This chapter is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Article 34 of
the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and § 10 of the
Municipal Home Rule Law.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Coastal Erosion
Hazard Area Law of the Village of Kings Point."
This chapter shall take effect 20 calendar days after the date of this
chapter's adoption and filing pursuant to § 27 of the Municipal
Home Rule Law or the date of filing the official maps, whichever is later.
The Village of Kings Point hereby assumes the responsibility and authority
to implement and administer a coastal erosion management program within its
jurisdiction pursuant to Article 34 of the New York State Environmental Conservation
Law. In addition, it is the purpose of this chapter to:
A.
Establish standards and procedures for minimizing and
preventing damage to structures from coastal flooding and erosion and to protect
natural protective features and other natural resources.
B.
Regulate in coastal areas subject to coastal flooding
and erosion land use and development activities so as to minimize or prevent
damage or destruction to man-made property, natural protective features and
other natural resources and to protect human life.
C.
Regulate new construction or placement of structures
in order to place them a safe distance from areas of active erosion and the
impacts of coastal storms to ensure that these structures are not prematurely
destroyed or damaged due to improper siting, as well as to prevent damage
to natural protective features and other natural resources.
D.
Restrict public investment in services, facilities or
activities which are likely to encourage new permanent development in erosion
hazard areas.
E.
Regulate the construction of erosion protection structures
in coastal areas subject to serious erosion to assure that when the construction
of erosion protection structures is justified, their construction and operation
will minimize or prevent damage or destruction to man-made property, private
and public property, natural protective features, and other natural resources.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Kings Point finds that the coastal
erosion area:
A.
Is prone to erosion from action of Long Island Sound,
Manhasset Bay and Little Neck Bay. Such erosion may be caused by the action
of waves, currents running along the shore and wind-driven water and ice.
Such areas are also prone to erosion caused by the wind, runoff of rainwater
along the surface of the land or groundwater seepage, as well as by human
activities such as construction, navigation and certain forms of recreation.
B.
Experiences coastal erosion which causes extensive damage
to publicly and privately owned property and to natural resources, as well
as endangering human lives. When this occurs, individuals and private businesses
suffer significant economic losses, as do the Village and state economies,
either directly through property damage or indirectly through loss of economic
return. Large public expenditures may also be necessitated for the removal
of debris and damaged structures and replacement of essential public facilities
and services.
C.
Experiences erosion-related problems that are often contributed
to by man's building without considering the potential for damage to property,
by undertaking activities which destroy natural protective features such as
dunes or vegetation, by building structures intended for erosion prevention
which may exacerbate erosion conditions on adjacent or nearby property and
by water action produced by wakes from boats.
D.
Is the subject of programs which foster erosion protection
structures, either with private or public funds, which are costly, often only
partially effective over time and may even be harmful to adjacent or nearby
properties. In some sections of the Village, major erosion-protection structures
of great length would be required to effectively reduce future damages due
to erosion.
The following terms used in this chapter shall have the meanings indicated,
unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
The local official responsible for administering and enforcing this chapter. The powers and duties of this position are more fully described in § 66-22.
The zone of unconsolidated earth that extends landward from the mean
low waterline to the waterward toe of a dune or bluff, whichever is most waterward.
Where no dune or bluff exists landward of a beach, the landward limit of a
beach is 100 feet landward from the place where there is a marked change in
material or physiographic form or from the line of permanent vegetation, whichever
is most waterward. Shorelands subject to seasonal or more frequent overwash
or inundation are considered to be beaches.
Any bank or cliff with a precipitous or steeply sloped face adjoining
a beach or a body of water. The waterward limit of a bluff is the landward
limit of its waterward natural protective feature. Where no beach is present,
the waterward limit of a bluff is mean low water. The landward limit is 25
feet landward of the receding edge or, in those cases where there is no discernible
line of active erosion, 25 feet landward of the point of inflection on the
top of the bluff. (The point of inflection is that point along the top of
the bluff where the trend of the land slope changes to begin its decent to
the shoreline.)
The final map and any amendments thereof issued by the Commissioner
of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, which delineates
boundaries of coastal erosion hazard areas subject to regulation under this
chapter.
The lands adjacent to the Village's coastal waters is the "coastline."
"Coastal waters" are Long Island Sound, Manhasset Bay, Little Neck Bay and
their tributaries, shallows and marshes.
A linear accumulation of waterborne debris deposited on a beach by
storm-induced high water or by wave action.
Department of Environmental Conservation unless otherwise specified.
A ridge or hill of loose, windblown or artificially placed earth,
the principal component of which is sand.
The loss or displacement of land along the coastline due to the action
of waves, currents, wind-driven water, waterborne ice or other impacts of
storms. It also means the loss or displacement of land due to the action of
wind, runoff of surface waters or groundwaters or groundwater seepage.
An area of the coastline which is a structural hazard area or a natural
protective feature area.
A structure specifically designed to reduce or prevent erosion, such
as a groin, jetty, revetment, breakwater or artificial beach nourishment project.
A structure and appurtenances in existence or one where construction
has commenced or one where construction has not begun but for which a building
permit has been issued prior to September 1, 1989, which is the effective
date of this chapter.
A redistribution of sand or other unconsolidated earth to effect
a change in profile.
An addition to a structure resulting in a twenty-five-percent or
greater increase in the ground area coverage of the structure other than an
erosion-protection structure or a pier, dock or wharf. The increase will be
calculated as the ground area coverage to be added, including any additions
previously constructed under a coastal erosion management permit, divided
by the ground area coverage of the existing structure as defined in the definition
of "existing structure."
The approximate average low water level for a given body of water
at a given location, determined by reference to hydrological information concerning
water levels or other appropriate tests.
A change in size, design or function.
A structure designed and constructed to be readily relocated with
minimum disruption of the intended use. Mobile homes and structures built
on skids or piles and not having a permanent foundation are examples of "movable
structures."
A nearshore area, beach, bluff, primary dune, secondary dune or marsh
and their vegetation.
A land and/or water area containing natural protective features,
the alteration of which might reduce or destroy the protection afforded other
lands against erosion or high water or lower the reserve of sand or other
natural materials available to replenish storm losses through natural processes.
Those lands under water, beginning at the mean low waterline and
extending waterward in a direction perpendicular to the shoreline to a point
where mean low water depth is 15 feet or to a horizontal distance of 1,000
feet from the mean low waterline, whichever is greater.
Periodic replacement or repair of same-kind structural elements or
protective coatings which do not change the size, design or function of a
functioning structure. A functioning structure is one which is fully performing
as originally designed at the time that normal maintenance is scheduled to
begin. Normal maintenance of a structure does not require a coastal erosion
management permit.
Any individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision,
government agency, public improvement district, partnership, association,
firm, trust, estate or any other legal entity whatsoever.
The most waterward major dune where there are two or more parallel
dunes within a coastal area. Where there is only one dune present, it is the
primary one. Occasionally one or more relatively small dune formations exist
waterward of the primary dune. These smaller formations will be considered
to be part of the primary dune for the purposes of this chapter. The waterward
limit of a primary dune is the landward limit of its fronting beach. The landward
limit of the primary dune is 25 feet landward of its landward toe.
The most landward line of active erosion, or, in cases where there
is no discernible line of active erosion, it is the most waterward line of
permanent vegetation.
The rate, expressed in feet per year, at which an eroding shoreline
moves landward.
The construction, modification, restoration or placement of a structure
or major addition to a structure or any action or use of land which materially
alters the condition of land, including grading, excavating, dumping, mining,
dredging, filling or other disturbance of soil.
The reconstruction without modification of a structure, the cost
of which equals or exceeds 50% of the estimated full replacement cost of the
structure at the time of restoration. Modifications, however, may be allowed
if they do not exceed preexisting size limits and are intended to mitigate
impacts to natural protective features and other natural resources.
The major dune immediately landward of the primary dune. The waterward
limit of a secondary dune is the landward limit of its fronting primary dune.
The landward limit of a secondary dune is 25 feet landward of its landward
toe.
Those habitats which: are essential to the survival of a large portion
of a particular fish or wildlife population; support rare or endangered species;
are found at a very low frequency within a geographic area; support fish or
wildlife populations having significant commercial or recreational value;
or that would be difficult or impossible to replace.
Those shorelands located landward of natural protective features
and having shorelines receding at a long-term average recession rate of one
foot or more per year. The inland boundary of a structural hazard area is
calculated by starting at the landward limit of the fronting natural protective
feature and measuring along a line perpendicular to the shoreline a horizontal
distance landward which is 40 times the long-term average annual recession
rate.
Any object constructed, installed or placed in, on or under land
or underwater, including but not limited to: a building; permanent shed; deck;
in-ground and aboveground pool; garage; mobile home; road; public service
distribution, transmission or collection system; tanks; docks; piers; wharf;
groins; jetties; seawalls; bulkheads; breakwaters; revetments; artificial
beach nourishment; or any addition to or alteration of the same.
The lowest surface point on a slope face of a dune or bluff.
Excepted activities which are not regulated by this chapter include
but are not limited to: elevated walkways or stairways constructed solely
for pedestrian use and built by an individual property owner for the limited
purpose of providing noncommercial access to the beach: docks, piers, wharves
or structures built on floats, columns, open timber piles or other similar
openwork supports with a top surface area of less than 200 square feet or
which are removed in the fall of each year; normal beach grooming or cleanup;
maintenance of structures when normal and customary and/or in compliance with
an approved maintenance program; planting vegetation and sand fencing so as
to stabilize or entrap sand in primary dune and secondary dune areas in order
to maintain or increase the height and width of dunes; routine agricultural
operations, including cultivation or harvesting and the implementation of
practices recommended in a soil and water conservation plan as defined in
§ 3(12) of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts Law; provided,
however, that agricultural operations and implementation of practices will
not be construed to include any activity that involves the construction or
placement of a structure.
Plant life capable of surviving and successfully reproducing in the
area or region and which is compatible with the environment of the coastal
erosion hazard area.
