[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Colonie 8-28-1995
by L.L. No. 2-1995; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Colonie
Clearing, Grading and Filling of Land and Erosion Control Law."
A.
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate and control
the grading and filling of land, the removal of topsoil and underlying materials
and the removal of vegetation within the Village of Colonie and to prescribe
regulations for said control.
B.
Legislative findings.
(1)
The Village of Colonie hereby finds that indiscriminate
and excessive grading and filling of tracts of land, the removal of topsoil
and/or the removal of vegetation has resulted in increased surface drainage
and soil erosion. Modification of existing topography has resulted in the
destruction of natural ground cover, which in turn leads to airborne pollution,
soil erosion, stream and pond sedimentation, disruption of natural drainageways,
often onto adjacent land and public highways, and a general diminution of
the village's environmental qualities.
(2)
The increased surface drainage and soil erosion produced
thereby, the indiscriminate removal of topsoil or vegetation and the change
of the contour of the land have caused additional private and public costs
for proper drainage control, decreasing the beneficial use of existing public
facilities and residential and commercial properties and adversely affecting
the health, safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the village.
This chapter shall apply to applicants, developers and/or property owners
before the Planning Commission of the Village of Colonie for approval of any
kind of developments and to those other persons who propose to remove any
substantial vegetation or topsoil or perform any substantial grading or filling
operations affecting an area of 10,000 square feet or greater within the Village
of Colonie.
A.
No person, applicant, developer and/or property owner
shall remove or cause to be removed any substantial vegetation or topsoil
or perform any substantial grading or filling operations in an area of 10,000
square feet or greater without first obtaining a permit from the Code Enforcement
Officer, who shall issue the permit after approval by the Village Planning
Commission. Before obtaining said permit, the person, applicant, developer
and/or property owner shall submit a completed application on a form to be
obtained from the Village Clerk, together with a fee as set by the Village
Board of Trustees by resolution from time to time.
B.
In addition, the person, applicant, developer and/or
property owner shall provide a sketch and description and time schedule for
carrying out the proposed activity and a description and timing of intended
erosion control methods, which data shall be reviewed and approved by the
Planning Commission prior to permit issuance by the Code Enforcement Officer.
Where the Planning Commission determines that substantial work is contemplated,
the Commission may require the submission of a detailed grading and erosion
control plan prepared by a professional engineer or registered landscape architect,
which plan shall minimally include existing and proposed contours, key spot
elevations, location and description of existing drainage patterns and intended
modifications, erosion control and revegetation measures, location and description
of existing vegetation and applicable soils dates. All trees with a trunk
diameter of eight inches or larger shall be shown individually.
C.
In cases where the Planning Commission requires the submission
of a detailed grading and erosion control plan, the applicant, developer and/or
property owner shall also be liable for reimbursement to the village of costs
of the technical review of his submission, which shall be paid before a permit
is issued. The applicant, permit holder, developer and/or property owner shall
also be liable for the cost of review of and report on completed work, which
shall be paid before the release of the performance guaranty.
D.
In cases where the Planning Commission is of the opinion
that the application has significant neighborhood or community interest, the
Commission may hold a public hearing before deciding on whether or not to
approve issuance of a permit. The cost of the notice shall be paid by the
applicant.
E.
The Planning Commission may attach reasonable conditions
to its approval of any permit consistent with the objectives and/or criteria
of this chapter.
F.
The submission of a detailed grading and erosion control
plan will be typically required by the Planning Commission if the proposed
grading, filling, excavation or land disturbance activity includes one or
more of the following conditions:
(1)
The activity occurs on lands with a slope in excess of
15%.
(2)
The activity occurs on lands which are highly erodible
or classified as unstable by the United States Department of Agriculture Soil
Conservation Service.
(3)
The activity involves the stripping of surface soils
which exceed one acre of surface area or a material volume of 40,000 cubic
feet.
(4)
The activity occurs within or immediately adjacent to
the Patroon Creek drainageway and any other brook, stream or surface drain,
the Pine Bush Preserve or land classified as primary or secondary preserve
by the Pine Bush Commission or any land adjacent to or draining into the Bauer
Environmental Park or Shaker Creek.
(5)
Any activity which, in the opinion of the Planning Commission,
may have an adverse impact on adjacent or downstream properties.
G.
The Planning Commission review and approval of the grading
and erosion control plan shall be based on the following criteria and requirements,
and the permit thereafter issued shall remain in force and effect, provided
that said person, applicant, permit holder, developer and/or property owner
maintains compliance with the following:
(1)
The smallest practical area of land shall be exposed
at any one time during the development.
(2)
When land is exposed during development, the exposure
shall be kept to the shortest practical period of time.
(3)
Temporary vegetation and/or emulsion shall be used to
protect areas in excess of 10,000 square feet exposed for a period over two
weeks at any time. Protective measures shall be as specified in the permit
or directed by the Village Engineer.
(4)
On areas that will be exposed for short periods of time
and where weather conditions are conducive to airborne sand, traps to control
such sand shall be installed as directed.
(5)
On areas such as temporary roadways, when dry conditions
prevail, the permit holder shall be required to apply water or calcium chloride
as required to prevent dust during construction activities.
(6)
Sediment basins or debris basins (silting basins, silt
traps or similar measures) shall be installed and maintained to remove sediment
from runoff waters on lands that are or have been exposed.
(7)
Provision shall be made to effectively accommodate the
increased runoff caused by changing soils and surface conditions during and
after grading, filling, removal of topsoil or removal of vegetation without
impairment to adjacent properties or to drainageways.
(8)
Permanent final vegetation and structures should be installed
as soon as practical.
(9)
The plan should be fitted to the type of topography and
soils so as to create the least erosion potentials. The plan shall demonstrate
that the proposed grading activity accommodates natural drainageways to the
greatest extent possible and that the soil characteristics of the site are
suited to the grading, filling and removal of vegetation proposed.
(10)
Wherever feasible, natural vegetation should be retained
and protected. Trees with a diameter greater than eight inches shall be given
special consideration for retention in the total plan.
H.
If the Planning Commission finds that the permit holder,
applicant, developer and/or property owner has failed to comply with the aforesaid
control requirements of this chapter, said permit shall be revoked, and said
person(s), permit holder, applicant, developer and/or property owner shall,
upon written notice, cease and desist from any further work upon said site.
The notice, at the option of the Planning Commission, may specify the conditions
under which the Commission would consider reinstating the permit; in such
cases the Commission will entertain a request to reinstate the permit once
the Commission finds that the conditions in its notice have been met to its
satisfaction.
A.
To ensure that the site work described by the person,
permit holder, applicant, developer and/or property owner on the approved
grading and erosion control plan is performed in accordance with said plan
and the controls of this chapter, the person, permit holder, applicant, developer
and/or property owner may be required to provide a performance guaranty in
the form of cash, bond or a letter of credit on behalf of the Village of Colonie.
B.
The sufficiency of such performance guaranty shall be
determined by the Planning Commission as to amount and the Village Attorney
as to form after review of the application and the work/operations to be undertaken
and in consultation with the Village Engineer.
C.
Upon completion of the site work as set forth on said
approved plan, including the schedule of filling and grading, construction
operation and erosion control methods filed with the Planning Commission prior
to permit issuance, the person, permit holder, applicant, developer and/or
property owner shall request that the Village Engineer review said work. Upon
report by the Village Engineer that all conditions of the permit and this
chapter have been satisfied, the Planning Commission shall direct the Village
Treasurer to release the performance guaranty submitted in relation to the
issuance of the permit. Before releasing the performance guaranty, the Village
Treasurer shall make sure all fees and other charges in connection with the
permit have been paid.
D.
Upon failure of the person, permit holder, applicant,
developer and/or property owner to perform the site work in accordance with
the approved plan submitted as aforesaid, the Village of Colonie and/or its
agents shall enter upon said premises and complete the necessary work to satisfy
the permit conditions and execute against the performance guaranty for the
cost of such work. The Village Treasurer shall be authorized to pay any charge
or charges approved by the Planning Commission without further approval of
the person, permit holder, applicant, developer and/or property owner. If
the village should undertake completion of any such work (including but not
limited to grading, filling or revegetation work) upon the person's,
permit holder's, applicant's, developer's and/or property owner's
failure to do so, any sums remaining after the completion of said work shall
be returned to the person, permit holder, applicant, developer and/or property
owner.
The permit procedures contained in this chapter shall not apply to the
following actions:
A.
Activities involved in the necessary normal maintenance
and upkeep of property, which activities shall include but not be limited
to the following:
C.
Activities involved in the construction of an individual
single-family or two-family residence, provided that the total affected area
does not exceed 20,000 square feet.
D.
Activities involved in and directly associated with any
sand and gravel excavation or mining activity which has a current approved
permit issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation,
and further provided that such activities are operated and maintained in compliance
with all associated permit conditions.
E.
Activities involved in and directly associated with any
building construction or site development project for which site plan or subdivision
approval has been granted by the Village of Colonie in accordance with all
applicable regulations.
To the degree practicable, all village officials and bodies shall endeavor
to integrate the provisions of this chapter with other provisions related
to, but not limited to, subdivision review and approval, site plan review
and approval, mining permit issuance and environmental quality review procedures.
Any person, permit holder, applicant, developer and/or property owner
violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to a fine
of $250 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 15 days, or both, for
each offense. Each day during which such violation shall continue shall constitute
and be a separate offense.
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement
Officer or by the Town of Colonie police.
