January 2007
Model Ordinance of the Month
The Planning Federation has developed a Model Training Resolution that communities can use or modify to begin the training of local planning and zoning board members, as required now under New York Law.
Model Link of the Month
The New York Department of State also has a Sample Training Resolution as well as a Sample Personal Training Record on its Web site at: www.dos.state.ny.us/lgss/training.htm

December 2006
Model Ordinance of the Month
Many communities today have concerns about proposed “Big Box” development that they feel may be too large or out-of-scale for their communities. The Home Town Advantage - part of the Institute for Self-Reliance - has taken a prominent role in helping communities to evaluate and limit the size of such development. Their website offers a 7-part “Community Protection Policy Kit that addresses common questions and provides examples of communities with store size caps and a model size cap ordinance.
You can find these resources at: www.bigboxtoolkit.com/

November 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
One of NYPF’s featured speakers at the Fall conference - Michael Klemens of the Metropolitan Conservation Alliance - spoke persuasively of the need for effective approaches to habitat protection. The Town of Milan has recently adopted the Milan Habitat Assessment Guidelines (by Greenplan) to help it flag and protect significant biological resources as part of the development process.
Model Link of the Month
Hudsonia produced a very well-reviewed publication in 2001 for Hudson River Valley municipalities interested in inventorying important plant and animal habitats, entitled Biological Assessment Manual for the Hudson River Estuary Corridor. A good excerpt from it called General Conservation Measures for Protecting Biodiversity can be found at: www.dec.ny.gov.
Additional excellent publications on planning and zoning for biodiversity can be found at the website for the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies www.ecostudies.org/.

October 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
The model resource (including ordinance) of the month is NYSERDA’s new “A Municipal Official’s Guide to Diesel Idling Reduction,” www.nyserda.org/publications/09-06GuidetoDieselIdlingReduction.pdf.
Thisguide is the first of its kind in the nation. It is co-produced by NYSERDA and NYPF and intended to assist local officials in making land use decisions that will promote the use of new technologies that reduce diesel idling.
Model Link of the Month
The model link of the month is the EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership -
www.epa.gov/smartway
A partnership between the EPA and the freight industry to reduce emissions from heavy-duty truck and locomotive idling. Local officials will find this program interesting as well.

September 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
The model ordinance/resource of the month is the 2006 Department of State publication Municipal Control of Signs, which provides a thorough treatment of local signage control and a good sample sign matrix and permit applications.

August 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
Subdivision Ordinance
The model ordinance for August is Saratoga Springs’ Conservation Subdivision ordinance, which features straight-forward, user-friendly language and many helpful illustrations. The city reports that the ordinance is being used successfully, providing significant new protected open space. The city is looking to further improve the ordinance with added graphics to provide better guidance on clustering of dwellings.
Model Link of the Month
Here is a link to guidelines for when and how to use conservation subdivisions. While the perspective is primarily from a rural perspective, conservation subdivisions can also be used in suburban areas. While the article provides a balanced perspective of pros and cons, we feel that the example of “poor” cluster design could, in fact, be “good” cluster design, depending on local preservation and development goals.”
http://www4.uwsp.edu/cnr/landcenter.

July, 2006
Community Survey
This simple model survey is intended for rural to suburban communities to use (or adapted for use) at the beginning of a comprehensive plan process. A community survey is intended to assess the needs and concerns of the public to help local decision-makers best plan to guide future growth, development and preservation.
Model Link of the Month
State of the Region: Buffalo-Niagara Indicators Project
Some communities are evaluating the performance of their comprehensive plans by developing ‘indicators’ that measure changes in a variety of environmental, social and economic factors over time. Here is a link to a nationally-recognized New York example of what one region has done to measure its progress. Cities, towns and villages can develop indicators to measure progress towards their own plans’ specific goals and objectives.
Read more here: http://regional-institute.buffalo.edu/tools/SOTR_offline.cfm.

June, 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
Moratoria
Increasingly, local governments throughout New York State are using a land tool that has had widespread application in the New York metropolitan area and Hudson Valley - the moratorium. Hailed by those who want to slow down growth, and feared by supporters of development, the rules governing the use of this tool are not always well understood.
Model Link of the Month
The “Land Use Moratoria” document in the James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series provides background on the genesis of the law and the conditions under which it is typically adopted.
Read more here: www.dos.state.ny.us/lg.

May, 2006
Model Ordinance/ Resource of the Month
Model Historic Preservation Ordinance
Preservation League of New York State
This excellent model is intended to apply to designated historic districts (federal, state or local), but could be adapted to apply to individual historic buildings and sites as well.
Model Link of the Month
NY Department of State, Local Government Division
James E. Coon Technical Series
This series of short guides on a wide variety of planning and zoning topics in New York has been a wonderful resource to communities for years, though some communities are not yet familiar with them.
Read more at www.dos.state.ny.us/lg.

Topics addressed include:

• Local Government Handbook
• Legal Memoranda
  
• SEQR Handbook: SEQR and Local Government
  Land Use Technical Series:
  
• Guide to Planning and Zoning Laws of New York State
  
• Adopting Zoning for the First Time
  
• Controlling Junk
  
• Creating the Community You Want: Municipal Options for Land Use Control
  
• Governmental Immunity from Zoning
  
• Guidelines for Applicants to the Zoning Board of Appeals
  
• Legal Aspects of Municipal Historic Preservation
  
• Local Laws and Agricultural Districts: How Do They Relate?
  
• Local Open Space Planning Guide
  
• Municipal Control of Signs
  
• Municipal Regulation of Mobile Homes
  
• Planning and Design Manual for the Review of Applications for Wireless Telecommunications Facilities
  
• Questions for the Analysis and Evaluation of Existing Zoning Regulations
  
• Record Keeping Tips for Zoning Administration
  
• Site Development Plan Review Procedure and Guidelines
  
• Stormwater Management Design Manual
  
• Stormwater Management Guidance Manual for Local Officials
  
• Wind Energy Tool Kit
  
• Zoning Board of Appeals
  
• Zoning and the Comprehensive Plan
  
• Zoning Enforcement for Towns and Villages
  

Local Laws and Charters:

• Adopting Local Laws
  
• Local Law Filing Forms
  
• Land Use Moratoria
  
• Revising City Charters

Local Government Cooperation:

• The Consolidation of Local Government
  
• Consolidation for Towns and Villages
  
• Implications of a Village Dissolution
  
• Intergovernmental Cooperation
  
• Municipal Service Alternatives: Villages of Carthage and West Carthage, New York
  

General Local Government Information:

• Administration and Enforcement of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code
  
• Conducting Public Meetings and Public Hearings
  
• Your Right to Know: New York State’s Open Government Laws
  Online Plans, Publications and Laws (not part of Coon Technical Series)
• Opportunities Waiting to Happen: A Guidebook for Redeveloping Abandoned Buildings and Sites to Revitalize Communities
  
• Making the Most of Your Waterfronts: Enhancing Waterfronts to Revitalize Communities
  
• Smart Development for Quality Communities Series
  
• Local Government Restructuring Web Site
  
• The Rural Design Workbook: Rethinking Conventional Development
  
• Schoharie Main Street and Gateways: Realizing the Vision
  
• Town and Village of Schoharie Comprehensive Plan

The Planning Federation has developed a Model Training Resolution that communiites can use or modify to begin the training of local planning and zoning board members, as required now under New York Law.
Download a pdf suitable for printing.

Model Resolution Establishing Mandatory Training for Planning Boards & Zoning Boards of Appeal
WHEREAS, the adoption and implementation of Local Land Use decisions have a profound effect on the character of a community and the well being of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the administration of Land Use Laws is a complex and highly diverse process that requires specialized knowledge and familiarity with the applicable laws and regulations; and WHEREAS, the _________________ of ____________________ desires to provide, for the benefit of its citizens, a well trained and knowledgeable body of officials to administer the Local Land Use process.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED as follows:
1. Pursuant to the provisions of Town/City/Village Law Section ____ * all Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members shall be required to complete at least four (4) hours of suitable training per year.

2. The authority to determine suitable training is hereby delegated from the __________ (governing body) to the respective Planning and Zoning Board chairs, who shall note annually in Board minutes the selected training.

3. The training requirement may be satisfied by educational activities substantially devoted to planning, zoning or other land use issues such as (1) attending conferences, seminars or workshops; (2) participating in on-line training or tutorials; (3) attending college courses; (4) reading journal articles or books; (5) any other educational activities considered acceptable by the respective Board chair. Training may be offered by a municipality, regional or county planning office or commission, county, regional or state planning federation, state agency, statewide municipal association, college or university or other similar entity.

4. A record of annual completion of training shall be maintained by the Town/City/Village clerk or planning director and a copy provided to the __________ (governing body) prior to considering a Planning Board or Zoning Board member for reappointment. Eligibility for reappointment to these Boards shall be conditioned upon completion of training prior to the end of each calendar year.

5. Suitable training in excess of four (4) hours per year may be accumulated and carried over into the succeeding year for the purpose of satisfying these training requirements.

* 267 and 271 (Town Law); 7-712 and 7-718 (Village Law); 27 and 81 (General City Law)

Wind Energy Toolkit

One new example of useful, hands-on information is the Wind Energy Toolkit available on the New York State Energy and Research Authority (NYSERDA) Web site, www.powernaturally.org/programs/wind/toolkit.asp.

New York State has some of the highest potential for wind energy development of any state in the nation. Yet many local officials feel unprepared to evaluate proposed wind energy facilities that are increasingly coming before them. The Toolkit is designed to offer information on the various aspects of wind energy development to help municipalities decide how, where and whether wind energy facilities should be sited.

The Toolkit consists of a series of short, topical papers, three of which were prepared by the New York Planning Federation for NYSERDA, including Wind Energy Development and the Comprehensive Plan, Government Agencies’ Role in the Approval Process and Wind Energy Model Ordinance Options. These three papers are especially geared to answering the kinds of questions local officials are likely to have about planning and zoning for wind energy development.

NYSERDA’s website also provides a link to NYSERDA’s wind map, illustrating the areas within the State which have the greatest potential for wind energy development. See the winter edition of Planning News for the full article.