Village of Laurel Hollow, NY Chapter 48 Excavation and Filling of Land

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Laurel Hollow 1-18-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Ch. 48, Excavation of Land, adopted 8-16-1960 by Ord. No. XIX of the General Ordinances, as amended 7-6-1981 by L.L. No. 4-1981.

§ 48-1 Findings; purpose.

A. The indiscriminate removal or addition of stone, sand, clay, loam, topsoil, subsoil, earth and gravel from or into areas within the Village results in increased municipal costs for the control of drainage and erosion by the washing of silt and mud into the Village's catch basins and storm drains during and after heavy rainfalls and reduces the absorption of water into the soil, thereby creating flooding conditions, erosion and damage to public and private property within the Village.

B. The uncontrolled excavation or addition of stone, sand, clay, loam, topsoil, subsoil, earth and gravel tends to result in dust, mud, noise and vibrations and creates dangerous conditions from change of grades, pits, holes, gullies, water, cliffs, sharp declivities and sliding earth.

C. The foregoing removal, adding and excavation tend to destroy the natural rural aspect of the community, to depress property values, to create traffic hazards and to deteriorate the public roads and streets within the Village.

D. The foregoing removal, adding and excavation result in conditions which are detrimental to the public safety, health, welfare, good order and peace.

E. Changing existing grades, water levels and courses, dredging and filling lowland, lakes, ponds, marshes and other watercourses results, or may result, in erosion, storm damage, flooding, pollution and other damage to the land so altered or to adjoining properties.

F. The provisions and prohibitions contained in this chapter are in pursuance of, and for the purpose of, securing and promoting the public health, comfort, safety and welfare of the Village and its inhabitants.

§ 48-2 Permit required.

Except as provided in § 48-7, no stone, sand, clay, loam, topsoil, subsoil, earth and gravel of any kind or other natural material shall be added, moved, removed or excavated in any way (including, without limitation, any such adding, moving, removing or excavating in connection with the reduction or increase of any kind in grade) from or on any land in the Incorporated Village of Laurel Hollow unless a permit shall first have been obtained as hereinafter provided.

§ 48-3 Application for permit; fees and deposits.

Application for Excavation & Filling of Land Permit

The Application for Excavation & Filling of Land Permit can be found here.

2016-07-20

[Amended 3-12-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]

Before commencing any such adding, moving, removing or excavating, other than as provided in § 48-7, the owner or lessee of the premises, or an authorized representative of such person, shall apply to the Village Board of Trustees, through the Building Inspector of the Village, for a permit and shall pay to the Village a fee to be fixed by the Board of Trustees of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. In addition, the applicant shall be responsible for reimbursing the Village for the full cost of Village Engineer fees incurred in reviewing the application and performing field inspections. The applicant for such permit shall deposit the sum of $500 with the Village, to be placed in an escrow account for that purpose. Any fees incurred exceeding the sum held in escrow shall be paid by the applicant upon presentation of an invoice setting forth such fees. All applications shall be made by the applicant in writing, under oath, and shall contain such information and be accompanied by such of the following and other data and be in such form as may reasonably be required by the Village Board of Trustees:

A. A complete description of the proposed work, including the total cubic yards of material to be dredged, filled, excavated, moved, removed or deposited.

B. The location and dimensions of the affected premises.

C. The present topography of the affected and neighboring premises and the topography which will exist after the proposed work has been completed, including, without limitation, a topographical map prepared by a licensed civil engineer or surveyor.

D. Distances of the proposed work from the boundaries of the premises, from buildings on all adjoining premises, from the mean high watermark of all neighboring bodies of water and from adjoining public streets.

E. A complete statement of the proposed disposition of all material to be added, moved, removed or excavated.

F. Proposed truck access to the property for any material to be moved over existing streets within the village.

G. Such other information and data as the Board may require.

§ 48-3.1 Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Board authority to issue permit.

[Added 4-8-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary set forth in this chapter, in the event a permit required under this chapter is sought in conjunction with an approval required from the Village Board of Zoning Appeals and/or Planning Board pursuant to Article VI of Chapter 145 of the Village Code, the Village Board of Zoning Appeals and/or Planning Board shall be authorized to issue such permit in accordance with the provisions hereof.

§ 48-4 Public hearing.

Upon receipt of any such application, the Village Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, call a hearing open to the public for the consideration thereof and may at such hearing take such testimony and receive such exhibits from such witnesses as it may deem necessary or advisable to assist in its determination with respect to the application.

§ 48-5 Issuance of permit.

The Village Board of Trustees may grant such a permit if it finds affirmatively that the proposed filling, moving, removing or excavating is consistent with the good order, peace, health, safety, morals and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Village and the community and with all other ordinances of the Village (including, without limitation, the Village Building Zone Ordinance[1]) and the Village Board of Trustees shall state in such permit such restrictions and conditions as it may deem necessary or desirable to protect and preserve the same and to protect and preserve the property of the Village and its inhabitants.

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 145, Zoning.

§ 48-6 Commercial activities prohibited.

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to allow or permit any commercial activity of any kind within the Village or any filling, moving, removing or excavating (including, without limitation, any such filling, moving, removing or excavating in connection with the reduction or increase of any kind in grade) of natural material for commercial purposes or for the sale thereof, and the same is prohibited, except as may be permitted by and approved pursuant to both the Village Building Zone Ordinance and this chapter.

§ 48-7 Excavations not requiring permit; permits approvable by Building Inspector.

[Amended 11-12-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]

A. No such permit shall be required to add organic mulch;

B. No such permit shall be required if the amount of such material to be added, moved, removed or excavated from any two-acre parcel of land shall be less in aggregate than five cubic yards, provided that such work shall be done at least 100 feet distant from the mean high watermark of all neighboring bodies of water, or further provided that such work shall be incident and necessary to the construction or alteration of a walk, driveway, building or other structure on such land or to the landscaping or planting thereof for which a building permit has been issued therefor; and

C. The Building Inspector shall consider all applications for permits required pursuant to this chapter if the amount of such material to be added, moved, removed or excavated from any two-acre parcel of land shall be in aggregate from the range of five cubic yards up to less in aggregate than 15 cubic yards. A permit application fee of $100 shall accompany all applications made pursuant to this Subsection C. All other applications pursuant to this chapter shall be made to the Board of Trustees pursuant to § 48-3 hereof.

§ 48-8 Penalties for offenses.

[Amended 3-12-2009 by L.L. No. 1-2009]

Any person committing an offense against any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.

§ 48-9 Additional remedies.

The Village Board of Trustees may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the village in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction any violation of this chapter, and appropriate actions or proceedings may be taken by the village or any person at law or in equity to prevent any unlawful moving, removing or excavating regulated by this chapter, or to restrain, correct or abate a violation thereof, and all these remedies shall be in addition to the penalties prescribed in the preceding section.