Planning and Zoning Referrals
Under State and County law, municipalities are required to refer certain planning and zoning actions to the Westchester County Planning Board for review.
Referrals consist of a notification of the proposed action, and under certain circumstances a copy of the application documents of the proposed action. The Planning Board, with the assistance of Planning Department staff, then conducts a review and prepares a recommendation letter response to the municipality.
Our an interactive dashboard can be used to find the locations and details of County Planning Board Referral reviews from 2024 onward. The interactive map allows users to search for specific referrals, view referral details and Planning Board comments, and allows users to access and download referral response letters.
To find out detailed information on specific local development and zoning projects, the individual municipality should be contacted.
County Referral Review Process
The County Planning Board receives about 700 municipal referrals annually. These range from minor zoning variances for single-family houses to site plans for major shopping centers to new zoning codes and comprehensive plans. Referrals are assessed within the context of the County Planning Board’s adopted land use policies, and for intermunicipal and countywide concerns including potential impacts on state and county roads, parks and facilities. For more details, see Referrals Review Process.
To make government work smarter and to reduce burdensome and unnecessary paperwork, the County Planning Board acted in 2003 to cut down on the administrative burden that NYS General Municipal Law (GML) places on municipal boards. The board predetermined that entire categories of actions are matters of local concern only. Although GML and the County Administrative Code still require that the County Planning Board be notified of these actions (the County Planning Board cannot change the law), that notification process has been simplified, and there is no need to forward voluminous application forms, maps and supporting information. For these "Notification Only" referrals, the County Planning Board will acknowledge such a submission with a simple receipt to provide the local board with the necessary record to show compliance with the referral requirements of the law.
Tables I and II identify the local actions that require County Planning Board notification under the provisions of Section 239 L, M and N of the New York State General Municipal Law and Section 277.61 of the County Administrative Code. The Actions requiring referral of complete applications are listed in Table I. Actions requiring notification only are listed in Table II.
Department of Planning staff is available to answer questions and to tailor special administrative procedures for your community. Our objective is to make this system work efficiently and with sharp focus.
View the Westchester County Planning Board Development Review Checklist.
For further information, contact, Michael Vernon, Associate Planner at (914) 995-2673 or