[Added 6-26-2003 by L.L. No. 15-2003]
Wetlands in their natural state serve multiple
functions, including:
A.
Removing pollutants from surface waters by trapping
sediment, removing nutrients and detoxifying chemicals.
B.
Recharging groundwater and surface waters, thereby
maintaining stream flows needed by plants and animals to survive.
C.
Controlling flooding by storing and then slowly releasing
stormwater runoff.
D.
Stabilizing stream banks by protecting them against
erosion caused by stream currents or construction activities.
E.
Providing unique or essential habitats for diverse
fish and wildlife species, including many of those on the New York
State and federal lists of special concern, threatened, rare and endangered
species.
F.
Supporting unique vegetative associations specifically
adapted for survival in low-oxygen environments.
As used in this article, the following terms,
phrases, words and their derivatives shall have the meanings given
herein:
To excavate or remove sediment, soil, mud, sand, gravel or
other aggregate or decomposed biomass.
Lands and waters within the Village of Irvington, as shown
on the Wetlands Map or any amendments thereto, and any lands or waters
within the Village of Irvington so designated by the Village’s
environmental consultant and confirmed by the Planning Board and any
other lands and waters within the Village of Irvington which contain
any or all of the following:
Lands and submerged lands commonly called “marshes,”
“swamps,” “slough,” “bogs” and
“flats” and contributaries and/or outflows thereto each
capable of supporting aquatic or semiaquatic vegetation and any lands
and/or submerged lands confirmed to be wetlands by the Village’s
environmental consultant.
Lands and submerged lands containing remnants
of any vegetation that is not aquatic or semiaquatic and that has
died because of wet conditions over a sufficiently long period, provided
that such wet conditions do not exceed a minimum seasonal water depth
of six feet and provided, further, that such conditions can be expected
to persist indefinitely, barring human interventions.
The Village Wetlands Map of January 1989 prepared by Dr.
Linda Miller, as may be amended.
To adjust the degree of inclination of the natural contours
of the land, including leveling, smoothing, filling and other modifications
to the natural land surface.
A tax lot as shown on the current Tax Map of the Village
of Irvington and any amendments thereto.
The plan prepared by an applicant when the applicant has
demonstrated that either loses or impacts to the wetlands or wetlands
buffer are necessary and unavoidable and have been minimized to the
maximum extent practicable.
Any corporation, firm, partnership, association, trust, estate
and one or more individuals.
The presence in the environment of man-induced conditions
or contaminants in quantities or characteristics which are or may
be injurious to human or plant life or wildlife or other animal life
or to property.
Any natural or artificial, intermittent, seasonal or permanent
and public or private water body or watercourse. A water body is intermittently,
seasonally or permanently inundated with water and contains a discernible
shoreline and includes ponds and lakes. A watercourse includes rivulets,
brooks, creeks, streams, rivers and other waterways flowing in a definite
channel with bed and banks and usually in a particular direction.
A specified area surrounding wetlands or a watercourse that
is intended to provide some degree of protection to the wetlands or
watercourse from human activity and other encroachment associated
with development. The wetlands/watercourse buffer shall be subject
to the regulations for wetlands as defined in this article and shall
be determined to be the area extending 25 feet horizontally away from
and paralleling the outermost boundary of wetlands and/or the point
of mean high water of a watercourse or floodplain, or if a state-designated
wetlands is involved, the area as may be designated by the Commissioner
of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Within a freshwater wetlands controlled area,
no person shall allow or conduct, either directly or indirectly, any
of the following activities without a permit issued in accordance
with the requirements of this chapter:
A.
Any form of draining, dredging, excavation or removal
of soil, mud, sand gravel or other material.
B.
Any form of dumping, filling, grading or depositing
of any soil, stones, sand, gravel, mud, rubbish or fill of any kind.
C.
Erection of any structures or roads or children's
outdoor recreational apparatus or sheds if the actual construction
or installation activity is within 100 feet of a wetlands shown on
the Freshwater Wetlands Map.
[Amended 5-16-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
D.
Driving of pilings or the placement of any other obstructions,
whether or not changing or diverting the flow of water, or alteration
or modification of natural drainage patterns.
E.
Alteration or modification of the contours of the
land.
F.
Introduction of any form of pollution, including but
not limited to installing a septic tank, running a sewer outfall discharging
sewage treatment effluent or other liquid wastes into or so as to
drain into a freshwater wetlands area.
G.
Destruction of natural growth, including living trees
and shrubs.
H.
Any other activity which may substantially impair
the natural functions served by the wetlands or the benefits derived
therefrom.
Controlled activities under this article shall
not include any of the following:
A.
Swimming or fishing, where otherwise legally permitted.
B.
Public health activities, orders and regulations of
the State or County Department of Health.
C.
Mosquito control projects, unless determined by the
Planning Board of the Village to have an adverse impact upon the wetlands.
D.
Gardening.
E.
Construction activities that are more than 100 feet
from a wetlands.
F.
Operation and maintenance of dams, retaining walls,
walkways, terraces, sluices, culverts or other water-control structures
or devices as were in existence on the effective date of this article.
G.
Conduct of normal land maintenance and conservation
measures, including tree trimming and pruning, the removal of dead
or diseased vegetation, lawn and garden care and the planting of decorative
shrubs or trees, subject to the limitation that excessive amounts
of fertilizers should not be applied and that application of herbicides
and pesticides shall be as regulated pursuant to Article 33 of the
New York Environmental Conservation Law and § 608 of the
New York Public Health Law.
A.
Authority is hereby vested in the Planning Board of
the Village of Irvington to review applications for the conduct of
any controlled activity, as defined in this article, within 100 feet
of a freshwater wetlands.
B.
The Planning Board is hereby authorized to review
and approve the following types of applications:
(1)
Activities involving minor soil disturbances,
such as, but not limited to, the placement of fence and gateposts,
supports for decks and similar construction activities. “Minor
soil disturbances” shall not include the placement of any fill,
any regrading or the removal of any soil from the site other than
is incidental to the excavation for fenceposts, supports for decks
or similar construction activities.
(2)
Construction of footbridges across watercourses.
(3)
Installation of granite curbing and minor amounts
if paving at a driveway terminus onto a public street.
(4)
Removal of living trees and shrubs, not to exceed
two trees or shrubs in a two-year period. The Planning Board may consult
with a naturalist prior to issuance of a permit.
C.
The Planning Board is hereby authorized to review
and approve all other applications for the conduct of any controlled
activity.
A.
In approving, denying or conditioning any permit the
Planning Board shall evaluate the wetlands functions and the role
of the wetlands in the hydrologic and ecological system of which it
is a part and shall determine the impact of the proposed activity
upon the public health, safety and welfare and the flora and fauna,
water quality and wetlands functions. Factors to be considered may
include, as appropriate:
(1)
The direct and indirect impact(s) of the proposed
activity upon neighboring land uses and wetlands functions, including
but not limited to:
(a)
Filing of wetlands or other modification of
natural topographic contours.
(b)
Disturbance or destruction of natural flora
and fauna.
(c)
Influx of sediments or other materials causing
increased water turbidity or downstream siltation.
(d)
Reduction in wetlands groundwater or surface
water supply.
(e)
Interference with wetlands water circulation
(f)
A damaging reduction or increase in nutrients
to a wetlands.
(g)
Influx of toxic chemicals and/or heavy metals.
(h)
Damaging thermal changes in the wetlands water
supply.
(i)
Destruction of natural aesthetic values.
(2)
Any existing wetlands impact(s) and the cumulative
effect of reasonably anticipated future activities in or adjacent
to the wetlands subject to the application.
(3)
The impact of the proposed activity and reasonably
anticipated similar activities upon flood flows, flood storage and
water quality.
(4)
The safety of the proposed activity from flooding,
erosion, soil limitation, soil limitations and other hazards.
(5)
The availability of preferable alternative locations
on the subject parcel.
(6)
The demonstration by the applicant that any
direct and indirect impact(s) has/have been avoided to the maximum
extent practicable and that any remaining unavoidable direct and indirect
impact(s) has/have been minimized to the maximum extent practicable.
B.
The Planning Board shall deny a permit if the proposed
activity may threaten the public health, safety or welfare, cause
nuisances, impair public rights to the enjoyment and use of public
lands and waters, threaten a rare or endangered plant or animal species
or violate pollution control standards.
C.
Referrals may be made to environmental consultants,
and/or to the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District,
as appropriate, to assist the Planning Board in evaluating potential
impacts of the proposed activity. The Planning Board may conduct a
public hearing on any application.
[Amended 3-18-2024 by L.L. No. 2-2024]
D.
In order to preserve the natural functions of wetlands,
in general, no controlled activities will be permitted within a wetlands/watercourse
buffer as defined in this article.
E.
In consideration of applications, the Planning Board
is authorized to attach reasonable conditions intended to minimize
the overall impact of the activity on the nearby wetlands or watercourse.
Such conditions may include but are not limited to:
(1)
Erosion and siltation controls in compliance
with the provisions of the Westchester County Best Management Practices
Manual for Erosion and Sediment Control.
(2)
In the event that it is determined by the Planning
Board that impacts to wetlands or a wetlands/watercourse buffer are
necessary and unavoidable and have been minimized to the maximum extent
practicable, the Board shall require the application to develop a
mitigation plan, to include, if appropriate, creation of replacement
wetlands that recreate as nearly as possible the original wetlands
in terms of type, functions and setting, and that is larger, by a
ratio of at least 1.5 to 1.0, than the original wetlands.
(3)
In the consideration of applications for subdivisions
and for nonresidential construction, the Planning Board may require
creation and continuous maintenance of natural vegetation within the
wetlands/watercourse buffer as defined in this article.
(4)
In the event that it is determined by the Planning
Board that there are no feasible alternatives to a construction activity
within the wetlands/watercourse buffer, the Board may approve a permit
subject to the condition that the applicant post a bond or other surety
adequate to hire a qualified person to regularly inspect the project
during construction to ensure that all mitigation measures required
in the Board’s approval are in fact implemented prior to the
start of construction and continuously throughout the construction
process until a certificate of occupancy is issued.
The Planning Board may require that, prior to
commencement of work under any permit issued pursuant to this article,
the applicant post a performance bond, cash deposit or other surety
in an amount equal to 20% of the anticipated cost of the work covered
by the permit, not to exceed $10,000, and approved as to form by the
Village Attorney, to insure that all conditions of the permit are
adhered to. The bond shall be released upon completion of the work
permitted by said permit, provided that such work is found to be in
accordance with the provisions of the permit and is completed to the
satisfaction of the Building Inspector.
The Building Inspector may suspend or revoke
a permit in the form of a stop-work based on a finding that the applicant
has not complied with any or all of the terms of such permit, has
exceeded the authority granted in the permit or has failed to undertake
the project in the manner set forth in the approved application.
[Added 5-3-2010 by L.L.No. 5-2010]
The Planning Board is empowered to retain, at the applicant’s expense, any consultant or expert which, in the opinion of the Planning Board, is reasonably necessary in its review of any application that may be covered by this article. The fees for such consultation shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 160, Professional Fees.
An applicant may appeal from any decision of
the Planning Board. The applicant shall commence an action pursuant
to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules within 30 days after
the date the decision of the Planning Board is filed with the Village
Clerk.
Any person committing an offense against any
provision of this article 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 $250 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 article
shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a separate
and distinct offense hereunder.
