Czamanske said that the most updated version of the Town of Danby Zoning Ordinance is now on the
website. He is also working to have all the local laws clearly listed in one place on the website. He stressed
that for all Board members it is good practice to read the Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Plan
cover to cover. Currently the project of verification of the laws in the zoning has not been undertaken. This
would involve looking at each local law and checking it against the current version of the Zoning Ordinance
to ensure that everything is present and accurate. Bortz asked about up-to-date definitions, particularly of
“accessory buildings,” that he thought former Code Officer Hansen had been working on; Czamanske was
not sure whether a new definition had been implemented, but is reviewing everyone’s notes regarding
necessary fixes.
In response to a question from Bortz regarding who would clarify zoning issues to the Board and offer legal
guidance, Czamanske said that there does need to be some role clarification for staff between the Planning
and Zoning and Code Enforcement Departments. The new Code Officer is John Norman. John Czamanske
is the Town Planner. What is less well-defined is who fills the role of Zoning Officer and what that role
entails. It is possible to handle this in a number of different ways, for example towns may have the Code
Enforcement Officer(s) do staff support for meetings or a Town Planner may also fill the role of Zoning
Officer. Some towns require the Zoning Officer to sign off on building permit applications, like in Ulysses.
Currently in Danby it is at the Code Officer’s discretion whether to bring an issue to the Town Planner.
Clarification would relate to hiring descriptions, procedures, and the zoning ordinance itself.
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BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS DRAFT MINUTES
Regarding topics the Board would like clarity on, Hicks brought up what cases come before the Board ,
withdraws, and what authority or jurisdiction the Board has. Czamanske emphasized that the only cases
that come before the BZA should be appeals or interpretations of the Zoning Ordinance based on an
appeal. The appellant is not an applicant—first they must be denied something, except in the case that an
applicant to the Planning Board is sent to the BZA. Regarding future trainings, Bortz suggested it would be
useful to the Board to have short, focused topical trainings in areas such as area variances, use variances,
and self-created difficulties. He thought case studies could be of particular use in these trainings.
Hicks also brought up how conditions the Board imposes get followed through on, or codified. Czamanske
said that, thanks to Town Historian Mary Ann Barr, files are now filed by tax parcel number rather than
name of applicant. This means that everything relating to a parcel number should be able to easily found,
regardless of owner, as long as there is an existing file. Bortz asked where, say in ten years, a condition
imposed by the Board could be found, and, if the tax parcel changes (say it is subdivided), how that
information would be conveyed. Czamanske said that when a condition is placed, the Town Planner passes
that on to the Code Officer, and something should be filed with the parcel’s other documents. This
information would not go on a deed. Czamanske also discussed what ideal future systems might include.
Hicks asked what the Board’s role should be in helping with developing processes, for instance making
sure information is getting to the correct places.
4. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:43pm.
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Alyssa de Villiers – Recording Secretary