The general regulations affecting the use of buildings, structures and land for each of the districts established by Article
III are hereby established and set forth in this article.
[Added 7-12-1999 by L.L. No. 1-1999]
A. Purpose. In order to protect and preserve the scenic
qualities of the lands within the Schunnemunk Agricultural/Scenic
Overlay District area as set forth in the Town of Cornwall Master
Plan, which may include historic, scenic, community character, architectural
and other resources of historic interest, to help preserve and protect
the ability to maintain the active use of existing tracts of agricultural
lands and high-value agricultural soils within the same to the extent
practicable, the Town of Cornwall hereby establishes the Schunnemunk
Agricultural/Scenic Overlay District and regulations applying thereto.
B. Prohibitions. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions
set forth in the Table of Use Regulations for the ARR Zoning District, earth operations, as defined herein, are prohibited in
the Schunnemunk Agricultural/Scenic Overlay District.
C. Commercial forestry within the scenic overlay district.
The following restrictions shall apply to commercial forestry operations
within the Schunnemunk Agricultural/Scenic Overlay District, in order
to protect aesthetic values where logging operations occur along travel
corridors and/or near property boundaries:
(1)
Maintain a one-hundred-foot scenic buffer strip
along public roadways, where at least 50 square feet of basal area
shall be retained, including some trees over 12 inches in diameter
as measured four feet above the ground level. Remove all trash and
debris, and keep all logging debris out of the public road right of
way and ditches.
(2)
Directionally fell trees within the scenic buffer
so that their tops land away from the road, and pull down partly fallen
trees. Keep stumps as low as possible.
(3)
Keep skidders back in the woods, away from the
roads. Where possible, locate landings behind a land form that hides
them from the road, or set back in the woods as far as practicable.
Where practicable, lay out landings so that the long axis lies perpendicular
to the road, so that they are less visible.
(4)
Where practicable, curve access roads to landings
to make them less visible to the road, and keep entrances narrow.
D. Procedure. All land uses within the Schunnemunk Agricultural/Scenic Overlay District shall to the greatest extent possible be carried out so as to protect and preserve the existing scenic and other qualities of the district. The Planning Board shall have the option of requiring a Conservation Subdivision Design layout, implementing the procedures set forth in Subsection
E(1) through
(6) below. In the event that the Conservation Subdivision Design Layout is not chosen and a standard lot layout is pursued, such standard layout shall incorporate consideration of and protective measures where deemed necessary for the criteria set forth in Subsection
E(5) below, to the extent such criteria may be applicable.
E. Conservation Subdivision Design: Definition and Procedure.
A conservation subdivision design is a specific type of clustered
subdivision layout within the Agricultural/Scenic Overlay District.
The procedures for implementing the same are set forth below:
(1)
Determine allowable density or yield. To determine
the number of lots which can be obtained from subdividing a given
parcel, a sketch plan shall be prepared in accordance with standard
zoning requirements and conventional lot layouts. Each single-family
lot, its building envelope and the entire subdivision layout must
comply with all applicable regulations affecting land use, as appropriate;
e.g., ponds, wetlands for which no permit for use has been granted,
streams, floodway, flood zone. This step takes place prior to the
development of the conservation subdivision plan.
(2)
Minimum percent open space: At least 50% of
the land within a conservation subdivision plan should be preserved
as permanent open space, protected against structural use by the imposition
of easements or appropriate covenants and restrictions. Where approved
by the Planning Board and, as applicable, by any other appropriate
jurisdictional agency, a portion of the required open space may be
used for either individual or community septic disposal systems, for
any required stormwater management facilities or for individual or
community water supply wells, in order to effectuate the goals of
the conservation subdivision plan.
(3)
Bonus density provision. An applicant may opt
to receive up to 15% more units than was calculated in Step 1 as a
bonus for pursuing a conservation development subdivision plan.
(4)
Location, use and maintenance of open space;
lot layout procedure.
(a)
For each conservation subdivision plan, the
open space areas to be retained must first be identified and shown
on a plan. The choice of open space areas would include Primary Conservation
Areas: which are areas that would either be prohibited by other law
or regulation from residential and other structural development, e.g.,
water bodies, streams and floodways, and wetlands, and/or areas which
constitute significant barriers to development, such as a slope of
30% or more; and Secondary Conservation Areas: which are areas that
constitute valuable resources which are identified as significant
and worthy of protection in the Town of Cornwall Comprehensive Plan,
such as prime agricultural lands, historic or cultural resources,
scenic view areas, either into the parcel itself or of other scenic
resources, or critical habitat areas. Buffer areas of 50 feet to 100
feet separating development from water bodies, waterways and wetlands
would be included in this category unless otherwise required to be
in the Primary Conservation Area. Meadows, pastureland, active farm
fields and upland forest lands may therefore be included as Secondary
Conservation Areas.
(b)
The permissible number of lots calculated in
Step 1, together with any bonus density opted by way of Step 3, shall
then be designed to accommodate the mapped primary and secondary open
space areas. House locations should be identified first, then access
road locations, with the lot lines being delineated as the last step.
(c)
Open space areas shall be designed to be visually
and/or physically accessible to as many lots within the subdivision
as practicable. Pedestrian access shall be provided to the open space
lands within the subdivision both for passive recreational access
and for maintenance purposes, unless such use is not compatible with
the open space reservation (e.g., active agriculture, or historic
or other resource areas which may be vulnerable to trampling and disturbance.)
Open space areas shall be maintained in as large a contiguous land
area as possible. Open space parcels in adjoining conservation subdivisions
shall, if possible, be interconnected in order to maximize the habitat
value and integrity of the open space.
(5)
Evaluation criteria for lots and open space.
The Planning Board shall evaluate the proposed conservation subdivision
layout according to the following criteria:
(a)
Minimizes intrusion into wetlands, floodways
and floodplains, water bodies and steep slope areas. Although some
intrusion may be necessary in order to obtain road access to the site,
this should be keep to a minimum. Any pedestrian access to primary
and secondary conservation areas shall also be designed to minimize
impact on these resources.
(b)
Recognizes existing scenic views and vistas
and, to the extent possible, preserves the existing visual character
of the site area within the overlay district. This includes protecting
the visual character and appearance into the site from existing public
roads. This avoids siting new construction in a way that will be visually
prominent, where possible, and gives attention to the appropriate
architectural design vernacular in the homes that will unavoidably
be visually prominent. Where possible, existing field hedgerows and
stone walls should be preserved.
(c)
Provides reasonably contiguous open space and/or
avoids habitat fragmentation. The open space resulting from the subdivision
should avoid fragmenting habitat to the greatest extent possible,
in keeping with the resources of concern within the overlay district.
Where open space abuts another conservation subdivision, open space
shall generally abut.
(d)
Designs, around critical habitat areas, areas
of unique environmental interest or concern and sites of historical
or cultural value, as well as preserving active farm fields for continued
agricultural use where possible.
(e)
Includes a pedestrian circulation system where
appropriate for open space lands. Depending on the purpose for the
open space reservation, provision of a footpath connecting site features
within the open space lands and the lots within the subdivision may
be appropriate and should be considered. For example, land in use
for active farm purposes would not lend itself to a pedestrian trail,
in contrast to woodlands or open meadows.
(f)
Shows the location and dimensions of all building
envelopes, and shows the location of all structural and nonstructural
lot uses for each lot, including any open space parcel(s). Where the
lots within the conservation subdivision may be clustered lots, the
standard zoning bulk requirements would be modified for such resulting
lots. Any applicable setback requirements governing the location of
houses and other structures on the lots shall be clearly set forth.
Further, other nonstructural elements, such as specific driveway locations,
in addition to required facilities, wells and sanitary systems, may
need to be established within the plan in order to ensure that the
plan functions properly. Location of fencing, if desired, and landscape
features should also be considered.
(6)
Open space ownership and maintenance provisions.
(a)
As an integral part of the final conservation
subdivision, the ownership of any conservation area established thereunder
must be determined relative to its intended function and the lot layout.
Provisions must be made to ensure the proper management, maintenance
or care of the conservation easement area, where any is needed. Its
relationship to the lots, its purpose and habitat function and even
the number of lots within the subdivision should be considered in
this regard. For example, it may be appropriate to retain an existing
farmhouse and barn with open space lands which are to be preserved
for agricultural use, particularly if a smaller subdivision of approximately
10 lots or fewer is involved. The conservation easement area should
be planned with the objective of minimizing any maintenance requirements
in order to reduce the long-term costs associated with doing so. If
it is important for land to be preserved in grassland or meadow vegetation,
some minimum maintenance needed to preserve the groundcover should
be provided for. The owner of the open space shall be responsible
for all moneys required to maintain the same.
(b)
Preserved features may be held commonly. Common
areas and any associated facilities must be held by a homeowners'
association or such other ownership as the Town Board may find acceptable.
Membership within such association shall be mandatory for all lots
within the subdivision. The Town shall review and approve the association
bylaws prior to their adoption, in order to ensure that they are in
harmony with and properly effectuate the goals of the conservation
subdivision and zoning law, including regarding any use and maintenance
of the open space.
The accompanying tables entitled "Table of General
Use Regulations Residential Districts" and "Table of General Use Regulations
Nonresidential Districts" shall be deemed part of this article and
referred to herein as "use tables."