Leaseholders that wish to maintain their current lease site location for an additional ten (10) years must apply to renew his/her lease at the end of the initial ten (10) year lease term. Applications for lease renewals shall be submitted no later than 90 days prior to the expiration of the initial lease term. The leaseholder must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Section 3.1 of the Revised Administrative Guidance document (RAG); and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Lease Program in effect at the time of renewal.

Pre-Application Meeting: Prior to submitting an application for a lease renewal, all leaseholders are required to participate in a pre-application meeting with Department of Economic Development and Planning (Department) staff. Applications will not be accepted without having attended pre-application meeting.

Application Fee: A non-refundable application fee must be submitted with the complete Lease Renewal Application. This fee shall be submitted with the Lease Renewal Application and completed Leaseholder Annual Report form.

Submission and Review of Application: Subsequent to the conduct of the pre-application meeting, leaseholders may submit their completed Lease Renewal Application, which shall also include a completed Leaseholder Annual Report form. Additionally, pursuant to the RAG, all applicants are required to submit a Shellfish Cultivation Plan and Aquaculture Business Plan. See Appendix C and D in the RAG for examples and additional information. Failure to submit the required documents in the timeframe discussed above may result in the expiration of the lease or termination of the Lease Renewal Application.

Public Comment Period: 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 is 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; existing/proposed operation type (Commercial, Experimental/Educational, or Resource Restoration); and the existing/proposed 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 applicant any comments and/or objections received during the Public Comment Period.

County Review and Decision: Comments submitted during the Public Comment Period will be reviewed by Department staff and all credible comments and/or objections will be considered. The determination to approve or disapprove a lease renewal is within the discretion of the Department and made by the Director of Planning. The leaseholder shall be notified of the Department's determination and may include required next steps and a deadline to respond.

Notification: If approved, the leaseholder may be required to have the lease site boundary survey recertified or have a new lease site boundary survey conducted by a licensed land surveyor. Recertified survey maps and/or the 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 conduct and preparation of new lease boundary survey maps. The leaseholder shall have a period of six (6) months from the date of this notification to submit the required lease site boundary survey maps to the Department. As the lease site boundary survey map is a required attachment to the Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Agreement, a lease cannot be executed until the survey maps are received. Failure to submit the boundary survey maps within the specified six (6) month period may result in the termination of the Lease Renewal Application and the discontinuance of the lease execution process.

In the event the Department disapproves the Lease Renewal Application, the notification letter will identify the reasons for disapproval; the leaseholder shall also be required to remove all shellfish gear/equipment from the lease site prior to the expiration of the lease or by the date specified in the letter.

Preparation of Lease Renewal: If approved, and subsequent to receiving notification of approval from the Department, the leaseholder must verify his/ her desire to renew the lease for an additional ten (10) year term. The leaseholder must then submit the required copies of the lease site boundary survey maps for attachment to the Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Agreement (Lease). Upon receipt of the survey maps, Department staff will proceed with the preparation of the draft Lease and will send this document to the leaseholder for their review. The leaseholder will have 45 days from the date of transmittal of the draft Lease to contact the Department and schedule a date and time to come to the Division of Planning and Environment to sign the required Lease and other necessary documents. The leaseholder shall be required to submit the annual lease rental fee payment to the Department upon signature of the Lease. Failure to execute the Lease documents within the 45-day time period may result in the termination of the application, and discontinuance of the lease execution process. Once the Lease has been fully executed it will be recorded in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk. An original will be sent to the leaseholder for their records, along with all recording documents.

Shellfish Permits and Marking Lease Boundaries/Equipment: Lease site boundaries must be identified and marked according to requirements specified in Appendix B of the RAG (there are new buoy marker requirements that all lease renewals shall be subject to which will require the leaseholder to obtain a PATON from the USCG). Leaseholders are required to maintain and/or obtain all permits and licenses required by the NYSDEC, US Army Corps of Engineers, and US Coast Guard (PATON permit). Leaseholders must also contact the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to identify and initiate chart/coastal pilot corrections for shellfish cultivation activities that are taking place on the lease site. Leaseholders shall have a maximum of six months from the date of the Department's notification to submit hard copies or pdf's of all issued permits to the Department. Leaseholders must also submit photos of boundary markers once they have been deployed on the lease site.

Annual Lease Rental Fee Schedule: Please review the table below, as the Annual Lease Rental Fees have changed.

Leaseholder Annual Report: As per the Shellfish Aquaculture Lease Agreement, leaseholders must submit a completed Leaseholder Annual Report form to the Department, 30 days prior to their 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 Department. Failure to fulfill the annual reporting requirements or payment of the annual lease rental fee shall be cause for termination of lease by the County.