The existing Zoning Board of Appeals of five members is hereby continued. Following expiration of the terms of their predecessors in office, succeeding members and the Chairperson of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be appointed for five-year terms by the Mayor subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees in accordance with § 7-712 of NYS Village Law. In the absence of a Chairperson, the Zoning Board of Appeals may designate a member to serve as acting Chairperson. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, the Mayor shall appoint the new member for the unexpired term. The Board of Trustees shall have the power to remove, after public hearing, any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for cause.

In addition to any and all other qualifications for holding office as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, all members of said Board must attend no less than four hours of training classes offered either by the Rockland Municipal Planning Federation, New York State Planning Federation, Orange County Planning Federation, Pace Law School Zoning School or other course approved by the Board of Trustees within one year from the effective date hereof, and complete such classes within two years from the effective date hereof; or receive similar instruction as are provided by the Village's legal counsel or a planner certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and receive such similar certification within the same time period. Members appointed after the effective date of this section shall be required to attend not less than four hours of such classes within one year from the date of such appointment and receive certification within two years from the date of such appointment. Recertification of all members shall be required each year thereafter from the date of initial certification. Training received in excess of four hours in any one year may be carried over by the member into succeeding years. The training required by this subsection may be waived or modified by resolution of the Board of Trustees when, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees, it is in the best interest of the Village to do so. No decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be voided or declared invalid because of a failure to comply with this requirement for training.

Alternate members. Pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York, the following provisions governing alternative members supersede the provisions of Village Law 7-712(11) of the State of New York.

Alternate ZBA members. The Village Board of Trustees, in its discretion, may further appoint up to two alternate members to the Zoning Board of Appeals, who shall serve when there is a conflict of interest precluding participation by a regular member, or when a regular member shall be absent or otherwise be unable or unavailable to review, hear and determine an appeal.

A quorum shall consist of an absolute majority of the total membership of the Boards of Appeals. In order to reverse a decision of the Code Enforcement Officer, authorize a variance or grant a special permit, an affirmative vote of an absolute majority of the total membership of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be required.

The Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions. the Zoning Board of Appeals shall adopt rules and regulations governing its procedures. No appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals, or request for review from any order, requirement, decision or determination of the Code Enforcement Officer, shall be filed later than 30 days from the date of filing of the order, requirement, decision or determination in the office of the Code Enforcement Officer. No appeal taken to the Zoning Board of Appeals after any time limitation set in this chapter shall be valid.

All other necessary costs and disbursements are directly related to the application. A minimum fee as set forth in the Village schedule of fees shall accompany each such application, except as hereinafter specified. Any additional funds expended in processing the application shall be paid by the applicant prior to the issuance of any building permit or certificate of occupancy for any use authorized by the Board under this procedure.

With respect to applications for additions or alterations to existing one-family homes wherein no change in one-family use is contemplated, a fee shall be paid to the Village as set forth in the Village schedule of fees.

All applications and appeals to the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be in writing. The Board of Appeals shall give public notice, as required by law, of any hearing by publication in official paper or papers of notice of hearing at least five days prior to the time thereof and shall, at least five days before a hearing, mail notice thereof to the Regional State Park Commission having jurisdiction over any state park or parkway within 500 feet of the property affected by such appeal or application, and render its decision within a reasonable time.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall refer to the Rockland County Commissioner of Planning for his or her recommendation, all matters within the provisions of Article 12B, §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law, which includes real property lying within 500 feet of the boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park or other recreation area, or from the right-of-way of any existing or proposed county or state parkway, thruway, expressway, road or highway or from the existing or proposed right-of-way of any stream or drainage channel owned by the county or for which the county has established channel lines, or from the existing or proposed boundary of any county or state-owned land on which a public building or institution is situated, or the boundary of a farm operation located in an agriculture district, or from the boundary of any city, Village or town. The Rockland County Commissioner of Planning shall render his or her decision within 30 days of referral or within an extended period if agreed upon.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall require that the Clerk to the Board of Appeals give notice to other owners of property adjoining and opposite the property affected by such application or appeal, by mailing a copy of such notice to such persons as their names and addresses appear on the last assessment rolls of the Village, but failure to give such additional notice shall not invalidate any action of the Board or affect its jurisdiction, nor shall the giving of such additional notice render any such person an aggrieved person, who otherwise is not aggrieved under the law.

Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be in writing, shall contain findings and conclusions as required by law, shall be filed promptly in the office of the Village Clerk and shall be a public record. In addition to the notice required by law, the Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby directed to furnish the applicant with distinctive posters giving notice of the hearing and of the relief requested, which notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place visible from every street along the frontage of the plot affected by said application and shall remain in the place and posted until after the hearing.

The applicant shall, prior to or at the public hearing, furnish the Board with an affidavit of compliance with the requirement of Subsection E(1) above, or at the public hearing shall swear or affirm under oath to compliance with the requirement of Subsection E(1) above. However, failure to comply with this requirement shall not deprive the Board of its jurisdiction or affect any decision, but shall be due cause for the Board to refuse to hear the application or to adjourn the hearing or to require further notice. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall render and file its decision not later than 62 days after the public hearing unless such time is extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The decision shall be filed in the office of the Village Clerk within five days after the day such decision is rendered, and a copy of the decision shall be mailed to the applicant.

Hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination of an administrative official charged with enforcement of this chapter. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not hear any appeal from, or review, any order, determination, requirement, decision or revocation of the Code Enforcement Officer where such order, determination, requirement, decision or revocation has been directed by the Board of Trustees. An appeal from any such determination shall be made by any person aggrieved directly to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in an Article 78 proceeding within 30 days from such order, determination, requirement or decision.

Hear and decide all matters referred to it, or upon which it is required by this chapter to pass.

Where practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships prevent strict adherence to the letter of this chapter, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power, in passing upon appeals, to vary or modify the application of any regulation or provision of this chapter relating to the use, construction or alteration of buildings or structures, or the use of land, except as specifically prohibited by other provisions of this chapter, provided that the spirit of the chapter is observed, public safety and welfare are secured and substantial justice is done.

Have the power to grant such permits as provided in this chapter.

Have the power to grant any extension or modification as provided in this chapter. The enumeration of these specific powers is not intended to exclude thereby any other power set forth in the Village Law or in this chapter.

On a reference by the Code Enforcement Officer after application to the Code Enforcement Officer for a building permit or certificate of occupancy, the Zoning Board of Appeals is hereby authorized to issue a special permit for certain uses listed in Use Table, Column B-1, subject to the additional requirements and conditions therein (or in Column F).[2]

Public hearing and decision; notice to applicant and planning agencies.

Every special permit shall also conform to all special findings relating thereto that are required by this chapter. The Zoning Board of Appeals may also require, as a condition of issuance of any special permit, that it be periodically renewed; or may issue any special permit for a specific period of time, subject to adequate guaranties that the use covered will be terminated at the end of the period specified or such extension thereof as may be granted by said Board. Any such renewal or extension shall be subject to the same procedure and requirements as specified herein for the original issuance of the special permit involved. In granting a special permit or a renewal or extension thereof, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall in all cases file a written report setting forth the applicable additional requirements and conditions and special findings for granting or denying such permit, renewal or extension. No special permit may be granted for a period in excess of five years; provided, however, that the holder of such special permit may reapply for an extension thereof. A special permit will authorize only one particular special use and shall expire if the special use shall cease for more than 12 months for any reason. Only one special permit shall be issued for any plot or parcel of land. In addition to other powers conferred upon the Zoning Board of Appeals elsewhere in this chapter, the Board is authorized to grant special permits in the following situations.

Application. An application for a building permit or certificate of occupancy for uses subject to § 245-11 shall be submitted to the Code Enforcement Officer in duplicate. The applicant shall also submit in duplicate a plan of the proposed construction or development, including a description of the proposed machinery operations and products, and specifications for the mechanisms and techniques to be used in restricting the emission of dangerous or objectionable elements referred to in § 245-11, and an affidavit by the applicant, acknowledging his or her understanding of the applicable restrictions and agreements to conform to same at all times. No applicant shall be required to reveal any secret processes, and any information submitted shall be treated as confidential if requested.

Refusal of the Code Enforcement Officer to issue a permit under this section shall be set forth in writing. Within 30 days after such written refusal the applicant may appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which may affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the Code Enforcement Officer.

It is the purpose of this section to preserve and promote the character and appearance and to conserve the property values of the Village, the attractiveness of whose residential and business areas is the economic mainstay of the community, by providing procedures for an architectural review of structures erected, reconstructed or altered in the Village and thereby to:

Structures which are visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality of exterior design, excessive similarity or striking visual discord in relation to their sites or surroundings, mar the appearance of their areas, impair the use, enjoyment and desirability and reduce the values of properties, are detrimental to the characters of neighborhoods, prevent the most appropriate development and utilization of land and therefore adversely affect functioning, economic stability, prosperity, health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.

The ARB shall review and advise on all applications for building permits in the following categories:

Applications must be accompanied by plans showing all elevations of new structures and all affected elevations in the case of additions or alterations. When required by the Code Enforcement Officer or by the ARB, a site plan shall be submitted showing both existing and proposed contours at five-foot intervals, all existing trees with a trunk diameter of four inches or more at a point six feet above the ground level, and whether such trees shall remain or be removed, and/or other topographical features.

Approval of any building permit referred to the ARB shall be by a vote of at least a majority of the members of the ARB.

In considering an application for a permit, the ARB shall take into account natural features of the site and surroundings, exterior design and appearance of existing structures and the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular purposes, with a view to conserving the values of property and encouraging the most appropriate use of land.

The ARB may approve any application referred to it upon finding that the building or structure for which the permit is requested, if erected or altered in accordance with the submitted plan, is in harmony with the purpose of this chapter, is not visually offensive or inappropriate by reason of poor quality of exterior design, excessive similarity or striking visual discord in relation to the sites or surroundings, does not mar the appearance of the area, does not impair the use, enjoyment and desirability or reduce the values of properties in the area, is not detrimental to the character of the neighborhood, does not prevent the most appropriate development and utilization of the site or of adjacent lands and does not adversely affect the functioning, economic stability, prosperity, health, safety and general welfare of the entire community.

Excessive similarity to any other structure or structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or corner thereof and within 150 feet of the site of the structure for which a building permit is requested, with respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:

Striking dissimilarity, visual discord or inappropriateness with respect to other structures located or proposed to be located on the same street or a corner thereof and within 150 feet of the site of the structures for which a building permit is requested, with respect to one or more of the following features of exterior design and appearance:

Visual offensiveness or other poor qualities of exterior design, including, with respect to signs, considerations of the harmony or discord of colors, or incompatibility of the proposed structure with the terrain on which it is to be located, including but not limited to excessive divergences of the height or levels of any part of the structure from the grade of the terrain.

Any applicant aggrieved by an action of the ARB in approving or disapproving a building permit application before it, and of the Code Enforcement Officer in denying such permit because of such disapproval, may request the ARB to make formal findings of fact. In the event of such a request, the ARB shall make such findings of fact within 15 days after the request is filed in the office of the Village Clerk, shall thereafter provide the applicant with an opportunity to answer the findings by the submission of formal proof and shall reconsider the application on the basis of such answer. If the application is disapproved after such reconsideration, the applicant may appeal the decision of the ARB to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Haverstraw.

If the Board of Trustees upholds the disapproval, the applicant may bring a proceeding to review in the manner provided by Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules in a court of record on the grounds that such action is illegal, in whole or in part. Such proceedings must be commenced within 30 days after the filing in the office of the Village Clerk of the decision of the Board of Trustees.

Establishment. The Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, the Architectural Review Board and any other agency, board or commission affected by this chapter shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.

Any board or commission may promulgate rules and regulations either in the conduct of its affairs or as supplementary to this chapter that are not inconsistent herewith.

Adoption. The rules and regulations intended to be adopted shall first be promulgated by the board or commission. Upon approval of a majority of its members, the same shall be transmitted by the Village Clerk who shall include the same on a Board of Trustees agenda within 60 days after receipt.

The Board of Trustees shall, in its regular public session, approve, disapprove, modify or alter such or any portion of the proposed regulation, and when adopted by the Board of Trustees the same shall constitute a regulation of the promulgating board.

Amendment to any rule or regulation promulgated by a board and adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees may be amended or rescinded by resolution of the Board of Trustees, with or without concurrence of the promulgating board.

Violations. Violation of the requirement of any rule or regulation shall be a violation of this section, and such violation shall constitute a violation of this chapter.