Under NYS General Municipal Law, certain applications to local boards must also be circulated to County Planning for review and comment (called "Referrals"). The purpose of our review is to bring inter-community and countywide considerations to the attention of municipal boards. Comments by county planners help shape the future of our county and guide the actions of individual municipalities. The referral process is used to ensure consistency with the concerns of the county and its master plan and Greenway Connections.
Referrals must be submitted to us by the reviewing municipality, not the applicant.
FAQ: Find out more about GML-239 Referrals (.pdf)
For municipalities submitting Referrals, please use these forms to expedite processing:
Wondering how to know if the location of a proposed action in your municipality could make it subject to County Planning referral review? Use this tool to figure out whether it's within our jurisdiction.
Since 2016, all 30 municipalities in Dutchess County have signed a municipal agreement with us to exempt certain actions from County Planning referral review. Municipalities will realize a time savings and possibly an expedited local review process for these actions because they no longer need to be sent to us for review.
Some planning functions must be performed by a certain board. For other actions, the municipality may designate which board handles such action, as shown below:
| Action | Legislative Board (Town Board, Village Board of Trustees, City Council), or delegation thereof | Planning Board (administrative only) | Zoning Board of Appeals (administrative and quasi-judicial) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Plans (prepare, adopt, approve, amend) | X | X (optional participation in preparation and/or review) |
|
| Zoning Ordinance, Map, Subdivision Regulations (enact, amend) | X | ||
| Appoint members of other board | X | ||
| Approve budgets for other boards | X | ||
| Create advisory boards | X | ||
| Subdivisions | X (review/approval or delegation of) |
X (review/approval) |
|
| Site Plans | X (review/approval or delegation of) |
X (review/approval) |
X (review/approval) |
| Special Use Permits | X (review/approval or delegation of) |
X (review/approval) |
X (review/approval) |
| Area Variances | X (review/approval) |
||
| Use Variances | X (review/approval) |
||
| Interpretations of zoning ordinance | X |
