There shall be no regrading, removal or excavation
of topsoil or other natural materials from any property in the Town
of Warwick except as provided for herein. These provisions shall not
be construed as prohibiting or limiting normal use of land for farming,
gardening or similar agricultural or horticultural uses in any zoning
district where such uses are permitted, as is the case for sod farms.
A permit is not required for the following uses:
A. Road building. For the excavation of topsoil and other
natural materials from within the limits of the right-of-way or slope
rights of any Town, county or state highway, or for the sole purpose
of building roads and slopes incidental thereto which lie within the
area of a subdivision approved by the Planning Board of the Town of
Warwick or on file in the County Clerk's office in Orange County,
New York; provided, however, that the Planning Board may waive or
modify any of the conditions prerequisite to such permit where gravel,
shale, fill or other borrow materials are sold exclusively to the
Highway Department of the Town, County of Orange or New York State
and where adequate assurances are given that the intent of the permit
requirements shall not be violated.
[Amended 5-2-1975]
B. Minor improvement of property. For the improvement
of property, provided that such improvement shall not cover an area
more than three times that of the foundation of the new building or
structure for which a building permit has been issued by the Building
Inspector and which improvement shall conform to the following standards:
[Amended 5-2-1975]
(1) Final slopes shall be finished at a grade no greater
than the natural angle of repose except where supported by a retaining
wall or foundation.
(2) Any lakes or ponds that are created shall have sufficient
depth and inflow of water to prevent their becoming stagnant in dry
periods.
(3) Topsoil may be removed in connection with any permitted
excavation, but shall be replaced to a depth of at least four inches
over all exposed ground surfaces, except rock, and said restored surface
shall be planted or seeded and mulched repeatedly as necessary until
the area is stabilized.
(4) Topsoil or other natural materials which have been
excavated to permit the improvement of property may be removed from
the property, provided that the amount to be removed is not in excess
of that to be reused on the site of the improvement, and provided
that this amount is specified in the building permit for such improvement.
(5) There is no processing of excavated materials by a
rock crusher or similar equipment on the premises.
(6) Any regrading, removal or excavation which is permitted
under the provisions of this subsection, subject to the issuance of
a building permit, shall be completed within one year of the date
of the issuance of said permit.
C. Landscaping. For landscaping purposes in which topsoil
is removed from one part of the property and deposited on another
part of the same property, provided that a cover of at least four
inches of topsoil shall remain after such removal and said restored
surface shall be planted or seeded and mulched repeatedly as necessary
until the area is stabilized.
A permit is required for the following uses:
A. Major improvement of property. For the improvement
of property where the tree removal, topsoil removal, regrading or
excavation of topsoil or other natural materials exceeds an area more
than three times that of the foundation of the building, structure
or other improvement for which a building permit has been issued,
or for the improvement of property set forth above in excess of 1/4
acre in area for which a building permit has not been issued. Such
regrading, excavation, tree or topsoil removal may be permitted by
the Building Inspector in accordance with the requirements set by
the Planning Board and based on the following standards:
(1) All other provisions of this chapter are adhered to.
(2) Complete plans of the proposed excavation or regrading
are presented to and approved by the Planning Board.
(3) The proposed excavation will not interfere with the
natural drainage of the area.
(4) Any previous excavation or regrading on the property
has been accomplished and completed in accordance with all the provisions
of this chapter.
(5) A performance bond may be required to ensure conformance
to all applicable standards and requirements.
B. Commercial purposes. The regrading, removal or excavation of topsoil or other natural material for commercial purposes shall be deemed, for the purpose of this chapter, to be the regrading, removal or excavation of topsoil or other natural materials for other than the uses permitted under Subsections
A,
B and
C of §
150-3. No commercial excavation shall be permitted until it has been found by the Planning Board that such excavation or any other operation accessory thereto, including mining, exploratory drilling and production drilling, will not be detrimental to the environment or to the appropriate and orderly development of any district in which it is situated after issuance of a permit by the Planning Board, according to the provisions of §§
150-5,
150-6 and
150-7. Prior to issuance of a permit, the Planning Board may require the review of the application by a geologist as well as the submission of appropriate environmental forms (ret SEQR), the cost of which will be borne by the applicant.
[Amended 5-2-1975; 4-13-1983 by Ord. No. 83-1]
C. Removal of shade trees. For the improvement of property
involving the removal by property owners of shade trees within the
right-of-way of any public road.
[Added 5-17-1974]
[Amended 5-2-1975; 11-9-1977; 4-13-1983 by Ord. No. 83-1]
A. Enforcement. This chapter is to be enforced by the
Building Inspector.
B. Coverage. The provisions of this chapter shall be
made applicable to all excavations or excavated areas which are being
worked at the time this chapter shall become effective. No excavation
shall be continued or extended in area after the effective date of
this chapter without a permit therefor first being secured.
C. Other jurisdictions. The foregoing provisions providing
for the enforcement of the regulations contained in this chapter are
not exclusive but are in addition to any and all other laws applicable
thereto.
D. Inspection. Any person applying for an excavation
permit or any person or persons authorizing or consenting to such
application shall be deemed to have authorized the Building Inspector
to go upon the premises at any reasonable time for the purpose of
inspecting the same in order to determine that the provisions of this
chapter are being or have been complied with.
[Amended 5-2-1975; 4-13-1983 by Ord. No. 83-1]
A permit from the Planning Board shall be required
for all commercial timber harvesting and for all noncommercial operations,
as defined herein, on forest land in the Town of Warwick, New York.
[Amended 5-2-1975; 4-13-1983 by Ord. No. 83-1]
The Planning Board shall receive the following
information from the landowner before recommending a permit for forest
land improvement:
A. Summary. A summary of cutting operations, to include:
(1) Total land area involved in cutting operations.
(2) The number of trees of each species to be cut.
(3) The range, in inches, of diameter of trees to be cut.
(4) The total board-foot volume for each species to be
cut.
(5) The total volume to be removed from the cutting area.
(6) The average number of trees per acre to be removed.
(7) The average number of board feet per acre to be cut.
(8) For harvesting of products such as Christmas trees, fence posts, poles, pilings and firewood, the units to be removed per acre and the total units for the area to be removed shall be shown in lieu of information required in Subsection
A(2),
(4),
(5) and
(7).
B. Sketch map. A sketch map, to show:
(2) Access roads into property.
(3) Area within the property where harvesting or improvement
cutting will occur.
(4) Location of product loading areas.
C. Landowner's statement. A statement from the landowner
that each tree to be removed has been designated by a professional
forester, with paint or other distinctive means, at two points so
as to be readily visible by the buyer. One point shall be low enough
on the tree so as to be visible on the stump after the tree is removed.
Trees being removed for other than sawtimber need not be marked on
the stump.
[Added 5-14-1987 by Ord. No. 87-1; amended 6-8-2000 by L.L. No. 2-2000]
A Schedule of Fees has been adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Chapter
75.
[Added 8-16-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
A. Any person committing an offense against any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of $500. In addition, a fine not exceeding $250 per day for each day the violation continues after notice of such violation by the Code Enforcement Officer shall be assessed. Such notification by the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the property owner of the violation, the fine for continued violation and the necessity to submit a mitigation/remediation plan addressing the violation within 10 days. In addition, if the violation has occurred in an area designated as a sensitive area as defined in §
164-46B(3) of the Code of the Town of Warwick, the property owner shall, within the same ten-day period referred to above, make application to the Planning Board for site plan approval.
[Amended 2-25-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
B. Upon submittal of a mitigation/remediation plan acceptable
to the Code Enforcement Officer, the fine may be suspended for a period
of 10 days to allow for implementation of the plan. Failure to implement
the mitigation/remediation plan within that ten-day period will result
in resumption of the two-hundred-fifty-dollar-per-day fine and issuance
of a court appearance ticket by the Building Official.
C. If Planning Board site plan approval is required,
as noted above, the fine may be suspended for any reasonable period
of time to allow for proper and thorough Planning Board review. In
this connection, any delays caused by the property owner’s failure
to timely furnish required information to the Planning Board may be
included in the number of days for which the fine can be levied.
D. For purposes of this chapter, each day a violation
shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.