§ 99-W — Land for monument erection

§ 99-w. Land for monument erection. 1. The following terms whenever\nused or referred to in this section shall have the following meanings\nunless a different meaning clearly appears in the context:\n (a) "military action or period of war" means the American Revolution;\nAmerican Civil War; Spanish-American War; the Mexican border period;\nWorld War I; World War II; the hostilities known as the Korean War; the\nhostilities known as the Vietnam War; the Persian Gulf conflict\nincluding but not limited to Operation Enduring Freedom; Operation Iraqi\nFreedom and Operation New Dawn; and military operations other than war:\nPanama; Bosnia; Somalia and Haiti;\n (b) "military monument" means any structure or part of any structure\nthat was erected or later dedicated with the intent to honor a current\nor former member or members of the armed forces or to mark or\ncommemorate a military action, battle or period of war, including but\nnot limited to, a tablet, plaque, wall, building, or structure;\n (c) "military memorial" means a park, field, grove of trees, land or\nartwork surrounding a military monument;\n (d) "change in status" means a military monument or military memorial\nthat will be alienated, leased, transferred, sold, moved or discontinued\nfor use as a memorial site;\n (e) "municipal corporation" means a county, city, town, village,\nschool district or board of cooperative educational services; and\n (f) "legislative body" means the board of supervisors, board of\naldermen, common council, council, commission, town board, board of\ntrustees or other elective governing board or body of a municipality now\nor hereafter vested by state statute, charter or other law with\njurisdiction to initiate and adopt local laws and ordinances, whether or\nnot such local laws or ordinances require approval of the elective chief\nexecutive officer or other official or body to become effective;\nprovided however, in the case of a school district shall mean the board\nof education, board of trustees or sole trustee, as the case may be; and\nprovided further, in the case of a board of cooperative educational\nservices shall mean the elected members of the board of cooperative\neducational services.\n 2. Prior to any change in status of a military monument or military\nmemorial erected or constructed pursuant to sections two hundred\ntwenty-six of the county law, eighty-one of the town law, seventy-two\nand seventy-seven-a of the general municipal law or where the military\nmonument or military memorial receives a real property tax exemption\npursuant to section four hundred forty-four-a of the real property tax\nlaw, the legislative body of the municipal corporation where the\nmilitary monument or military memorial is situated shall adopt a local\nlaw, by a two-thirds vote of its members, or in the case of a school\ndistrict or board of cooperative educational services a resolution, by a\ntwo-thirds vote of its members, to authorize such change in status. At\nleast ninety days prior to the adoption of such local law, the municipal\ncorporation shall hold at least one public hearing. Such public hearing\nshall be on such notice as is required by section twenty of the\nmunicipal home rule law. Notice of such public hearing shall also be\nposted in at least five public places, and shall be advertised for three\nconsecutive days in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the\nmunicipal corporation, which shall be the official newspaper if one\nexists, within fifteen days of such public hearing. The municipal\ncorporation shall also post such notice on its official website, if one\nexists, for at least fifteen days prior to such hearing. Written notice\nshall also be sent by certified mail to the chief executive officer of\nthe municipal corporation, if one exists, prior to the publication of\nthe notice requirements required by this subdivision.\n