[Added 4-11-1996 by L.L. No. 6-1996;
amended 7-10-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008; 11-13-2008 by L.L. No. 11-2008]
Pursuant to the Town of Somers Comprehensive
Master Plan, it is the purpose of the NS District to provide the opportunity
and encouragement for the creation of economically healthy, functionally
efficient, environmentally sound and visually attractive neighborhood
business areas designed to primarily serve the local convenience retail
and personal service needs of the residents of the Town of Somers,
as well as to provide alternative housing opportunities for small
households.
In an NS District, no building, structure or premises, in whole or in part, shall be used and no building or structure, in whole or in part, shall be erected, enlarged, structurally altered or moved except for the following purposes or as herein elsewhere specifically provided, together with the accessory uses specified in § 170-20.1:
A.
Retail stores.
B.
Personal service establishments.
C.
Restaurants, excluding fast-food establishments and
drive-in or curbside service.
D.
Banks.
E.
Medical, dental, veterinary, professional and business
offices.
F.
Child/adult day-care facilities.
G.
Residential apartments over stores.
H.
Any other nonresidential use as permitted and regulated
in a Residence R40 District.
No accessory uses shall be permitted in an NS
District other than the following:
All uses permitted under this article shall be subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board as provided in § 170-114. Where the requirements contained in Chapter 144 (Site Plan Review) conflict with the dimensional standards and requirements contained in this article, the standards set forth herein shall apply.
The following dimensional standards and requirements
shall apply with respect to all uses in NS Districts:
A.
The maximum building coverage for principal buildings
shall be 15%.
B.
The maximum building coverage for accessory buildings
shall be 1%.
C.
The maximum floor area ratio (FAR) shall be 0.25 for
all uses, but not to exceed 0.18 for nonresidential uses.
D.
The maximum site coverage (buildings, access roads
and parking, but excluding walkways) shall be 65%.
E.
Except in the case of a mixed commercial and affordable residential development project which shall be governed by the provisions of § 170-20.4C(6), the maximum building footprint shall be 10,000 square feet, except by special exception use permit of the Planning Board for a use serving a special community need.
[Amended 8-5-2016 by L.L.
No. 3-2016]
F.
The maximum building height for principal buildings
shall be two stories and 30 feet.
G.
The maximum building height for accessory buildings
shall be one story and 15 feet.
H.
The minimum front yard shall be 20 feet, all of which
shall be landscaped and/or maintained in its natural state except
for necessary access drives and walkways. The front yard shall be
measured from the existing or planned future right-of-way of the abutting
street or highway, whichever is more restrictive.
I.
Where abutting a nonresidential district, the minimum
side yard shall be zero feet where adjacent property owners agree
to provide a common wall and build to their common property line and
shall be 25 feet if they do not so agree.
J.
Where abutting a residence district, the minimum side
yard shall be 40 feet, at least 20 feet of which shall be maintained
as a landscaped buffer.
K.
The minimum rear yard shall be 60 feet and, where
abutting a residence district, at least 20 feet shall be maintained
as a landscaped buffer.
L.
With respect to residential apartments, only efficiency
(studio), one-bedroom and two-bedroom dwelling units shall be permitted.
M.
Off-street parking and loading facilities, including landscaping, shall be provided as per Article X of Chapter 170 (Zoning) of the Code of the Town of Somers. All parking areas shall be divided into smaller parking courts, separated by raised, landscaped planting islands, building blocks or other architectural or landscape architectural features. The integration of pedestrian, vehicular and utility access between neighboring properties, as appropriate, shall be required by the Planning Board as a condition of site plan approval.
N.
The minimum distance between adjacent buildings shall
be equal to 1/2 of the height of the higher building, but in no case
less than 10 feet, except that where the New York State Uniform Fire
Prevention and Building Code is more restrictive, said Code shall
apply.
A.
At least 15% or no less than one unit, which ever is greater, of all permitted residential dwelling units shall consist of affordable dwelling units, as defined in § 170-3 of this chapter.
B.
Per the approval of the Somers Town Board, any residential use as permitted herein that has access to public water and public sewer, an increase in the minimum floor area ratio from 0.25 to not more than 0.4 for all uses, but not to exceed 0.18 for nonresidential uses, may be considered as long as 50% of the total number of residential units are considered affordable dwelling units as defined in § 170-3 of this chapter. Where at least 50% of the dwelling units in such a development are affordable dwelling units as defined in § 170-3 of this chapter, the Town Board may:
(1)
Authorize the Planning Board to reduce the required
number of parking spaces for residential and nonresidential uses to
a lesser number as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board in light
of the fact that noncompeting uses (residential vs. commercial) with
differing peak hours of demand would be accommodated on the same site.
(2)
Allow an increase in the maximum permitted building
height to three stories or 50 feet.
C.
A mixed commercial and affordable residential development project
may be located on any lot within the Neighborhood Shopping NS Zoning
District provided that the following conditions are met by the lot
and the proposed project:
[Amended 8-5-2016 by L.L.
No. 3-2016]
(1)
The lot shall have a minimum lot size of eight acres;
(2)
The lot shall have frontage of less than 500 lineal feet on
a major road;
(3)
The lot shall be serviced by public water and sewer;
(4)
The minimum ratio of commercial floor area to residential floor
area shall be 0.27;
(5)
With respect to the residential component of the mixed commercial and affordable development project, the project shall include, at a minimum, residential units where at least 50% of the total number of residential units are considered affordable dwelling units as defined in § 170-3 of this chapter;
(6)
The maximum building footprint shall be 12,500 square feet;
(7)
Where a previously developed parcel is proposed to be redeveloped for a mixed commercial and affordable residential development project meeting the requirements set forth above, the setback referred to in § 170-20.3H may be reduced by the applicant to coincide with the previously existing front yard setback but may not be reduced beyond existing conditions or five feet, whichever is greater;
It is the objective of these guidelines to establish
a general design framework for creating and/or preserving the architectural
character and scale of buildings in Neighborhood Shopping Districts;
to help assure that such areas will be visually attractive and will
blend landscaped open space and structures in a manner which relates
to the existing and/or planned character of the Town of Somers; and
to create visual interest and variety in the treatment of architectural
surfaces.
A.
Overall site design shall be appropriately related
to other surrounding development and topographical conditions.
B.
Building and site design shall be planned to enhance
the pedestrian experience. Walkways shall be modulated with planters
and/or special architectural treatments and shall provide weather
protection, where appropriate, through the use of awnings, canopies
or covered arcades set behind the building facade.
C.
Sites shall be designed with carefully planned arrangements
of building blocks so as to create a village-like character and to
divide paved parking areas into smaller marking courts, framed by
buildings and landscaping.
D.
Two-story structures, which are designed to encourage
a diverse yet harmoniously blended combination of residential and
nonresidential uses, are encouraged.
E.
Site design shall seek to create an attractive visual
link to neighboring public highways and, where appropriate, to create
a sense of entrance to the community.
F.
Buildings shall be harmonious and compatible with
neighboring structures in terms of the following exterior design elements:
(1)
The nature and use of surface materials.
(2)
The height of cornices, lintel and sill levels, articulated
floor levels and other horizontal building features.
(3)
The spacing and proportion of columns, piers and other
elements of the basic structural grid.
(4)
The spacing and proportion of window and door openings,
bays or other aspects of building fenestration.
(5)
Colors, textures and the general nature of exterior
materials and treatment, including building ornament and trim.
(6)
Treatment, screening and/or enclosure of all utility
and mechanical installations.
G.
Building facades shall present a varied appearance
at street level and be designed to give individual identity to each
store or building unit as well as to help achieve the planned pedestrian
scale.
H.
Blank wall exposure shall be limited in order to encourage
window shopping and promote pedestrian interest.
I.
The design of building facades shall reflect the scale
of existing or planned building development through modulation of
vertical and horizontal elements by features such as:
(1)
Variation in roof heights.
(2)
Changes in the predominant wall plane and/or in facade
elements such as window openings and balconies.
(3)
Use of horizontal projections or recesses in the building
facade such as bay windows, cornices, balustrades, etc.
(4)
Use of pitched roofs and other roof elements such
as cross gables, dormer windows and turrets to provide visual interest,
reduce the scale of continuous roofs and break the line where the
building meets the sky.
J.
Treatment of the sides and rear of proposed buildings
shall be in a manner substantially consistent in appearance, amenity
and quality of materials to the treatment given to their street frontage.
K.
The use of covered outdoor spaces such as loggias,
arcades and colonnades shall be encouraged in order to provide weather
protection and transition between indoors and outdoors and to add
visual interest, shadow and depth to building elevations.
L.
A coordinated landscape plan shall be prepared incorporating
the landscape treatment of open spaces, walkways, access roads and
parking areas into a cohesive and integrated design. Attractively
landscaped open spaces and plazas, designed as gathering places and
intended for maximum usability by pedestrians, shall be provided in
appropriate locations. All open spaces, pedestrian walkways, parking
areas and access drives shall be planned as an integral part of an
overall site design, properly related to existing and proposed buildings.
M.
The coordinated landscape plan shall include a mix
of shade trees and other plant material, such as ground cover and
shrubs, with proper regard to factors such as microclimate, function
of area, existing plantings and required maintenance in determining
the species, scale and planting pattern.
N.
Walkways and other surface areas of paving material
shall offer a variety of pigments and textures which are in harmony
with nearby buildings and other paved surfaces and are safe for pedestrian
traffic, including the handicapped.
O.
Walkways shall be planted with regularly spaced, salt-tolerant
shade trees, selected with regard to the scale of the area in which
they are located, as well as the height and spacing of exterior lighting,
and the need to maintain visibility of storefront displays and signs.
P.
All landscaping as shown on the approved site plan
shall be maintained in a healthy growing condition throughout the
duration of the use or uses being served. Any plants not so maintained
shall be replaced by the property owner with healthy new plants of
comparable size, type and quality at the beginning of the next immediately
following growing season.
Q.
All signage shall be carefully integrated with other
site design elements. Signage shall be designed so that it is visible
and informative at the pedestrian scale. Street-oriented signs shall
be limited to facia bands above the window or on the vertical facia
of any canopy or awning. Signs shall not be mounted above the eave
line of any structure or be placed in or attached to any window.
R.
Notwithstanding any provision of § 170-126A to the contrary, only on lots which are two or more acres in area shall a freestanding project identification sign be permitted. Such sign shall be located at the main access drive connecting to the external, public road system. Necessary small-scale informational and directional signs shall also be permitted, as required.
S.
All exterior lighting shall be of adequate illumination
for safety and security purposes. It shall be of such type and location
and shall have such shading as will prevent the source of light from
being visible from any adjoining streets and properties and shall
prevent glare from spilling onto other properties or streets. Lighting
shall be limited in its hours of operation, as determined appropriate
by the Planning Board, and shall be coordinated with building design
and landscape plans. The height of lighting fixtures shall be limited
so as to be consistent with the planned pedestrian scale of development.
