Training Requirements

Since 2007, it has been mandatory for members of local planning boards, zoning boards of appeals, and county planning boards to receive a minimum of four hours of training. The decisions that members of these board make can have a tremendous impact on the future growth and preservation of their communities.  While some municipalities had already established training requirements, the state requirement requires all municipalities to make training and equipping their boards a priority.  

The mandatory training law requires four hours of training annually, an excess of which can be carried over into the following year. If a member of a board fails to receive the required training, it doesn’t void the decisions that board member was a part of, but it does preclude that member from being reappointed to the post.

Local governing boards ultimately determine how their local officials may obtain that training, and they can choose to modify the training requirements by increasing them, decreasing them, or opting out of requiring training for their local officials altogether.

A well-trained board makes better, more defensible decisions more efficiently, and the New York Department of State, Division of Local Government offers training in a variety of formats and provides information to other training providers for those seeking it.