[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Islip 3-23-48.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town Board to provide
for the proper use of land to prevent all manner of excavations which create
pits, holes or hollows in the earth, leaving it in a hazardous or dangerous
state, or cause soil erosion which depletes the land of its natural vegetative
cover and supply of organic material and renders such land unproductive and
unsuitable for agricultural purposes and undesirable for building homes, resulting
in lower land values. By this ordinance the Town Board seeks to remove the
danger to health and life caused by deep excavations remaining in the ground
and the stripping of topsoil, thereby resulting in damage to agricultural
crops through dust storms in dry weather by exposure of the bare earth to
wind action and in wet periods by pools of water, which ordinance will promote
the safety, health and general welfare of the people of the Town.
No excavation for purposes other than the construction of a wall, driveway, sidewalk, building or part thereof, or as permitted by § 15-9, shall be commenced except in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.
Before any excavation is commenced for any purpose, other than those excepted in § 15-2, and topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, rock or other substance is removed from the ground, the owner, lessee or agent of the premises shall obtain a written permit therefor from the Town Board. For that purpose such applicant shall file with the Building Inspector of the Town of Islip a verified application in duplicate for such permit, containing a detailed statement of the proposed work, together with a plan prepared by a duly licensed engineer or land surveyor of the State of New York, setting forth in detail the following in formation:
A.
All information as required on the application form prepared
by the Building Department, including a detailed statement of the proposed
work and three-dimensional extent of the proposed excavations and exact condition
of the plot or premises before the work is commenced and proposed condition
of said plot or premises after the work is completed.
B.
The plan shall be drawn to scale and give all streets
adjoining the property; the location and dimensions of the premises upon which
it is proposed to excavate; location, size and use of any existing buildings;
cross sections of the property, giving elevations thereof at intervals of
fifty-foot squares and also at each break in the grades; and the elevation
of the premises as compared to the elevation of any abutting highways.
C.
A duly acknowledged consent in writing of the owner of
the premises and mortgagee, if any, including his or their address, or a verified
statement that there is no existing mortgage affecting the premises.
D.
Receipted tax bills or a certificate from the Receiver
of Taxes of the Town of Islip and the County Treasurer of Suffolk County showing
payment of all taxes or assessments to date against the property described
in the application.
[Added 12-1-70]
Notwithstanding any other requirements of this chapter, the Town Board
shall set such conditions on permits issued pursuant to this chapter as it
may deem necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter and to protect
the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Town of Islip,
consonant with the purpose of this chapter. Such permit conditions should
take cognizance of but may not be limited to the preservation of the ecological
and aesthetic values of the immediate and surrounding area of any excavation,
and the avoidance or reduction of nuisance emanating from any excavation.
No such excavations shall be made:
A.
Within twenty (20) feet of any property line and must
not be greater than ten (10) feet below the established grade, unless the
sidewalks remain at an incline of at least forty-five degrees (45°) or
are supported by retaining equipment equal to that specified for building
excavations: except in the case of bank excavations, same may begin at the
property line.
B.
Unless adequate barricades shall be erected and maintained,
together with adequate provisions for prevention of flying dust, acceptable
to the Building Inspector.
C.
Unless excavation shall be immediately refilled with
clean, nonburnable fill containing no garbage, refuse, offal or any deleterious
or unwholesome matter, and the premises, after completion of the work, shall
be graded to the level of the nearest abutting street or road.
No stripping or removal of topsoil shall be made within ten (10) feet
of any property line, and upon completion of the work the premises, if below
grade, shall be graded to the level of the abutting highway or the original
grade if the same were below the level of the highway. Dust-down or its equal
shall be spread to prevent dust from flying and there shall be left upon the
surface of the land from which topsoil is removed not less than six (6) inches
of topsoil. No topsoil shall be removed between the first day of October and
the first day of April in the following year. All area from which topsoil
is removed shall, during the period between August 20 and October 1 inclusive,
be prepared into a loose, level seedbed, limited, fertilized and seeded in
the following steps:
A.
Apply ground limestone at the rate of one (1) ton per
acre.
B.
Apply five to ten to five (5:10:5) fertilizer at the
rate of six hundred (600) pounds per acre.
C.
Disk area to work limestone and fertilizer into the soil
to a depth of at least three (3) inches.
D.
Smooth area with a smoothing harrow.
E.
Sow the following seed mixture at the rate of one hundred
(100) pounds per acre:
|
Pounds Per Acre
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Timothy
|
30
| |
|
Kentucky bluegrass
|
25
| |
|
Redtop
|
10
| |
|
Perennial rye grass
|
30
| |
|
Alsike clover
|
4
| |
|
Wild white clover
|
1
| |
|
Total
|
100
|
F.
Brush in seed lightly.
G.
Roll firm with ground roller.
A.
Before the issuance of a permit, the applicant and the
owner of record of the premises shall execute and file with the Town Clerk
a bond, approved by the Town Board of the Town of Islip, in an amount to be
fixed by said Board, but not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000.), with
a surety company as surety and conditioned for the faithful performance of
the conditions contained in this ordinance, the observance of all municipal
ordinances and to indemnify the Town of Islip and/or the Superintendent of
Highways for any damage to Town property. In the event of a default, such
bond shall be forfeited to the Town of Islip.
B.
Said bond shall remain in full force and effect until a certificate of completion has been issued by the Building Inspector, certifying to the fact that all provisions of this ordinance and conditions of the permit have been fully complied with. Application for such certificate shall be made by the applicant, owner, or his agent who shall present a verified authorization from the owner concerning the agency, or lessee, on forms provided by the Town of Islip, and shall be accompanied by a map drawn to scale showing a cross section of the affected property, giving elevations thereof as provided in § 15-3B, prepared by a duly licensed engineer or land surveyor of the State of New York after the completion of the operations, who shall also certify that there is not less than six (6) inches of topsoil remaining upon the ground from which topsoil has been removed and that such area has been seeded in compliance with § 15-5 hereof. In lieu of such bond, a cash deposit or deposit of the negotiable securities may be made with the Supervisor of the Town.
The officer designated by the Town Board to issue such permits shall
charge and collect for each such permit:
A.
Sandbank and pit excavations. A minimum fee of two hundred
dollars ($200.) for an excavation volume not to exceed twenty thousand (20,000)
cubic yards. For excavations exceeding twenty thousand (20,000) cubic yards,
the minimum fee shall be two hundred dollars ($200.) plus one cent ($0.01)
for each additional cubic yard or fraction thereof.
[Amended 5-12-59]
B.
Topsoil removal: a minimum fee of twenty-five dollars
($25.) for an area not exceeding five thousand (5,000) square feet. For areas
exceeding five thousand (5,000) square feet, the minimum fee shall be twenty-five
dollars ($25.), plus ten dollars ($10.) for each additional five thousand
(5,000) square feet or fraction thereof.
A.
Sandbank and pit excavation. Such permits shall expire
by limitation one (1) year from the date of issuance unless extended by the
Town Board.
B.
Topsoil removal.
(1)
Such permits shall expire by limitation sixty (60) days from the date of issuance unless extended by the Town Board, and no permit or permits shall be granted for removal of more than four (4) acres of topsoil from any one (1) tract of land until full compliance with this ordinance is had under any existing permit for the same tract, except the preparation of the ground and seeding as provided in § 15-5 hereof.
(2)
No permit shall be valid except between April 1 and October
1 of any year.
[Amended 7-12-55]
Nothing contained in this ordinance shall require a person to obtain
a permit under the following circumstances:
[Added 9-16-80]
Every excavation having a depth of any point in excess of three (3)
feet shall be properly guarded and protected by fencing, railing or a rigid
cover so as to prevent the site from becoming dangerous.
[Added 12-18-84][1]
The Town Superintendent of Highways or other appropriate officials of
such Town, upon the direction of the Town Board, shall fill in excavated lands
and property if, after a hearing, the existence of such lands and property
were deemed by the Town Board to constitute a hazard to public safety, provided
that thirty (30) days' notice shall be given by registered mail addressed
to the owner of record of such lands and property at the address shown on
the last preceding assessment roll and provided that such excavated lands
and property are not filled by or on behalf of such owner within such period,
and it is further enacted that the cost thereof shall be assessed against
such lands and property in accordance with the provisions of § 157
of the Highway Law.
[Amended 9-16-80]
For any and every violation of the provisions of this ordinance, the
owner, general agent or contractor of a building on premises where such violation
has been committed or shall exist, and the lessee or tenant of the premises
where such violation has been committed or shall exist, and the owner, general
agent, contractor, lessee or tenant of any part of the premises in which part
of said violation has been committed or shall exist, and the general agent,
architect, engineer, surveyor, building contractor or any other person who
knows, permits, takes part or assists in any such violation or who maintains
any premises in which any such violation shall exist, shall be liable for
a fine not exceeding seven hundred dollars ($700.) or imprisonment for a period
not to exceed fifteen (15) days, or both. Each day's continued violation
shall constitute a separate, additional offense.
[Amended 9-16-80]
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this ordinance
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but
shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section
or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment
shall have been rendered.
[Amended 9-16-80]
This ordinance shall take effect immediately.
