The Planning Board, in considering an application for the subdivision of land, shall be guided by the policy considerations specified in Article I of these regulations and the standards that follow.
A. 
Preservation of existing features. Existing features which would add value to residential development, such as large trees, watercourses, historic spots and similar irreplaceable assets, shall be preserved insofar as possible through harmonious design of the subdivision.
B. 
Grading. No final slope on the property shall exceed the normal angle of repose of the soil of such slope, and, except where slope consists of a natural rock formation, in no case shall it be greater than one to three, unless such slope has an established grass cover and/or is supported by a retaining wall of a design acceptable to the Board.
C. 
Soil analysis. Soil characteristics shall be accounted in the planning of the subdivision, and the plan shall relate to the ability of the soil to accommodate proposed uses. Generally, wetlands and floodplains should be set aside for recreation and open space use; steep topography and rocky land should not be used intensely.
A. 
General planning. The arrangement, character, extent, width, grade and location of all streets shall conform to the Official Map and Town Plan (if such exist) and shall be considered in their relation to existing and planned streets, to topographical conditions, to prospective traffic, to public convenience and safety and in their appropriate relation to the proposed uses of the land to be served by such streets. Minor streets shall be so laid out that their use by through traffic will be discouraged.
B. 
Relation to topography. Streets shall be logically related and conform insofar as possible to the original topography. They shall be arranged so as to obtain as many as possible of the building sites at or above the grades of the streets. A combination of steep grades and sharp curves shall be avoided.
C. 
Continuation of streets into adjacent property.
(1) 
Streets shall be arranged to provide for the continuation of principal streets between adjacent properties where such continuation is necessary for convenient movement of traffic, effective fire protection and efficient provision of utilities, and particularly where such continuation is in accordance with the Town Plan (if such exists).
(2) 
If the adjacent property is undeveloped and the street must be a dead-end street, and the right-of-way and improvements shall be extended to the property line.
(3) 
A circular turnaround a minimum of 50 feet in radius shall be provided on all dead-end streets, with the notation on the plat that land outside the street right-of-way shall revert to abutters whenever the street is continued.
D. 
Treatment of arterial streets.
(1) 
Where a subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed arterial street, the Planning Board may require marginal access streets, reverse frontage and screen planting contained in a nonaccess reservation along the rear property line or such other treatment as may be necessary for adequate protection of residential properties and to afford separation of through and local traffic.
(2) 
Where the subdivision boarders on an existing road proposed for realignment or widening, the Board may require that necessary areas be marked on the plat "Reserved for road realignment (or widening) purposes." Land reserved for road widening may not be counted in satisfying minimum setback requirements.
E. 
Design standards for streets.
(1) 
Streets shall meet the following standards unless otherwise indicated on the Town Plan or Official Map, if such exist. Standards are not shown for arterial streets which are built by the state or county.
Street Classification
Standards
Minor
Collector
Minimum width of right-of-way (feet)
50
60
Minimum width of pavement of roadway (feet)
28
36
Minimum radius of horizontal curves (feet)
150
Determined by the Board
Minimum radius for horizontal curves with center angle of: (feet)
  00º 01' to 15 00'
100
  15º 01' to 30º 00'
150
  30º 01' to 40º 00'
200
  Over 40º 00'
Determined by Board
Minimum length of vertical curves measured along center line of right-of-way (feet)
100
200
Maximum grade (percent)
10
7
Minimum grade (percent)
1
1
Minimum sight distance (feet)
400
1,400
(2) 
No horizontal curve shall coincide with a crest vertical curve.
F. 
Dead-end streets (culs-de-sac).
(1) 
The creation of dead-end or loop residential street blocks will be encouraged wherever the Board finds that such type of development will not interfere with normal traffic circulation in the area.
(2) 
For greater convenience to traffic and more effective police and fire protection, dead-end streets shall be limited in length so as to serve no more than 16 lots. Dead-end streets of greater length shall require special consideration by the Board.
(3) 
A circular turnaround with a minimum right-of-way radius of 65 feet and a minimum roadway radius of 50 feet shall be provided at the closed end of a dead-end street.
G. 
Intersections.
(1) 
Subdivisions containing 50 lots or more shall have at least two connections with existing streets.
(2) 
Intersections of major streets by other streets shall be at least 800 feet apart.
(3) 
Cross (four-cornered) street intersections shall be avoided, except at important traffic intersections.
(4) 
A distance of at least 150 feet shall be maintained between offset intersections.
(5) 
Streets shall be laid out so as to intersect as nearly as possible at right angles, and no street shall intersect any other street at an angle less than 60º Grades shall be limited to a maximum of 1 1/2% for a distance of 75 feet from the center of the intersection.
(6) 
All street intersection corners shall be rounded by curves at least 25 feet in radius at the property line and curbline. The Board may require a greater radius where deemed necessary and may permit comparable cutoffs or chords in place of rounded corners.
(7) 
Within the triangular area formed at corners by the intersecting street lines, for a distance of 60 feet from their intersection and the diagonal connecting the end points of these lines, visibility for traffic safety shall be provided by excavating, if necessary.
(8) 
A clear sight distance acceptable to the County Highway Department or the New York State Department of Transportation shall be provided in both directions of a county highway or a state highway where intersected by a subdivision street.
(9) 
Nothing such as fences, walls, hedges or other landscaping shall be permitted to obstruct visibility at any intersection.
H. 
Street names. All streets shall be named, and such names shall be subject to the approval of the Town Planning Board and subject to review by the Town Board. Names shall be sufficiently different in sound and in spelling from other street names so as not to cause confusion. A street which is a continuation of an existing street shall bear the same name.
I. 
Improvements. (See Article V.)
(1) 
Streets shall be graded and improved with pavement, street signs, sidewalks, streetlighting standards, curbs, gutters, trees, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains and fire hydrants, except where the Board may waive, subject to appropriate conditions, such improvements as it considers are not requisite in the interest of public health, safety and general welfare.
(2) 
Grading and improvements shall conform to the Town highway specifications and shall be approved as to design and specifications by the Superintendent.
J. 
Utilities.
(1) 
Underground utilities required by the Planning Board shall be placed between the paved roadway and street line to simplify location and repair of the lines, and the subdivider shall install underground service connections to the property line of each lot before the street is paved.
(2) 
Pad-mounted transformers for underground electric service should be located outside the public right-of-way on private property on an easement provided by the subdivider. Sewer lines and waterlines which will cross under buried electric cables should be installed before the trench is dug for wiring. Streetlighting facilities compatible with proposed underground electric facilities shall be provided for at the time of initial construction.
Centralized wastewater facilities shall be developed to connect to the Town sewerage collection system or, if remote there from, shall utilize, where ever possible, one or several large septic tanks and shall not employ individual septic tanks for each structure. If sewage pumping or effluent pumping from septic tank is to be employed, a centralized pump station shall be utilized, and small, individual stations for separate structures shall not be used.
A. 
General planning. All subdivisions shall be related to the drainage pattern affecting the areas involved, with proper provisions for adequate storm drainage facilities. Storm drainage plans shall:
(1) 
Reflect potential surface runoff within the drainage area after development and also the runoff that will occur when property at higher elevation in the basin is developed.
(2) 
Provide a storm drainage easement or right-of-way along any watercourse, drainage channel or stream that traverses the subdivision of a width sufficient to accommodate runoff from developed land during a twenty-five-year storm.
(3) 
Place drainage facilities within existing or proposed street rights-of-way except where topography or other conditions made such an arrangement impractical.
(4) 
Furnish perpetual unobstructed easements 20 feet or more in width along rear or side lot lines where conditions preclude use of street rights-of-way.
B. 
Downstream disposal. Storm drainage channels opening on improved or unimproved land shall empty directly into natural watercourses unless suitable agreement is reached with the owner of the downstream property for another method of handling. In any instance, the disposal of storm drainage downstream shall be satisfactory to the Planning Board.
C. 
Open watercourses. Where open watercourses are to be used for drainage, the subdivider shall seek to prevent problems relating to safety, erosion control, stagnant water, protection of capacity and appearance as follows:
(1) 
Broad, shallow courses shall be created wherever necessary to increase capacity or eliminate steep banks except where natural conditions are such that erosion of banks will not occur. Ditches shall, wherever feasible, be in the shape of a wide V with a rounded or squared invert.
(2) 
Adequate measures shall be taken to prevent erosion. The Planning Board may require seeding, sodding, planting, riprap or such other measures as may be necessary to prevent scouring.
(3) 
The creation or continuation of stagnant pools shall be avoided. The Planning Board may require fill and/or channel improvements in order to forestall such problems.
(4) 
Adequate measures shall be provided for the protection of open drainage channels by establishing drainage easements 20 feet or more in width to enable the working of the channel by motorized equipment.
D. 
Drainage ditches and gutters. Roadside drainage ditches and gutters shall be designed in accordance with the following standards:
(1) 
Length of flow of water in a gutter or roadside ditch shall not exceed 300 feet, except as permitted by the Planning Board. Runs exceeding the maximum shall be put in storm sewers or diverted to natural drainageways.
(2) 
All enclosed drainage courses shall be designed with sufficient grade to create a water flow velocity of three feet per second. A lesser grade may be permitted by the Planning Board where such a grade cannot be achieved.
(3) 
Water in gutters and ditches shall not be allowed to flow over intersecting streets but shall be placed in adequate culverts.
(4) 
Where roadside ditches are permitted for runs of more than 300 feet or where subgrade drainage is necessary, the bottom of such ditch should be below the subgrade and, at a minimum, should be approximately 18 inches below the crown of the road.
(5) 
Ditches shall be V-shaped or parabolic with sides sloping at approximately one inch vertical to three inches horizontal, except where another cross section is authorized.
(6) 
Suitable headwalls, endwalls, ditch seeding or sodding and other procedures or devices to prevent erosion shall be used.
A. 
General planning.
(1) 
The length, width and shape of blocks shall be determined with due regard to:
(a) 
Provision of adequate building sites suitable to the special needs of the type of use contemplated.
(b) 
The need for convenient access, circulation, control and safety of street traffic.
(c) 
Limitations as well as opportunities offered by topography.
(2) 
Residential lots shall conform to the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance for the district in which they are located, if any.
B. 
Block size. Block dimension shall generally be two lots in depth and not more than 12 lots in length. In long blocks, the Planning Board may require the reservation of a twenty-foot-wide easement through the block to accommodate utilities and/or pedestrian traffic.
C. 
Irregular shapes. Irregular shapes or oversized blocks indented by culs-de-sac, parking courts or loop streets and containing interior parks or playgrounds will be acceptable when properly designed, as determined by the Planning Board. Such blocks shall include adequate off-street parking, facilities for pedestrian access, proper easements for utility lines and satisfactory provision for maintenance of park and open space, where included.
D. 
Nonresidential blocks. Nonresidential blocks intended for commercial or industrial use shall be of such length and width as is suitable for their prospective use. Such blocks shall include adequate provisions for off-street parking and servicing.
A. 
General planning. The size, shape and arrangement of lots shall be appropriate for the location of the subdivision and for the type of development and use contemplated and shall be such that there will be no foreseeable difficulties, for reasons of topography or other conditions, in locating a building on each lot and in providing access to buildings on such lots from an approved street.
B. 
Lot dimensions and area. Depth and width of properties reserved or laid out for commercial and industrial purposes shall be adequate to provide for the off-street service and parking facilities required by the type of use and development contemplated.
C. 
Corner lots. Corner lots and lots adjacent to pedestrian crosswalks shall have an extra width sufficient to provide appropriate sight distance. Radial corners shall be provided on the property line substantially concentric with the curb corner radius.
D. 
Side lot lines. Side lot lines shall be substantially at right angles or radial to street lines unless a variation from this rule will give a better street or lot plan.
E. 
Access. Each lot shall front on an existing public street or a proposed street to be ceded to the Town at the time of subdivision plat approval unless otherwise provided by the Planning Board in accordance with § 107-7 of these regulations.
F. 
Access from major streets. Lots shall not, in general, derive access exclusively from a major street. Where driveway access from a major street may be necessary for several adjoining lots, the Planning Board may require that such lots be served by a combined access drive in order to limit possible traffic hazards on such street.
G. 
Access across a watercourse. Where a watercourse separates the buildable area of a lot from the access street, provision shall be made for the installation of a culvert or other structure approved by the Superintendent which shall be sufficient in size and configuration to accommodate high water flows and to preclude development of flood conditions immediately upstream to the point of access.
H. 
Land in floodplain.
(1) 
Land subject to flooding or other menace shall not be platted for residential or any other use where there is potential danger to life or property or where its development will aggravate flood conditions or other hazards. Such land should be set aside for uses which will not be endangered by periodic or occasional inundation, subject to the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance, if any.
(2) 
For lots of one acre in area, no more than 25% of the lot shall be subject to flooding. For lots greater than one acre in area, at least 30,000 square feet of dry land shall be provided. Any minimum yard requirements for a lot must be satisfied by measurement on dry land.
A. 
Public sites and open spaces.
(1) 
The Planning Board may require dedication or reservation of sites of a character, extent and location suitable to the needs created by the subdivision for a park or parks for playground other recreational purposes or for other public use.
(2) 
Generally, the minimum area of continuous open space acceptable for dedication for public use shall be 10% of the gross area of the subdivision or three acres, whichever is greater. Open spaces with a lesser area may be approved by the Board whenever it deems that the difference between the area offered and three acres may be made up in connection with the future subdivision of adjacent land.
(3) 
The Board shall give due credit for the provision of open space reserved for the common use of all property owners within the proposed subdivision by covenants in the deeds.
(4) 
If the Planning Board determines that a suitable park or parks of adequate size cannot be properly located in any such plat or is otherwise not practical, the Board may require, as a condition to approval of any such plat, a payment to the Town of an amount to be determined by the Town Board, which sum shall constitute a trust fund to be used by the Town exclusively for the acquisition and/ or development of property for neighborhood park, playground or recreation purposes.
B. 
School site. The Board may also require a subdivider to set aside such area as it may deem to be required for a school. Upon the failure of the proper authorities to purchase such school site within one year after the date of the approval of the plat, the subdivider, upon application to the Board and approval of such application, shall be relieved of the responsibility of reserving such land for public purposes.
C. 
Natural and historic sites. The Board may require the preservation of all natural or historical features which add value to residential developments and to the community.
D. 
Areas bordering watercourses. Areas bordering streams, lakes or other watercourses shall be given special consideration by the Planning Board in excess of the minimum established by Subsection A above. The Town may accept these areas as gifts or purchase them should they be desirable for public open spaces.
E. 
Realignment or widening of existing streets. Where the subdivision borders on an existing street and the Board's review indicates that plans for realignment or widening of the street would require reservation of some land of the subdivision, the Planning Board may require that such areas be shown and marked on the plat "Reserved for street alignment (or widening) purposes."
F. 
Utility and drainage easements.
(1) 
Where topography or other conditions are such as to make impractical the inclusion of utilities or drainage facilities within street rights-of-way, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 20 feet in width for such utilities shall be provided across property outside the street lines and with satisfactory access to the street. Such easements shall be centered on rear or side lot lines.
(2) 
Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, the Board shall require a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way conforming substantially to the lines of such watercourse and such further width or construction, or both, as will be adequate for the purpose. Parallel streets or parkways may be required in connection therewith.
G. 
Easements for pedestrian access. The Planning Board may require, in order to facilitate pedestrian access from streets to schools, parks, playgrounds or other nearby streets, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 20 feet in width.
H. 
Responsibility for ownership of reservations. Ownership and responsibility for maintenance shall be clearly indicated on all reservations.