It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town Board
of the Town of Wheatland 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 or which may cause
soil erosion depleting the land of its natural vegetative cover and supply
of organic materials or which may render the land unproductive or unsuitable
for agricultural purposes or undesirable for development purposes or that
will destroy the aesthetic and natural environment of the area and/or surrounding
area.
By this chapter, the Town of Wheatland also seeks to
remove danger to health and life caused by deep excavations, to prevent the
stripping of topsoil without providing for the restoration 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.
The applicant, his agent or the owner of said land shall
submit to the Town of Wheatland or its duly authorized representative, for
approval, a plan of erosion and sediment controls, public safety, sequential
use and aesthetic improvement unless there has been prior determination by
the Town of Wheatland or its duly authorized representative that such plans
are not necessary. Such plans shall contain adequate measures for control
of erosion, siltation, public safety, aesthetics and sequential uses where
necessary. The applicant must submit three copies of the proposed development
and his proposed measures for review by the Town of Wheatland or its duly
authorized representative. Proposed measures must meet the approval of the
Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Town of Wheatland
will condition its approval upon execution by the applicant of proposed measures.
Excavations for sand bank, sand pit, gravel bank removal,
gravel pit, rock or stone pit, topsoil removal, soil or earth removal, topsoil
stripping, turf removal and other substances removed from the ground shall
not be commenced or extended except in conformity with this chapter.
Excavations for the construction of a wall, driveway,
sidewalk, building or part of a building, farm pond, wildlife marsh or other
types of on-the-farm conservation practices are excepted from the requirements
of this chapter.[1]
Nothing contained in this chapter shall require any person
engaged in farming operations 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 for grading, improving or draining of said land, provided that
such removal is necessary for or accessory to the farming operations.