Greene County Planning Board

The next meeting of the Greene County Planning Board is to be determined. If you have questions regarding the County Planning Board please call 518-719-3290.

*Greene County Planning Board 2024 Meetings have been postponed until further notice*

The Greene County Planning Board is made up of representatives from the County’s 14 towns and 5 Villages. County Planning Board members are appointed by their respective municipalities and approved by the Greene County Legislature. The Board reviews specific zoning and planning actions trigged by General Municipal Law Section 239.

Planning and Zoning Referrals

Under General Municipal Law Section 239 municipalities are required to refer certain planning and zoning actions to the Greene County Planning Board for review.

A referral involves the municipality notifying and sending a copy of an application or proposed action with supporting documentation to the County Planning Board. The Planning Board, with the assistance of Planning Department staff, then conducts a review and prepares a report on the referral for the relevant municipality on the proposed action.  The Board may approve, approve with modifications or recommend disapproval. In the case of disapproval, municipalities wishing to override the Board’s objection need a majority plus one vote, and must indicate their reason for acting contrary to the Board’s recommendation.

A referring agency at the local level must complete a 239 Referral Form for submission o the County Planning Board. The 239 Referral Form can also be downloaded and completed by hand if preferred.

Local actions that require referral to the County Planning Board under the provisions of Section 239 M of the New York State General Municipal Law can be found in Table 1 ‘Type of Referral’

The reasons why an action must be referred to the County can be found in Table 2 ‘Reason for Referral’.

In accordance with General Municipal Law, all referrals must be accompanied by “full statement” of the proposed action, which means all materials required by and submitted to the referring body as an application on the proposed action, including a completed environmental assessment form and all other materials required by the referring body to make its determination on significance pursuant to the state environmental quality review act. A completed Part I of the SEQR Environmental Assessment Form, or Environmental Impact Statement, Negative Declaration, or indication of SEQR Type II Status must be included with all referrals. Table 3 ‘Completeness of Referral‘  identifies the materials that need to be submitted with the 239 Referral Form for the referral to be deemed complete

Timing of Referral Submission and Review

The referral with supporting documentation must be received 12 days prior to the County Planning Board’s meeting to allow adequate time for review and to be placed on the monthly agenda. By law, the Greene County Planning Board has 30 days after the receipt of a complete referral to review an application and offer recommendations. Therefore 30-day notice is recommended to ensure proper review. This 30 day period begins after staff determines the referral submittal to be complete.

Within thirty days after the referring agency takes final action, a report of the final action must be filed with the county. A referring body that acts contrary to a recommendation of modification or disapproval of a proposed action shall set forth the reasons for the contrary action in such report.  A referral is not deemed complete until the referring agency submits a Notice of Final Action.

Please email completed form with supporting materials to: planning@greenecountyny.gov,

or mail to:

Greene County Planning Board
411 Main Street, Suite 419
Catskill, NY  12414

Phone (518) 719-3290
Fax (518) 719-3789

Table 1: Type of Referral

• New Comprehensive Plan
• Amended Comprehensive Plan
• New Zoning Law and Map
• Amended Zoning Law/Map
• Site Plan Review
• Area Variance
• Use Variance
• Special Use Permit
• Moratorium

Table 2: Reason for Referral

A referral will be required if the property where the action is taken is located within 500 feet of a

• Boundary of the Village or Town
• Boundary of this existing or proposed county or state park or recreation area.
• Right-of-way of the following existing or proposed state or county highway or road.
• Existing or proposed right-of-way of any stream or drainage channel owned by the county or for which the county has established channel lines.
• Existing or proposed boundary of state or county owned land on which a public building/institution is located.
• Boundary of a farm operation in an agricultural district.

Table 3: Completeness of referral

• Complete 239 Referral form
• Site map (clear location)
• Applicable zoning law and map
• Local submission criteria as required through locally adopted codes, rules and regulations. (If local board waives submission requirements, as evidences in local codes, rules and regulations, then copy of letter from local administrator or minutes from respective board shall accompany referral.)
• Local planning board, zoning board of appeals or zoning commission report (reports may be minutes from the respective board).
• State Environmental Quality Review Act Forms – Determination.
• Supporting materials documenting the request.

Referral Forms

• Planning & Zoning Referral Guide
• Planning & Zoning Referral (239 Review) Fact Sheet
• Planning & Zoning Referral (239 Review) Form Printable
• Planning & Zoning Referral (239 Review) Fill-In
• Planning & Zoning 239 Notice of Final Action

Meeting Schedule

The County Planning Board meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM at the County Government Building, 411 Main Street, Catskill. Special meetings are scheduled as needed on an occasional basis. Meetings generally last about two hours.

Agendas and Minutes 

Agendas are published and distributed prior to each monthly meeting.  Minutes for the previous month are approved during each meeting and published upon approval.

Planning and Zoning Seminars

The County Planning Board along with the Greene County Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Planning, the New York Department of State and Columbia County Planning sponsors training sessions in land use and zoning issues for county, local appointed and elected officials. Recent topics included: open meetings law and FOIL, adopting zoning for the first time, understanding SEQR, and a mock site plan review exercise.

Training for Municipal Officials

View Training Presentations

Education

The County Planning Board also host speakers on key countywide issues including the Hudson River Greenway, Local Waterfront Revitalization programs (LWRP), New York City Watershed, Recycling, Scenic Areas of Statewide Significance, and Economic Development.

Staffing

The County Planning Board is staffed by the Greene County Department of Planning and Economic Development, which prepares minutes and other materials for the Board. The Department also provides recommendations on planning and zoning referrals and arranges for speakers on various planning related topics.

Agricultural District Review

The County Planning Board participates in the review of agricultural districts along with the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board. It provides recommendations to the Greene County Legislature regarding the addition or deletion of properties.

County Planning Board Members