Upon the death, resignation or removal of any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals who had been appointed prior to the effective date of this chapter, his/her successor or reappointment shall either:

Upon the expiration of the term of a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals who had been appointed prior to the effective date of this chapter, his/her reappointment or the appointment of his/her successor shall be for a term of five years.

For all members appointed after the effective date of this chapter, if a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of the term (e.g., through death, resignation or removal from office), it shall be filled by the Town Board by appointment for the unexpired term.

The meaning of any portion of the text of this chapter or of any condition or requirement specified or made under the provisions of this chapter.

The exact location of any district boundary shown on the Zoning Map.[1]

To authorize, upon appeal of a decision of the Building and Code Enforcement Officer and the Chairman of the Planning Board, such variances from the terms of this chapter as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owing to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, there are unnecessary hardships or practical difficulties in the way of carrying out of the strict letter of this chapter, subject to terms and conditions to be fixed by the Zoning Board of Appeals; provided, however, that no such variance shall be granted unless the Zoning Board of Appeals finds:

Where the Zoning Board of Appeals grants a use variance for a use permitted in another district, the area standards shall be that of the district in which the use is permitted. In granting any variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall prescribe any appropriate safeguards and conditions applying thereto that it may deem to be necessary or desirable in the public interest, and such determination shall be recorded on the building permit or the certificate of occupancy, as the case may be, issued pursuant to such variance.

General standards.

Further conditions. Upon finding that such general standards and any specific standards otherwise set forth in Article IV and the district regulations of this chapter have been fully met, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) may grant such special permit and in so doing may impose any conditions that it may deem necessary to accomplish the reasonable application of said standards. The ZBA may deny any application for a special permit which, in its judgment, is not in accordance with said general or special standards. The ZBA may require as a condition of the granting of any special permit that it shall be periodically renewed, or the ZBA may grant a temporary special permit, 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 the ZBA, provided that any such renewal of extension shall be subject to the same procedure as specified herein for the original granting of the special permit involved and in conformity with the aforesaid general and special standards.

Preexisting uses deemed to be conforming. Any lawful use existing at the time of the effective date of this chapter or any amendment thereof which, if newly created under this chapter, would require a special permit in the district in which it is situated may be continued and shall be deemed to be a conforming use, but any modification, change or extension thereof shall be subject to the granting of a special permit as provided in this chapter.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not grant any appeal or variance or issue any special or temporary permit or interpretation without first holding a public hearing, notice of which hearing and of the substance of the appeal or application shall be given by publication in the official newspaper of the Town at least five days before the date of such hearing. In addition to such published notice, notice shall be given of the substance of every appeal and variance and of every application for a special permit or interpretation, together with notice of the hearing thereon, by notices thereof being mailed at least 10 days before the date of said hearing to the owners of all property abutting that held by the applicant in the immediate area (whether or not involved in such appeal or application) and to all other owners within 500 feet, or such additional distance as the Zoning Board of Appeals may deem advisable, from the exterior boundaries of the land involved in such appeal or application, as the names of such owners appear on the last completed assessment roll of the Town. Such notice shall be by first-class mail in envelopes which have been addressed and on which required first-class postage has been paid for and affixed by the applicant, to be mailed by the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals or another employee or officer of the Town, who shall complete and file an affidavit of mailing with the Board listing each address to which the notice was sent. Any or all of the notices required by this section for the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be issued by the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals on order of the Zoning Board of Appeals. The notice shall identify both the street address of the lot(s) and the section, block and lot number(s) assigned on the Orange County Tax Map for the Town to the land involved in the application or appeal. An eleven-inch-by-seventeen-inch copy of the notice shall also be posted at the property for which the application is made. The notice must be posted on or near a front property line within view of the nearest adjacent street right-of-way. If the property fronts on two or more streets, notices shall be posted on all the front property lines. The notice must not obstruct traffic visibility. The applicant shall submit a notarized affidavit of posting and photograph of the posting to the Secretary of the Zoning Board of Appeals prior to or on the 10th day prior to the public hearing date. The posted notice must be maintained and updated with amended information if there is any change to the information contained in the original notice until after the public hearing is closed. An applicant shall not be deemed to have violated the requirement to maintain the notice if the notice is removed or destroyed by an unrelated party or natural force and replaced within a reasonable period of time. The notice must be removed and properly disposed of within 10 days of the close of the public hearing.

Provided that due notice shall have been published as above set forth and that there shall have been substantial compliance with the remaining provisions of the preceding subsection, the failure to give notice in exact conformance herewith shall not be deemed to invalidate action taken by the Zoning Board of Appeals in connection with the granting of any appeal or variance or issuance of any special or temporary permit pursuant thereto.

For those applications to the Planning Board to which the mailing and posting requirements of this section apply, the words "Planning Board" shall be substituted for "Zoning Board of Appeals."

Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be recorded in accordance with the standard forms adopted by the Zoning Board of Appeals and shall set forth the circumstances of the case. In addition, each decision shall contain a full record of findings on which the decision is based and any such conditions and safeguards as may be required in order that the result of its action may be as nearly as possible in accordance with the spirit and intent of this chapter. Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be by resolution and shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk by case number under one of the following headings: interpretations, variances or special permits, as the case may be.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall notify the Building and Code Enforcement Officer and each member of the Town Board, the Secretary of the Planning Board and the Municipal Clerk of any affected municipality given notice of the hearing as required by law of its decision in each case.