This chapter shall be cited and may be hereafter referred to
as the "Town of Poestenkill Subdivision Drainage District Law."
[Amended 5-12-2022 by L.L. No. 1-2022]
Through prior experience with certain previously established
subdivision developments within the Town of Poestenkill, and predicated
upon engineering advice and legal counsel as well as input from local
developers, the Town deems it desirable for the Town to require those
applicants seeking approval for any qualifying subdivision, as hereinafter
defined, to request, as part of such subdivision application and approval
process, that the Poestenkill Town Board approve the establishment
of a drainage district serving said subdivision. Further, the Town
Board believes that such a requirement is in the best interests of
the Town as well as the ultimate owners and occupants of premises
within said subdivision, and that establishment of a uniform procedure
to be followed by subdivision developers and applicants also serves
to fairly address their needs and concerns with regard to satisfaction
of such requirement. For such intent and purpose, the Town Board of
the Town of Poestenkill deems it appropriate to adopt this local legislation
mandating drainage district application and establishment as part
of the subdivision application process pursuant to Article 12 of the
Town Law whereby the Town Board may authorize the establishment of
a special district anywhere within the boundaries of the Town of Poestenkill
and the Town Board may apportion the district costs among all the
parcels of land within such drainage district.
The Planning Board shall henceforth require the establishment
of a drainage district as a condition of the approval of any qualifying
subdivision as hereinafter defined. In furtherance of said drainage
district establishment, the applicant shall submit a petition and
all other required district formation documents in accordance with
pro forma documents provided by the Town, together with the required
map, plan and report (MPR) which shall be prepared by or on behalf
of the applicant and thereafter subject to review and approval by
the Town's Engineer and Attorney as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 5-12-2022 by L.L. No. 1-2022]
For purposes of this chapter, a "qualifying subdivision" shall
be a subdivision which meets one of the following criteria:
A. Any major subdivision requiring post-construction stormwater control
practices that will constitute municipal separate storm sewer system
(MS4) infrastructure;
B. Any other subdivision, the development of which may require an approved
stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) and the construction
of a significant municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) infrastructure.
The determination of whether or not the required MS4 infrastructure
is significant shall be determined by and in the sole discretion of
the Town Planning Board.
The procedure to be followed in applying for and establishing
the required drainage district serving the proposed qualifying subdivision
shall be as follows:
A. As part of any subdivision application process, and prior to the
approval of any site plan or subdivision grading plan or drainage
system, the Planning Board shall make a determination as to whether
or not the proposed subdivision is a qualifying subdivision as hereinabove
defined. If the subdivision is not deemed to be a qualifying subdivision,
the provisions of this chapter will be inapplicable and the normal
subdivision review process will proceed. If, however, the subdivision
is deemed to be a qualifying subdivision, the provisions of this chapter
shall apply and the application for subdivision approval and drainage
district establishment will proceed as hereinafter provided.
B. The Planning Board shall advise the applicant that the establishment
of a drainage district shall be required as a condition of approval
of the proposed subdivision in order that the applicant might make
an informed determination as to whether or not to proceed with the
application. If the applicant indicates a desire to proceed, the Planning
Board shall advise the applicant of his responsibility to prepare
and submit to the Town Board a preliminary map, plan and report (MPR)
describing the drainage district proposed to be established and otherwise
conforming to the requirements of § 192 and other applicable
provisions of Article 12 of the Town Law, with the boundaries of said
proposed drainage district to be coincident with those of the proposed
subdivision. The applicant shall be additionally advised of his obligation
to prepare and submit to the Town Board a NYSDEC short environmental
assessment form (EAF) describing the environmental impact of the proposed
drainage district. The Planning Board shall also refer the subdivision
application and all plans and documents to the Town Board together
with the Planning Board's written determination that the proposed
subdivision has been deemed to be a qualifying subdivision as herein
defined.
C. Upon receipt of the aforesaid referral from the Planning Board and
the preliminary MPR and short form EAF from the applicant, the Town
Board shall direct the Town Engineer and the Town Attorney to undertake
the following tasks with regard to the preparation, review and/or
approval of the following documents required for formation of the
drainage district:
(1) The Town Attorney shall prepare a petition executed by the owner(s)
of taxable real property owning at least half of the value of taxable
real property within the proposed drainage district and otherwise
conforming to the requirements of § 191 and other applicable
provisions of Article 12 of the Town Law. The petition shall contain
an express statement that the improvement in the proposed drainage
district shall be constructed at the expense of the petitioning owner(s)
of taxable real property in the proposed district.
(2) The Town Attorney and the Town Engineer shall review the preliminary
map, plan and report submitted by the applicant and advise the applicant
of any required revisions thereto. At such time as the MPR shall meet
with the approval of the Town Attorney and Town Engineer, it shall
be appended to the petition and submitted to the Town Board.
(3) The Town Attorney shall also review and assist the Town Board in
its review, completion and action on the NYSDEC short environmental
assessment form (EAF) submitted by the applicant in accordance with
the applicable requirements of SEQRA.
D. The petitioner shall thereafter execute the petition and the approved
MPR and short EAF and file same with the Poestenkill Town Clerk, who
shall then submit such documents to the Poestenkill Town Board.
E. The Town Board shall then send the short EAF to all involved regulating
agencies for review.
F. The Town Board shall then adopt and enter an order reciting those
matters set forth in § 193 of the Town Law, including specifying
the time and place when the Town Board will meet to consider the petition
and to hear all persons interested in the subject thereof concerning
the same. Said notice of public hearing on the proposed drainage district
establishment shall be published and posted in accordance with § 193(1)(a)
of the Town Law.
G. There shall be full compliance with the requirements of § 193
of the Town Law, including, if required, application for permission
of the State Comptroller for the establishment of the proposed drainage
district.
H. The Town Board shall declare itself lead agency for SEQRA review
and conduct the noticed public hearing on the proposed drainage district
establishment and the required SEQR environmental review.
I. Following the noticed public hearing, the Town Board shall make a
determination of SEQR environmental significance.
J. Also following the noticed public hearing, the Town Board shall,
by resolution, make the determinations set forth in § 193
of the Town Law and, based thereon, shall adopt an order approving
or disapproving the proposed district establishment.
K. The Town Clerk shall, within 10 days of the adoption of the order
establishing the drainage district, cause a certified copy thereof
to be filed in the office of the Rensselaer County Clerk and shall
also cause a certified copy thereof to be filed in the office of the
State Department of Audit and Control in Albany, New York.
L. At the applicant's option, it may either await the formation of the
required drainage district before proceeding with the normal processing
of the application for subdivision approval or it may, at its own
discretion and risk, proceed with the subdivision approval processing
by the Planning Board concurrently with the Town Board proceedings
for establishment of the required drainage district. In either event,
no final approval of the subdivision application, conditional or otherwise,
may be rendered by or obtained from the Planning Board unless and
until the required drainage district has been finally established.
The following fees, deposits and security, which are in addition
to any such charges assessed as part of the normal subdivision application
process, shall be required as part of the drainage district establishment
provided for herein.
A. At the time of the applicant's submittal of the drainage district
petition it shall be accompanied by a check payable to the Town of
Poestenkill in the amount of $3,000 to cover the Town's legal and
administrative costs. In addition, the applicant shall be liable for
the actual costs of any notice, publication and recording fees, as
well as for any engineering and similar consulting fees reasonably
incurred by the Town in reviewing the MPR, coordinating the environmental
review process and otherwise providing needed services relating to
the proposed drainage district and the improvements therein. Said
engineering costs shall be estimated by the Town Engineer at the time
of the applicant's initial submission of the proposed MPR and short
form EAF, and such estimate shall be submitted to the Town Board,
which will require same to be placed in escrow by the applicant. The
actual engineering costs incurred by the Town will thereafter be drawn
from said escrow funds. Any balance remaining shall be refunded to
the applicant, and any costs exceeding such estimate shall be billed
to the applicant. At any time that anticipated costs exceed the escrow
balance, the Town Board may require that the applicant make additional
payment to increase the escrowed amount.
B. In addition to the above deposit, the Town Board shall establish an amount to be paid to the Town to be deposited in the new drainage district's account to secure the initial costs of the district, which amount is hereby set at $1,000 for each lot in the proposed subdivision, but which may be hereafter modified by resolution of the Town Board. In any event, 1/2 of such amount, together with the entirety of the deposits set forth in Subsection
A of this section, must be received by the Town before the Town Board adopts a final order establishing the drainage district. The remaining 1/2 of the cost per lot shall be payable by the applicant at the time of application for a building permit for construction on said lot or upon said applicant's transfer of title to the unimproved lot to another owner, whichever shall first occur.
The costs of continued operation and maintenance of the proposed
drainage district shall be borne by the ultimate owners of the parcels
of property within said drainage district and shall be assessed, levied
and collected on a benefit assessment basis, with said charge to appear
as a special assessment charge on said property owners' annual tax
bills. In order to fully inform and protect prospective purchasers
of lots in the subdivision, the applicant is hereby required to disclose
the existence of the drainage district and the proposed drainage district
charges in any prospectus and in any marketing literature. Further,
every deed of conveyance shall expressly reference the inclusion of
the conveyed property in the drainage district and the individual
property owner's responsibility for sharing in the special assessment
charge associated therewith.