B. Village Law

• Jurisdiction: New York

B. Village Law

Village Law § 7-706 sets forth the minimum procedural requirements with which a village must comply when adopting a local zoning law. These requirements are virtually identical to those applicable to towns. Specifically, the statute contains the same public hearing and notice requirements as the Town Law,¹⁵⁸ and the board of trustees of a village likewise is directed to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in General Municipal Law §§ 239-l and 239-m, the provisions of SEQRA and any other rules, regulations and general laws relating to land use.¹⁵⁹ A village may also adopt a local law to provide additional procedural requirements for the adoption of zoning regulations. A failure to comply with any procedural requirements will render action by the village board of trustees invalid.¹⁶⁰

The board of trustees may amend a zoning ordinance by a simple majority vote.¹⁶¹ Approval by two-thirds of the board is required in villages having only three members on such board, and approval by three-fourths of the board in all other villages is required if the amendment is subject to written protest signed by the owners of 20 percent or more of (1) the land subject to the proposed change, (2) the land immediately adjacent to the subject land and extending 100 feet therefrom, or (3) the land directly opposite the subject land and extending 100 feet from the street frontage opposite the subject land.¹⁶² The public hearing requirements applicable to the adoption of ordinances, set forth in § 7-706, also apply to the amendment of ordinances.¹⁶³

As noted in the discussion of Eadie v. Town Board above, the Court of Appeals has ruled that the "one hundred feet" in Town Law § 265 "must be measured from the boundary of the rezoned area, not the parcel of which the rezoned area is a part."¹⁶⁴ Thus, the buffer zone approach must be taken into account in determining whether the one hundred feet protest petition requirement is triggered.

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Notes:

^[158] See Village Law § 7-706.

^[159] Village Law § 7-706(4). These additional procedural requirements are discussed in later sections.

^[160] See the Forms section following this Part One for a sample resolution adopting local law (village) and sample notice of adoption zoning local law (village).

^[161] Village Law § 7-708.

^[162] See Village Law § 7-708. See the Forms section following this Part One for a sample application for change in zoning and a sample zoning amendment (with determinations).

^[163]...