[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Pleasant Valley 5-14-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed
former Ch. 53, Freshwater Wetlands, adopted 8-26-1976 by L.L. No.
2-1976.
A.
It is declared to be the public policy of the Town
of Pleasant Valley to preserve, protect and conserve freshwater wetlands,
watercourses and water bodies and to regulate development in such
wetlands and protect such watercourses and water bodies in order to
secure the natural benefits derived therefrom consistent with the
general welfare and the beneficial economic, social and agricultural
development of the Town. A Wetlands Administrator, appointed by the
Town Board, shall be responsible for enforcing the policies established
by this chapter.
B.
It is declared to be the policy of the Town of Pleasant
Valley to exercise authority to regulate wetlands, watercourses and
water bodies which may also be regulated by the Department of Environmental
Conservation under the provisions of Article 24 of the New York State
Environmental Conservation Law, and/or by the Federal Army Corps of
Engineers, where respective jurisdictions overlap. Pursuant to this
chapter, the Town of Pleasant Valley establishes the right to impose
restrictions on areas of regulation, as defined herein, which may
be in addition to or more restrictive than any restrictions imposed
by any state or federal regulatory agency with concurrent jurisdiction.
As it is not the purpose of this legislation to multiply efforts,
studies or expenditures by real property owners attempting to make
reasonable and environmentally sound use of their assets, the local
approval authority established under this chapter shall, whenever
possible, utilize any previous determination made by the Federal Army
Corps of Engineers or the State Department of Environmental Conservation
with respect to the identification of, and the delineation of the
size and boundaries of, wetland areas.
[Amended 9-14-2011 by L.L. No. 4-2011]
Areas of regulation are:
A.
All wetlands identified on the map entitled "Town
of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, N.Y." prepared by the Dutchess
County Environmental Management Council, GIS Lab, and dated March
2001, as amended, and any other wetlands as yet unmapped exceeding
1/2 acre in area that will meet the definition provided in § 24-0107(1)
of the New York State Freshwater Wetlands Act as amended and updated.
B.
All water bodies, natural or created, having an area
of a 1/2 acre or more.
C.
All lands lying within:
(1)
Twenty-five feet of wetlands and water bodies of 1/2
acre to one acre in size;
(2)
Fifty feet of wetlands and water bodies of one acre
to two acres in size;
(3)
Seventy-five feet of wetlands and water bodies of
two acres to three acres in size; and
(4)
One-hundred feet of wetlands and water bodies of three
acres or more in size.
D.
All lands lying within 100 feet of the normal stream
bank of the Wappingers Creek, Little Wappingers Creek, Great Spring
Creek, and any other perennial watercourse or tributary to these named
streams. A twenty-five-foot-wide natural buffer shall be maintained
from the normal stream bank for all activities except for those dependent
upon the passive recreational use of the stream or as a source of
water for emergency purposes or agriculture in accordance with Agricultural
Best Management Practices.
E.
[1]Wetlands located on property that is the subject of a subdivision application pursuant to Chapter 82 shall also be subject to the provisions of § 82-18 and to any requirements that may be imposed by the Planning Board in the application process.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, regarding buffer requirements
for wetlands that are regulated by outside agencies, was repealed
9-14-2011 by L.L. No. 4-2011. This local law also provided for the
renumbering of former Subsection F as Subsection E.
Permitted activities are:
A.
The depositing or removal of naturally occurring products
of freshwater wetlands, water bodies or watercourses by fishing, hunting,
trapping or aqua culture without any significant disturbance of the
existing ecosystem.
B.
Activities of farmers and other landowners in grazing
and watering livestock, making reasonable use of water resources,
such as for irrigation, harvesting natural products of the wetlands,
and otherwise using the wetlands for growing agricultural products.
C.
Activities of landowners to conduct timber harvesting
and tree farming using the New York State Best Management Practices.
D.
Normal ground maintenance, in effect as of the date
of this chapter, such as mowing and pruning, repair of existing decorative
plantings, walkways, walls and drives and operation of existing dams
and water control devices.
E.
Farming activity as defined by § 24-0701(4)
of the Environmental Conservation Law and Section 663.2(c) of the
DEC regulations.
Regulated activities are:
A.
Any form of draining, dredging, excavation or removal
of soil, mud, sand, gravel or other aggregate from the wetland, watercourse
or water body or buffer area.
B.
Any form of dumping, filling or depositing of any
soil, stones, sand, gravel, mud, rubbish or fill of any kind in any
wetland, water body or watercourse, either directly or indirectly.
C.
Erecting of any structure, construction of roads, driving of pilings or placing of any other obstructions, whether or not changing the ebb and flow of the water, except as permitted in § 53-3E.
D.
Erection of any new decorative plantings, walkways,
walls and drives or any mowing and pruning within the required buffer
initiated after the passage of this chapter.
E.
Installation of septic tanks, running a sewage outfall
or discharging sewage treatment effluent or any other wastes directly
into or so as to drain into a wetland, watercourse or water body.
F.
Installation of any pipes, conduits, service lines
or wells.
Prohibited activities are:
A.
Placement or deposit of any chemical waste, hazardous
waste, or storage of any materials that could result in the contamination
of any wetland, water body or watercourse.
B.
Introduction of fluids or other materials with sufficiently
high temperature to cause injurious or other harmful ecological effects
in any wetland, water body, watercourse or buffer area.
C.
Such activities which may cause substantial damage
or destruction to wetlands.
A.
Anyone proposing to undertake a regulated activity
within a freshwater wetland, watercourse or water body, or its buffer,
shall apply for and receive a permit from the Town before commencing
such regulated activity. Fees for such permits shall be set by the
Town Board.
B.
Applications for permits for regulated activities
shall be made on forms supplied by the Town and submitted to the Wetlands
Administrator.
C.
The Wetlands Administrator may determine that the
proposed activity is not one of significant environmental impact and
issue the required permit. If, however, the Wetlands Administrator
determines that the proposed activity constitutes a significant environmental
impact, the application shall be referred to the Planning Board for
approval or denial. The determination of the Wetlands Administrator
may be appealed pursuant to the procedure established by the Zoning
Law for appealing a decision of the Zoning Administrator.
D.
The Planning Board shall approve or deny permit applications for regulated activities in wetlands, water bodies, watercourses and buffer areas that require its approval(s) under Chapter 82, Subdivision of Land, of the Code of the Town of Pleasant Valley, as well as any other regulated activities determined to be of substantial environmental significance.
E.
The cost of any professional evaluation will be at
the expense of the applicant.
F.
Any permit issued by the Town of Pleasant Valley is
exclusive of any other required permits.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply
to proposed uses or redesignation of allowable uses, subdivisions,
or site development of lands which were the subject of a pending application
to the relevant Town agency authorized to review and to approve such
action(s) as of the effective date of this chapter. Also, this shall
not apply to properties in connection with regulated activities which
were reviewed and approved by a relevant agency prior to the effective
date of this chapter.
Any person or entity found to be in violation
of this chapter shall be ordered and required to cease and desist
the violating activity. There shall be no fine associated with the
first occurrence if the activity is immediately ceased. Failure to
comply with the order or further activity in violation of this chapter
will result in a fine of $500 and an additional $500 per day for each
violation or failure to comply with the order to cease and desist.
[Added 3-11-2009 by L.L. No. 3-2009]
B.
Every applicant, and landowner, if different, shall
be jointly and severally responsible for payment of all reasonable
and necessary costs of consultant services (defined hereafter), where
the Wetlands Administrator, Town Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board
of Appeals, Zoning Administrator and/or any other Town of Pleasant
Valley agency or department uses the services of private engineers,
attorneys or other consultants (collectively, "consultant services"):
(1)
For purposes of engineering, scientific land use planning,
environmental or legal reviews of the adequacy or substantive details
of applications, or issues raised during the course of review of such
applications, for wetland permits or any other activity regulated
by this chapter; and/or
(2)
To assist in assuring or enforcing an applicant's
compliance with the terms and conditions of any administrative and
legislative permits or approvals subject to this chapter. In no event
shall that responsibility be greater than the actual cost to the Town
of such consultant services.
C.
The Wetlands Administrator, Town Board, Planning Board,
Zoning Board of Appeals, and/or Zoning Administrator may require advance
periodic monetary deposits ("escrow deposits"), to be held on account
of the applicant or landowner (the "escrow account"), by the Town
of Pleasant Valley to secure the reimbursement of the Town's consultant
service expenses. Escrow deposits shall be made and maintained according
to the Schedule of Escrow Funds periodically adopted and updated by
the Town Board.[2] The Town may make payments from the deposited funds, for
consultant services, after audit and approval by the Town Board of
itemized vouchers for such services. Upon request, the Town shall
supply copies of such vouchers to the applicant, appropriately redacted
where necessary to shield legally privileged communications between
Town officers or employees and the Town's consultants. When the escrow
account is depleted as set forth on the Schedule of Escrow Funds,
the Town shall cause the applicant or landowner to deposit additional
sums into the escrow account, pursuant to the Schedule of Escrow Funds,
to meet such expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when it appears
to the Town that pending or anticipated vouchers will deplete the
escrow account below the minimum permitted levels set forth on the
Schedule of Escrow Funds, the Town shall cause the applicant or landowner
to deposit additional monies into the escrow account, in the same
manner as if the actual balance in the escrow account had fallen below
minimum permitted levels set forth on the Schedule of Escrow Funds.
[2]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Escrow Funds
is on file in the Town offices.
D.
The Town Board shall review and audit all vouchers and shall approve payment only of such engineering, legal and other consultant services expenses as are necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review and consideration of any application, as set forth in Subsection B above, or for the monitoring, inspection or enforcement of any permits or approvals or the conditions attached thereto.
E.
The owner(s) of the subject real property, if different
from the applicant, shall be jointly and severally responsible for
reimbursing the Town of Pleasant Valley for funds expended to compensate
for services rendered to the Town under this section by private engineers,
attorneys or other consultant services. In order for an application
to be complete, the applicant shall provide the written consent of
all owners of the subject real property, both authorizing the applicant
to file and pursue such application and acknowledging potential landowner
responsibility, under this section, for consultant services fees incurred
by the Town (collectively, "consultant services fees"). In the event
of failure to reimburse the Town for such fees, the following shall
apply:
(1)
The Town may seek recovery of unreimbursed consultant
services fees by action brought in a court of appropriate jurisdiction,
and the defendant(s) shall be responsible for the reasonable and necessary
attorneys' fees expended by the Town in prosecuting such action.
(2)
Alternatively, and at the sole discretion of the Town,
a default in reimbursement of such consultant services fees expended
by the Town shall be remedied by charging such sums against the real
property which is the subject of the land development application,
by adding that charge to, and making it a part of, the next annual
real property tax assessment roll of the Town. Such charges shall
be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as
Town-assessed taxes and shall be paid to the Town Comptroller, to
be applied in reimbursing the fund from which the costs were defrayed
for the consultant services fees. Prior to charging such assessments,
the owners of the real property shall be provided written notice,
to their last known address of record, by certified mail, return receipt
requested, of an opportunity to be heard and object before the Town
Board to the proposed real property assessment, at a date to be designated
in the notice, which shall be no less than 30 days after its mailing.
F.
Upon submission of an application for any permit or approval covered under this § 53-9, and prior to being placed on any agenda, the applicant and/or owner shall deposit such funds as required pursuant to the Schedule of Escrow Funds, together with any applicable fees as set forth on the Town of Pleasant Valley Schedule of Fees, each as may be periodically adopted and updated by the Town Board. If any escrow deposit is depleted below the minimum permitted amount, the application shall be removed from the agenda of the reviewing board and review of such application shall cease and shall not recommence until such time as the escrow deposit has been replenished as required.
