A.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town Board
of the Town of Caledonia to provide for the proper use of land and to deny
permission for all manner of excavations which, in the opinion of the Town
Board, will create pits, holes or hollows or any manner of excavation which
may leave the ground in a hazardous or dangerous state, cause soil erosion
or deplete the land of its natural vegetative cover and supply of organic
materials or render the land unproductive or unsuitable for agricultural purposes
or undesirable for construction purposes.
B.
By this chapter, the Town of Caledonia also seeks to
remove danger to health and life caused by deep excavations, to prevent the
stripping of topsoil without providing for the renewal thereof and to promote
the safety, health and general welfare of the people of the Town by regulating
the manner of construction on, removal of materials from, filling up, draining,
cleaning, operating and using lands or other premises for sand or gravel pits,
stone quarries or for other excavation purposes, and prohibiting the use of
any lands or other premises for the aforesaid purposes which do not comply
with these regulations.
Enforcement of this chapter shall be the responsibility of the Zoning
Enforcement Officer for the Town of Caledonia.
The following actions shall not be commenced nor extended unless in
conformity with the regulations in this chapter:
A.
Excavations for the construction of a wall, driveway,
sidewalk, building or part of a building and excavations for public utilities
are excepted from the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any person
to obtain a permit for the purpose of moving topsoil, soil or earth from one
location on his land to another location on the same land, provided that such
removal is necessary for or accessory to the farming, grading, improving or
draining of said land.
Before any excavation is commenced for any purpose, other than those excepted in § 70-4 of this chapter, and topsoil, earth, sand, gravel, stone or other earth product is removed from the ground, the owner, agent of the owner or lessee of the premises shall obtain a permit therefor from the Zoning Enforcement Officer. In all cases, the application for each permit shall be in duplicate in writing, signed and verified by the owner or occupant of the premises. It shall state or be accompanied by:
A.
The name and address of the applicant.
B.
The name and address of each owner of the premises.
C.
The name and address of each tenant of the premises.
D.
A description of the premises sufficient to readily identify
the same.
E.
A statement of each mortgage or other lien upon the premises,
together with the name and address of the holder of each mortgage or other
lien upon the premises.
F.
A certification of the county finance officer showing
payment of all taxes and assessments to date for the property as described
in the application.
G.
A statement setting forth the nature of the proposed
excavation and whether it is proposed to remove sand, gravel, stone minerals
or topsoil from the premises and, if so, the approximate area from which it
is proposed to remove such materials.
H.
A statement in writing signed by each owner, tenant and/or
lessee of the premises, other than those signing the application, and also
by the holder of each mortgage or other lien upon the premises, consenting
to the proposed excavation and the removal of materials from the premises.
I.
A plan drawn to scale and showing the location of streets
or roads adjoining the premises; the names of the adjacent property owners;
the location of the premises and dimensions of that portion of the premises
upon which the excavation is to be made; the location size and use of any
existing or proposed structures; cross section of the property at intervals
of 50 feet, showing existing elevations at intervals of 50 feet, and also
any break in grade; and the elevation of the premises as compared to the elevation
of any abutting streets or roads. The plan shall show the elevation of the
floor of the excavation at the time of the expiration of the permit for which
the application is presented. The elevations and dimensions shown on the plan
shall be referenced to at least two permanent monuments, established as the
Town Board may require. The scale of such plan shall be one inch equals 100
feet. Aerial maps and photographs may be used to supplement any plan submitted
with the application.
J.
A certificate signed by the Superintendent of Highways,
Town of Caledonia, stating that the proposed excavation or excavations and
the finished grades of the land as shown on the plan or plans and application
will not interfere with the drainage of or endanger any road, street or highway
or other property of the State of New York, County of Livingston or Town of
Caledonia.
K.
A certificate or a policy of public liability insurance
covering bodily injury and property damage. The minimum amount of bodily injury
coverage shall be $100,000 for one person, $300,000 for more than one person
and $25,000 for property damage.
L.
Any additional information pertinent to the application
which may be required by the Town Board or the Zoning Enforcement Officer.
A.
Before the issuance of a permit, the applicant and the
owner of record of the land shall execute and file with the Zoning Enforcement
Officer a bond, certified check or other negotiable security, approved by
the Town Board of the Town of Caledonia, in an amount to be fixed by said
Board, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the conditions of this
chapter, the observance of all state, county and municipal regulations and
laws and indemnifying said Town for any damage to Town property, including
Town highways, and further conditioned upon the faithful completion of any
required filling, leveling off, sloping, grading and reseeding which may be
a condition of the permit.
B.
Said security shall remain in full force and effect until a certificate of completion shall have been issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer certifying that all provisions of this chapter and all conditions of the permit have been fully complied with. Application for a certificate of completion shall be made by the owner, lessee or agent of the owner or lessee on forms provided by the Town of Caledonia and shall be accompanied by a map drawn to scale and showing elevations as provided in § 70-5I of this chapter, prepared by a duly licensed engineer or land surveyor of the State of New York, who shall certify that the condition of the land is as required by the permit and as stated in the original application.
The Town Board shall consider the application when it has been properly presented to it, together with all necessary supporting documents and, based upon said application and supporting documents and upon the considerations set forth in § 70-1 of this chapter, shall thereafter authorize the Zoning Enforcement Officer, upon payment of the appropriate fees, to issue the said permit, or shall authorize the issuance thereof subject to such terms and conditions as may be just and proper in the preservation of the safety, health and general welfare of the people of the Town of Caledonia.
Upon the approval of the Town Board, as hereinafter set forth, the Town
Clerk, after certification by the Zoning Enforcement Officer that all applicable
conditions and requirements of this chapter have been met, shall charge and
collect therefor the fee approved by the Town Board in accordance with the
fee schedule applicable to the operation sought.
[Amended 8-11-1994 by L.L. No. 4-1994]
A.
All permits expire the following December 31 after the
date of issue, unless otherwise extended by the Town Board.
B.
The submission of an application under the terms of this
chapter and the issuance of a permit by the Town Board shall be deemed to
be consent on behalf of the applicant to permit the Town Board, the Zoning
Enforcement Officer or any authorized agent of the Town to inspect said premises
at all reasonable times to determine whether or not the provisions of this
chapter are being complied with.
A.
No excavation shall be made so as to be greater in area
and depth or in excess of the dimensions as stated in the application for
the permit.
B.
No excavation shall be made to a depth which, after the
expiration of the permit, cannot be graded to provide adequate drainage over
contiguous land and not allow a pool of water to accumulate, except where
it is shown in the original plans of the surface, at the expiration of the
permit, and is approved by the Town Board.
C.
No blasting operation shall be conducted in accordance
with this chapter upon any premises unless the permit issued specifically
permits blasting. Where blasting operations are conducted, open blasting shall
be so covered and protected as to prevent rocks and debris from being thrown
upon any adjoining highway or property. In all blasting operations, heavy
and excessive charges of such a nature as to produce concussion and vibration
of the underlying strata so as to produce damages to adjoining premises are
prohibited.
D.
Protection of excavation.
(1)
During any excavation, all reasonable precautions shall
be taken concerning:
(a)
The accumulating of water in the area in which gravel
is being excavated.
(b)
The prevention of dust and sand from flying or being
blown from the premises.
(c)
The erection of stop signs and warning signs.
(d)
Securing clear views and visibility of all exits and
entrances from and to the public highways and the location of all such exits
and entrances. The location of all such exits and entrances shall be subject
to the approval of the County Highway Department or the Town Superintendent
of Highways, as the case may be, and, in addition, upon the demand of the
Town Board or of the Planning Board, such exits and entrances may be required
to be relocated in the interest of public safety and the general welfare of
the community.
(2)
The Town Board may require a licensee to construct a
temporary fence or barricade on all sides of any excavation or excavations,
or along a part thereof, for the protection of the public during the operation
and until the final grading as described herein is completed.
E.
A permit for temporary washing, grading, screening or
crushing of material may be granted by the Town Board. Such permits shall
be issued for ninety-day periods unless otherwise ordered by the Town Board.
No permanent washing, grading, crushing or screening shall be permitted unless
specifically authorized by the Town Board and only under such terms and conditions
as the Town Board may require.
F.
Water used in washing operations, if permitted, shall
not be discharged into a stream or natural drainage channel unless all suspended
materials have been removed by the use of settling basins or percolation beds.
G.
No excavation or stockpiling of excavated material shall
be permitted within 100 feet of the property line of any adjacent owners unless
the written consents of such owners, mortgagees, lessees or lienors, if any,
are filed with the Zoning Enforcement Officer. If, however, two active mining
operations are being worked on properties contiguous to each other, the consent
provisions set forth in the preceding sentence shall not be required, but,
in order to provide for more reasonable land use upon reclamation, a waiver
for excavation and stockpiling within the above-referenced one-hundred-foot
property line restriction must be obtained from the Town Board upon a favorable
recommendation by the Planning Board for the issuance of such a waiver.
[Amended 5-13-1982]
H.
No excavation or stockpiling of excavated material shall
be permitted within 230 feet of the center of any highway right-of-way or
to a depth lower than grade of any adjacent highway.
I.
Accessory buildings may be erected only on authorization
of the Town Board and must be specifically related to the excavation operations
to be conducted on the premises. Such buildings must be set back at least
230 feet from the center of any highway right-of-way and at least 50 feet
from any adjoining property line.
J.
All operations shall be conducted only between 7:00 a.m.
and 6:00 p.m. local time unless extended operation is approved by the Town
Board. No operations shall be conducted on Sunday.
K.
All roadways, drives, entrances and exits on the premises
used by hauling equipment shall be kept watered down, oiled or otherwise treated
to eliminate dust nuisance.
L.
No excavation shall be made that will leave the slope
of any side steeper than four feet horizontal for each one-foot vertical drop.
M.
The failure to renew an excavation permit for two years
or more shall be deemed to be an abandonment of the excavation, and the permit
holder shall immediately take such action as may be necessary to close the
excavation and obtain a certificate of completion from the Zoning Enforcement
Officer.
N.
Restoration after operation. After the completion of
any operation for the removal of earth products, the site of such operation
or excavation shall, between the period from August 15 to October 1 or between
the period from April 1 to June 1, be prepared into a loose seed bed, limed,
fertilized and seeded in the following manner:
(1)
Apply necessary ground limestone to raise the pH factor
to 6.5 (acidity measurement).
(2)
Apply 10-20-10 fertilizer or equivalent at the rate of
300 pounds per acre.
(3)
Disc area to work limestone and fertilizer into soil
to a depth of at least three inches.
(4)
Smooth area with smoothing harrow.
(6)
Roll firm with ground roller or cultipacker.
