Pursuant to the Town of Somers Comprehensive
Master Plan, it is the purpose of the OLI District to provide the
opportunity for the maintenance and establishment of office and light
industrial uses which are economically healthy, functionally efficient,
environmentally sound, visually attractive and compatible with neighboring
land uses and districts.
In an OLI District, no building, structure or premises, in whole or in part, shall be used, and no building or structure, in whole or in part, shall be erected, enlarged, structurally altered or moved, except for the following purposes or as herein elsewhere specifically provided, together with the accessory uses specified in §
170-24.3:
A. Medical, dental, veterinary, professional and business
offices.
B. Research and development facilities.
D. Light manufacturing facilities.
G. Commercial nurseries and greenhouses.
H. Child/adult day-care facilities.
I. Health and fitness centers.
J. Continuation of restaurant and retail uses lawfully
existing on the effective date of this amendment, provided that any
future enlargement of such uses shall be permitted only by special
exception use permit issued by the Town Board. Dimensional standards
shall be those which applied immediately prior to the OLI zoning,
except that no such use shall be permitted to exceed a maximum of
5,000 square feet of floor area.
No accessory uses shall be permitted in an OLI
District other than the following:
A. Off-street parking and loading spaces as required in Article
X.
B. Signs, subject to the limitations in §
170-126, and in accordance with the provisions and procedures of Chapter
6 and as depicted on an approved site plan.
[Amended 7-10-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008]
C. Necessary exterior lighting.
D. Any other use clearly and customarily incidental and
accessory to a permitted principal use and conducted in conjunction
with such use.
E. Temporary tents, subject to the following:
(1)
A special exception may be granted by the Zoning
Board of Appeals, after a public hearing, permitting the erection
of a temporary tent in an Office Light Industry (OLI) District for
seasonal sales or celebrations in connection with a permitted restaurant
or retail use.
(2)
A special exception use under this section shall
not be permitted for more than seven consecutive days.
(3)
The temporary tent shall be inspected by the
Building Inspector for building and structural safety and by the Fire
Inspector for fire safety prior to the conduct of the seasonal sale
or celebration.
(4)
Before the use shall be permitted, the applicant
shall furnish a comprehensive general liability insurance policy to
the Town, or evidence thereof, in an amount of not less than $1,000,000
combined single limit coverage for bodily injury or property damage
liability, which also names the Town of Somers as an additional insured
landlord. Before any license shall be issued, the applicant shall
furnish a surety bond in the amount of $5,000 conditioned upon saving
harmless the Town of Somers from any and all liability or causes of
action which might arise out of or by virtue of the granting of said
license to the applicant and conditioned further that no damage will
be done to the streets, trees or adjoining property and that no rubbish
will be permitted to remain upon any private property or in the streets
or roads used as approaches to the place of business.
(5)
Adequate facilities shall be established for
sanitation and garbage disposal by the applicant.
(6)
Traffic shall be regulated in the area immediately
adjacent to the premises on which the temporary tent shall be erected.
Parking shall be maintained in good order with adequate supervision
and as may be further prescribed by the Chief of Police at the expense
of the applicant.
(7)
The Zoning Board of Appeals may add such other
conditions as it may, in its discretion, deem appropriate in the circumstances.
No site plan approval by the Planning Board shall be required.
[Amended 7-10-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008]
All uses permitted under this article, except for sign applications not part of a larger site plan amendment or modification, shall be subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board as provided in §
170-114.
The following dimensional standards and requirements
shall apply with respect to permitted principal and accessory uses
in OLI Districts:
A. The minimum required lot area shall be 80,000 square
feet.
B. The minimum required lot width shall be 200 feet.
C. The maximum building coverage shall be 15%.
D. The maximum floor area ratio (FAR) shall be 0.30.
E. The maximum site coverage (buildings, access roads
and parking, but excluding walkways) shall be 60%.
F. The maximum building height shall be two stories and
30 feet.
G. A vegetated buffer of a minimum width of 50 feet shall
be maintained along the boundary of any adjacent residentially zoned
property. All yard setbacks shall be measured from the nearest edge
of the residential buffer. The buffer shall be landscaped and maintained
so that vegetation is of such a height and density that it will provide
visual screening of the nonresidential use from uses in the residential
district.
H. The minimum front yard shall be 40 feet, all of which
must be landscaped and/or maintained in its natural state except for
necessary access drives and walkways. The front yard shall be measured
from the existing or planned future right-of-way of the abutting street
or highway, whichever is more restrictive.
I. The minimum side yard shall be 40 feet, measured from
the property line or, in the case of a property line abutting a residential
district, measured from the edge of the fifty-foot buffer.
J. The minimum rear yard shall be 40 feet, measured from
the property line or, in the case of a property line abutting a residential
district, measured from the edge of the fifty-foot buffer.
K. Off-street parking and loading facilities shall be provided as per Article
X of Chapter
170 (Zoning) of the Code of the Town of Somers. All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from side and rear property lines and 40 feet from the front property line, provided that no parking area shall extend into any required buffer area. In addition, all parking areas shall be divided into smaller parking courts, separated by raised, landscaped planting islands, building blocks or other architectural or landscape architectural features. The integration of access between neighboring properties, as appropriate, shall be required by the Planning Board as a condition of site plan approval.
It is the objective of these guidelines to establish
a general design framework for creating an attractive nonresidential
area which will be compatible with the visual character of any neighboring
residential uses and to help assure that such areas will blend landscaped
open space and structures in a manner which relates harmoniously to
the existing and/or planned character of the Town of Somers.
A. Overall site design shall be appropriately related
to other surrounding development and topographical conditions.
B. Sites shall be designed with carefully planned arrangements
of buildings and open spaces so as to create a campus-like character
and to divide paved parking areas into smaller parking courts, framed
by buildings and landscaping.
C. Site design shall seek to create an attractive visual
link to neighboring public streets and highways.
D. Buildings shall be harmonious and compatible with
neighboring structures in terms of the treatment, screening and/or
enclosure of all utility and mechanical installations.
E. Treatment of the sides and rear of proposed buildings
shall be in a manner substantially consistent in appearance, amenity
and quality of materials to the treatment given to their street frontage.
F. A coordinated landscape plan shall be prepared incorporating
the landscape treatment of open spaces, walkways, access roads, parking
areas and buffer areas into a cohesive and integrated design. All
open spaces, pedestrian walkways, parking areas and access drives
shall be planned as an integral part of an overall site design, properly
related to existing and proposed buildings.
G. The coordinated landscape plan shall include a mix
of shade trees and other plant material, such as ground cover and
shrubs, with proper regard to factors such as micro-climate, function
of area, existing plantings and required maintenance in determining
the species, scale and planting pattern.
H. All landscaping as shown on the approved site plan
shall be maintained in a healthy growing condition throughout the
duration of the use or uses being served. Any plants not so maintained
shall be replaced by the property owner with healthy new plants of
comparable size, type and quality at the beginning of the next immediately
following growing season.
I. All signage shall be carefully integrated with other
site design elements. Signs shall not be mounted above the eave line
of any structure or be placed in or attached to any window. A freestanding
project identification sign shall be permitted at each access drive.
Also, necessary small scale informational and directional signs shall
be permitted, as required.
J. All exterior lighting shall be of adequate illumination
for safety and security purposes. It shall be of such type and location
and shall have such shading as will prevent the source of light from
being visible from any adjoining streets and properties and shall
prevent glare from spilling onto other properties or streets. Lighting
shall be limited in its hours of operation, as determined appropriate
by the Planning Board, and shall be coordinated with building design
and landscape plans.