VILLAGE OF SCHUYLERVILLE Planning and zoning RFP (002).docx

VILLAGE OF SCHUYLERVILLE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PLANNING AND ZONING LEGAL COUNSEL

Date Issued: __09-15-2026________ Proposal Due Date: __10-07-2026________ Village of Schuylerville 35 Spring Street Schuylerville, New York 12871

1. INTRODUCTION

The Village of Schuylerville, Saratoga County, New York, is seeking proposals from qualified attorneys or law firms to provide legal counsel to the Village in matters involving zoning, planning, land use, development review, and related municipal law.

The selected attorney or firm will serve as Planning and Zoning Counsel/Special Counsel to the Village and will advise the Village Board of Trustees, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Code Enforcement Officer, Village Clerk, Mayor, and other Village officials as appropriate on matters within the scope of this engagement.

The Village is specifically seeking a continuing professional relationship based upon a fixed monthly retainer rather than an hourly billing arrangement. The Village's objective is to establish predictable legal costs while ensuring that its boards and officials have reasonable and timely access to experienced municipal land-use counsel.

The Village intends to select counsel based upon qualifications, municipal and land-use experience, responsiveness, familiarity with New York municipal law, demonstrated ability to work effectively with local boards and staff, proposed fixed monthly compensation, and the overall value of the services offered.

2. BACKGROUND

The Village of Schuylerville administers a comprehensive zoning code and related land-use regulations under New York State Village Law and Municipal Home Rule Law.

Land-use responsibilities are distributed among the Village Board of Trustees, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Code Enforcement Officer, and other Village officials.

The Village Planning Board reviews matters that include site plans, special use permits, subdivisions, lot-line adjustments, environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act ("SEQRA"), referrals to the Saratoga County Planning Board, and other matters assigned to it under Village law.

The Zoning Board of Appeals considers appeals and interpretations of zoning determinations and applications for area and use variances.

The Village Board of Trustees is responsible for legislative zoning actions, including amendments to the Village Zoning Code and Zoning Map, and may require legal advice concerning land-use policy, procedures, enforcement, comprehensive planning, development proposals, and related municipal matters.

The Village is also engaged from time to time in reviewing and modernizing its zoning and land-use regulations. Planning and Zoning Counsel may therefore be asked to review proposed local laws and zoning amendments and provide legal guidance concerning their consistency with New York law and the Village's existing regulatory framework.

3. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected attorney or firm shall provide legal services including, but not necessarily limited to, the following.

A. Planning Board Counsel Provide legal advice and assistance to the Planning Board regarding:

· Site plan review and approval;

· Special use permits;

· Minor and major subdivisions;

· Lot-line adjustments;

· Planned development proposals;

· Application completeness and procedural requirements;

· Public hearing requirements;

· Conditions of approval;

· Performance guarantees, escrow requirements, and related development conditions;

· Saratoga County Planning Board referrals under General Municipal Law §§239-l, 239-m and 239-n;

· Compliance with statutory decision deadlines;

· Drafting, reviewing, or assisting with written resolutions and findings;

· Establishing an adequate administrative record supporting Planning Board determinations;

· Conflicts of interest and recusals;

· Open Meetings Law issues affecting Planning Board proceedings; and

· Other legal matters arising from applications or proceedings before the Planning Board.

B. Zoning Board of Appeals Counsel Provide legal advice and assistance to the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding:

· Appeals from determinations of the Code Enforcement Officer or other zoning administrator;

· Interpretation of the Village Zoning Code;

· Area variances;

· Use variances;

· Application and hearing procedures;

· Required findings and statutory balancing tests;

· Conditions imposed upon variances;

· County Planning Board referrals;

· SEQRA compliance;

· Rehearings and procedural questions;

· Drafting or reviewing resolutions and written decisions;

· Establishing an adequate administrative record supporting ZBA determinations;

· Conflicts of interest and recusals;

· Open Meetings Law requirements; and

· Potential judicial review of ZBA determinations.

C. SEQRA

Advise the Village and its boards concerning compliance with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and implementing regulations, including:

· Classification of actions;

· Lead agency procedures;

· Coordinated and uncoordinated review;

· Environmental Assessment Forms;

· Determinations of significance;

· Negative declarations;

· Positive declarations;

· Environmental Impact Statements;

· Findings statements;

· Segmentation concerns;

· Procedural timing; and

· Integration of SEQRA with Village land-use review procedures.

Counsel is expected to assist Village boards in developing a legally sufficient record supporting their environmental determinations.

D. Zoning Amendments and Local Laws Provide legal assistance to the Village Board of Trustees regarding:

· Amendments to the Village Zoning Code;

· Amendments to the Village Zoning Map;

· Land-use related local laws;

· Proposed zoning classifications and district regulations;

· Consistency with the Village Comprehensive Plan;

· Procedural requirements for zoning amendments;

· Public hearing and notice requirements;

· County and intermunicipal referrals;

· SEQRA review of legislative actions;

· Moratoria;

· Nonconforming uses and structures;

· Planned development districts;

· Local-law drafting and review; and

· Filing and adoption procedures.

The ordinary legal review and drafting of zoning amendments and revisions shall be considered part of the regular monthly retainer.

E. Code Enforcement and Interpretation Provide legal advice, when requested, concerning:

· Interpretation and application of the Village Zoning Code;

· Enforcement procedures;

· Notices of violation;

· Stop-work or compliance issues;

· Appeals from administrative determinations;

· Nonconforming uses and structures;

· Permit and certificate issues;

· Coordination between zoning enforcement and Planning Board or ZBA jurisdiction; and

· Appropriate enforcement remedies available to the Village.

Counsel shall work cooperatively with the Village's Code Enforcement Officer and other Village officials while recognizing the respective legal authority and responsibilities of each Village board and officer.

F. Development Applications When requested, review significant or legally complex development applications and advise the appropriate Village board regarding:

· Applicable zoning provisions;

· Approval jurisdiction;

· Required permits and approvals;

· Procedural sequencing;

· SEQRA;

· County referrals;

· Proposed conditions;

· Development agreements;

· Easements, covenants, dedications, or other instruments associated with land-use approval; and

· Legal sufficiency of the board's ultimate determination.

Counsel shall advise the Village and its boards and shall not perform the applicant's legal work.

G. Meetings and Hearings Attend meetings when legal counsel is reasonably required, including:

· Planning Board meetings;

· Zoning Board of Appeals meetings;

· Public hearings;

· Village Board meetings involving zoning, planning, or significant land-use matters;

· Workshops involving land-use regulation; and

· Other meetings authorized by the Village.

The Village does not expect counsel to attend every Village meeting merely by virtue of this engagement. Counsel and the appropriate Village officials should determine when counsel's attendance is necessary based upon the agenda and matters under consideration.

Meeting attendance required within the ordinary course of Planning and Zoning Counsel's responsibilities shall be included within the fixed monthly retainer.

H. Administrative and Procedural Guidance Provide advice concerning:

· Meeting procedures;

· Public hearings;

· Notice requirements;

· Filing of board determinations;

· Administrative records;

· Statutory deadlines;

· Open Meetings Law;

· Relevant provisions of the Freedom of Information Law as they affect land-use proceedings;

· Conflicts of interest;

· Ex parte communications;

· Applicant communications;

· Board jurisdiction; and

· Other procedural issues affecting legally defensible municipal decision-making.

I. Litigation Prevention and Article 78 Proceedings Counsel shall advise Village boards and officials with the goal of ensuring that land-use determinations are supported by applicable law, required findings, and an adequate administrative record.

Routine advice regarding potential litigation, preservation of the record, notices of claim, threatened Article 78 proceedings, litigation strategy, and consultation with other Village counsel shall be included within the monthly retainer.

Actual representation in substantial litigation, including Article 78 proceedings, appeals, federal litigation, or other court proceedings, may be treated as an extraordinary service as provided in Section 6 of this RFP.

4. EXPECTATIONS OF COUNSEL

The Village is seeking counsel who understands that effective municipal land-use representation involves more than responding to individual legal questions.

The selected counsel should:

· Become familiar with the Village of Schuylerville Zoning Code, Village Code, Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Map, and relevant local laws;

· Provide practical legal advice that can be understood and implemented by volunteer board members and Village staff;

· Identify legal or procedural issues early enough to permit correction before a board acts;

· Help boards distinguish between legislative, administrative, and quasi-judicial functions;

· Assist boards in developing clear findings and defensible written decisions;

· Provide candid advice when a proposed course of action presents significant legal risk;

· Avoid unnecessary procedural complexity;

· Work cooperatively with Village officials, engineers, planners, consultants, and other counsel;

· Be reasonably accessible between meetings for questions arising from pending applications;

· Review meeting materials sufficiently in advance to provide meaningful advice; and

· Understand the operational and financial realities of a small New York village.

5. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Respondents must demonstrate:

1. Admission to practice law in the State of New York and good standing;

2. Substantial familiarity with New York municipal law and land-use law;

3. Experience advising municipalities, planning boards, zoning boards of appeals, or similar governmental bodies;

4. Working knowledge of:

· New York Village Law Article 7;

· Municipal Home Rule Law;

· General Municipal Law §§239-l, 239-m and 239-n;

· SEQRA and 6 NYCRR Part 617;

· Open Meetings Law;

· Article 78 proceedings;

· Variance law;

· Site plan review;

· Special use permits;

· Subdivision review;

· Zoning amendments;

· Comprehensive planning; and

· Municipal conflicts-of-interest requirements;

5. Ability to provide timely written and oral advice;

6. Ability to attend Village meetings when required; and

7. Professional liability insurance appropriate for the services being provided.

Experience representing villages or similarly sized municipalities is strongly preferred.

6. COMPENSATION — FIXED MONTHLY RETAINER REQUIRED

A. Required Compensation Structure The Village will not enter into an hourly billing arrangement for ordinary Planning and Zoning Counsel services.

Each respondent shall propose a single fixed monthly retainer amount covering all ordinary services described in this RFP.

Respondents shall state:

Proposed Monthly Retainer: $____________ Annual Equivalent: $____________ The monthly retainer shall include, without additional hourly charges:

· Telephone calls;

· Emails;

· Conferences with Village officials;

· Review of routine applications and supporting documents;

· Review of meeting agendas and packets;

· Legal research associated with ordinary Village matters;

· Preparation for meetings;

· Attendance at ordinary Planning Board and ZBA meetings when counsel is needed;

· Attendance at Village Board meetings when reasonably necessary for planning or zoning matters;

· Routine public hearings;

· Drafting and review of resolutions;

· Drafting and review of findings;

· Routine correspondence;

· Review and drafting of zoning amendments and related local laws;

· SEQRA advice;

· County referral advice;

· Code interpretation;

· Routine enforcement advice;

· Advice concerning threatened litigation; and

· Other ordinary planning and zoning legal services reasonably associated with this engagement.

The Village is seeking predictability in its legal expenditures. Respondents should therefore establish their proposed monthly retainer at a level that realistically reflects the ordinary level of service necessary to represent a small municipality with active Planning and Zoning Boards.

B. No Routine Hourly Billing A proposal that requires the Village to pay hourly charges for ordinary services identified above may be determined nonresponsive.

Respondents should not submit hourly billing rates as the principal compensation structure for this engagement.

The Village does not intend to pay separate hourly charges for routine calls, emails, legal research, application review, meeting preparation, meeting attendance, drafting, or consultation falling within the regular scope of services.

C. Extraordinary Services The Village recognizes that unusually substantial litigation or exceptional matters may fall outside the reasonable scope of a monthly municipal land-use retainer.

Potential extraordinary services may include:

· Defense of an Article 78 proceeding;

· Appellate litigation;

· Federal civil-rights or constitutional litigation;

· Extensive trial-level litigation;

· Major developer agreements substantially beyond ordinary application review; or

· Other exceptional matters expressly determined by the Village Board of Trustees to be outside the regular retainer.

Extraordinary services shall not automatically convert to hourly billing.

Before performing extraordinary services for additional compensation, counsel must:

1. Notify the Village that the matter is believed to fall outside the monthly retainer;

2. Describe the additional services required;

3. Propose a fixed fee, fixed phase fee, or other predetermined non-hourly compensation arrangement for the extraordinary work; and

4. Obtain prior authorization from the Village Board of Trustees or its authorized representative.

No additional compensation will be owed for extraordinary services unless approved by the Village in advance.

D. Applicant-Funded or Escrow Matters Where Village law permits the use of applicant-funded escrow accounts for specialized professional review, any additional legal service to be charged against such an escrow shall require prior Village authorization.

The Village's preference remains for predetermined, fixed project or phase fees rather than open-ended hourly billing.

E. Expenses Reasonable direct out-of-pocket expenses such as filing fees, service fees, transcript charges, or other third-party expenses may be separately reimbursable when authorized.

Ordinary office overhead, local travel, routine copying, telephone charges, electronic research charges, and administrative expenses should be included in the monthly retainer unless specifically identified and accepted by the Village.

7. TERM OF ENGAGEMENT

The Village anticipates an initial term of approximately one year, subject to appointment or approval by the Village Board of Trustees and execution of an agreement acceptable to the Village.

The relationship may be renewed upon mutual agreement.

The Village reserves the right to terminate the engagement in accordance with the terms of the final professional-services agreement and applicable law.

Nothing in this RFP shall limit the Village's authority concerning the appointment, retention, replacement, or termination of legal counsel.

8. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Respondents shall disclose any existing or reasonably foreseeable conflicts of interest involving:

· The Village of Schuylerville;

· Village officers or boards;

· Applicants presently before Village land-use boards;

· Developers or property owners with substantial pending matters before the Village; or

· Other relationships that could reasonably interfere with representation of the Village.

The selected counsel shall maintain appropriate conflict-checking procedures throughout the engagement.

Counsel shall not represent an applicant, property owner, developer, or other private party in a matter before the Village Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Code Enforcement Office, or Village Board where such representation would create an actual or impermissible conflict with the attorney's representation of the Village.

Respondents should explain how conflicts involving municipal clients and private land-use clients are identified and managed.

9. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposals should contain the following information.

A. Firm and Attorney Information

· Name and address of firm;

· Primary attorney proposed for the Village;

· Other attorneys likely to provide services;

· New York bar admission information;

· Municipal and land-use experience of each proposed attorney; and

· Identification of the attorney who would ordinarily attend Village meetings.

B. Relevant Experience Describe experience involving:

· New York villages;

· Planning boards;

· Zoning boards of appeals;

· Site plan review;

· Special use permits;

· Variances;

· Subdivisions;

· SEQRA;

· Comprehensive planning;

· Zoning amendments;

· Enforcement;

· Article 78 proceedings; and

· Municipal land-use litigation.

Respondents are encouraged to identify representative matters that demonstrate their ability to advise municipal boards and create legally defensible administrative records.

C. Approach to Representation Briefly describe the respondent's approach to:

· Working with volunteer municipal boards;

· Reviewing applications before meetings;

· Advising boards during public meetings;

· Drafting written decisions;

· Preventing avoidable litigation;

· Responding to time-sensitive municipal questions;

· Working with Code Enforcement;

· Managing complex or controversial applications; and

· Maintaining predictable costs under a fixed monthly retainer.

D. Availability Identify:

· Typical availability for meetings;

· Ability to attend evening meetings;

· Office location;

· Ability to attend in person when necessary;

· Ability to participate remotely when authorized;

· Expected response time for routine inquiries; and

· Backup attorney availability when the primary attorney is unavailable.

E. Compensation Provide the fixed monthly retainer requested in Section 6.

Any proposed exclusions from the monthly retainer must be specifically identified.

General language allowing the firm to determine after the fact that ordinary work will be billed hourly is not acceptable.

If the respondent proposes fixed fees for categories of extraordinary services, those fees or the method for establishing them may also be provided.

F. Municipal References Provide at least three professional references, preferably from municipalities or municipal officials familiar with the respondent's planning, zoning, or municipal legal services.

G. Conflicts Provide the conflict disclosure required by Section 8.

H. Insurance Identify the respondent's professional liability insurance carrier and coverage limits.

10. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

The Village may consider factors including:

· Depth of New York municipal land-use experience;

· Experience representing planning boards and zoning boards of appeals;

· Knowledge of SEQRA;

· Experience with Article 78 proceedings and land-use litigation;

· Experience drafting zoning laws and municipal land-use decisions;

· Understanding of the needs and limitations of a small municipality;

· Availability and responsiveness;

· Quality and experience of the attorney who will actually perform the work;

· References;

· Conflict profile;

· Proposed fixed monthly retainer;

· Scope of services included within the retainer;

· Proposed treatment of extraordinary services; and

· Overall value to the Village.

The Village is not required to select the respondent proposing the lowest monthly retainer. Qualifications, experience, availability, scope of included services, and overall value will be considered together.

The Village may conduct interviews with one or more respondents before making a selection.

11. SELECTION AND AWARD

The Village Board of Trustees shall make the final determination concerning selection of Planning and Zoning Counsel.

Selection of a respondent shall not create a contractual relationship until the Village and selected respondent have executed an agreement acceptable to the Village.

The Village may negotiate the scope, compensation, term, or other provisions of the engagement with one or more respondents prior to final selection.

12. VILLAGE RIGHTS

The Village reserves the right to:

· Reject any or all proposals;

· Waive informalities or minor irregularities;

· Request clarification or additional information;

· Interview respondents;

· Negotiate with one or more respondents;

· Modify the anticipated scope of services;

· Determine whether a proposal is responsive;

· Select the proposal determined to provide the best overall value to the Village;

· Discontinue the RFP process; and

· Make no award if the Village determines that doing so is in its best interest.

Issuance of this RFP does not obligate the Village to reimburse any respondent for costs incurred in preparing a proposal.

13. QUESTIONS

Questions regarding this RFP should be directed to:

Dan Carpenter, Mayor Village of Schuylerville 35 Spring Street Schuylerville, New York 12871 Email: ____dcarpenter@villageofschuylerville.org________________ Telephone: ____518-694-2479________________ Questions should be submitted no later than: __09-30-2026________.

Any material clarification issued by the Village may be provided to all known prospective respondents.

14. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be received no later than:

_October 7, 2026_________ at __4pm________ Proposals may be submitted:

By Email: office@villageofschuylreville.org and/or By Mail or Delivery:

Village of Schuylerville Attn: Mayor Dan Carpenter 35 Spring Street Schuylerville, New York 12871 Proposal packages should be clearly identified as:

"Proposal – Planning and Zoning Legal Counsel"

15. ANTICIPATED SELECTION SCHEDULE

RFP Issued: _____09-15-2026_______________ Deadline for Questions: __09-30-2026__________________ Proposals Due: ____10-07-2026________________ Interviews, if necessary: _TBD___________________ Anticipated Selection by Village Board: _10-07-2026___________________ Anticipated Commencement of Services: ___Upon Contract Finalization

VILLAGE OF SCHUYLERVILLE

Saratoga County, New York