Planning Board Referrals

Referrals from Local Municipalities

The local municipality where a project is sited must review and refer projects to the County Planning board that meet the criteria for county review. A Planning Board Referral form must be submitted with any referral from a town or village. Referrals are due to the Wayne County Planning office on the Monday, one week prior to the board meeting date, which is equal to 7 working days before the scheduled meeting date. The Planning Board meets on the last Wednesday of each month except November and December, which combines meetings and meets on the second Wednesday in December. 

It is important that the applications and all related paperwork are submitted including the “full statement of such proposed action” per General Municipal Law Section 239-m. 1. Definitions (c):  The term "full statement of such proposed action" shall mean all materials required by and submitted to the referring body as an application on a proposed action, including a completed environmental assessment form and all other materials required by such referring body in order to make its determination of significance pursuant to the state environmental quality review act under article eight of the environmental conservation law and its implementing regulations.  When the proposed action referred is the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or local law, "full statement of such proposed action" shall also include the complete text of the proposed ordinance or local law as well as all existing provisions to be affected thereby, if any, if not already in the possession of the county planning agency or regional planning council.   

Please contact your local municipal building/zoning/code enforcement office to begin the referral process. 

County Planning Board Referral Overview (PDF)

County Planning Board Referral Form (PDF)

Actions taken by Local Municipalities

Once a referral is reviewed by the County Planning Board, written recommendations are returned to the town or village within 10 days of the public Board meeting. Letters include comments from the board meeting and recommendation for approval, disapproval, modifications or a finding that the project will have "no significant county-wide or inter-community impact", often referred to as NCI. The local boards will take these recommendations and use them in their final determination on a project. Once a final decision has been rendered by a local board, a Local Action Sheet is required to be returned to the Planning Dept for inclusion in the project file. 

Local Action Sheet form (PDF)