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From YouTube: Beacon Planning Board Training 11-10-22
Description
Beacon Planning Board training session "Civics and Planning Board Jurisdiction."
A
A
A
So
the
training
session
tonight
is
going
to
go
a
little
bit
beyond
just
special
permits,
I'm
going
to
try
to
pack
as
much
as
I
can
into
this
half
hour
talking
about
first
just
kind
of
setting
the
groundwork
for
some
basic
clinics.
You
know
where
the
planning
board
lies
in
the
governmental
structure
within
the
city
and
talking
specifically
about
the
planning
board's
jurisdiction
and
then,
lastly,
about
the
implementation
of
the
planning
course
to
jurisdiction.
How
the
planning
board
makes
its
decisions
I.
A
First
of
all,
you
know
Planning
and
Zoning
is:
is
the
world
that
we
live
in
here
at
the
planning
board,
the
purpose
of
that
being
to
guide
the
future
growth
and
development
of
of
the
city,
protect
resources
that
we
have
and
plan
for
the
future.
Now
each
board
within
the
city
of
Beacon
serves
a
different
function
when
it
comes
to
planning
and
zoning.
First,
you
have
the
city
council,
your
legislative
body
made
up
of
elected
members
of
the
of
the
government,
they
set
the
policy
and
they
adopt
the
laws.
A
A
Not
just
really
Amplified
that
sets
for
the
the
policy
and
the
vision
that
the
city
council
has
for
future
development
of
the
city.
That
comprehensive
plan
was
based
on
Outreach
to
to
Residents
and
constituents
within
the
city.
At
the
time
it
was
adopted,
then
the
adoption
of
zoning,
the
local
laws,
the
laws
implement
the
vision
set
forth
in
the
comprehensive
plan
and
again
that's
within
the
jurisdiction
of
the
city
council.
A
The
city
council
has
reserved
unto
itself
some
land
use
approval
Authority
in
some
municipalities,
the
legislative
board,
delegates
all
of
its
land
use
approval
authority
to
the
planning
board
or
the
zoning
board,
as
the
case
may
be.
Sometimes
the
legislative
body
retains
some
of
that
Authority
there's
some
examples
from
I
know:
in
Westchester,
town
of
Greenberg,
the
town
board,
there
retains
site
plan
approval
Authority,
but
only
for
properties,
five
acres
or
more.
So
the
legislative
body
really
has
the
authority
to
kind
of
carve
out
what
it's
going
to
keep
to
itself.
A
As
far
as
land
use
approval,
Authority
goes
here
generally
the
city
council
reviews
and
approves
concept
plans
in
the
Fishkill
Creek
development
Zone,
some
special
permit
Authority.
There
are,
you
know,
limited
instances
where
the
city
council
has
reserved
that
Authority
for
themselves,
otherwise
they've
delegated
authority
to
the
planning
board
and
to
the
zoning
board.
So
the
planning
board
obviously
made
up
of
seven
members
and
you
have
jurisdiction
over
site
plans
subdivision
some
special
permits.
You
also
service
the
Architectural
Review
Board
and
coming
along
with
that,
the
historic
review
for
certificates
of
appropriateness,
the
zoning
board.
A
So
the
planning
board
is
a
is
an
administrative
body
as
opposed
to
legislative.
So
you
implement
the
local
laws
that
are
set
by
the
city
council.
You
don't
have
authority
to
interpret
those
local
laws.
You
don't
have
authority
to
vary
those
local
laws
unless
there's
specific
Authority
written
into
the
the
let
into
the
zoning
code.
For
example,
you
have
parking
waiver
Authority
in
some
instances
like
in
the
CMS
district.
There
are
certain
instances
where
you
can
waive
parking,
there's
certain
instances
where
you
can
waive
Landscaping
requirements.
A
So,
but
unless
it's
specifically
written
into
the
zoning
code,
you
don't
have
the
authority
to
waive
or
vary
the
zoning
requirements.
That's
where
we
get
to
the
zoning
board.
The
zoning
board
is
a
quasi-judicial
board
and
they
are
responsible
for
applications
to
vary
the
zoning
requirements
where
you
can't
there's
no
municipality
on
Earth
that
can
legislate
for
every
circumstance.
Right,
there's
always
going
to
be
unique
circumstances
that
come
up
whether
it's
you
know
a
strangely
shaped
property.
A
Zoning
laws-
the
zoning
board-
has
a
very
tight
standard
of
review.
They
have
to
perform
a
balancing
test
to
weigh
to
why
you
know
whether
the
the
benefits
of
of
granting
the
variants
outweigh
the
detriments
to
the
to
the
to
the
neighborhood,
and
by
doing
that,
there's
five
factors
that
they
have
to
that
they
have
to
weigh
and
Vary.
They
cannot
go
outside
of
those
five
factors.
It's
a
very
prescribed
standard
of
review.
A
They
also
have
the
authority
to
hear
appeals
from
building
inspector
determination,
so
we
have
our
building
inspector,
who
is
the
first
line
of
defense
in
interpreting
the
zoning
code.
So
whenever
there's
a
question
of
interpretation
of
any
zoning
code
provision,
the
building
inspector
is
the
authority
on
that.
He
or
she
makes
that
determination.
A
D
A
So
and
then
beyond
that,
it
would
then
go
to
a
Dutchess,
County
Supreme
Court.
If
someone
wanted
to
continue
to
challenge
the
interpretation,
so
that's
sort
of
just
a
little
overview
of
basic
Civics,
of
where
the
city
council,
the
planning
board
and
the
zoning
board
all
kind
of
lied,
work
together
in
this
Planning
and
Zoning
context.
A
It
says
that
a
site
plan
is
required
for
changes
of
use
and
pretty
much
everything
else
except
a
single
family
home.
So
if
it
requires
a
building
permit,
it
likely
requires
site
plan,
approval
and
insight
plan
applications.
What
the
board
is
really
looking
at
are
things
like
the
layout
of
the
proposed
building
or
structures,
storm
water,
traffic,
parking
lighting,
Landscaping,
internal
pedestrian
and
vehicular
circulation,
noise
or
visual
impacts.
A
The
next
type
of
application
that
you
typically
see
are
subdivisions
subdivisions
can
also
include
lot
mergers
or
resub
divisions.
So
when
you
have
lots
that
were
previously
shown
on
a
Subdivision
plat
filed
in
the
West
in
The,
Duchess
County
clerk's
office
and
those
lot
lines
are
going
to
be
adjusted
or
merged,
those
lots
are
going
to
be
merged
together.
They
need
to
get
approval
from
your
board
and
then
you
have
your
typical
subdivision
application.
A
Know
one
or
more
lots
that
are
divided
into
additional
Lots.
Excuse
me
generally
with
subdivision
applications.
You
are
approving
the
layout
of
the
lots
and
the
other
infrastructure
components,
the
location
of
roadways,
whether
they
be
private
or
public,
storm
water
basins,
storm
water
treatment
measures
and
other
similar
components.
B
A
Lot
size,
you
can,
you
know,
fit
a
reasonable
building
envelope,
taking
into
consideration
all
the
setbacks.
Etc
there's,
frankly,
not
a
lot
of
wiggle
room
for
modifications,
but
there
are
some,
for
example,
there
may
be
environmental
conditions
on
the
states
seep
slopes,
Wetlands
Rock,
outcroppings
things
of
that
nature.
That
may
require
adjustments
to
the
lot
lines
in
order
to
create
a
layout
that
works
with
the
the
natural
features
of
the
site
and
works
with
the
existing
Community.
A
A
good
example
of
that
is
the
application
that
you
just
considered
several
months
ago.
Beacon
views
so
there
that
was
a
subdivision
and
there
they
came
in
with
a
certain
lock
count
which
was
ultimately
reduced
by
by
quite
a
bit
because
of
the
wetlands
on
site
and
because
of
the
mitigation
that
this
board
you
know
required
the
applicant
to
achieve.
A
So
there
are
examples
where
you
know
things
can
be
adjusted
based
on
environmental
constraints,
on
the
property
if
a
subdivision
doesn't
meet
the
standards
in
chapter
195
of
the
code
you
this
is
an
instance
where
the
city
council
has
included
Authority
in
the
code
for
you
to
vary
those
standards.
So
if,
if
the
applicant
can't
meet
the
strict
letter
of
the
law-
and
it
makes
sense
to
to
vary
that
that
standard
you
do
have
the
authority
to
do
so
next
is
special
permits.
A
A
So
if
the
use
meets
those
that
criteria
in
the
code,
then
the
special
permit
has
to
be
issued,
there's
there's
no
discretion
there.
The
discretion
lies
in
whether
the
applicant
has
met
those
standards.
That
is
the
determination
for
the
planning
board
to
make
whether
the
the
information
that's
been
put
forth
by
the
applicant
sufficiently
demonstrates
compliance
with
the
standards
for
a
special
permit.
A
There
are
two
different
kinds
of
standards:
there's
General
standards
which
are
in
223-18
of
your
code.
Those
are
there's
five
or
six
of
them.
Those
apply
to
every
special
permit
that
you
that
you
review
then
for
each
particular
use
that
requires
a
special
permit.
There
may
be
a
set
of
individuals,
more
specific
standards
that
are
required
for
that
particular
use.
Both
the
general
and
the
specific
standards
have
to
be
met.
A
D
C
I
should
remember
this
from
our
days
updating
the
comprehensive
plan,
but
what
criteria
has
gone
into
what
Lots
special
permit
requirements
should
should
carry
right.
So
there
are
certain
lots
that
have
special
permit
requirements,
others
that
don't
maybe
it's
maybe
a
sort
of
a
simple
question
and
I'm
just
missing
it.
A
But
yeah
so
it's
by
district
and
by
use
right.
So
in
certain
zoning
districts
you
allow
certain
uses
either
by
site
plan
alone
or
by
special
permit
a
lot
of
times.
The
special
permit
uses
are
things
that
need
a
little
bit
more
control,
sometimes
like
fitness,
centers
gyms
tend
to
be
I,
find
those
tend
to
be
special
permit
uses
because
you
know
of
the
the
nature
of
you
know
a
lot
of
people
coming
in
for
a
class.
At
the
same
time
as
another,
you
know,
classes
leaving.
A
A
We
found
that
that
was
a
more
efficient
use
of
of
the
planning
board's
time
and
then,
as
far
as
historic
preservation
go,
you
are
the
approval
Authority
for
certificates
of
appropriateness
for
certain
applications
in
the
historic
district
and
landmark
overlay
Zone,
and
the
standards
for
that
are
in
chapter
134
of
the
code
I'm
going
to
jump,
because
we
only
have
about
10
minutes
I'm
going
to
jump
to
talking
about
the
implementation
of
the
planning
boards
jurisdiction.
So
mainly
your
decision
making
process.
A
The
main
takeaway
is
that
decisions
cannot
be
arbitrary
and
capricious
if
they
are
they'll
be
overturned
by
the
court
in
a
second.
What
this
means
is
that
decisions
have
to
have
a
rational
basis
in
the
record.
What
is
the
record?
The
record
is
everything
that's
before
the
board
at
the
time
it
makes
its
decision,
it's
the
application
materials
provided
by
the
applicant,
it's
John
Russo
and
John
Clark's
review
memos.
A
A
So
if
an
expert
says
x
a
board
member
can't
say
well,
my
gut
says
why
so
I'm
deciding
based
on
why
that
will
be
overturned
very
easily.
Traffic
is
usually
the
best
example
of
this.
Of
course,
as
our
traffic
engineer
enters
the
room,
nobody
truck.
Nobody,
nobody
agrees
with
Traffic
Engineers
right,
Frank,
everyone
questions
traffic,
it's
always
well.
A
You
know,
I've
been
at
that
intersection
and
I
have
to
wait
much
longer
than
than
it
seems
like
it's
reflected
in
this
report,
so
that
tends
to
be
a
topic
where
this
comes
up
quite
often,
but
if
a
traffic
engineer
says
that
a
roadway
has
the
capacity
for
the
proposed
project
and
intersections
will
operate
at
acceptable
s
of
service,
the
board
can
question
the
Traffic
Engineers
study
can
ask
about
well
what
what
was
considered
to
come
to.
That
conclusion.
A
Did
you
consider
you
know
when
were
the
counts,
for
the
traffic
counts
done
for
that
that
resulted
in
that
conclusion,
were
they
done?
You
know
at
three
o'clock
in
the
morning
on
a
Tuesday
or
were
they
done
during
the
peak
hour?
What
is
the
peak
hour?
Maybe
the
traffic
counts
didn't
reflect
the
true
peak
hour.
Maybe
the
peak
hour
in
that
particular
neighborhood
isn't
like
four
to
six
or
five
to
six.
A
Maybe
it's
slightly
shifted,
so
there
you
can
question
the
the
inputs
that
go
into
that
that
conclusion
to
make
sure
that
the
conclusion
is
based
on
the
right
information
for
your
community,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
unless
a
board
member
is
also
a
traffic
engineer
board.
Member
can't
cast
that
expert
opinion
aside,
just
based
on
gut
feeling
or
lay
opinion.
A
A
A
A
A
The
court
is
not
going
to
second
guess
the
board's
decision,
even
if
the
court
felt
that
the
decision
should
have
gone
the
other
way.
The
Court's
not
going
to.
Second
guess
that,
as
long
as
there
is
a
basis
for
your
decision
in
the
record
in
seek
for
secret,
which
I
mean
I
could
spend
I'll
have
an
another
hour
talking
about
sikra,
but
for
secret
purposes.
The
standard
is
similar
called
A
Hard
look
standard.
A
Did
the
board
make
a
reasonable
inquiry
into
the
relevant
environmental
concerns
for
that
particular
project?
Not
every
single,
conceivable
environmental
issue
has
to
be
reviewed
only
those
that
are
relevant
to
the
application
and
will
have
a
meaningful
impact
for
secret
purposes.
The
board
does
have
to
make
what's
called
a
reasoned
elaboration
for
your
secret
determination.
A
Deck
or
POS
deck,
so
that's
why
we
have,
in
addition
to
the
part,
three
form
that
you
fill
out.
We
prepare
that
you
know
5
10,
15,
page
document
that
goes
through
for
each
relevant
environmental
impact.
What
are
the
pieces
in
the
record
that
that
support
your
decision
on
whether
there's
a
negtec
or
pause
deck?
C
A
Right
so
the
question
being
yeah
interplay
between
secret
and
special
permit,
so
for
a
secret.
The
the
question
that
you're
asking
yourself
is:
could
there
be
a
significant
adverse
environmental
impact?
Those
are
those
are
sort
of
the
buzzwords.
That's
your
determination
of
significance
and
that
determination
is
based
on
again
all
of
the
information
before
you
all
of
the
studies.
A
Testimony
review
memos
from
your
Consultants
to
determine
will
there
be
a
significant
adverse
environmental
impact
if
the
answer
is
no
based
on
all
of
the
the
information
that
goes
into
the
quote:
unquote
proposed
action
of
the
application
before
you,
you
issue
the
negative
declaration
that
is
different
from
your
special
permit
standards,
which
are
zoning
requirement
that
you
need
to
make
sure
that
each
of
those.
However,
many
standards
are
satisfied
by
the
application
a
lot
of
times.
A
There
are
overlapping
considerations
right,
so
one
of
The
General
special
permit
standards
if
I
recall
correctly
yeah
one
of
the
the
general
special
permit
standards
is
that
parking
areas
will
be
of
adequate
size
for
the
particular
use
and
properly
located
suitably
screened
from
adjoining
residential
uses.
Now,
a
lot
of
that
that
could
be
that
that
is
an
environmental
impact
too
right
for
traffic
and
parking.
You
want
to
make
sure
that
the
proposed
use
has
adequate
parking.
A
D
D
A
Where
does
that
fall
I
mean
so
I
have
seen
cases
where,
where
a
board
issues
a
negative
declaration
and
makes
findings
that
there's
no
significant
impact
on
something
like
parking
or
noise
or
Wetland
impacts,
but
then
denies
an
application
based
on
those
grounds
that
there
is
an
impact
to
Wetlands
or
there's
an
impact
to
storm
water
and
the
courts
have
I've
seen
courts
overturn.
Will
they
overturn
that
decision?
In
every
instance,
I
think
it
depends
on
the
facts
of
of
a
particular
application,
but
I
think
that
I
do
need
to
be
careful.
There.
E
C
Yeah
I
mean
because
the
challenge
does
come
due
to
the
fact
that
the
secret
environmental
review
activity
usually
happens
at
the
beginning
of
an
application.
You
would
hope
that,
even
though
you're
closer
to
the
beginning
of
an
application,
the
applicant
has
sussed
out
enough.
Some
of
those
potential
impacts
such
that
they're
doing
the
work
to
align
any
requirements
of
special
permit,
get
right
with
the
secret,
so
some
of
the
onus
invert
should
also
be
on
the
applicant
and
we've
all
gotten
past
this
conundrum
of
a
negative
declaration,
meaning
no
adverse
environmental
impact,
found
right.
C
Decision
points,
that's
a
good
question.
We
do
have
our
local
ordinance
on
noise
right.
The
special
permit
discusses
certain
aspects
of
and,
of
course,
everybody
should
comply
with
the
local
ordinances,
but
there
aren't
any
conflict.
Is
that
your
question?
Is
there
any
conflicting
issues
between
local
ordinance,
different
zones
and
special
use?
I.
A
A
A
So
I
mean
the
standard
for
secret
is
significant
adverse
impact.
So
you
know
I
always
get
asked
the
question.
What
does
significant
mean?
There
is
no
concrete
definition
and
that's
on
purpose,
because
that
same
statue
is
applied
throughout
New
York
state
right
and
what's
significant
in
Beacon
might
not
be
significant
in
Albany
might
not
be
significant.
You
know
in
Yonkers,
so
each
Community
really
has
to
decide
for
itself
what
significant
means
and
then,
as
far
as
the
the
zoning
special
permit
standards
go,
it's
it's
you.
A
You
read
the
standard
and
you
determine
whether,
based
on
the
information
before
you
they've
met
that
I
think
we
you
know.
We
just
talked
about
one
example
with
the
objectionable
noise
I
think
it's
reasonable
that
if
they
are
complying
with
the
noise
ordinance
that
it's
not
objectionable
right,
but
if
they
were
to,
if
an
applicant
were
to
exceed
the
noise
ordinance
Annex
eat
it
in
a
way
that
is,
is
really
you
know,
egregious
I
think
that
that
would
demonstrate
non-compliance.
E
E
You
know
that
I've
seen
in
the
level
I've
seen
that
in
the
in
the
write-up
and
passing
cars
are
generally
not
constant,
although
noise
from
an
event
is
relatively
constant
over
the
duration
of
the
event,
which
is
just
something
that
it's
just
an
observation
that
jumps
out
at
me.
Every
time
I
see
that
language,
the
traffic
varies
in
intensity
and
there
are
periods
when
there's
no
traffic,
especially
in
the
evening,
but.
C
That
strikes
me
as
falling
into
the
category
somewhat
of
subjective
just
in
terms
of
yeah.
It
can
be
used
as
a
good
sort
of
Benchmark
of
what
something
might
sound
like
at
its
maximum,
but
it
doesn't
land
anywhere
necessarily
in
you
know
some
of
the
prescriptive,
like
the
noise
ordinance
that
we
we
have
to
comply
with
anyway.
This
is
certainly
something
we
can
continue
to
talk
about
until
11
30.