a. There shall be a department of city planning, the head of which shall be the director of city planning. The director of city planning shall be the chair and a member of the city planning commission and shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor.
b. The director of city planning shall:
1. Advise and assist the mayor, the borough presidents and the council in regard to the physical planning and public improvement aspects of all matters related to the development of the city.
2. Provide staff assistance to the city planning commission in all matters under its jurisdiction.
3. Be the custodian of the city map and record thereon all changes legally authorized.
4. Conduct continuous studies and collect statistical and other data to serve as the basis for planning recommendations.
5. Provide community boards with such staff assistance and other professional and technical assistance as may be necessary to permit such boards to perform their planning duties and responsibilities under this chapter.
6. Assist the mayor in the preparation of strategic plans, including the preparation of the report provided for in section sixteen concerning the social, economic and environmental health of the city, the strategic policy statement provided for in section seventeen and the ten-year capital strategy provided for in section two hundred fifteen.
7. Appoint a deputy executive director for strategic planning.
8. Make a complete transcript of the public meetings and hearings of the commission available for public inspection free of charge within sixty days after any such meeting or hearing. The director shall also provide a copy of any requested pages of such transcript at a reasonable fee to cover the costs of copying and, where relevant, mailing.
9. Indicate on the department's website the name and contact information of an employee who acts as a coordinator with the board of standards and appeals.
10. Provide on the department's website, a record of each application for a variance or special permit to the board of standards and appeals where the department or the city planning commission has submitted testimony and a copy of such testimony in a searchable format.
11. Perform such other functions as are assigned to him or her by the mayor or other provisions of law.
c. The department shall employ such planning experts, engineers, architects and other officers and employees as may be required to perform its duties, within the appropriation therefor.
(Am. L.L. 2017/101, 5/30/2017, eff. 8/28/2017)
a. There shall be a city planning commission to consist of the chair and twelve other members. The mayor shall appoint the chair and six other members of the commission, the public advocate shall appoint one member, and each borough president shall appoint one member. Members shall be chosen for their independence, integrity and civic commitment. Appointments of all members, except for the chair, shall be subject to the advice and consent of the council. For such appointments by officials other than the mayor, the procedure for obtaining the advice and consent of the council shall be the same as the procedure provided for in section thirty-one for appointments by the mayor. Except as otherwise provided in section one hundred ninety-one, no member shall hold any other city office. Members other than the chair shall be appointed for a term of five years; provided, however, that of the members other than the chair, one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-one; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-two; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-three; one member appointed by the mayor and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-four; and two members appointed by the mayor, the member appointed by the public advocate and one member appointed by a borough president shall serve for terms to expire on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred ninety-five. The borough presidents shall determine by lot the length of the term to be served by the member first appointed by each borough president. The appointing officials shall make their first appointments to the commission on or before the first day of March, nineteen hundred ninety. The commission members so appointed shall assume office on the first day of July, nineteen hundred ninety. Members of the commission shall serve until their successors have been confirmed. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled by the official who appointed the member in the same manner as the original appointment. A person so appointed shall serve for the unexpired portion of the term of the member succeeded. Terms shall begin on the next date after the expiration date of the preceding term.
b. Members, except for the chair, shall not be considered regular employees of the city for purposes of chapter sixty-eight. The agency served by the members of the commission shall for purposes of chapter sixty-eight be deemed to be both the commission and the department of city planning. No member, while serving as a member, shall appear directly or indirectly before the department, the commission, or any other city agency for which the conflicts of interest board shall, by rule, determine such appearance creates a conflict of interest with the duties and responsibilities of the member. No firm in which a member has an interest may appear directly or indirectly before the department or commission. For purposes of this section, the terms "agency," "appear," "firm," and "interest" shall be defined as provided in chapter sixty-eight.
c. One of the members other than the chair shall be designated by the mayor as vice-chair and shall serve as vice-chair at the pleasure of the mayor. The vice-chair shall possess the powers and perform the duties of the chair when the chair is absent or while a vacancy exists in the office of the chair, and shall at such times serve as director of city planning.
d. The city planning commission shall be responsible for the conduct of planning relating to the orderly growth, improvement and future development of the city, including adequate and appropriate resources for the housing, business, industry, transportation, distribution, recreation, culture, comfort, convenience, health and welfare of its population.
e. The city planning commission shall oversee implementation of laws that require environmental reviews of actions taken by the city. The commission shall establish by rule procedures for environmental reviews of proposed actions by the city where such reviews are required by law. Such rules shall include procedures for (1) selection of the city agency or agencies that will be responsible for determining whether an environmental impact statement is required in connection with a proposed action and for preparation and filing of any such statement required by law, (2) participation by the city in environmental reviews involving agencies other than city agencies and (3) coordination of environmental review procedures with the land use review procedures set forth in this charter. The director of city planning and the commissioner of the department of environmental protection shall assign from the staffs of such departments an office of environmental coordination, which shall provide assistance to all city agencies in fulfilling their environmental review responsibilities.
f. Not later than the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred ninety-two and every four years thereafter, the commission shall file with the mayor, the council, the public advocate, the borough presidents, and community boards, a zoning and planning report. The report shall include (1) a statement of the planning policy of the commission, which policy shall take into consideration, among other things, the ten-year capital strategy, the four-year capital program, the report on the social, economic and environmental health of the city issued pursuant to section sixteen, the strategic policy statements provided for in section seventeen and plans approved pursuant to section one hundred ninety-seven-a, (2) a summary of the significant plans and studies completed or undertaken by the department of city planning in the preceding four years, (3) an analysis of those portions of the zoning resolution that merit reconsideration in light of the planning policy of the commission and (4) proposals for implementing the planning policy of the commission whether by amendment of the zoning resolution, development of plans or otherwise.
A member of the commission other than the chair may be removed by the appointing official only upon proof of official misconduct, neglect of official duties, conduct in any manner connected with his or her official duties which tends to discredit his or her office, or mental or physical inability to perform his or her office, or mental or physical inability to perform his or her duties. Before removal, any such member shall receive a copy of the charges and shall be entitled to a hearing on a record by the office of administrative trials and hearings, which shall make final findings of fact, recommend a decision and submit such findings and recommended decision to the appointing official for final action.
Acquisitions by the city of office space or existing buildings for office use, whether by purchase, condemnation, exchange or lease, shall be subject to the following review and approval procedure:
a. The agency proposing any such acquisition shall file with the department of city planning a notice of intent to acquire. The department of city planning shall send such notice to the community board in which the proposed acquisition is located and to all borough presidents.
b. Within thirty days of the filing of such notice, the city planning commission shall hold a public hearing on such acquisition and shall approve or disapprove such acquisition. Notice of such hearing shall be published in the City Record not less than ten days in advance of such hearing.
c. In reviewing any such acquisition, the commission shall apply the criteria for the location of city facilities provided for in section two hundred and three.
d. Within the thirty days provided for commission action pursuant to subdivision b of this section, the commission shall file any approval of such an acquisition with the council. Within twenty days of such filing, the council may by two-thirds vote disapprove such acquisition.
For purposes of this chapter: the term "affected community board" shall mean the community board for a community district in which land included in a plan or an application pursuant to this chapter is located; the term "affected borough president" shall mean the president of a borough in which land included in such a plan or an application is located; and a borough board shall be deemed "affected" if such a plan or application includes land within two or more community districts within the borough represented by such borough board.
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