§ 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.

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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 25 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 § 301 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 12-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 § 238 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.