Milan Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Referral and Amendment Procedures
[Amended 4-22-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996; 2-9-2004 by L.L. No. 1-2004; 8-13-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007; 12-14-2009 by L.L. No. 2-2009
§ 200-71 Referral to Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.
In accordance with the policy and procedures provided for by §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law, any proposed zoning actions as specified therein shall be referred to the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development for its review. The Town and its boards shall refer any zoning actions to the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development as required by and in accordance with the procedures provided for in §§ 239-1 and 239-m of the General Municipal Law and shall abide by the time periods and voting requirements contained therein.
§ 200-72 Amendments.
General. This chapter, including the Zoning Map which is a part hereof,[1] may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed by the Town Board on its own initiative, on recommendation of the Planning Board or on petition pursuant to the provisions of this section. Any such amendment or change may be adopted by local law after due notice and public hearing as authorized by New York State law.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the Town offices.
Procedure.
Initiation by party other than Town Board:
The Planning Board may resolve to submit a recommendation to the Town Board to change the provisions of this chapter. Such resolution shall be filed with the Town Clerk within 30 days of its adoption.
An applicant may fie a petition in the office of the Town Clerk requesting an amendment, supplement or change to the Zoning Code.
The Town Board refers the petition to the Planning Board for a period of 45 calendar days for a report and recommendation thereon.
Fees. Said petition shall be accompanied by the applicable fee in accordance with the fee schedule established and reviewed periodically by the Town Board. The Town Board has authority to waive fees if the Zoning Code amendment is considered a correction.
Escrow. Said petition shall be accompanied by an escrow payment in accordance with the Schedule of Escrow Fees adopted and periodically reviewed by the Town Board. Each and every signatory to the petition [hereafter, "petitioner(s)"] shall sign an escrow agreement, in form and substance as approved by the Town Attorney, acknowledging joint and several responsibility under § 200-72B(1)(b)[3][b] for all reasonable and actual engineering, legal an other consulting fees incurred by the Town, in connection with review of the petition and the necessary supporting documentation, including without limitation that necessary for fulfilling the Town's obligation to comply with SEQR. All monies deposited with the Town pursuant to this article shall be held in an account designated for such purpose (hereafter, the "escrow account.") The Town Board may waive the escrow requirements if the proposed Zoning Code amendment is a clarifying or corrective action.
Where the Town Board or Planning Board uses the services of private engineers, attorneys or other consultants for purposes of engineering, scientific land use planning, environmental or legal reviews of the adequacy or substantive details of petitions or applications submitted pursuant to § 200-72B(1)(b), or issues raised during the course of review of such petitions or applications, the petitioner(s) shall be jointly and severally responsible for payment of all the reasonable and necessary costs of such services. In no event shall that responsibility be greater than the actual cost to the Town of such engineering, legal or other consulting services.
The costs of any other expenses incurred by the Town in connection with the processing, review and consideration of any application brought pursuant to this article, including without limitation the costs of mailings and publications associated with the petition or application, shall be borne, jointly and severally, by the petitioner(s).
The Town may make payments from the escrow account, for reasonable and actual engineering, legal or other consulting services incurred by the Town, after audit and approval by the Town Board of itemized vouchers for such services. The Town shall supply copies of such vouchers to the applicant, appropriately redacted where necessary to shield legally privileged communications between Town officers or employees and the Town's consultants. At any time the escrow account falls below 20% of the initial deposit and it appears that the remaining funds may be insufficient to pay current or anticipated vouchers, the Town may require the petitioner to deposit additional sums to meet such expenses or anticipated expenses.
Within 90 days after filing of a resolution or petition pursuant to this article, the Town Board shall initiate consideration of such amendment, supplement, or change and shall either:
Reject the proposed amendment, supplement, or change and set forth its reasons for such rejection; or
Draft or revise the proposed amendment, supplement, or change and introduce a local law to enact such revised amendment according to the remaining procedures set forth in this article; or
Introduce a local law to enact such amendment as petitioned according to the remaining procedures set forth in this article.
Public information session(s) may be conducted at the discretion of the Town Board, in order to advise the public of the proposed amendment.
Public notice and hearing. For any local law introduced to amend this chapter, the Town Board shall fix the time and place of a public hearing on the proposed amendment and cause notice thereof to be given as follows:
By providing a copy of such notice of any proposed change or amendment affecting property within 500 feet of any other municipality to the Clerk of such municipality at least 10 calendar days prior to the date of such public hearing.
When changing the zoning district for specific lots, by mailing a copy of such notice to all affected lot owners and all property owners located within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the proposed amendment by United States mail at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing.
Referral to Planning Board. Any proposal to amend, supplement, change, modify or repeal this chapter, or any part thereof, shall be referred by the Town Board to the Planning Board for a period of 45 calendar days for a report and recommendation thereon, unless such proposal is the recommendation of the Planning Board. If the Planning Board fails to report its recommendation within such time period, the Town Board may act without such report. If the Planning Board reports its recommendation prior to the expiration of the forty-five-day period, the Town Board may act without waiting for the expiration of the forty-five-day period.
Required referral. The Town Board shall refer any proposed amendment, whether a map amendment or a text amendment, to the Dutchess County Department of Planning in accordance with § 200-71.
Compliance with SEQR. Proposed Zoning Map and zoning regulations amendments are both actions subject to the provisions of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act. Prior to formal consideration and public hearing, the Town Board shall make a determination as to the type of action, lead agency status and environmental significance of the proposed amendment in accordance with Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Any action to initiate an amendment to this chapter shall be specifically accompanied by either a short or full environmental assessment form as required by SEQR, Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Part 617 of Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
Town Board action.
The Town Board may approve any such proposed amendment by a majority vote of said Board, except that a favorable vote of at least four members of the Town Board, i.e., a majority plus one, shall be required if:
Action being taken is contrary to the advisory recommendation received from the Dutchess County Department of Planning under the provisions of §§ 239-l and 239-m of the General Municipal Law; or
A protest petition against such amendment has been presented to the Town Board in accordance with the provisions of § 265 of the Town Law.
Criteria for consideration of amendments. When considering proposed amendments to this chapter, particularly those involving changes in the district boundaries set forth on the Zoning District Map, the Planning Board, in making its recommendation, and the Town Board, in deciding whether to approve or disapprove the proposed amendment, shall be guided by its examination of the following issues:
Whether the proposed change would be consistent with the Town Master Plan.
Whether the change is compatible with the existing land use pattern.
Whether the proposed change is consistent with greenway connections as established in Chapter 34 of the Code of the Town of Milan.
Whether the change would result in the creation of an isolated zoning district unrelated to adjacent and nearby districts.
Whether the proposed change will adversely influence living conditions in the neighborhood or adjacent areas.
Whether the proposed change will create or excessively increase traffic congestion or otherwise affect public safety.
Whether the proposed change will adversely affect property value in adjacent areas.
Whether the proposed change will be a deterrent to the improvement or development of adjacent property in accordance with existing regulations.
Whether the proposed change will constitute a grant of special privilege to an individual owner as contrasted with the public welfare of the community.
Whether there are substantial reasons why the property cannot be used in accordance with existing zoning standards.
Whether the proposed change is out of scale with the needs of the neighborhood or the Town.
Whether the proposed change will have long-term, short-term, cumulative or other impacts not individually cited in consideration of the above criteria.