[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Chatham 7-13-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989; amended in its entirety 6-16-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town of Chatham recognizes that much of what makes our Town a unique is our beautiful landscape. This landscape includes fleeting vernal pools, meadows and mountains and ridgelines, ponds and streams, vistas and valleys, rocky knolls and swamps, and the flora and fauna that inhabit these beautiful places and depend upon it for their continuance. Through our comprehensive planning process, the Town has clearly ascertained that our residents highly value this landscape. To this end, the Town Board of the Town of Chatham, pursuant to the authority conferred upon it by § 51, Subdivision 5, of the Town Law and § 239-x of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York, hereby confirms the creation of the Town of Chatham Conservation Advisory Council ("Council") as set forth in creation of Local Law No. 4 of 2022, except as amended from time to time and set forth herein.
The Council shall have a base membership of seven individuals who shall be appointed by the Town Board. Of the seven members first appointed, three shall be appointed for one-year terms, and four shall be appointed for two-year terms. Two of the members may be under 18 years of age, as nonvoting members. Any resident of the Town of Chatham may be considered for appointment as a member or nonvoting member of the Council. Vacancies shall be filled by the Town Board. The Town Board shall appoint the Chairman of the Council. The Town Board shall have the authority to remove any member of said Council so appointed, for cause, after a public hearing, if requested. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as an original appointment.
The Council shall comply with the Town of Chatham's Committee Protocol Resolution, as adopted by the Town Board from time to time.
The Council shall have the following powers and duties:
A. 
It shall keep inventories and maps, as defined in § 239-y of this article,[1] of all open areas within the municipality, including lands owned by the state, any other municipality with the state or by the municipality itself.
[1]
Editor's Note: See § 239-y of the General Municipal Law.
B. 
It shall keep inventories and maps of all open marshlands, swamps, and all other wetlands in a like manner.
C. 
It shall aid in the development and review of conservation plans.
D. 
In addition to the foregoing, carry out any other duties, tasks, or responsibilities, consistent with the objectives of this chapter, assigned to it by local law enacted by the Town Board.
The Council shall submit an annual report to the Town Board, not later than the 31st day of December of each year, outlining its activities during the preceding year.
No member of the Council shall be compensated for his or her services.
Within 30 days following the establishment of the Council, written notification hereof shall be sent by the Town Board to the State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation.