It shall be the responsibility of the Town Board, Joint Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals to determine the possible environmental significance of actions before it, in accordance with the provisions of 6 NYCRR Part 617, State Environmental Quality Review Act. If the Town agency determines that any such action possesses likely environmental significance, it shall require the preparation and/or submission of an environmental impact statement (EIS).

In so determining the possible environmental significance of any proposed action, the Town Board/Joint Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals shall bear in mind the mandate of the New York State Legislature in enacting § 8-0113 of the Environmental Conservation Law that "a suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors be incorporated into the planning and decision-making processes. . .[and that] it is not the intention of SEQR that environmental factors be the sole consideration in decision making" [6 NYCRR 617.1(d)].