[Added 9-12-1989; amended 7-27-1999]
The purpose of this article shall be to maintain
the overall environmental quality of the City, preserve scenic open
space, minimize disruption to natural drainage patterns, maintain
stability of environmentally sensitive slopes and minimize the aesthetic
impact of hillside alteration.
This article shall apply to all zoning districts
in the City, except that parcels held in separate ownership at the
time this article takes effect, containing the minimum lot area or
less for the zoning district within which the parcel is located, shall
not be subject to the requirements of this article.
[Amended 5-8-2007; 8-28-2007]
A.
Deductions; exception.
[Amended 8-24-2010]
(1)
Development on a lot with steep slope areas shall
be controlled by deducting the following from the area of such lot(s)
to calculate the lot area for the purposes of determining whether
the lot meets the minimum area requirements. This reduced lot area
shall also be utilized to calculate the maximum coverage and interior
floor area.
(a)
One hundred percent of the area of steep slopes
measuring at least thirty-five-percent grade.
(b)
Fifty percent of the area of steep slopes measuring
at least twenty-five-percent grade.
(c)
Twenty-five percent of the area of steep slopes
measuring at least fifteen-percent but less than twenty-five-percent
grade.
(2)
Slopes include both natural and man-made slopes, and
the deduction shall be applied under the preconstruction conditions
on the site.
(3)
Exception. In a residential district where a single-family
dwelling is a permitted principal use, which lot has been held in
separate ownership from any adjoining lot facing on the same street
prior to the time of the enactment of this chapter, the lot area deduction
shall not be applied for purposes of determining whether the lot complies
with the minimum lot size requirement in the district, provided that
said lot is utilized for one single-family dwelling only, is at least
50% of the minimum lot size in the district and complies with all
other requirements of this code. Notwithstanding this exception, the
lot area deductions for steep slopes set forth in this section shall
be applied to calculate the maximum coverage and livable floor area.
The application for a permit for such a dwelling on such a lot shall
be accompanied by such proof of separate ownership in sufficient detail
to provide the DBD with adequate information upon which to base the
issuance of a permit.
B.
The following limitations shall be applied to any
portion of a lot with steep slopes covering more than 500 square feet
of land area:
(1)
No land area covered by slopes measuring 25% or greater
shall be developed and/or regraded or stripped of vegetation.
(2)
Not more than 20% of the land area covered by slopes
measuring at least 15% but less than 25% shall be developed and/or
regraded or stripped of vegetation.
(3)
Notwithstanding the limitations in this subsection,
the Planning Board may allow a driveway to cross an area with a fifteen-percent
or greater slope to facilitate access to a developable portion of
a site with a slope measuring less than 15%.
C.
Slopes shall be identified from a topographic survey
of the existing conditions prior to any disturbance based on contour
lines separated by intervals of no greater than two feet. The survey
shall be prepared by an engineer or land surveyor licensed in the
State of New York. For the purpose of measuring steep slopes around
retaining walls, an area shall be delineated by a line around the
retaining wall at a distance equal to the height of the wall at the
nearest point, and the area within this line shall be deemed to constitute
a slope of one-hundred-percent grade.
[Amended 8-24-2010]
D.
Existing vegetation determined to be important for
soil erosion control, water quality protection, shade, screening and
other values on the protected land shall not be disturbed. Erosion
and sediment control plans shall be consistent with Glen Cove and
New York Department of Environmental Conservation guidelines.
