§ 7-718 Planning board; creation, appointment. 1. Authorization. The
village board of trustees of each village is hereby authorized by local
law to create a planning board consisting of five or seven members.
Members and the chairperson of such planning board shall be appointed by
the mayor subject to the approval of the board of trustees. In the
absence of a chairperson the planning board may designate a member to
serve as chairperson. The village board of trustees may, as part of the
local law creating said planning board, provide for the compensation of
planning board members.

2. Appropriation for planning board. The village board of trustees is
hereby authorized and empowered to make such appropriation as it may see
fit for planning board expenses. The planning board shall have the power
and authority to employ experts, clerks and a secretary and to pay for
their services, and to provide for such other expenses as may be
necessary and proper, not exceeding in all the appropriation that may be
made therefor by the village board of trustees for such planning board.

3. Village board of trustees ineligible. No person who is a member of
the village board of trustees shall be eligible for membership on such
planning board.

4. Terms of members first appointed. The terms of members of the
planning board first appointed shall be so fixed that the term of one
member shall expire at the end of the village official year in which
such members were initially appointed. The terms of the remaining
members first appointed shall be so fixed that one term shall expire at
the end of each official year thereafter. At the expiration of the term
of each member first appointed, his or her successor shall be appointed
for a term which shall be equal in years to the number of members of the
board.

5. Terms of members now in office. Members now holding office for
terms which do not expire at the end of the village official year shall,
upon the expiration of their term, hold office until the end of the
village official year and their successors shall then be appointed for
terms which shall be equal in years to the number of members of the
board.

6. Increasing membership. Any village board of trustees may, by local
law, increase a five member planning board to seven members. Additional
members shall be first appointed for single terms in order that the
terms of members shall expire in each of seven successive years and
their successors shall thereafter be appointed for full terms of seven
years. No such additional member shall take part in the consideration of
any matter for which an application was on file with the planning board
at the time of his or her appointment.

7. Decreasing membership. A village board of trustees which has seven
members on the planning board may, by local law, decrease the membership
to five, to take effect upon the next two expirations of terms. However,
no incumbent shall be removed from office except upon the expiration of
his or her term, except as hereinafter provided.

7-a. Training and attendance requirements. a. Each member of the
planning board shall complete, at a minimum, four hours of training each
year designed to enable such members to more effectively carry out their
duties. Training received by a member in excess of four hours in any one
year may be carried over by the member into succeeding years in order to
meet the requirements of this subdivision. Such training shall be
approved by the board of trustees and may include, but not be limited
to, training provided by a municipality, regional or county planning
office or commission, county planning federation, state agency,
statewide municipal association, college or other similar entity.
Training may be provided in a variety of formats, including but not
limited to, electronic media, video, distance learning and traditional
classroom training.

b. To be eligible for reappointment to such board, such member shall
have completed the training promoted by the village pursuant to this
subdivision.

c. The training required by this subdivision may be waived or modified
by resolution of the board of trustees when, in the judgment of the
board of trustees, it is in the best interest of the village to do so.

d. No decision of a planning board shall be voided or declared invalid
because of a failure to comply with this subdivision.

8. Vacancy in office. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by
expiration of term, the mayor shall appoint the new member for the
unexpired term.

9. Removal of members. The mayor shall have the power to remove, after
public hearing, any member of the planning board for cause. Any planning
board member may be removed for non-compliance with minimum requirements
relating to meeting attendance and training as established by the
village board of trustees by local law.

10. Chairperson duties. All meetings of the planning board shall be
held at the call of the chairperson and at such other times as such
board may determine. Such chairperson, or in his or her absence, the
acting chairperson, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of
witnesses.

11. Appointment of agricultural member. Notwithstanding any provisions
of this chapter or any general, special or local law, the mayor may, if
an agricultural district created pursuant to section three hundred three
of article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law exists
wholly or partly within the boundaries of such village, include on the
planning board one or more members each of whom derives ten thousand
dollars or more annual gross income from agricultural pursuits in said
village. As used in this subdivision, the term "agricultural pursuits"
means the production of crops, livestock and livestock products,
aquacultural products, and woodland products as defined in section three
hundred one of the agriculture and markets law.

12. Service on other planning boards. No person shall be disqualified
from serving as a member of the village planning board by reason of
serving as a member of the town or county planning board.

13. Rules and regulations. The planning board may recommend to the
village board of trustees regulations relating to any subject matter
over which the planning board has jurisdiction under this article or any
other statute, or under any local law of the village. Adoption of any
such recommendations by the village board of trustees shall be by local
law.

14. Report on referred matters; general reports. a. The village board
of trustees may by resolution provide for the reference of any matter or
class of matters, other than those referred to in subdivision ten of
this section, to the planning board before final action is taken thereon
by the village board of trustees or other office or officer of said
village having final authority over said matter. The village board of
trustees may further stipulate that final action thereon shall not be
taken until the planning board has submitted its report thereon, or has
had a reasonable time, to be fixed by the village board of trustees in
said resolution, to submit the report.

b. The planning board may review and make recommendations on a
proposed village comprehensive plan or amendment thereto. In addition,
the planning board shall have the full power and authority to make
investigations, maps, reports, and recommendations in connection
therewith relating to the planning and development of the village as it
seems desirable, providing the total expenditures of said board shall
not exceed the appropriation provided therefor.

15. Planning commission. In any village in which there is a planning
commission created under article twelve-A of the general municipal law,
the board of trustees, instead of authorizing the appointment of a
planning board under this article, may provide that the existing
commission shall continue, the members thereof thereafter to be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of such article twelve-A,
and to have the powers and duties as specified for a planning board
appointed under this article, provided, however, that in such village
section two hundred thirty-eight of the general municipal law shall not
be in force.

16. Alternate members. a. A village board of trustees may, by local
law or as a part of the local law creating the planning board, establish
alternate planning board member positions for purposes of substituting
for a member in the event such member is unable to participate because
of a conflict of interest. Alternate members of the planning board shall
be appointed by the mayor, subject to the approval of the board of
trustees, for terms established by the village board of trustees.

b. The chairperson of the planning board may designate an alternate
member to substitute for a member when such member is unable to
participate because of a conflict of interest on an application or
matter before the board. When so designated, the alternate member shall
possess all the powers and responsibilities of such member of the board.
Such designation shall be entered into the minutes of the initial
planning board meeting at which the substitution is made.

c. All provisions of this section relating to planning board member
training and continuing education, attendance, conflict of interest,
compensation, eligibility, vacancy in office, removal, and service on
other boards, shall also apply to alternate members.

17. Voting requirements. Every motion or resolution of a planning
board shall require for its adoption the affirmative vote of a majority
of all the members of the planning board. Where an action is the subject
of a referral to the county planning agency or regional planning council
the voting provisions of sections two hundred thirty-nine-m and two
hundred thirty-nine-n of the general municipal law shall apply.