Information for Applicants

Important General Information

• Prior to submitting an application, the "Notice to Applicants" should be reviewed.
• To appear before the Planning Board, all required application materials shall be submitted not later than 12:00 P.M., Monday, fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the Planning Board meeting at which the application is scheduled to be heard or as otherwise noted by the Planning Board Secretary.  Continuing Business can be submitted 12 days prior to the Next Planning Board meeting by the close of business.  Except where noted. 

If all required application materials, including the pertinent application fee and escrow monies are not submitted by that deadline, the application shall be automatically removed from the agenda. 

At the discretion of the Planning Board Chairman, the application may be rescheduled, if appropriate, for the next available Planning Board meeting or the application may be removed from future agendas altogether.  Without prior authorization from the Planning Board, application submissions shall not be accepted at Planning Board meetings.

• At the time of submission, all required application materials shall be submitted.  Piecemeal submissions shall not be accepted.  Substitution of previously submitted materials shall not be permitted.
• All submissions shall be dated, with revision dates identified on new submissions.
• All submissions shall be accompanied by a cover letter describing the project and/or any changes as compared to previous submissions.
• For distribution purposes and mailing to the Planning Board Members and others (as required), multiple copies of application materials shall be collated into separate sets, each containing one copy of every submitted document.  All application materials shall be submitted in a form that fits into a 12" x 17" envelope.  Plans shall be folded and rubber banded as necessary.
• To be considered complete for Planning Board hearing purposes, an application package shall contain the information identified in Parts IV and V of this application form.
• For purposes of completing this application form, all responses provided shall be printed, except as otherwise specified.

Notice to Applicants

In the Town of North Castle, the Planning Board is responsible for the review and approval of all applications concerning site plans, subdivisions and lot line changes; some applications concerning special use permits, wetlands permits and tree removal permits; and the environmental review of those applications over which it has jurisdiction.  The Planning Board may also have an advisory role in connection with some applications before the Town Board, such as those involving other categories of special use permits and zoning amendments.

The Planning Board is composed of five volunteer members – all residents of North Castle – who are appointed by the Town Board for five-year terms.  As part of the review of some applications, the Planning Board is assisted on an as-needed basis by other lay boards of the Town, such as the Conservation Board (CB), the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), the Open Space Committee and the Architectural Review Board (ARB).  As part of the review of most applications, the Planning Board is also assisted by the Director of Planning, the Town Engineer, the Town Attorney and other special consultants when required.

Fees:

If you submit an application for Planning Board review, you will be required to reimburse the Town for the cost of professional review services, including legal and engineering services, incurred in connection with the review of your application. The charges for professional planning review services have been $120/hour.  If other types of professional consultant review services are required, those charges will be in accord with fees usually charged for such services and pursuant to a contractual agreement between the Town and such professional. 

At the time of submission of an application, the Planning Board will require the establishment of an escrow account from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Town for the cost of consultant fees and professional staff services.

Escrow Account:

Escrow Accounts are established for each application.  Monies will be deducted from the account for professional review services rendered. Monthly escrow disbursement summaries will be mailed for your reference regarding your project.  When the balance in such escrow account is reduced to one-third (1/3) of its initial amount, a letter will be mailed to the applicant and the applicant shall deposit additional funds into such account to restore its balance to the amount of the initial deposit.  Additional information on these requirements is provided in the North Castle Town Code (see Sections 213-67B and A216-34.C). 

Procedure:

Prior to submitting an application to the Planning Board for review and approval, prospective applicants should schedule an appointment with the Planning Board Secretary at (914) 273-3542 for a consultation with the Town Planner and the Town Engineer.  When the appointment is made, a verbal description of the proposal should be provided to the Planning Board Secretary.  The Town of North Castle is providing the services of the Director of Planning and the Town Engineer for initial consultation at no cost to the applicant so that it is possible to conduct the application review as efficiently as possible for the benefit of the applicant as well as the Planning Board. 

After meeting with the Town Planner and Town Engineer, prospective applicants should prepare one complete set of application documents and plans.  This set will be reviewed for completeness by the Town Planner.  If determined to be incomplete, the Planning Department will submit a checklist indicating which items have not been adequately addressed.  If determined to be complete, the checklist will be initialed and the Applicant should submit the remainder of the required application packages. 

Once the checklist has been initialed and all application packages have been submitted, the Planning Board Secretary will schedule the application for the first available opening on the Planning Board's meeting agenda. However, if the required application material packages, including the pertinent application fee are not received at the Planning Board office by 12:00 PM, Monday, 14 days prior to the date of the Planning Board meeting at which you are scheduled to appear (or otherwise scheduled by the Planning Board Secretary), your application will be automatically removed from the agenda.  At the discretion of the Planning Board Chairman, your application may be rescheduled, if appropriate, for the next available Planning Board meeting or the application may be removed from future agendas altogether.  Additional requirements pertinent to each type of application are provided on the individual application forms, which you should carefully review prior to submitting your application.

When an application is deemed complete and submitted for review, it will be forwarded to the Planning Board Members and its professional advisors in advance of the meeting to allow adequate time for review, preparation of written reports and site inspections as necessary.  Your application may also be forwarded to other boards and staff of the Town as well as to agencies outside of the Town, if required.  Compliance with State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) procedures is also required as part of the processing of all applications.

At your first appearance before the Planning Board, the Applicant will describe the project and the Planning Board will discuss any preliminary issues.  The Planning Board discussion may be continued at future meetings, or if the Planning Board review has progressed sufficiently, the

Application may be scheduled for a public hearing (if one is required) The public hearing may occur at a single Planning Board meeting, or it may be adjourned and continued at another Planning Board meeting. Because the nature and complexity of each application variesconsiderably, it is not possible to predict in advance the length of time needed to secure Planning Board approval.  There are certain steps that you can take, however, to expedite the review process.  These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Be thoroughly familiar with the requirements pertinent to your application.  Carefully review relevant provisions of the North Castle Town Code and the application form for your particular type of application.  Be sure to check on what other types of approvals may be required in addition to that of the Planning Board.  Approvals by other Town boards or departments as well as agencies outside of the Town may be required before you will be allowed to proceed with your project.
• Make sure that your application materials are accurately prepared and contain all required information.  The information that we initially request is required, so make sure that your submission is complete.  If supplementary information is requested as the review process continues, make sure that it is submitted in a timely fashion so the Planning Board can continue to move your application along.
• Follow up to make sure that your application materials are being submitted on time, or deliver them to the Planning office yourself.
• Attend the Planning Board meeting at which your application will be discussed and be on time for the meeting.  If you cannot appear personally, make sure that your representative will be there and is thoroughly familiar with your application.

If the Application is approved by the Planning Board, a resolution of approval will be adopted by the Planning Board.  It is the Applicant’s responsibility to address any and all conditions of approval.  Permits from the Building Department cannot be issued until all conditions have been addressed and the plans have been signed by the Planning Board Chair and the Town Engineer.