Town of Goshen, NY Article II Land Use and Overlay Districts

[Amended 2-23-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]

§ 97-8 Establishment of districts.

A. Land use districts. For the purpose of this chapter, the Town of Goshen is hereby divided into the following land use districts:

(1) Rural District (RU). The purpose of this district is to promote agriculture and compatible open space and rural uses and to guide residential development so that it protects large blocks of the Town's open space. See §§ 97-18 through 97-23.

(2) Agricultural-Industrial District (AI). The purpose of this district is to preserve the unique soils in prime black-dirt areas in the Town for agricultural use and to protect farm operations from the impacts of nonagricultural uses, thereby supporting the continuance of a strong agribusiness sector. See § 97-13.

(3) Highway Commercial District (HC). The purpose of this district is to allow commercial uses that rely heavily on automobile and truck access in locations with adequate road capacity, while minimizing their traffic and visual impact on the Town. See § 97-14.

(4) Commercial/Office Mixed-Use District (CO). The purpose of this district is to allow areas for well-buffered light industrial, service commercial, office and research facilities with minimal visual impact. Such districts may also include, where compatible, housing and limited retail commercial development, by site plan and/or special permit, intended to support the primary uses or to provide adaptive reuses for existing commercial or industrial buildings. See § 97-14.

(5) Industrial District (I). The purpose of this district is to allow industrial and related uses that are not compatible with most commercial, office, or residential uses, in isolated and well-buffered locations. See § 97-14.

(6) The purpose of the Hamlet Residential District (HR) is to allow the creation of adjoining residential neighborhoods at the traditional scale and density typically found in rural hamlets and villages, provided that water and sewer service is available. In the absence of water and sewer infrastructure, the HR District shall be subject to the regulations of the RU District. See § 97-15.

B. Overlay districts. In addition to these land use districts, the following overlay districts are hereby created. The purpose of most overlay districts is to protect specific types of resources such as floodplains, stream corridors, road corridors and groundwater. Overlay districts do not change the use and dimensional requirements of the underlying land use districts unless specifically stated in this chapter. They do impose specific requirements that must be followed. On any given parcel of land, more than one overlay district may apply, and the Planning Board shall have the discretion to determine how best to reconcile the requirements of different overlay districts. Unless there is a sound reason to do otherwise, the more restrictive requirements will apply.

(1) Floodplain and Ponding Area Overlay District (FP). The purpose of this overlay district is to control development within areas subject to periodic inundation and ponding. See § 97-25.

(2) Stream Corridor and Reservoir Watershed Overlay District (SC). The purpose of this overlay district is to protect the scenic character and water resource values of designated rivers and streams and the water quality of Village of Goshen's reservoirs. See § 97-26.

(3) Aquifer Overlay District (AQ). The purpose of this overlay district is to protect groundwater resources that provide both public water supplies and drinking water for private wells. See § 97-27.

(4) Soil Mining Overlay District (SM). The purpose of this overlay district is to provide appropriate locations for soil mining to occur where it can encourage commercially viable agriculture by enabling farm operators to supplement their farm income. See § 97-28.

(5) Scenic Road Corridor Overlay District (SR). The purpose of this overlay district is to protect the scenic character of roads in the Town that are in areas that remain substantially undeveloped and/or provide important scenic views, pursuant to the Town's Open Space and Farmland Preservation Plan, as it may be amended from time to time. See § 97-29.

(6) Commercial Recreation (CR). The purpose of this overlay zoning district is to allow the construction of, and provide standards for, a commercial recreation facility. See § 97-29.1.

[Added 9-14-2017 by L.L. No. 4-2017[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for expiration of these provisions as follows: "This Commercial Recreation Overlay District shall terminate and cease to exist without further action by the Town Board if the Town Planning Board does not approve a special permit and site plan and/or subdivision for a Commercial Recreation Facility within six (6) months of the effective date of this local law or, if so approved, the Commercial Recreation Facility is thereafter abandoned."

(7) Battery Energy Storage (BES). The purpose of this overlay zoning district is to allow the construction, operation, commissioning, decommissioning, repair, replacement, upgrade, and removal of, and to provide standards for, battery energy storage systems. See § 97-55.1.

[Added 7-22-2021 by L.L. No. 2-2021]

§ 97-9 Zoning Maps.

The boundaries of the land use and overlay districts are hereby established on maps titled "Town of Goshen Zoning Map — Land Use Districts" (hereinafter the "Land Use District Map"); and "Town of Goshen Zoning Map — Overlay Districts" (hereinafter the "Overlay District Map") adopted and certified by the Town Clerk, which accompany and are hereby declared to be a part of this chapter. Unofficial photo-reductions of these maps are appended to this chapter for reference purposes only.[1]

A. Zoning Map amendments. The Official Zoning Maps shall be kept in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be reviewed for accuracy and updated at least once annually by the Town Board or its designee. Changes may be made in district boundaries or other matter portrayed on the Zoning Maps only by a zoning amendment adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Article X of this chapter. Such changes shall be noted by the Town Clerk on the Official Zoning Maps promptly after the Town Board adopts an amendment.

B. Final authority. Each local law adopting an amendment shall be the final authority as to the current zoning status of lands, structures and uses in the Town.

C. Readoption of maps. At least once every 10 years, the Town Board shall endeavor to readopt the Official Zoning Maps as an amendment to this chapter, which shall become the final authority as to all map amendments preceding such readoption.

D. Unauthorized map changes. An unauthorized map change made by any person shall be considered a violation of this chapter, punishable under § 97-67 of this chapter.

E. Interpretation of district boundaries. Where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts shown on the Zoning Maps, the following rules shall apply:

(1) Boundaries indicated as approximately following the center lines of streets, highways, or railroad tracks or trailways shall be construed to follow such center lines.

(2) Boundaries indicated as approximately following lot lines shall be construed to follow such lot lines.

(3) Boundaries indicated as following shorelines of ponds and streams shall be construed to follow such shorelines and, in the event of change in the shoreline due to natural causes, shall be construed as moving with the actual shoreline.

(4) Boundaries indicated as following center lines of streams shall be construed to follow such center lines and, in the event of change in the center line, shall be construed as moving with the actual center line.

(5) Boundaries indicated as parallel to or extensions of features indicated in Subsection E(1) through (4) shall be so construed. Distances not specifically indicated on the Zoning Maps shall be determined by the scale of the map.

(6) Where overlay district boundaries are based upon natural features such as topographic contour lines or watershed boundaries, such boundaries may be more precisely established through field investigation by a qualified professional.

[1] Editor's Note: Copies of the Zoning Maps are available in the Town offices or may be available for viewing on the Town website: www.townofgoshen.org.