New York State
The state has a strong Home Rule arrangement with its municipalities. The cities, towns and villages are allowed to draft their own laws, and may even opt out of state laws when there is no explicit or implied conflict in so doing. Often under this arrangement, state laws serve more as a direction for cities to follow than as a mandate to be enforced. [Source:http://www.law.pace.edu/landuse/stinso.html] This largely limits efforts at regional planning, both by limiting the state's ability to enforce land use criteria, and by allowing different planning processes to develop in each of the municipalities.

At the same time, local governments have adopted new regulatory technicques under the Municipal Home Rule Law before they have been specifically authorized by the State Legislature. This has allowed local officials at times to respond more effectively and with more innovation to issues raised by development in their municipality. [Source: Article 2, Section 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law of New York State]

New York State law authorizes and empowers cities and villages to create city or village planning commissions. It leaves it up to the cities and villages to mandate by local law that maps and plans be prepared.

Sec. 236. General powers. The body [city or village] creating such planning commission may, at any time, by ordinance or local law or resolution, provide that the following matters, or anyone or more of them, shall be referred for report thereon, to such commission by the board, commission, commissioner or other public officer or officers of said city or village which is the final authority thereon before final action thereon by such authority: the adoption of any map or plan of said city or incorporated village, or part thereof, including drainage and sewer or water system plans or maps, and plans or maps for any public water front, or marginal street, or public structure upon, in or in connection with such front or street, or for any dredging, filling or fixing of lines with relation to said front; any change of any such maps or plans; the location of any public structure upon, in or in connection with, or fixing lines with relation to said front; the location of any public building, bridge, statue or monument, highway, park, parkway, square, playground or recreation ground, or public open place of said city or village. In default of any such ordinance, local law or resolution all of said matters shall be so referred to said planning commission.
[Source: General Municipal Law, Article 12-A, Section 236]

Article 12-B of the General Municipal Law defines the authorities of county planning boards and regional planning councils. While it defines in greater detail what may be included in a county or regional comprehensive plan, it does not require them.

2. Preparation. The county legislative body, or by resolution of such body the planning board or a special board, may prepare a proposed county comprehensive plan and amendments thereto. In the event the planning board or special board is directed to prepare a proposed comprehensive plan or amendment thereto, such board shall, by resolution, recommend such proposed plan or amendment to the county legislative body.

The General Municipal Law, however, does require that a county comprehensive plan be submitted to the planning boards of each municipality for review and recommendation, as well as to one or more public hearings, before its adoption. For the preparation of a regional comprehensive plan, it requires that a regional planning council hold one or more public hearings in each collaborating municipality to allow for citizen participation. Public hearings are also required before its adoption.

With respect to inter-municipal and county-wide considerations of land use, a county planning agency or regional planning council can make informal comments or supply technical assistance on the following land use issues:

(a) compatibility of various land uses with one another; (b) traffic generating characteristics of various land uses in relation to the effect of such traffic on other land uses and to the adequacy of existing and proposed thoroughfare facilities; (c) impact of proposed land uses on existing and proposed county or state institutional or other uses; (d) protection of community character as regards predominant land uses, population density, and the relation between residential and nonresidential areas; (e) drainage; (f) community facilities; (g) official municipal and county development policies, as may be expressed through comprehensive plans, capital programs or regulatory measures; and (h) such other matters as may relate to the public convenience, to governmental efficiency, and to the achieving and maintaining of a satisfactory community environment.

Proposed actions by a municipality that relate to the following land use issues, however, require review by the county planning agency or regional planning council to recommend approval, modification, or disapproval of the proposed action, or report that the proposed action has no significant county-wide or inter-municipal impact:

(b) The proposed actions set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be subject to the referral requirements of this section if they apply to real property within five hundred feet of the following:
(i) the boundary of any city, village or town; or (ii) the boundary of any existing or proposed county or state park or any other recreation area; or (iii) the right-of-way of any existing or proposed county or state parkway, thruway, expressway, road or highway; or (iv) the existing or proposed right-of-way of any stream or drainage channel owned by the county or for which the county has established channel lines; or (v) the existing or proposed boundary of any county or state owned land on which a public building or institution is situated; or (vi) the boundary of a farm operation located in an agricultural district, as defined by article twenty-five-AA of the agriculture and markets law, except this subparagraph shall not apply to the granting of area variances.

The county planning board or regional planning council has 30 days to report its recommendations after receiving a statement of the proposed actions. If it recommends modification or disapproval of the proposed action, the municipality "shall not act contrary to such recommendation except by a vote of a majority plus one of all the members thereof." Additionally, the municipality is required to file a report of the final action it has taken with the county planning agency or regional planning council. If it acts contrary to a recommendation of modification or disapproval of a proposed action, it shall submit the reasons in the report.

[Source: General Municipal Law, Section 239-n of Article 12-B]

Thus under current state law, county planning boards may perform planning work, conduct studies and research, adopt a county comprehensive plan, and recommend a comprehensive zoning plan to municipalities within its jurisdiction. Although county planning boards are given certain review responsibilities for the coordination of designated municipal and zoning actions, a municipality may override its findings on an issue. County planning boards, then, are reduced to an advisory role.

[Source: Pace University School of Law, "Regional Planning in New York State: A State Rich in National Models, Yet Weak in Overall Statewide Planning Coordination," Patricia E. Salkin]

Westchester County

Westchester County has six cities, 16 towns and 23 villages. Each of these municipalities has home rule authority on all matters relating to planning and zoning. They each adopt zoning ordinances, establish their own rules for processing subdivision and site plans and enact their own set of environmental regulations.
[Source: Westchester County Planning Department]

The Westchester County Planning Board is authorized by the County Charter to:
¡¤ Formulate and recommend major physical planning and development policies;
¡¤ Undertake capital program planning and make recommendations on the capital budget; and
¡¤ Review and comment on municipal planning and zoning actions.

The goals of the Westchester County Planning Board and Planning Department are to:
¡¤ Provide a regional perspective and offer critical guidance on land use, development and zoning actions being considered by local governments.
¡¤ Promote appropriate and sustainable development of land in coordination with transportation and infrastructure, guided by the goals, policies and strategies of "Patterns."
¡¤ Initiate studies on inter-municipal topics that assist land use and zoning decision-making by municipalities.
¡¤ Provide essential technical assistance on planning and zoning actions to municipal officials and county departments.

Currently, inter-municipal regional planning is arranged on a voluntary basis and there is little precedent of regional planning concerning our case in Westchester County. Neighboring towns have the right to comment on proposals, but have no power to affect them. In the absence of a process for resolving differences between municipalities, neighboring towns have taken to filing law suites objecting to one detail or other in the SEQR process in an effort to prevent actions with potentially negative effects across the border. ("Battles Over Superstores' Traffic Split Neighboring Towns," New York Times, Dec. 22, 1998; ) The "Local Waterfront Revitalization Program" jointly developed by the Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Larchmont in 1986 is a positive example of inter-municipal cooperation, however.

Such efforts are more the exception, though, and instead of arbitrating between its towns, Westchester County only acts as an "advisor." The county has produced Patterns, its long-term planning document. It identifies a hierarchy of regional centers and corridors, but the document serves only to provide goals with optional implementation. The municipalities have sole authority over all planning and zoning decisions; the county has no authority in the matter. Furthermore, by refusing to arbitrate between its towns, the county has been negligent in the responsibility assigned to it by the state to review actions on the borders, further contributing to the difficulties of meaningful regional planning.