Village of Oyster Bay Cove, NY Appeals, Board of

The following subsections of § 7-712 of the Village Law as last amended by Chapter 80 of the Laws of 1983 are hereby amended in their application to the Village of Oyster Bay Cove, New York, as follows:

§ 7-712. Board of Appeals.

1. Such Board of Trustees shall by resolution establish a Board of Appeals consisting of three or five members, one of whom shall be appointed Chairman and another, Deputy Chairman who shall act in the absence or inability of the Chairman, for a period of three years, in the case of a three-member Board, and for five years in the case of a five-member Board. In addition, the Board of Trustees may appoint alternate members to the Board of Appeals in accordance with § 320-59 of Chapter 320, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove. The first appointments of members thereto shall be for terms so fixed that at least one will expire at the end of each official year commencing at the end of the current such year and continuing in succeeding years until the entire original appointments run out. At the expiration of each original appointment the succeeding members shall be appointed for three-year terms in the case of a three-member Board, and five-year terms in the case of a five-member Board. No such term shall exceed five years. No person who is a member of the Village Board of Trustees shall be eligible for membership on such Board of Appeals. Any member of the Board may be removed by the Mayor for cause and after public hearing. All meetings of the Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as such Board may determine. Such Chairman may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. Meetings of such Board shall be open to the public to the extent provided in Article 7 of the Public Officers Law. Such Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question, or if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall also keep records of its examinations and other official actions. Every rule, regulation, every amendment or repeal thereof, and every order, requirement, decision or determination of the Board shall immediately be filed in the office of the Board and with the Village Clerk and shall be a public record.

2. Such Board of Appeals shall hear and decide appeals from and review any order, requirement, decision or determination made by an administrative official charged with the enforcement of any ordinances or local laws adopted pursuant to this article. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it upon which it is required to pass under any such local law or ordinance. The concurring vote of a majority of the Board shall be necessary to reverse any order, requirement, decision or determination of any such administrative official, or to decide in favor of the applicant any matter upon which it is required to pass under any such ordinance or local law or to effect any variation in such local law or ordinance. Such appeal may be taken by any person aggrieved, or by an officer, department, board or bureau of the Village.

(a) Such appeal shall be taken within such time as shall be prescribed by the Board of Appeals by general rule, by filing with the officer from whom the appeal is taken and with the Board of Appeals a notice of appeal, specifying the grounds thereof. The officer from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Board all of the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

(b) An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, except actions or proceedings pending in Village Court or any court of record, unless the officer from whom the appeal is taken certifies to the Board of Appeals after the notice of appeal shall have been filed with him that by reason of facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in his opinion, create a nuisance or cause imminent peril to life or property, in which case proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order which may be granted by the Board of Appeals or by a court of record on application, on notice to the officer from whom the appeal is taken and on due cause shown.

(c) The Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing of the appeal and give due notice thereof to the parties, and not less than 10 days prior to the hearing date publish such notice at least once in the official newspaper of the Village or, if there is no official newspaper designated, the newspaper designated by the Village Board of Trustees for such purposes, and decide the same within 62 days after the conclusion of the final hearing. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by agent or by attorney. The Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision or determination as in its opinion ought to be made in the premises and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.

(d) The Board of Appeals shall use such standards for determining matters before it as are prescribed by the Village Law.

(e) The Board of Appeals may render its decision on any appeal or application in a short-form format, setting forth the Board's determination and conditions, if any, without enumerating the findings which formed the basis for its determination. Any appellant, applicant, or person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by a decision of the Board, may within 30 days after the filing of the short-form decision in the office of the Village Clerk, file a written demand with the Village Clerk requesting that the Board of Appeals render its decision in a long-form format containing findings which formed the basis for the Board's determination. The Village Clerk shall promptly deliver this written demand to the Chairman of the Board of Appeals. The Chairman shall then cause the long-form decision to be prepared and upon its approval by the Board, file it with the Village Clerk.

In cases where the Board renders a short-form decision, and no written demand requesting a long-form decision is filed within the required thirty-day period, the date of filing of the short form decision with the Village Clerk shall be deemed the date of the filing of the Board's decision for all purposes. In cases where the Board renders or is required to render a long-form decision, the date of filing of the long-form decision with the Clerk shall be deemed the date of filing of the Board's decision for all purposes.

3. Any officer, department, board or bureau of the Village, with the approval of the Board of Trustees or any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Appeals may apply to the State Supreme Court for relief by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. It must be instituted within 30 days after the filing of a decision in the office of the Village Clerk. The Court may take evidence or appoint a referee to take such evidence as it may direct and report the same with his findings of fact and conclusions of law, if it shall appear that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter. The Court at special term shall itself dispose of the cause on the merits, determining all questions which may be presented for determination.

4. Costs shall not be allowed against the Board, unless it shall appear to the Court that it acted with gross negligence or in bad faith or with malice in making the decision appealed from.

5. All issues in any proceeding under this section shall have preference over all other civil actions and proceedings.

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Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. V).