Did The CV Zoning Board of Appeals Act Legally????? Let's Make Sure We Understand What We Are Talking About In the Solar Zoning Fiasco!

Below is a direct quote from a training manual put out be the NY Dept. of State concerning how a zoning board of appeals should operate.  The document outlines the ZBA powers, limitations, legal authority etc.  The  emphasis is mine. 

"The interpretation power is part of the appellate jurisdiction of the board of appeals, and cannot lawfully be exercised unless an appeal has been taken from an enforcement officer’s decision. In its simplest terms, an appeal seeking an interpretation is an appeal to the board of appeals claiming that the decision of the enforcement official was incorrect."

In other words the only time a ZBA should be legally giving and  interpretations of a zoning  law is when there is an official appeal before it.

So in the Alexander solar zoning screw up why was the ZBA running around with the planning board, and the town board, and the town lawyer, sometimes behind the scenes, and even in executive session.  Why do I say that?  Well  Dick Macsherry and Bob Brown said on video (PB meeting on Steve Weed video 8/14/13) that a lot of time was spent on the issue and a lot of town officials looked at it.  The ZBA even went into a town board executive session with Macsherry and others at the request of the town board on this issue!  Of course there are NO minutes of an executive session or what the ZBA people were doing there or what they said.

The way the above quote reads they had no legal business being there or anywhere rendering advice on this issue until it became an official appeal before their board which was much later.  OR if they had been involved in the special use permit approval...which they weren't and should have been because the PB screwed up to.  It NEVER went before the ZBA.  And ZBA minutes and two ZBA members verify that fact.

By the time it reach an official appeal the ZBA chairman Dennis Fauknham had already made up his mind on the issue.  He even told Mrs. Grogan when she was trying to find out how to start an appeal that the permit was legal and she probably could not win!

Are you kidding me!!!!!

So how would he know all that BEFORE he heard and official appeal?  Was he coached???? Or was it simply that his involvement with the issue along with his board and the other boards before an official appeal had rendered him extremely biased.

Now if you want to see what I am talking about you can view his behavior on video too last fall at the ZBA hearing on Mr. Alexander' solar project.

When I got up to speak on behalf of Mrs. Grogan it was like he really didn't want me to speak because he had heard it all before and indicated that he knew the facts.  Really...how would that be????

In the training manual quote above those words "cannot lawfully" seems rather important to me!