The Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer's primary goal is safety. This is done by issuing permits, investigating concerns of violations, and enforcing local ordinances and state and federal laws. 

Responsibilities:

Enforcement of the Town of Galen Zoning Law-Enforces the Town of Galen Zoning Law and related local land use laws. Variances to the Zoning Law may be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Enforcement of the NYS Uniform Fire Prevention & Building Code-Administration and enforcement of the NYS Uniform Fire Prevention & Building Code (including the Building, Fire, Residential, Plumbing, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, Property Maintenance, and Existing Building Codes). The Department conducts construction and fire safety/property maintenance inspections and investigates complaints of violations.

Enforcement of the NYS Energy Conservation Construction Code-Local administration and enforcement of the NYS Energy Codes.

Floodplain Administration-Administration and enforcement of Federal, State and local flood damage prevention laws and regulations.

Enforcement of the Multiple Residence Law-The Code Enforcement Officer is responsible for administration and enforcement of the NYS Multiple Residence Law and conducts construction and fire safety inspections pursuant to the MRL.

Planning and Hazard Mitigation-Participates in land use planning activities (i.e. adoption and review of Comprehensive Plans) and hazard mitigation planning (i.e. natural disasters, fires, floods).

Coordination with the Fire Department-The Code Enforcement Office works together with the Galen-Clyde Fire District in areas of pre-fire planning, fire protection water supplies, fire prevention education, training, hazardous materials, open burning, building access (i.e. Knox Box), fire investigation, and response to emergencies such as structure fires, building failures and natural disasters. The Code Enforcement Office and Fire Department often conduct joint fire safety inspections and educational sessions.

Public Education-The Code Enforcement Office has many handouts, pamphlets and brochures on topics related to building construction and fire safety that are available to the public free of charge. The Code Enforcement Office also conducts presentations upon request to school children, community groups, etc. Such presentations may be conducted jointly with the Fire Department.

Unsafe Building Awareness Program-The Unsafe Building Awareness Program, begun in 2008, marks unsafe structures so that the Fire Department and other emergency responders know the degree of hazard within.  Unsafe buildings may be marked with a red sign with either a single diagonal white stripe, or a white "X".  A white stripe indicates that hazards exist in the builing and fire fighters should use extreme caution when entering the structure. An "X" signifies that the building has numerous or serious hazards, and should not be entered except if absolutely necessary. In 2013, the program expanded to include emergency dispatch information concerning placarded buildings.

Permits-The issuance of Building Permits, Open Burning Permits, Fireworks Permits, Tent Permits, Fire Code Operating Permits, Pond Permits, and Zoning Permits. Some permits may require review and approval by the Town Planning Board, Town Zoning Board of Appeals, and Wayne County Planning Board. Application forms can be found in "Documents" below. Fee schedules are found under "Permits".

Plan Review-Reviews all construction project plans for compliance with the Galen Zoning Law and NYS Building & Fire Codes. The fee for Commercial/Industrial plan review is $25.00 per review. There is no plan review fee for 1-2 family dwellings/accessory structures, and agricultural structures.

Fire Safety and Property Maintenance Inspections-Conducts periodic fire safety and property maintenance inspections of all multifamily (3 or more apartments), commercial, and industrial properties at least once every three years. Places of public assembly are inspected annually. Other inspections are carried out upon complaint, or upon the owner's or occupant's request. Inspections may be conducted jointly with the Fire Department.

Hazardous Materials Program-The Hazardous Materials Program is a concerted effort to inventory and regulate all hazardous materials located in the Town of Galen. NYS Building & Fire Codes contain many specific requirements for the storage and handling of hazardous materials which must be enforced to protect public health and safety. Information collected is shared with the Galen-Clyde Fire District so that local firefighters are better prepared to handle any emergency. The Code Enforcement Office must be notified of any release of hazardous materials that is required to be reported to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and/or EPA. If you have hazardous materials at your facility, please complete and return a Hazardous Materials Notification Form (see "Documents" below).

Open Burning Permit Program-The Open Burning Permit Program was begun in 2008, to reduce the incidence of fire calls for "unreported controlled burns." However, since its inception, NYS has imposed additional restrictions on open burning, such as prohibiting many types of materials from being burned in an open fire. The Open Burning Permit Program has drastically reduced false alarms due to brush burning and has also reduced the number of unwanted fires. An application for Open Burning can be found under "Documents" below.