A. 
This chapter is adopted under the authority provided to the Town of Massena by the New York State Town Law, Municipal Home Rule Law and the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
B. 
The Town of Massena Planning Board shall be authorized and empowered to approve preliminary and final plats of subdivisions showing lots, blocks, or sites, with or without streets or highways, within the Town of Massena, pursuant to § 276 of the Town Law.
C. 
The Planning Board shall also be authorized and empowered to approve the development of those plats, filed in the office of the County Clerk prior to September 10, 1975, where 20% or more of the lots are unimproved unless existing conditions such as poor drainage have prevented their development.
D. 
The Planning Board shall be further authorized and empowered, pursuant to § 278 of the Town Law pertaining to cluster development and simultaneously with the approval of a plat or plats, to modify applicable provisions of the Town of Massena Zoning Law, subject to the conditions set forth in § 278 and later herein.
E. 
The regulations which follow have been prepared by the Town of Massena Planning Board and are approved and adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Massena as local law pursuant to the authority of the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law. They repeal previously enacted subdivision regulations. Section 276, Subdivision 5(a), of New York State Town Law is hereby specifically superseded so as to permit exemption of certain subdivisions from the requirement to file plats for Planning Board approval, pursuant to § 191-3C hereof. The definition of "subdivision" is also superseded to encompass divisions of lands for purposes of immediate or future sale, lease, partition by the court for distribution to heirs or devisees, transfer of ownership, building or lot development. Finally, the requirement for final plans to be submitted within six months of preliminary approval is superseded to provide for extensions of up to five years for this purpose.
F. 
The Planning Board shall not review or approve the subdivision of any parcel with a pending or current violation remaining unresolved.
This chapter is adopted for the following purposes:
A. 
Promoting the orderly growth and development of the Town in accordance with the Town of Massena Comprehensive Plan.
B. 
Affording adequate facilities for the housing, transportation, distribution, comfort, convenience, health and safety of Town residents.
C. 
Minimizing foreseeable maintenance and improvement problems as well as economic burdens associated with development of land.
D. 
Conserving the Town's natural resources and protecting its attractive environment so as to maintain property values and otherwise provide for the general welfare of residents of the Town of Massena.
E. 
Maintaining and protecting the character of the community.
A. 
Regardless of whether or not any formal conveyance by metes and bounds shall be made, when any subdivision of land is proposed and before any offer is made to sell any part or all of a subdivision and before any permit for the erection of any structure in such subdivision shall be issued or any grading, clearing, construction or other improvements shall be undertaken, the subdivider or his authorized agent shall first obtain the appropriate approval of the proposed subdivision in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
B. 
It shall further be the obligation of each prospective purchaser or developer of a lot which forms any part of a subdivision to ensure that appropriate subdivision approval has been obtained. In the absence of such subdivision approval, a prospective purchaser shall not commence the erection of any structure on such lot nor commence any grading, clearing, construction or other improvements.
C. 
The regulations of this chapter shall not apply to lot improvements as defined herein (see § 191-18) or to natural subdivisions where the parcels are already delimited by streets, railroads or other similar physical features effectively separating a parcel into different building lots. The Planning Board shall be authorized, where requested and for legal recording purposes, to indicate in writing on any qualifying plat presented that "These plans are acknowledged by the Town of Massena, and for recording purposes only, to represent an exempt lot improvement in accord with § 191-18 of the Town of Massena Subdivision Regulations. No subdivision approval is required or given." No plat so submitted, however, shall indicate that a subdivision is being created or approved through action of the Planning Board.
A. 
The provisions of this chapter, in their interpretation and application, shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare.
B. 
This chapter is not intended to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any other law, rule or regulation, statute or provision of law. Where any of the provisions of these regulations impose restrictions different from any other law, rule or regulation or other provision of law, whichever provisions are more restrictive or impose higher standards shall control. This chapter, however, shall repeal and replace in their entirety the Subdivision Regulations approved by the Town Board on September 10, 1975, including all amendments thereto preceding the enactment of this chapter as local law.
C. 
If any part or provision of these regulations is judged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in application to the part or provision directly on which judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this chapter or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances. The Town hereby declares that it would have enacted the remainder of these regulations even without such part or provision or application.
A. 
Applications for waivers of standards or procedures shall ordinarily be submitted in writing by the subdivider at the time the preliminary plat is filed. The application shall state fully the grounds on which it is made.
B. 
The Planning Board may, by resolution, authorize a waiver or modification of the regulations of this chapter when, in its opinion, unreasonable restriction will result from strict compliance.
C. 
Waiver applications shall, in those instances where the Planning Board determines they could, if granted, have an impact on adjoining properties, be subjected to a public hearing at the applicant's expense.
D. 
Any resolution by the Planning Board authorizing a waiver of these regulations shall include the basis for its finding that unreasonable hardship will result from strict compliance with this chapter.
E. 
In authorizing a waiver, the Planning Board shall attach conditions and require such guarantee or bond as it may deem necessary to assure compliance with the objectives of these regulations. No waiver shall be granted which would substantially change the character of an area or compromise the purposes of these regulations.
Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by the decision of the Planning Board or Town in regard to the administration of this chapter may apply to the Supreme Court for review under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
A. 
Any person who shall lay out, construct or open any street, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water main or other improvements for public use, travel, or other purposes or for the common use of occupants of buildings located or abutting thereon, or who sells, transfers, rents, leases, conveys by other means, or agrees or enters into an agreement to do the same with any land in a subdivision, unless and until a final plat has been prepared, approved and recorded in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter, shall be deemed to have committed a violation of this chapter and shall be liable for such violation.
B. 
Any person found in violation of this chapter shall be subject to a fine adopted by the Town Board by resolution. All fines collected for such violations shall be paid over to the Town of Massena.
C. 
Each day that a violation continues shall be a separate violation, but nothing herein shall require the Town to post separate notice each day that a violation continues.
D. 
The description by metes and bounds in the instrument of transfer or other documents used in the process of selling or transferring shall not exempt the seller or transferor from such penalties or from the remedies herein provided.
E. 
The Town shall be authorized to initiate and maintain a civil action to obtain a writ of injunction against subdividers who attempt the improper sale, lease, or conveyance of land, or to set aside and invalidate any conveyance of land made prior to Town approval. It shall take other action as necessary to prevent or remedy any violation.
Amendments to this chapter shall be made pursuant to the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law. Also, should provisions of New York State Town Law be amended to require actions different from those specified herein, the state requirements shall prevail.