All applications and fees for preliminary application approval shall be submitted by the subdivider to the Planning Board at least 15 days prior to the meeting at which it is to be considered. The application shall contain all items as required in Article X of this chapter. The subdivider shall bear the cost of mailing any agricultural data statement, where required.
The Planning Board shall consider the application for completeness and shall classify the subdivision as minor or major, make a State Environmental Quality Review declaration of environmental significance pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617 and determine if the agricultural data statement, if required, be submitted to adjacent landowners and other planning agencies.
The Planning Board shall establish an official submission date for the preliminary application. Such date shall be the date that all of the following have occurred:
A. 
The application has been accepted as complete, including all information required in Article X of this chapter.
B. 
A draft environmental impact statement has been prepared, where necessary.
Where the application shows lots which are not in compliance with the Zoning Law, the Planning Board may refer the application, at its discretion, to the Zoning Board of Appeals for the consideration of an area variance review prior to the commencement of the Planning Board review.
Following the review of the preliminary application and supplementary material submitted in conformance with this chapter and following negotiations with the subdivider on changes deemed advisable and the kind and extent of improvements to be made, the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing. This hearing shall be held within 62 days of the official submission date of the application. The subdivider shall attend the hearing. This hearing may also fulfill the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act[1] for the draft environmental impact statement. The hearing shall be advertised at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least five days before the hearing.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
Within 62 days from the public hearing, the Planning Board shall approve, with or without modifications, or disapprove the preliminary application and state its reasons for disapproval. The time in which the Planning Board must take action may be extended by mutual consent of the subdivider and the Planning Board. Within five days of approval, the action of the Planning Board shall be noted on three copies of the preliminary plat and reference made to any modifications determined. One copy shall be returned to the subdivider and the other two copies retained by the Planning Board.
Approval of a preliminary application shall not constitute approval of the final application, but shall be a guide to the preparation of the final plat. Before submission of the final plat or any portion thereof for formal approval, the subdivider shall comply with this chapter and all requirements set forth by the Planning Board in its review of the preliminary plat.