Public Hearing: Tidal and Freshwater Wetlands

TOWN OF RIVERHEAD

PUBLIC NOTICE

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held before the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead, at Riverhead Town Hall, 200 Howell Avenue, Riverhead, New York, on the 19th day of August, 2014 at7:25 o’clock p.m. to consider a local law amending Chapter 107 entitled “Tidal and Freshwater Wetlands” of the Riverhead Town Code as follows:

Chapter 107.  TIDAL AND FRESHWATER WETLANDS

§ 107-5. Permitted acts.

The acts set forth in 107-4 are permissible if done pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit approved by the Town Board and/or the Riverhead Conservation Advisory Council, or pursuant to an approved and filed subdivision map or building permit carrying final approval.board or department vested with the authority to review, approve, approve with conditions, or deny an application for the proposed activity or use and/or related to an activity or use, i.e. application to construct bulk head on residential lot-Building Department, deposit fill within 150feet boundary of freshwater wetlands related to a site plan-Planning Board. To the extent the provisions of the Town Code do not identify the board or department vested with the authority to review, approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application, the Town Board shall have the authority to approve, approve with conditions or deny the application. As set forth in the provisions below, the Planning Department,acting on behalf of the board or department vested with the authority to render a decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application, shall refer all applications to the Conservation Advisory Council for report and recommendation.

§ 107-6. Application for permit.

A. All applicantsapplicationsfor a permit to do any of the acts regulated or permitted by §§107-4 and 107-5 shall present an original and three copies of the permit completed application, together with other required information outlined in this chapter, to the office of the Town Conservation Advisory CouncilPlanning Department. Anandan application fee of $100.00 is to be paid to the Town Clerk. All applications and copies thereof must be accompanied by or included the following information:

§ 107-7. Procedure for issuance of permit; display of permit; inspections.

A. The Director of the Planning Department shall retain the original permit application for his/her files and distribute one copy each to the board or department vested with the authority to make a decision to approve, approve with conditions or deny the applicationTown Board, the Conservation Advisory Council, and any other board, department, agency deemed interested or involved in the application.all other involved agencies.

B. The Conservation Advisory Council shall review all completed permit applications and provide a written recommendation to the Town Board, other involved agencies and the applicant, stating its findings and conclusions, within 21 days of its receipt of said application. However, such twenty-one-day time period shall not apply where an environmental impact statement is to be prepared by the applicant, in which case said sixty-day time period shall not commence until a final environmental impact statement has been accepted by the lead agency exercising jurisdiction over the project.commence review within thirty days of referral from the Planning Department. The Conservation Advisory Council shall issue a report and recommendation to approve, approve with conditions or deny the application within sixty days from the initial referral to the Conservation Advisory Council. In the event that an application is determined to be incomplete and/or additional information is requested by the Conversation Advisory Council, the Conversation Advisory Council shall advise the applicant within 30 days from the date of referral and grant applicant 30 days to provide the information and/or supplement the application. The sixty day time period to issue a report and recommendation shall not apply where an environmental impact statement is to be prepared by the applicant, in which case said sixty-day period shall not commence until a final environmental impact statement has been accepted by the lead agency exercising jurisdiction over the project.

C. The Conservation Advisory Council decision shall be binding unless modified by the Town Board within 10 days of submittal by the Conservation Advisory Council to the Town Board. Such ten-day period shall commence upon the lapse of three days from mailing of a copy of the decision of the Conservation Advisory Council to the applicant or service upon the Town Board, whichever shall be later. If either the applicant or the Town Board desires a modification of the decision of the Conservation Advisory Council, a public hearing shall be held upon prior reasonable public notice published in the official newspaper of the Town, and the Town Board shall hold a public hearing on the permit application. The Town Board shall, after the required public hearing, then render a decision to deny, approve or approve with conditions the permit application. In rendering a decision of approval, approval with conditions or denial of a permit, the Town Board shall state, in writing, its findings of fact and conclusions.  The decision shall be transmitted to the Town Clerk, who will advise the applicant of such decision by transmitting a copy of the permit application to the applicant, together with the decision and conditions, if any, imposed by the Town Board attached.shall deliver a copy of the report and recommendation to the Planning Department, and, in turn, the Planning Department shall deliver a copy to the board or department vested with authority to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application and mail a copy to the applicant within 5 days of receipt of the Conservation Advisory Council’s report and recommendation. The Town Board, Planning Board, or Building Department, as the case may be, may approve, modify or reject the recommendation of the Conservation Advisory Council within 15 days of receipt of the report and recommendation.  Such fifteen-day period shall commence upon the lapse of three days from mailing of a copy of the decision of the Conservation Advisory Council to the applicant or service upon the board or department, whichever shall be later. In the event that the board or department seeks to modify or reject the recommendation of the Conservation Advisory Council, the board or department shall publish its decision, including its findings of fact and conclusions in the official newspaper of the Town, except for an application within the jurisdiction of the Town Board shall require that Town Board hold  a public hearing upon reasonable notice published in the official newspaper of the Town prior to modification or rejection of the Conversation Advisory Council’s recommendation. The Town Board shall, after the required public hearing, then render a decision to deny, approve or approve with conditions the permit application. In rendering a decision of approval, approval with conditions or denial of a permit, the Town Board shall state, in writing, its findings of fact and conclusions.  The decision shall be transmitted to the Town Clerk, who will advise the applicant of such decision by transmitting a copy of the permit application to the applicant, together with the decision and conditions, if any, imposed by the Town Board.

1. TheAll decisionsof the Town Board regarding a permit application shall be judicially reviewable.

§ 107-7.1. Standards for issuance of permit to clear native vegetation.

A. The Conservation Advisory Council shall use the following criteria when consideringevaluating an application for a permit under § 107-7 to clear native vegetation unless the applicant demonstrates that the proposed clearing:

Underline represents addition(s)

Strikethrough represents deletion(s)

Dated:  Riverhead, New York

August 5, 2014

BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD

OF THE TOWN OF RIVERHEAD

DIANE M. WILHELM, TOWN CLERK