Relates to the vote of town boards concerning rezoning matters

BILL NUMBER:S6157

Title of bill

An act to amend the town law, in relation to changes in zoning

Purpose or general idea of bill

To provide that town boards with less than four members, a simple majority will be necessary for zoning law amendments.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 - amends subdivision 1 of section 265 of the Town Law to provide that the requirement of three-fourths approval of the Town Board to amend the local law where objection has been made will only apply to boards that consist of four or more members.

Section 2 - provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

Justification

Section 265 provides that changes to town zoning regu- lations may be amended by a simple majority of the board except when objection to the proposal is made by specified numbers of affected land owners. When such objection is received by the board, passage of changes must be passed by at least three-fourths of the board. Recently, there has been a movement in some towns to reduce the size of their boards, sometimes to fewer than four members. In such case, the law, as present- ly written, effectively requires a unanimous vote to implement any zoning change, a requirement that was not intended or anticipated in the original law. This bill will remedy this unintended consequence.

Prior legislative history

New bill

Fiscal implications

None to state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.