The Town of Wawarsing Planning Board shall consist of seven members appointed as provided under Town Law and the Town Board shall designate one member of the Board as Chairperson. The Planning Board shall have the powers authorized under the New York State Town Law, except that portion of Town Law § 271(2) that provides that the Planning Board shall have the powers and authority to employ experts, clerks, and a secretary and to pay for their services shall be suspended and henceforth the Town Board shall have the power and authority to employ experts, clerks, and a secretary and to pay for their services, and to provide for such other expenses as may be necessary and proper.

Following appointment, all new Planning Board members shall attend a New-York-State-sponsored training course for Planning Board members at the next scheduled course. Thereafter, Planning Board members are required to participate in continuing education courses as required by the New York State General Municipal Law.

The Town Board shall also supersede the New York State Town Law pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law and may, during the annual reorganization meeting of the Town Board, or at such other time as appropriate, appoint as many as two alternate members of the Planning Board to serve for a term of one year or until a successor is appointed. Such alternate members shall attend meetings and act in the capacity of a full member whenever regular members cannot attend due to illness, vacation, or general unavailability, or must recuse themselves due to conflicts of interest. In such instances where the recusal is due to conflict of interest, the substitution of the alternate shall be noted in the minutes at the first meeting on the application and shall continue until the application is finalized. Alternate members shall not participate in the Board's deliberation of any matter in which they are not called upon to act in replacement of a full member. The Planning Board Chairperson shall select which alternate to utilize in a given case. Alternate members shall also be subject to New York State and Town Code training, continuing education, compensation and attendance requirements and policies.

All Planning Board members shall attend at least 75% of all regularly scheduled meetings of the Planning Board in each calendar year of their appointment.

In each calendar year of their appointment. Planning Board members shall attend at least 75% of all SEQR meetings to which they are assigned by the Planning Board Chairperson, or they must arrange to have another Planning Board member attend in their place.

The Town Board shall have the power to remove, after public hearing, any member of the Planning Board for a cause or for failing to comply with the minimum meeting attendance or training requirements established herein.

The Planning Board shall, in addition to those duties provided under New York State Town Law, review and make recommendations to the Zoning Board of Appeals as provided herein, approve waivers as provided herein and appoint a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson if this is not done by the Town Board.

Waivers. The Town Board hereby grants to the Planning Board the authority, in the Planning Board's discretion and as part of any application for which it has review and approval authority, to waive any number of the zoning requirements found in the text of Chapter 112, Appendix A (Schedule of District Use and Bulk Regulations), or on the Official Zoning Map, to the extent necessary if such requirement(s) place a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, religious assembly or institution. The applicant shall have the burden of providing materials that establish/demonstrate said substantial burden. Such waiver authority shall not apply to requirements of the New York State Uniform Code which are outside the Planning Board's jurisdiction.