[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Thomaston
6-19-1986 (Ch. A151 of the 1980 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The office of the Board of Appeals shall be at 100 East Shore Road,
Great Neck, New York, or in such quarters as may be designated from time to
time by the Board of Trustees.
There shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of the Board of Appeals. The
Deputy Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair.
The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair. Three (3) members of
the Board shall constitute a quorum at any meeting, but if no more than three
(3) members are present, the Board may adjourn that meeting to another date.
A.
Direct application may be made to the Board for consent,
permit or variance, under the Village Code of the Village of Thomaston or
the laws of the State of New York, only in cases where no building permit
will be required to effect the purpose of the application. If a building permit
is required under the Code of the Village of Thomaston, then application must
first be made for the same to the Department of Buildings.
B.
Applications or appeals to the Board may be made only
by a real party in interest, such as an owner, lessee or other person having
a contractual interest in the property concerned, and signed by the owner,
an officer of the owner or an authorized representative. Where an application
or appeal is made by a real party in interest who is a lessee or other person
having a contractual interest in the property concerned, a written confirmation
and consent of the owner must be included in the application or appeal.
C.
All applications and appeals to the Board shall be made
upon forms prescribed by it, together with the required fee, and presented
to the Building Superintendent or other person designated by the Board of
Trustees of the Village. Said Building Superintendent or other person shall
examine the application or appeal. If the application or appeal is properly
filed and all fees paid, a copy of the application, with all exhibits, shall
be sent to each member of the Board and to the Board's stenographer and two
(2) copies to the Village Attorney and one (1) copy to the Village Clerk.
The Chair shall establish a date for a meeting or public hearing to consider
the application or appeal. If the application or appeal is insufficient, it
shall be returned to the applicant and may be resubmitted by the applicant
when complete.
D.
An appeal from any order, requirement, decision or determination
of any administrative official which is reviewable by the Board of Appeals
shall be made within sixty (60) days from the filing of such order, requirement,
decision or determination. Each such appeal shall be made on the form prescribed
by the Board, and a copy of each such appeal shall be delivered by the Clerk
to the official whose order, requirement, decision or determination is appealed.
[Amended 9-17-1992]
E.
Each application or appeal shall be submitted in ten
(10) duplicate sets, including the original thereof, and including ten (10)
copies of each document or exhibit submitted as part of or in support of the
application or appeal and copies of each permit by which the property is presently
being used.
F.
Each application and appeal filed shall be numbered serially,
the calendar numbers to begin anew on January 1 of each year and to be hyphenated
with the number of the year in which the application or appeal is made. A
separate file shall be maintained as to each application or appeal submitted.
No such file or any part thereof shall be removed without the written consent
of the Board. Copies of the minutes of proceedings may be obtained upon payment
of the cost thereof.
G.
Any applicant or appellant may withdraw his or her application
or appeal at any time, but any fee paid shall not be returned.
H.
An application dismissed or denied shall not be refiled
within a period of six (6) months from the date of dismissal or denial unless
substantial new facts are alleged.
Notice of public hearings before the Board shall be given as follows:
A.
A brief description of the nature of the application
or appeal, together with the name of the applicant or appellant, the location
of the premises concerned and the time, date and place of the hearing, shall
be published in the official paper of the Village of Thomaston as required
by law. At least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing, an additional
copy of such notice shall be posted at the Village Hall and such other locations
within the village as the Chair may deem appropriate.
B.
A notice in a form prepared by the Village Attorney shall
be sent by the applicant, by registered or certified mail, return receipt
requested, at least fifteen (15) days before the date of the hearing, to each
owner of land wholly or partly within two hundred (200) feet of any point
of said property, said owners to be identified by the applicant or appellant
from the current assessment map and roll of the Village of Thomaston, and
said notices to be sent to the addresses of said properties or as otherwise
designated on the tax roll. In addition, where the subject property is located
adjacent to the boundary of any municipality, notice shall be similarly given
by the applicant to the Clerk of such municipality. Proof of service of such
notices, by affidavit, shall be filed with the Board at least five (5) days
before the date of the hearing. At least one (1) day before the date of the
hearing, the applicant shall cause to be filed with the Board the return receipts
for all delivered notices and any notices which were returned by the postal
service as undeliverable for any reason.
After five (5) days' written notice to the applicant, the Board may,
upon its own motion, reopen any order, requirement, decision or determination
where it may have reasonable cause to believe that an applicant or appellant
has failed to comply therewith, or for such other reason as it may deem appropriate.
[Added 12-7-1989]
Draft minutes of each meeting of the Board of Appeals shall be circulated
to all of the members, and a reasonable period of time provided for each member
to submit proposed changes or comments to the Chair. After the passage of
a reasonable period of time, the Chair may direct the Clerk to file the minutes
as approved, after making any changes which the Chair deems appropriate. Copies
of the final minutes shall be distributed to each member of the Board of Appeals,
and subsequent changes or corrections in the minutes may be made by majority
vote of the Board.
[Added 9-17-1992]
A.
Decisions of the Board of Appeals may be made in either
of the following manners:
(1)
By resolution approved by at least a majority of the
members of the Board, at an open meeting at which a quorum of the Board is
present. Where a decision is issued by resolution, the filing date of the
decision shall be the date the minutes of the meeting at which the decision
is made are filed in the office of the Clerk.
(2)
By written decision, approved by signature of at least
a majority of the members of the Board. Such signature may be evidenced by
a signature facsimile affixed to such decision by authorization of the Board
member whose signature is so affixed. Where a decision is issued by written
decision, the filing date of the decision shall be the date on which the decision
is filed in the office of the Clerk.
B.
Upon the filing of a decision in the office of the Clerk,
the Clerk shall send a copy of such decision, indicating the filing date,
to the applicant or the attorney or other designated representative of the
applicant.
