NYCL AGO 95-14.

• Case Date: March 01, 1995
• Court: New York

New York Attorney General Opinions 1995. AGO 95-14. March 1, 1995Informal Opinion No. 95-14Laury L. Dowd, Esq. Town Attorney Town of Southold P. O. Box 1179 Southold, NY 11971GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW § 805-A(1) (c).A member of a town planning board may not be compensated or enter into an agreement to be compensated for the preparation of test borings, date from which would be incorporated into subdivision maps and site plans to be presented to the planning board for review. The statutory prohibition does not allow recusal as an appropriate remedy.Dear Ms. Dowd: You have asked whether a member of the town planning board who also is a geologist in the private sector has conflicts of interests under specified circumstances. You have indicated that the member performs soil borings throughout the area, primarily in response to requests from engineers, architects and surveyors. On occasion, this geologist is hired directly by the developer. The average fee for a boring is $100. The boring provides data concerning the depth of water and the nature of soil and materials encountered. This data is placed on subdivision maps and site plans, many of which are ultimately reviewed by the town planning board in the course of evaluating the SEQRA aspects of the project or in siting project facilities. You inquire whether it is a conflict of interests for this individual to sit on the planning board in review of a subdivision map or site plan containing data derived from borings he prepared in his private capacity as a geologist. Is it necessary for this planning board member to recuse himself concerning these applications? You indicate that the town's ethics...