The Planning and Zoning Office is available for meeting by appointment only.

Communication and business by email, mail, telephone, or Zoom is encouraged.

Public meetings of official bodies including the Town Board, Planning Board, and Board of Zoning Appeals are held both in-person and via video-conference. Please visit the town calendar for more information.

The Town of Danby has a history of planning for its future going back to the 1965 plan. The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2003 and amended in 2011. View the Plan here. Comprehensive plan vision for Danby:

• A community that values and seeks to conserve its rural character, including preservation and enhancement of the natural environment.
• An economically viable and socially diverse community that provides for, and values, a variety of lifestyles, interests, and opportunities.
• Orderly residential growth that will not unduly or unreasonably disrupt neighborhoods, and carefully planned business and light industrial growth that supports employment and development opportunities while not detracting from the rural character of the Town or its environmental assets.
• A town that provides activities, education, and facilities to promote a sense of community and cooperation for all its residents.
• A community that encourages innovative and responsible uses of its historical and natural resources, in order to enhance both environmental protection and economic development, and one in which heavy industrial uses, operations, or impacts are prohibited so as to both preserve the unique natural features of the Town for future generations, and preserve these same resources for the tourism and recreation, that substantially impact and benefit the Town and its residents, as well as nearby communities.

The Town works to implement the plan through the land use decisions of the Planning Board, Board of Zoning Appeals, the recommendations of the Conservation Advisory Council, and decisions on public resources, including budgeting and capital improvements.

The Town of Danby last amended our zoning on Jan. 4, 2022. The current law and map is available here.  

Zoning regulates land use, and is a tool that local governments can use to implement the vision and goals of the community, as expressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Zoning regulations include:

• Land use regulations (what a piece of land can be used for).
• Dimensional regulations (where on a piece of land a use can occur or structure can be built, how big it can be, and where certain elements such as parking, building entrances, landscaping, etc. can and cannot be placed)
• Procedural regulations (how the zoning ordinance is administered and how appeals are made)

When a proposed project does not comply with the Zoning Ordinance, an appeal may be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals (the BZA, a.k.a. the Zoning Board of Appeals, ZBA). Appeals may request:

• A Use Variance—when the intended use of a property does not conform to the uses permitted in a particular zone
• An Area Variance—when the size or location of a project does not conform to the dimensional requirements specified for the zone

Paper copies of these forms, and others, are available in the Planning Office. The BZA Area Variance Appeal form, including instructions and guidance, may also be downloaded.

The Town of Danby last amended our subdivision regulations on Jan. 4, 2022. The current law is available here.  

Subdivision regulations control the way lots can be created and how development rights can be clustered on existing lots. These rules are one way that local governments can to implement the vision and goals of the community, as expressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Subdivision regulations include:

• Process for creating new lots based on the Zoning Law.
• Cluster regulations allowing flexibility from the zoning law where development can be contained on a portion of a parcel rather than spread evenly.
• Annexation – process for moving land from one existing lot to another – also called lot line adjustment.

When a proposed project does not comply with the Subdivision regulations, an appeal may be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals (the BZA, a.k.a. the Zoning Board of Appeals, ZBA). Appeals may request:

• A Use Variance—when the intended use of a property does not conform to the uses permitted in a particular zone
• An Area Variance—when the size or location of a project does not conform to the dimensional requirements specified for the zone

Paper copies of these forms, and others, are available in the Planning Office. The BZA Area Variance Appeal form, including instructions and guidance, will be posted soon.

The Town Planner serves as the staff person to the two land use boards: Planning Board, and the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).

In addition, the Town Planner is the staff person for the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC).

These groups are made up of dedicated citizen volunteers who make land use decisions and recommendations for the Town. The Town Planner’s role is to work with property owners who may want or need to make an application for subdivision, site plan review, special permit, or variances. The Town Planner takes in and reviews the applications, creates the meeting agendas, notifies the public, answers questions the boards may have at their meetings, and provides professional planning expertise as requested.