Neighbor News
The Restoration (Again) Of Minutes For The Clarkstown ZBA
THE MINUTES OF THE CLARKSTOWN BOARD OF APPEALS RESEMBLE A BUGS BUNNY TENNIS MATCH- TWISTED INTO A PRETZEL
The latest iteration of the Public Notices Section of the Town of Clarkstown (Town) website once again provides access to Minutes for the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).
The Bugs Bunny tennis match continues, in an on again/off again manner.
Still missing, however, is the link for Proposed Resolutions for the ZBA, which were routinely posted until last August 2016.
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However, the Minutes for May 8, 2017 may provide a clue as to why the Proposed Resolutions are still missing in action.
Could it be that posting Proposed Resolutions would demonstrate the flawed procedures being followed by the ZBA that imperil all its decisions?
Find out what's happening in New Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to the May 8, 2017 Minutes, the ZBA held a public hearing on April 24, 2017 for Appeal #4044: Rockland Veterinary Emergency, PLLC d/b/a Veterinary Emergency Group to consider a request for an area variance from the required number of parking spaces and to modify previously required conditions as to unspecified hours of operation.
According to the May 8, 2017 Minutes, at the close of the public hearing, the members of the ZBA proceeded to discuss the evidence found.
According to the May 8, 2017 Minutes, at the conclusion of the discussions, the ZBA members voted to grant the parking variance and to “modify the condition on hours of operation.”
Why is this summary important?
Put simply, it illustrates the fact that the ZBA is not following NYS statutes that require that the members vote on a written resolution and that such proposed written resolution be posted on the Town website in advance of the meeting in which the members will discuss and vote on an appeal.
What is described in the Minutes is therefore not a binding vote on the appeal, but merely a concensus, without legal effect.
And despite the reappearance of the Minutes, the public is still in the dark as to the reasons that the members of the ZBA decided to grant the request for a parking space variance and in what way the conditions on the hours of operation were modified.
In short, until the Proposed Resolutions are restored to the ZBA webpage, Bugs will be twisting and turning in an attempt to propel the tennis ball over the net and to win his match.
He has as much chance to do so as the citizens of the Town in learning why the ZBA comes to a decision- not much.
