Seneca Falls Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Appeals
§ 300-112 Zoning Board of Appeals established.
A.
Pursuant to the applicable provisions of Article 16 of the Town Law (Chapter 62 of the Consolidated Laws of the State of New York), a Zoning Board of Appeals of five members is hereby established in the Town of Seneca Falls, which shall perform all the duties and have all the powers prescribed by the laws of the State of New York as set forth in said Town Law.
B.
Alternate members.
(1)
In order to permit the Zoning Board of Appeals to transact business in the event that absence or conflicts of interest preclude a full membership of five members from considering a particular matter, it is deemed advantageous by the Town Board to enact a local law to provide for the appointment of alternate members to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(2)
The Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls, New York, may, in any year it deems necessary, appoint temporary ad hoc members to the Zoning Board of Appeals to serve as provided in this section. The number of temporary members so appointed pursuant to this section in any year shall not exceed three. Each temporary member shall be appointed for a one-year term of office. The Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall assign the temporary members as necessary when absence of regular members of the Board or a conflict of interest of regular members of the Board would otherwise prevent a full complement of the Board from considering any pending matter. No more than two temporary members shall sit in determination on any pending matter. The temporary members shall be designated on a rotating basis in the manner provided in the general governing rules of the Zoning Board of Appeals so that each temporary member shall be afforded an equal opportunity to serve. Once designated to serve on a particular matter before the Board, the temporary member shall have the same powers and duties as a regular member of the Board for the duration of the meeting at which they are appointed. Any determination by the Board consisting of temporary members shall have the same weight and be entitled to the same authority as the act or deed of the regular Zoning Board of Appeals, and all laws, statutes and regulations shall apply and be applied with equal force and effect. All provisions of this Town Code and New York State Law relating to member training and continuing education, attendance, conflict of interest, compensation, eligibility, vacancy in office, removal, and service on other boards, shall also apply to alternate members.
[Amended 2-7-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
C.
Term limits. A member appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals may serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms. Two years after his or her prior service, a former Zoning Board of Appeals member may again be considered for appointment to the Board.
D.
Attendance at meetings. Any Zoning Board of Appeals member missing three consecutive meetings shall automatically forfeit his or her appointment. Further, any member missing four meetings in a calendar year, except for major illness, shall forfeit his or her appointment.
§ 300-113 Board of Appeals powers and duties.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals and other matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under the provisions of this chapter.
§ 300-114 Variances.
A.
Use variances.
(1)
No use variance shall be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals without a showing by the applicant that applicable zoning regulations and restrictions have caused unnecessary hardship. In order to prove such unnecessary hardship, the applicant shall demonstrate to the Zoning Board of Appeals that, for each and every permitted use under the zoning regulations for the particular district in which the property is located:
(a)
The applicant cannot realize a reasonable return, provided the lack of return is substantial as demonstrated by competent financial evidence;
(b)
The alleged hardship relating to the property in question is unique and does not apply to a substantial portion of the district or neighborhood;
(c)
The requested use variance, if granted, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and
(d)
The alleged hardship has not been self-created.
(2)
The Zoning Board of Appeals, in granting use variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate to address the unnecessary hardship proven by the applicant, and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood, and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
B.
Area variances.
(1)
In making a determination whether to grant a request for an area variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall take into consideration the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted, as weighed against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant. In making such determination, the Board shall also consider:
(a)
Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance;
(b)
Whether the benefits sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
(c)
Whether the requested area variance is substantial;
(d)
Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
(e)
Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.
(2)
The Zoning Board of Appeals, in granting area variances, shall grant the minimum variance that it shall deem necessary and adequate and at the same time preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety and welfare of the community.
C.
Imposition of conditions. In the granting of both use variances and area variances, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed use of the property. Such conditions shall be consistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter and shall be imposed for the purpose of minimizing any adverse impact such variance may have on the neighborhood or community.
§ 300-115 Interpretation of zoning provisions.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall, upon appeal from a decision by an administrative official and pursuant to the applicable provisions of Article 16 of the Town Law (Chapter 62 of the Consolidated Laws of the State of New York), decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary, if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.
§ 300-116 Referral to Planning Board.
All appeals related to the use of land (rather than lot size, frontage, yards, etc.) and all other matters required by this chapter shall be referred by the Town Clerk to the Seneca Falls Planning Board for review. No decision shall be made by the Zoning Board of Appeals until such Planning Board review has been completed and a report has been issued. If the Planning Board fails to act within 30 days, the Zoning Board of Appeals may assume that a favorable report has been issued. See also § 300-117.
§ 300-117 Referral to County Planning Board.
A.
Definitions. As used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FULL STATEMENT OF SUCH PROPOSED ACTION
All materials required by and submitted to the referring body as an application on a proposed action, including a proposed environmental assessment form and all other materials required by such referring body in order to make its determination of significance pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act under Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations. When the proposed action referred is the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or local law, "full statement of such proposed action" shall also include the complete text of the proposed ordinance or local law as well as all existing provisions to be affected thereby, if any, if not already in the possession of the County Planning Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this definition, any referring body may agree with the County Planning Board as to what shall constitute a "full statement" for any or all of those proposed actions upon which said referring body is authorized to act.
PROPOSED
As used in Subsection C(2)(b) and (c) of this section, shall be deemed to include only those recreation areas, parkways, thruways, expressways, roads or highways which are shown on a county comprehensive plan adopted pursuant to § 239-d of the New York State General Municipal Law or adopted on an official map pursuant to § 239-e of the New York State General Municipal Law.
RECEIPT
Delivery of a full statement of such proposed action, as defined in this section, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the County Planning Board with respect to person, place and period of time for submission. In no event shall such rule or regulation define delivery so as to require in-hand delivery or delivery more than 12 calendar days prior to the County Planning Agency's or Regional Planning Council's meeting date. In the absence of any such rules or regulations, "receipt" shall mean delivery in hand or by mail to the Clerk of the County Planning Board. Where delivery is made in hand, the date of receipt shall be the date of delivery. Where delivery is made by mail, the date as postmarked shall be the date of delivery. The provisions of this section shall not preclude the rules and regulations of the County Planning Board from providing that the delivery may be a period greater than 12 days, provided the referring body and the County Planning Board agree in writing to such longer period.
REFERRING BODY
The Town body responsible for final action on proposed actions subject to this section.
B.
Referral of proposed planning and zoning actions. The Town shall, before taking final action on proposed actions included in Subsection C of this section, refer the same to the County Planning Board.
C.
Proposed actions subject to referral.
(1)
The following proposed actions shall be subject to the referral requirements of this section, if they apply to real property set forth in Subsection C(2) of this section:
(a)
Adoption or amendment of a comprehensive plan pursuant to § 272-a of the Town Law.
(b)
Adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or local law.
(c)
Issuance of special use permits.
(d)
Approval of site plans.
(e)
Granting of use or area variances.
(f)
Other authorizations which a referring body may issue under the provisions of any zoning ordinance or local law.
(2)
The proposed actions set forth in Subsection C(1) of this section shall be subject to the referral requirements of this section if they apply to real property within 500 feet of the following:
(a)
The boundary of any city, village or town;
(b)
The boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park or any other recreation area;
(c)
The right-of-way of any existing or proposed county or state parkway, thruway, expressway, road or highway;
(d)
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;
(e)
The existing or proposed boundary of any county- or state-owned land on which a public building or institution is situated; or
(f)
The boundary of a farm operation located in an agricultural district, as defined by Article 25-AA of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law, except this subsection shall not apply to the granting of area variances.
D.
County Planning Board review of proposed actions; recommendation and report.
(1)
The County Planning Board shall review any proposed action referred for intercommunity or county-wide considerations, including but not limited to those considerations identified in § 239-l of the New York State General Municipal Law. The County Planning Board shall recommend approval, modification, or disapproval of the proposed action, or report that the proposed action has no significant county-wide or intercommunity impact.
(2)
The County Planning Board, or an authorized agent of said agency or council, shall have 30 days after receipt of a full statement of such proposed action, or such longer period as may have been agreed upon by the County Planning Board and the referring body, to report its recommendations to the referring body, accompanied by a statement of the reasons for such recommendations. If the County Planning Board fails to report within such period, the referring body may take final action on the proposed action without such report. However, any County Planning Board report received after 30 days or such longer period as may have been agreed upon, but two or more days prior to final action by the referring body, shall be subject to the provisions of Subsection E of this section.
E.
Extraordinary vote upon recommendation of modification or disapproval. If the County Planning Board recommends modification or disapproval of a proposed action, the referring body shall not act contrary to such recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof.
F.
Report of final action. Within 30 days after final action, the referring body shall file a report of the final action it has taken with the County Planning Board. A referring body which acts contrary to a recommendation of modification or disapproval of a proposed action shall set forth the reasons for the contrary action in such report.
§ 300-118 Appeals procedure.
A.
An appeal from any ruling or decision of the Zoning Officer, acting as the person charged with administration and enforcement of this chapter, may be taken by any aggrieved person or by any officer, board or bureau of the Town of Seneca Falls affected thereby.
B.
Procedure for appeals.
(1)
Submission to Town Clerk. Within 30 days after a decision by the Zoning Officer has been made and mailed to the applicant, appeals made pursuant to this section shall be submitted, in writing, to the Town Clerk for immediate transmittal as follows:
(a)
To the Zoning Board of Appeals for matters of ordinance interpretation and variance requests.
(b)
To the Zoning Board of Appeals for a special use permit or to appeal a Planning Board decision on site review.
(2)
Content of appeal. Appeals shall set forth details of the interpretation claimed, the variance needed, the special use permit sought or the Planning Board decision being appealed. The following information shall also be provided:
(a)
The name and address of the appellant.
(b)
The name and address of the owner of the lot to be affected by such proposed change or appeal.
(c)
A brief description and the location of the lot to be affected by such proposed change or appeal.
(d)
A statement of the present zoning classification of the lot in question, the improvements thereof and the present use thereof.
(e)
An accurate description of the present improvements and the additions or changes intended to be made under this application, indicating the size of such proposed improvements, material and general construction thereof. In addition, there shall be attached a sketch plan of the real property to be affected, indicating the location and size of the lot and the size of any improvements thereon or proposed to be erected thereon.
(f)
A draft short-form environmental assessment form (EAF) pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). If, upon a review of the short-form EAF, the Town (or its attorney) determines that a full EAF is warranted, the applicant shall submit same.
(3)
Zoning Officer responsibilities. When an appeal has been submitted to the Town Clerk, the Clerk will notify the Zoning Officer, who shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of Appeals all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken or, in lieu thereof, certified copies of said papers. The Zoning Officer may also recommend a modification or reversal of his or her action in cases where he or she believes substantial justice requires the same but where he or she has not sufficient authority to grant the relief sought.
C.
Zoning Board of Appeals action. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hold a public hearing on all matters transmitted to it within 30 days after receipt of such matter from the Town Clerk and shall decide each appeal within 62 days after final hearing. Any party may appear in person or be represented by an agent or attorney at such hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals' decision shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk within five business days and shall be a public record. The Zoning Board of Appeals may, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from or may make such order, requirement, decision or determination in accordance with the provisions hereof. See also § 300-119C.
D.
Expiration of approved appeal. Unless otherwise specified by the Zoning Board of Appeals, approval of any appeal for a variance shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain any necessary zoning permit within six months from the date of authorization thereof.
E.
Stay of proceedings. An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action from which appeal is made, unless the Zoning Officer certifies, following the filing of the notice of appeal, that, in his or her opinion, facts stated in the certificate would cause imminent peril to life and property. In this case, proceedings shall not be stayed other than by a restraining order granted by the State Supreme Court, with notice to the Zoning Officer and for due cause.
F.
Court review. Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Appeals or any officer or board of the Town may apply to the Supreme Court for relief by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. Such action must be instituted within 30 days after the filing of a decision in the office of the Town Clerk.
§ 300-119 Public hearings.
A.
The Town Clerk shall give public notice of the hearing of any appeal or other matter referred to the Zoning Board of Appeals by publication in the official newspaper of a notice of such hearing at least five days prior to the date thereof and shall, at least five days before such hearing, mail notice thereof to the applicant and to the owners of all property adjacent to and directly opposite the property for which the variance is sought (as indicated on the most recent final assessment roll). Names and addresses for such notices shall be furnished by the Assessor.
B.
Adjournment of hearing. The hearing on any application or appeal may be adjourned for a reasonable period for the purpose of causing such further notice as deemed proper to be served upon such other property owners as may be interested in said application or appeal.
C.
Rehearing.
(1)
Upon motion initiated by any member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and adopted by a majority vote of all members, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall review at a rehearing any new information not previously reviewed which might affect the original order, decision or determination.
(2)
Notice of such hearing shall be given in the same manner as the original hearing.
(3)
By a majority vote of all members, the Zoning Board of Appeals may reverse or modify its original order, decision or determination if such would not adversely affect the rights previously vested in persons acting in good faith with respect to reliance on an original order, decision or determination.
§ 300-120 Decisions.
Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be by resolution and shall contain a full record of the findings of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the particular case.