Amd §239-c, Gen Muni L; amd §§27 & 81, Gen City L; amd §§267 & 271, Town L; amd §§7-712 & 7-718, Vil L
Requires certain municipal planning boards and zoning boards of appeals to receive at least one hour of environmentally conscious planning training annually.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8931
IN SENATE
April 1, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, the general city law, the
town law, and the village law, in relation to requiring certain munic-
ipal planning boards and zoning boards of appeals to receive environ-
mentally conscious planning training
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of
2 section 239-c of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 662 of
3 the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
4 (i) Each member of a county planning board shall complete, at a mini-
5 mum, [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such
6 members to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by
7 a member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for
8 environmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
9 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
10 paragraph. Such training shall be approved by the county and may
11 include, but not be limited to, training provided by a regional or coun-
12 ty planning office or commission, county planning federation, state
13 agency, statewide municipal association, college or other similar enti-
14 ty. Training shall include at least one hour related to environmentally
15 conscious planning, including, but not to be limited to, training to
16 meet the goals of and compliance with the climate leadership and commu-
17 nity protection act, including any grant and funding opportunities for
18 counties, farmland and natural resource conservation, climate justice,
19 environmentally conscious site design, building material techniques and
20 water mitigation and energy systems best practices. Training may be
21 provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to, elec-
22 tronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom train-
23 ing.
24 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 7-a of section 27 of the general city
25 law, as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
26 follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13888-02-4
S. 8931 2
1 a. Each member of the planning board of a city, except a city having a
2 population of more than one million, shall complete, at a minimum,
3 [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such members
4 to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a
5 member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for envi-
6 ronmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
7 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
8 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the legislative body and
9 may include, but not be limited to, training provided by a municipality,
10 regional or county planning office or commission, county planning feder-
11 ation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or other
12 similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour related to
13 environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be limited to,
14 training to meet the goals of and compliance with the climate leadership
15 and community protection act, including any grant and funding opportu-
16 nities for counties, farmland and natural resource conservation, climate
17 justice, environmentally conscious site design, building material tech-
18 niques and water mitigation and energy systems best practices. Training
19 may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to,
20 electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom
21 training.
22 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 7-a of section 81 of the general
23 city law, as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 (a) Each member of the board of appeals in a city, except a city
26 having a population of more than one million, shall complete, at a mini-
27 mum, [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such
28 members to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by
29 a member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for
30 environmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
31 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
32 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the legislative body and
33 may include, but not be limited to, training provided by a municipality,
34 regional or county planning office or commission, county planning feder-
35 ation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or other
36 similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour related to
37 environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be limited to,
38 training to meet the goals of and compliance with the climate leadership
39 and community protection act, including any grant and funding opportu-
40 nities for counties, farmland and natural resource conservation, climate
41 justice, environmentally conscious site design, building material tech-
42 niques and water mitigation and energy systems best practices. Training
43 may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to,
44 electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom
45 training.
46 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 7-a of section 267 of the town law,
47 as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
48 follows:
49 (a) Each member of the board of appeals shall complete, at a minimum,
50 [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such members
51 to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a
52 member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for envi-
53 ronmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
54 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
55 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the town board and may
56 include, but not be limited to, training provided by a municipality,
S. 8931 3
1 regional or county planning office or commission, county planning feder-
2 ation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or other
3 similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour related to
4 environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be limited to,
5 training to meet the goals of and compliance with the climate leadership
6 and community protection act, including any grant and funding opportu-
7 nities for counties, farmland and natural resource conservation, climate
8 justice, environmentally conscious site design, building material tech-
9 niques and water mitigation and energy systems best practices. Training
10 may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to,
11 electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom
12 training.
13 § 5. Paragraph a of subdivision 7-a of section 271 of the town law,
14 as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
15 follows:
16 a. Each member of the planning board shall complete, at a minimum,
17 [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such members
18 to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a
19 member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for envi-
20 ronmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
21 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
22 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the town board and may
23 include, but not be limited to, training provided by a municipality,
24 regional or county planning office or commission, county planning feder-
25 ation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or other
26 similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour related to
27 environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be limited to,
28 training to meet the goals of and compliance with the climate leadership
29 and community protection act, including any grant and funding opportu-
30 nities for counties, farmland and natural resource conservation, climate
31 justice, environmentally conscious site design, building material tech-
32 niques and water mitigation and energy systems best practices. Training
33 may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not limited to,
34 electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional classroom
35 training.
36 § 6. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 7-a of section 7-712 of the village
37 law, as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
38 follows:
39 (a) Each member of the board of appeals shall complete, at a minimum,
40 [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such members
41 to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a
42 member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for envi-
43 ronmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
44 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
45 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the board of trustees
46 and may include, but not be limited to, training provided by a munici-
47 pality, regional or county planning office or commission, county plan-
48 ning federation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college
49 or other similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour
50 related to environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be
51 limited to, training to meet the goals of and compliance with the
52 climate leadership and community protection act, including any grant and
53 funding opportunities for counties, farmland and natural resource
54 conservation, climate justice, environmentally conscious site design,
55 building material techniques and water mitigation and energy systems
56 best practices. Training may be provided in a variety of formats,
S. 8931 4
1 including but not limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning
2 and traditional classroom training.
3 § 7. Paragraph a of subdivision 7-a of section 7-718 of the village
4 law, as added by chapter 662 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 a. Each member of the planning board shall complete, at a minimum,
7 [four] five hours of training each year designed to enable such members
8 to more effectively carry out their duties. Training received by a
9 member in excess of [four] five hours in any one year, except for envi-
10 ronmentally conscious planning training, may be carried over by the
11 member into succeeding years in order to meet the requirements of this
12 subdivision. Such training shall be approved by the board of trustees
13 and may include, but not be limited to, training provided by a munici-
14 pality, regional or county planning office or commission, county plan-
15 ning federation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college
16 or other similar entity. Training shall include at least one hour
17 related to environmentally conscious planning, including, but not to be
18 limited to, training to meet the goals of and compliance with the
19 climate leadership and community protection act, including any grant and
20 funding opportunities for counties, farmland and natural resource
21 conservation, climate justice, environmentally conscious site design,
22 building material techniques and water mitigation and energy systems
23 best practices. Training may be provided in a variety of formats,
24 including but not limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning
25 and traditional classroom training.
26 § 8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
27 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
