County Planning Board Information
January 2025 Schedule
SUBMISSION DEADLINE | CPB MEETING DATE |
|---|---|
January 16 | January 28 |
February 13 | February 25 |
March 13 | March 25 |
April 17 | April 29 |
May 15 | May 27 |
June 12 | June 24 |
July 17 | July 29 |
August 14 | August 26 |
September 18 | September 30 |
October 16 | October 28 |
November 13 | November 25 |
December 18 | December 30 |
County Planning Board Referral Form* Fillable PDF
2025 Meeting Agendas and Minutes
| January Agenda + Project Summaries January Minutes | |
| February Agenda + Project Summaries February Minutes | |
| March Agenda + Project Summaries March Minutes | |
| April Agenda + Project Summaries | |
2024 Meeting Agendas and Minutes
Previous Years County Planning Board
2023 Meeting Agendas and Minutes
2022 Meeting Agendas and Minutes
2024 County Planning Board Newsletter
County Planning Board
The Jefferson County Planning Board was created by the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors (Resolution Number 85 of the year 1966) pursuant to Article 12-B of the General Municipal Law, Section 239-b of the State of New York. The CPB consists of eleven members appointed by the Board of Legislators. The County Planning Board is authorized to conduct reviews of certain classes of planning and zoning actions by a city, town or village within the County pursuant to sections 239-m of General Municipal Law.
The CPB meets on the LAST TUESDAY of the month, 4:00 p.m., in the 2nd Floor Conference room at 175 Arsenal Street, Watertown, NY.
General Municipal Law 239-m Review Procedures
A. Referrals to the County Planning Board shall be submitted by the municipality and shall be received at the Jefferson County Department of Planning Offices no less than 12 calendar days prior to the scheduled County Planning Board Meeting on the last Tuesday of the month.
B. As stated in General Municipal Law 239-m, referrals will be considered "received" on the date when a "full statement" has been submitted. A full statement 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. When the proposed action is the adoption or amendment of a zoning ordinance or 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
C. Determination of Full Statement
1. Staff will conduct an analysis of the contents of each referral to determine that it is a “full statement”.
2. In the case that a referral is determined to be an incomplete statement in accordance with the above requirements, staff shall notify the municipality responsible for the referral of the inadequacy of the materials submitted, and shall request that additional information be provided to render the referral of a complete statement. This notification shall be in writing, except when time constraints dictate otherwise.
3. In recognition that many municipal bodies have the authority to waive the application requirements of their local zoning legislation, the requirements of a Full Statement above do not require that municipalities submit materials that have been waived by the local board. However, written documentation that the required materials and information have been waived will be required.
4. If the referring municipality fails to respond to the request for additional information twelve (12) days prior to the scheduled Jefferson County Planning Board meeting, the referral may be deemed improper and may not be included on the agenda for that month’s County Planning Board meeting. The referral may be considered resubmitted on the first day of the month following the original receipt date.
D. Exemption Of Matters Of Local Concern
General Municipal Law Section 239m gives the County Board of Legislators and local municipalities the authority to enter into agreements which exempt certain matters, considered to be of local rather than inter-community or County-wide concern, from County Planning Board Review.
The Jefferson County Board of Legislators passed Resolution 246 of 1992 on September 1, 1992, titled “Exemption of Matters of Local Concern from County Planning Board Review”. This Resolution and any amendments to it shall be attached to the By-laws.
General Municipal Law 239m Summary
2025 County Planning Board Newsletter
Jefferson County Planning Board Members:
David Prosser, Chair John Stinson John Stano Donna Dutton
Lisa L’Huillier, Vice-Chair Jean Waterbury Randy Lake Neil Katzman
Jon Storms Richard Nuijens
Land Use Training:
Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals members are required by NYS Law to receive a minimum of four hours of training every year. Each municipality determines acceptable training formats for training credit.
Training Videos:
Airport Land-Use Compatibility
Sustaining Your Community Vitality into the Future
Managing Land Use on Highway Corridors
Planning Boards and Open Question Period
Site Plan and Special Permit Process
The Tug Hill Commission also has training sessions available on-line at: https://tughill.org/services/training/
Alternately, the NYS Department of State Land Use Training Unit offers on-line land use training courses. For more info, visit the New York State Department of State’s website: https://dos.ny.gov/training-assistance
If your municipality is a member of the NY Planning Federation, you may access the NYPF website for videos.
Planning Primers
The following Planning Primers were modeled with permission, using narrative, bullet points, and images from the set of Greenway Guides, developed by the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development and published in 2001. They are also based on the Jefferson County Planning Board Growth and Development Guidelines adopted in 2005. Their purpose is to help communities refine their decision-making, promote open discussions about future projects and ultimately enhance communities over time. They should assist communities describe local priorities in various ways, as each subdivision, site plan review, and special permit decision represents a unique set of issues and challenges. If the community agrees on basic principles or values up front, then review processes can thrive from a balanced and clear approach. Thus, by using the planning primers to discuss\illustrate local community desires, projects will be more likely to enhance communities and reflect local priorities.
Planning Primers- Introduction and Index.pdf
LOCAL AND REGIONAL STRATEGIES
Fitting Into the Landscape.pdf
Development with Open Space.pdf
VIBRANT CENTERS- HAMLETS AND VILLAGES
SITE SPECIFICS- DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT
Site Access:Traffic Management.pdf
Jefferson County Resource Maps
Agriculture:
Jefferson County Agricultural Districts Map 2024
Town Agricultural Districts with 2024 Inclusions
Village Agricultural Districts with 2024 Inclusions
Northern Jefferson County Priority Agricultural Soils
Southern Jefferson County Priority Agricultural Soils
Demographics:
Percent Population Change by Town 2010-2020
School Districts
Designated Urbanized and Metropolitan Areas
Percent Population Change by County 2010-2013
Percent Renter Occupied Housing by Town 2008-2012
Percent Seasonal Housing by Town 2010
Directions / Locator
Jefferson County Municipalities (color)
Jefferson County Municipalities (b&w)
County Office Building Locator
Department of Social Services Offices Locator
Public Health Services Locator
Jefferson County Regional Context
Land Use:
Natural Resources:
Recreation / Attractions
County Forest with Shaded Relief
Scenic Byways and Driving Tours
Planning Resources
General Planning Links:
New York State Department of State
New York State Planning Federation
Pace University Land Use Law Center
American Planning Association National Chapter
American Planning Association Upstate Chapter
New York State Smart Growth Initiative
NYS DOS Local Government Services
NYS DEC Stormwater Management Design Manual
NYSERDA AND CUNY Solar Presentation
Training Resources:
NYS DOS Training and Technical Assistance
