A. Optional: Preapplication meeting.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of a preapplication meeting is to provide an opportunity for an informal evaluation of an applicant's proposal and to familiarize the applicant and the relevant decisionmaking body with the applicable provisions of this chapter, the Comprehensive Master Plan, and any other issues that may impact the development application. A preapplication meeting is optional, but is recommended for applications that will likely require amendments to the Zoning Chapter, site development plan review or subdivision.

(2) Procedure.

(a) An applicant may request a preapplication meeting with the Building Inspector. At the time of request, the applicant shall provide the Building Inspector with a description of the character, location and magnitude of the proposed development along with any other supporting documents, maps, plans, etc., available. While detailed plans and other materials are not required, the amount of material provided directly relates to the ability of the Building Inspector or other decisionmaking bodies to provide meaningful and reliable direction to the applicant.
(b) Based on the character of the application, the Building Inspector shall determine the appropriate decisionmaking bodies to involve in the preapplication meeting. In general, the preapplication meeting will include the Building Inspector and a representative of one or more boards with review authority. In some cases, depending on the character of the development, the Building Inspector may schedule a preapplication meeting before an entire board.
(c) At the preapplication meeting, the applicant, the Building Inspector and any other persons the Building Inspector deems appropriate to attend shall discuss the proposed development, including the applicable requirements and standards of this chapter. The applicant is responsible for recording a summary of the discussion, which shall be submitted as part of any formal application.
 

(3) Informal evaluation not binding. The informal evaluation provided during the preapplication meeting is not binding upon the applicant or the Village, but is intended to serve as a guide to the applicant in making the application.

 

B. Step one: Application submittal.

(1) Authority to file applications. Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, applications for review and approval may be initiated by:

(a) The owner of the property that is subject to the application;
(b) The owner's authorized agent;
(c) The Board of Trustees;
(d) The Planning Board; or
(e) Other entities that have rights provided by law.
 

(2) Application required. Applications and submission materials required under this chapter shall be submitted in a form and in such number as required by the Building Inspector. Such requirements shall be provided in the form of application checklists or other forms to the public. The Building Inspector may amend and update those requirements as necessary.

(3) Plans and specifications.

(a) Plans and specifications for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration or improvement of buildings for uses other than single-family, two-family or three-family dwelling units shall be approved by a registered architect or professional engineer licensed to practice in the State of New York.
(b) Plans and specifications for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration or improvement of single-family, two-family or three-family dwelling units where the total valuation of the work to be performed costs more than $4,999 shall be approved by a registered architect or professional engineer licensed to practice in the State of New York.
(c) The Building Inspector may require the approval of plans by a licensed architect or engineer for any work within this chapter regardless of cost in order to protect the public health and welfare.
(d) This subsection shall not apply to violations of the provisions of the State Building Construction Code punishable under § 385 of the Executive Law[1] of the State of New York; or to violations of the provisions of the Multiple Residence Law punishable under § 304 of the Multiple Residence Law of the State of New York.
 

(4) Waivers. The Building Inspector may waive specific submittal requirements when such requirements are clearly unrelated to any project impacts. Such waiver shall not limit the ability of a decisionmaking body to require additional materials during the course of the development review process, should such materials be determined necessary to evaluate whether an application complies with the requirements of this chapter.

(5) Fees and costs.

(a) Development fees. The Board of Trustees shall adopt by resolution a schedule of fees for the purpose of recovering the costs incurred by the Village in processing, reviewing and recording applications pertaining to development applications. The Board of Trustees, on recommendation of the Building Inspector, shall review and adjust the schedule of fees as necessary. Such adjustments shall be based on an analysis of actual expenses incurred by the Village to reflect inflation and other changes in costs, and shall be adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
(b) Recovery of consultant costs. In addition to the development fee, an applicant shall pay all costs billed by the Village for expenses incurred in review of an application, including fees from consultants hired to assist in the review. Escrow funds may be required, at the discretion of the Building Inspector.
(c) Outstanding fees and costs. All fees and costs shall be paid by the applicant prior to scheduling of hearings and/or meetings for any development application. No new applications shall be accepted by the Village until all previous fees and costs associated with an applicant are paid in full by the applicant.
 

(6) Outstanding municipal violations. Applications for review and approval of any project shall not be deemed complete while there are outstanding municipal violations pending against the owner, owner's agent, or other entity making such application, where such municipal violations are outstanding against all or part of the premises which is the subject of the application.

C. Step two: Determination of application completeness. After receipt of the development application, the Building Inspector shall determine whether the application is complete and ready for review.

(1) If the application is determined to be complete, the application shall then be processed according to the procedures set forth in this code. An application will be considered complete if it is submitted in the required form, includes all required information and supporting materials, and is accompanied by the applicable fee. The determination of completeness shall not be based upon the perceived merits of the development proposal.

(2) If an application is determined to be incomplete, the Building Inspector shall provide notice to the applicant along with an explanation of the application's deficiencies. No further processing of an incomplete application shall occur until the deficiencies are corrected in a future resubmittal. The inclusion of false information in an application is grounds for determination that the application is incomplete.

D. Step three: Application referral, review and staff report. After determining that a development application is complete, the Building Inspector shall process the development application as follows:

(1) Applications requiring a single review and approval. Development applications requiring approval from a single decisionmaking body shall be forwarded to that body, along with a staff report by the Building Inspector outlining the application's conformance with the standards of this chapter. In the case of those applications for which the Building Inspector is the final decisionmaking body and no referral to another decisionmaking body is required, no official report is required.

(2) Applications requiring multiple reviews or referrals.

(a) Development applications that require review by multiple decisionmaking bodies shall be scheduled for review in the following order, unless a different order is agreed to by both the applicant and the decisionmaking body with final decisionmaking authority:

[1] Building Inspector.
[2] County Planning Department, as required under the New York State General Municipal Law for certain zoning and planning actions, including new land use related laws, zone changes, subdivisions, special use permits, site plans and use or area variances.
[3] Architectural Review Board.
[4] Planning Board.
[5] Zoning Board of Appeals.
[6] Board of Trustees.

(b) At any time during its consideration of an application, an applicant and/or a decisionmaking body may request to forward the application to another decisionmaking body if, in the opinion of either party, the application involves issues which lie in the other board's area of expertise. The board to which the application is forwarded shall, within 45 days, review the application informally and make recommendations to the board from which the application was forwarded. Such review shall not be a public hearing on the application and the board shall neither approve nor deny the application as part of that review.
(c) Joint meetings or hearings of the decisionmaking bodies may be scheduled and are encouraged where applications require review by more than one body.
(d) A staff report prepared by the Building Inspector outlining the application's conformance with the standards of this chapter shall be provided to each decisionmaking body.
(e) No building permit shall be issued for a building to be used for any use in any district where such use is allowed by special permit of the Zoning Board of Appeals unless and until such special permit has been duly issued by the said Board.
(f) No building permit shall be issued for any building where the site plan of such building is subject to approval by the Planning Board except in conformity with the plans approved by said Board.

E. Step four: Public notice.

(1) Notice required. Public notice is required for all public hearings required by this chapter. All required notice shall include the following, unless otherwise specified within this code:

(a) Date, time and place of the public hearing;
(b) A description, where applicable, of the property involved in the application by street address and legal description;
(c) A summary of the nature, scope and purpose of the proposed action;
(d) An indication that interested parties may appear at the hearing and speak on the matter; and
(e) An indication of where additional information on the matter may be obtained.
 

(2) Summary of notice requirements. The following Table 5-2 summarizes the notice requirements for each of the procedures set forth in this article. These requirements may be modified or supplemented by standards within the individual review procedure section.

(3) Types of notice.

(a) Published notice. The Building Inspector shall cause notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation no less than 10 days and no more than 30 days prior to the hearing date.
(b) Mailed notice.

[1] The applicant shall mail notice to the property owner of record for each property located within 200 feet (1,000 feet for telecommunications facilities) from the exterior boundaries of the land involved in the application, as the names of said owners appear on the last completed assessment roll of the Village. Notice shall be mailed via United States Postal Service at least 10 days prior to the scheduled hearing date, and as proof of same the applicant shall submit a "Certificate of Mailing" (Postal Service Form 3817) to the Building Department prior to the hearing date.
[2] In addition to any requirement to notify property owners, some types of applications require written notice to neighboring municipalities, counties or other public or quasi-public agencies. All such notice, as required by the Village Law of the State of New York and/or the Municipal Home Rule Law shall be provided, regardless of the requirements of this chapter.

(c) Posted notice. The applicant shall post notice on the property at least 10 days before the scheduled hearing date. Such notice shall be of a dimension, design and materials as required by the Building Inspector. Notice shall be posted every 20 feet along the front yard, and one additional notice shall be posted conspicuously on each side yard and rear yard property line.
 

(4) Minor defects. Minor defects in any notice shall not impair the notice or invalidate proceedings pursuant to the notice if a bona fide attempt has been made to comply with applicable notice requirements. Minor defects in notice shall be limited to errors in a legal description or typographical or grammatical errors that do not impede communication of the notice to affected parties. Failure of a party to receive written notice shall not invalidate subsequent action. In all cases, however, the requirements for the timing of the notice and for specifying the time, date and place of a hearing shall be strictly construed.

F. Step five: Public hearing. Any public hearing shall be conducted according to the standards of the Village Law of the State of New York.

G. Step six: Decision and findings.

(1) Decision. After consideration of the development application, comments received from other reviewers (if applicable), and the evidence from the public hearing (if applicable), the decisionmaking body shall approve, approve with conditions or deny the application based on its compliance with the applicable approval criteria, as described below for the specific application types. In approving any application, the decisionmaking body shall attach such conditions as necessary in order to further the general objectives of this chapter. If the application is disapproved, the application may not be refiled for a period of one year from the date of initial filing.

(2) Findings. All decisions shall include a clear statement of approval, approval with conditions or denial, along with a statement describing the basis upon which the decision was made, including specific written findings of fact.