The purpose of this chapter is to exercise a
town's right to protect its citizens by controlling the use of land
so as to broadly protect the public health, safety and general welfare
and to carry out locally established goals and objectives in accordance
with a comprehensive plan designed to preserve and protect, for the
benefit of the township as a whole, the basically rural-agricultural
nature of the Town.
This chapter shall be known as the "Zoning Law
of the Town of Chatham, New York."
In their interpretation and application, the
provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements,
adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety or the general
welfare. Whenever the requirements of this chapter are at variance
with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations
or ordinances, the most restrictive or those imposing the higher standards
shall govern.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sections 903 and 904,
which originally followed this section, also provided that this chapter
shall supersede all inconsistent provisions of Town Law Article 16,
and that any provisions relating to lots of record or prior nonconforming
uses carried forward in this chapter from prior zoning laws or regulations
shall be effective as of the date of their original adoption.
