Leaseholders that wish to relocate their lease from their existing lease site location to a new lease site location may do so up to two (2) times during the Term of the Lease at the discretion of the Department of Economic Development and Planning (Department). Applications for lease site relocation shall be considered during the Annual Lease Application Cycle, which generally begins in January of each new year. Applications for lease site relocations will not be subject to the annual acreage cap limit. Leaseholders that submit an application to relocate to a new lease site shall be subject to the lease applicant eligibility criteria outlined in Section 3.1 of the Revised Administrative Guidance document (RAG).

Pre-Application Meeting: Once the application period for the Annual Lease Application Cycle is established by the Department, applicants are required to attend a pre-application meeting with Department staff, prior to submitting a Lease Site Relocation Application. Applications will not be accepted without first attending a pre-application meeting. Information pertaining to the implementation of a Lease Application Cycle, and the respective application period, will be posted on the Lease Program website. Leaseholders applying for a lease site relocation shall be subject to the eligibility requirements outlined in Section 3.1 of the Revised Administrative Guidance document.

Application Fee: There will be non-refundable $200 application fee for lease site relocation applications. The application fee must be submitted along with the completed Lease Site Relocation Application.

Submission and Review of Application: Applications must be submitted via mail to the Department, along with their application fee during the application period established by the Department. The Department will review the lease site relocation applications received and shall make a determination on applicant eligibility. Factors that may be considered by the Department when reviewing an application for relocation may include but are not limited to: past performance as an ALP leaseholder and/or any significant or repeated violation of state or county laws. The leaseholder shall be notified by receipt when their application was received and if it has been accepted by the Department. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant who may then resubmit their application with the missing information, provided there is adequate time remaining in the application period. Any application received, which is postmarked after the final day of the established application period will not be accepted and shall be returned to the applicant.

Public Comment Period: While lease site relocations will not be subject to the annual acreage cap limit, the proposed sites for relocation shall be included in the Public Notice and made available for at least two months by posting such notice in the Office of the Department. Public Notice shall be provided for at least two months by posting such notice in the Office of the Department; the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk; the Office of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Division of Marine Resources; the Clerk’s Office of the five East End towns; and the Office of the East Hampton, Southampton and Southold Town Trustees. Such notice shall also be published in the official newspaper(s) of the County; a local newspaper where the lease site(s) are located; posted on the Lease Program website and emailed to all who have signed up for notifications regarding ALP. The notice shall include the name of the leaseholder, the lease site identification number; the name of the town where the lease site is located; the lease site coordinates; operation type (Commercial, Experimental/Educational, or Resource Restoration); and cultivation method (On-Bottom, Off-Bottom, On/Off-Bottom). The public will be able to submit written comments to the Department on the lease site during this two-month period. Once the comment period has concluded, the Department will send to the leaseholder any comments and/or objections received during the Public Comment Period.

Aquaculture Lease Board Meetings: The Department will issue a Meeting Notice, which announces the date, time and location of the Aquaculture Lease Board (ALB) Meeting, and will be posted on the Lease Program’s website. ALB meetings are open to the public and applicants. During the ALB meeting, staff will present to the ALB members the lease sites that were applied for during the application period, including any sites applied for by an existing leaseholder for relocation. All credible comments and/or objections to specific lease sites that were submitted during the Public Comment Period will also be presented to the ALB. Lease applicants and/or members of the public will also be given the opportunity to make any additional oral comments on the proposed lease sites during this meeting. Once all the comments are presented and/or heard, Department staff will present their lease site recommendations to the ALB. The ALB, by majority vote, will make determinations based on a regional and environmental perspective on which potential lease sites will be approved conditionally approved; or disapproved for leasing.

Notification: The Department will notify the leaseholder by letter which of the proposed lease sites for relocation have been approved, conditionally approved or disapproved. Provided, the ALB approves more than one of the proposed sites for relocation, the leaseholder must select one preferred site to continue the process. The leaseholder is required to have a boundary survey conducted by a licensed land surveyor for the approved lease site. If a boundary survey was previously conducted for the approved lease site, the leaseholder may have the boundary survey recertified by a licensed land surveyor. Recertified survey maps and/or new lease site boundary surveys must meet all requirements outlined in Appendix A of the RAG. The Leaseholder shall be responsible for the procurement and costs associated with updates to the boundary survey and/or respective survey maps. The survey recertification or new boundary surveys must be completed and submitted to the Department within six (6) months from the date of approval notification letter. If the leaseholder fails to submit the required surveys to the Department within the six month time period, the relocation process will be discontinued.

Preparation of Lease Amendment for Relocation: Once the Department receives the final copies of the lease site boundary survey maps or survey recertification, a draft Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Amendment for Relocation will be sent to the lease applicant for their review. Upon receipt of the draft Amendment, the lease applicant will have forty-five (45) days to sign their Amendment and associated documents. Lease applicants must contact the Department to schedule a date to come to the Department of Economic Development and Planning Office to sign the documents. Once the lease is fully executed by the Department, an original shall be recorded in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk. Leaseholders will receive an original lease and copies of all recorded documents.

Shellfish Permits and Marking Lease Boundaries/Equipment: Leaseholders must obtain all permits and licenses required by the NYSDEC, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard and any other applicable regulatory agency prior to the conduct of any shellfish cultivation activities on their lease site. Leaseholders shall have six (6) months from the date of Departmental notification regarding the ALB’s decision to apply for all applicable Federal and State regulatory permits. Hard copies or pdf’s of all permit applications must be submitted to the Department to document the completion of this requirement. Lease site boundaries must be identified and marked according to requirements specified in Appendix B of the Revised Administrative Guidance. Once permits are issued, leaseholders must submit copies of the issued permits and/or approvals to the Department; and may deploy lease site boundary markers and shellfish aquaculture gear. Leaseholders must also contact the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to initiate chart/coastal pilot corrections prior to deployment of shellfish aquaculture gear on the lease site. It is strongly recommended that upon notification and selection of the approved lease site, lease applicants pursue their permits and the conduct of the lease site boundary survey concurrently. If the required regulatory permit applications have not been submitted within the established timeframe this shall be cause for termination of the lease by the Department.

Leaseholder Annual Report: Per the executed Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Agreement, in order to maintain a lease each leaseholder must submit a completed Leaseholder Annual Report form to the Department 30 days before the lease anniversary date (start of term), along with a payment of the annual lease rental fee and the SC Form 22, each year that they retain their lease with the County. The anniversary date and term of lease shall not be effected by a relocation of lease; all reporting information should be submitted 30 days prior to lease anniversary date.