Does Combining Planning and Zoning Boards Work?
The Village of Greenwood Lake will try it out. If it becomes problematic, a two board structure can be restored, new Greenwood Lake attorney Brian Nugent said.
As Greenwood Lake officials considered combining the village’s planning board and zoning board of appeals, two municipal law experts were asked about the potential ramifications. Their views intersected and diverged.
Zoning boards began in 1922, as a result of federal efforts to have states empower local governments to adopt local zoning, according to John Nolon, co-counsel at Pace University Land Use Law Center and distinguished professor of law emeritus. Then, in 1928, planning boards were initiated.
“Zoning boards of appeals were created to have relief from hardships resulting from zoning,” said Nolon. “By the time Orange County developed, the convention was to have two boards. Planning boards made plan amendments and approved new subdivisions and developments that zoning boards rule on. Zoning boards of appeal are required by New York State law. Planning boards are optional.”
However, maintaining membership for two boards can be cumbersome for small villages, as some have under 300 residents and less that 100 households, Rolon said. “New York State allows flexibility because of limited resources. But if a village has many developments, site plans and variance requests, and the village clerk delivers lots of complicated information, that could be onerous—at a certain threshold, you need another board. It’s a question of practical consequences—if it’s a good board.”
However, Nolon also noted problems he and others have seen with board compostion.
“Old boy networks are a serious problem throughout the state,” he said. “No state agency works on it, and no action is pending. But those of us who have been around a long time at conferences and meetings talk about it a lot. We’re looking for solutions like limiting terms on boards.”
Elsewhere, town and village boards have worked together in ways that haven’t happened in Greenwood Lake, Nolon said.
“New York State encourages consolidation of services by offering grants for consolidation,” said Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran, public administration professor at Pace University.
In a state where zoning can only be determined by municipalities, not counties or states, resulting in fragmentation, consistency may be useful. She cites the upstate Village and Town of Livonia, near Rochester, as examples of consolidating village and town planning boards and village and town zoning boards.
“Representatives from both town and village are needed,” she said. “But by combining planning board and zoning board of appeals into the same forum, you can’t appeal. They lack checks and balances. It’s an in-house game. There’s no way to appeal exceptions. There must be a form of appeal.”
Brian Nugent, the new Village of Greenwood Lake attorney, said that the single combined board could be tried for a year, and if it becomes problematic the two board structure could be restored. Meanwhile, the new Greenwood Lake combined board of five members and two alternates will begin work on April 1.
The two village boards had been challenged by resignations that depleted them. Some members extended their terms to compensate. Nugent said he will address rectifying board term lengths.
“They have the challenge of identifying enough people to be members of the boards, but cost savings aren’t much, said Scutelnicu-Todoran . “You can’t escape attorney fees. Consolidation of fire departments results in more cost savings.”
Scutelnicu-Todoran noted a shift in zoning practices over the last couple of decades that lessens challenges from the fragmentation of zoning responsibilities between municipalities.
“Form-based zoning considers geography rather than just the residential versus commercial divides,” she said.
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