The Board of Trustees of the Village of Roslyn
Harbor finds that uncontrolled drainage and development of land has
a significant adverse impact upon the health, safety, and welfare
of the community. More specifically:
A. Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants into Hempstead
Harbor, degrading water quality and affecting finfish and shellfish
production.
B. The increase in nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen
accelerates eutrophication of freshwater bodies and Hempstead Harbor,
adversely affecting flora and fauna.
C. Improperly channeling of water increases the velocity
of runoff, thereby increasing erosion and sedimentation.
D. Construction requiring the alteration of natural topography
and removal of vegetation tends to increase erosion.
E. Siltation of freshwater bodies and Hempstead Harbor
resulting from increased erosion decreases their capacity to hold
and transport water, interferes with navigation, and harms flora and
fauna.
F. Impervious surfaces increase the volume and rate of
stormwater runoff and allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge.
G. Improperly managed stormwater runoff can increase
the incidence of flooding and the level of floods which occur, endangering
property and human life.
H. Improperly managed stormwater runoff can interfere
with the maintenance of optimum salinity in estuarine areas, thereby
disrupting biological productivity.
I. Substantial economic losses result from these adverse
impacts on community waters.
J. Many future problems can be avoided if land is developed
in accordance with sound stormwater runoff management practices.
In order to protect, maintain, and enhance both
the immediate and long-term health, safety, and general welfare of
the citizens of Roslyn Harbor, Nassau County and the State of New
York, this article has the following objectives:
A. To encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between
humanity and nature;
B. To protect, restore, and maintain the chemical, physical,
and biological integrity of Hempstead Harbor and other community waters;
C. To prevent individuals, business organizations, and
governments from causing harm to the community by activities which
adversely affect water resources;
D. To encourage the construction of drainage systems
which aesthetically and functionally approximate natural systems;
E. To encourage the protection of natural systems and
the use of them in ways which do not impair their beneficial functioning;
F. To encourage the use of drainage systems which minimize
the consumption of electrical energy or petroleum fuels to move water,
remove pollutants, or maintain the systems;
G. To minimize the transport of pollutants to Hempstead
Harbor and other community waters;
H. To maintain or restore groundwater levels;
I. To protect, maintain, or restore natural salinity
levels in estuarine areas;
J. To minimize erosion and sedimentation;
K. To prevent damage to freshwater and tidal wetlands;
L. To prevent damage from flooding, while recognizing
that natural fluctuations in water levels are beneficial;
M. To protect, restore, and maintain the habitat of fish
and wildlife; and
N. To ensure the attainment of these objectives by requiring
the approval and implementation of water management plans for all
activities which may have an adverse impact upon community waters.
In addition to the terms defined in Article
II of this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the meaning as defined herein:
ADVERSE IMPACTS
Any modifications, alterations, or effects on a feature or
characteristic of community waters or wetlands, including their quality,
quantity, hydrodynamics, surface area, species composition, living
resources, aesthetics, or usefulness for human or natural uses which
are or may potentially be harmful or injurious to human health, welfare,
safety or property, to biological productivity, diversity, or stability
or which unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of life or property,
including outdoor recreation. The term includes secondary and cumulative
as well as direct impacts.
CLEARING
The removal of trees and brush from the land, but shall not
include the ordinary mowing of grass.
DETENTION
The collection and storage of surface water for subsequent
gradual discharge.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM
The system through which water flows from the land. It includes
all watercourses, water bodies, and wetlands.
EROSION
The wearing or washing away of soil by the action of wind
or water.
FLOOD
A temporary rise in the level of any water body, watercourse,
or wetland which results in the inundation of areas not ordinarily
covered by water.
IMPERVIOUS SURFACE
A surface which has been compacted or covered with a layer
of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water.
It includes semi-impervious surfaces such as compacted clay, as well
as most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking
lots, and other similar structures.
NATURAL SYSTEMS
Systems which predominantly consist of or use those communities
of plants, animals, bacteria, and other flora and fauna which occur
indigenously on the land, in the soil, or in the water.
PREDEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS
Those conditions which existed before alteration, resulting
from human activity, of the natural topography, vegetation and rate,
volume or direction of surface or ground water flow, as indicated
by the best available historical data.
RECEIVING BODIES OF WATER
Any water bodies, watercourses, or wetlands into which surface
waters flow either naturally, in man-made ditches, or in a closed-conduit
system.
RETENTION
The collection and storage of runoff without subsequent discharge
to surface waters.
SEDIMENT
Fine particulate material, whether mineral or organic, that
is in suspension or has settled in a water body.
SEDIMENTATION FACILITY
Any structure or area which is designed to hold runoff water
until suspended sediments have settled.
SITE
Any tract, lot, or parcel of land or combination of tracts,
lots, or parcels of land which are in one ownership, or are contiguous
and in diverse ownership, where development is to be performed as
part of a unit, subdivision, or project.
VEGETATION
All plant growth, especially trees, shrubs, vines, ferns,
mosses, and grasses.
WATER BODY
Any natural or artificial pond, lake, reservoir, or other
area which ordinarily or intermittently contains water and which has
a discernible shoreline.
WATERCOURSE
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, channel,
ditch, canal, conduit, culvert, drain, waterway, gully, ravine, street,
roadway, swale, or wash in which water flows in a definite direction,
either continuously or intermittently, and which has a definite channel,
bed or banks.
WATERSHED
A drainage area or drainage basin contributing to the flow
of water in a receiving body of water.
WATERS or COMMUNITY WATERS
Any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground.
It includes the water in any watercourse, water body, or drainage
system. It also includes diffused surface water and water percolating,
standing, or flowing beneath the surface of the ground, as well as
coastal waters.
WETLANDS
Those areas which meet the definition of "wetland" of the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and/or the
United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Water management plans shall demonstrate that
the proposed development or activity has been planned and designed
and will be constructed and maintained to meet each of the following
standards:
A. Ensure that after development, runoff from the site approximates the rate of flow, volume, and timing of runoff that would have occurred following the same rainfall under existing conditions and, to the extent practicable, predevelopment conditions, unless runoff is discharged into an off-site drainage facility as provided in §
275-82.
B. Maintain the natural hydrodynamic characteristics
of the watershed.
C. Protect or restore the quality of ground- and surface
waters.
D. Ensure that erosion during and after development is
minimized.
E. Protect groundwater levels.
F. Protect the beneficial functioning of wetlands as
areas for the natural storage of surface waters and the chemical reduction
and assimilation of pollutants.
G. Prevent increased flooding and damage that results
from improper location, construction, and design of structures in
areas which are presently subject to an unacceptable danger of flooding.
H. Prevent or reverse saltwater intrusion.
I. Protect the natural fluctuating levels of salinity
in estuarine areas.
J. Minimize injury to flora and fauna and adverse impacts
to fish and wildlife habitat.
To ensure attainment of the objectives of this
article and to ensure that performance standards will be met, the
design, construction, and maintenance of drainage systems shall be
consistent with the following standards:
A. Channeling runoff directly into water bodies shall
be prohibited. Instead, runoff shall be routed through swales and
other systems designed to increase time of concentration, decrease
velocity, increase infiltration, allow suspended solids to settle,
and remove pollutants.
B. Natural watercourses shall not be dredged, cleared
of vegetation, deepened, widened, straightened, stabilized, or otherwise
altered. Water shall be retained or detained before it enters any
natural watercourse in order to preserve the natural hydrodynamics
of the watercourse and to prevent siltation or other pollution.
C. The area of land disturbed by development shall be
as small as practicable. Those areas which are not to be disturbed
shall be protected by an adequate barrier from construction activity.
Whenever possible, natural vegetation shall be retained and protected.
D. No grading, cutting, or filling shall be commenced
until erosion and sedimentation control devices have been installed
between the disturbed area and water bodies, watercourses, and wetlands.
E. Land which has been cleared for development and upon
which construction has not commenced shall be protected from erosion
by appropriate techniques designed to revegetate the area.
F. Sediment shall be retained on the site of the development.
G. Wetlands and water bodies shall not be used as sediment
traps during development.
H. Erosion and sedimentation facilities shall receive
regular maintenance to ensure that they continue to function properly.
I. Artificial watercourses shall be designed considering
soil type, so that the velocity of flow is low enough to prevent erosion.
J. Vegetated buffer strips shall be created or, where
practicable, retained in their natural state along the banks of all
watercourses, water bodies, or wetlands. The width of the buffer shall
be sufficient to prevent erosion, trap the sediment in overland runoff,
provide access to the water body, and allow for periodic flooding
without damage to structures.
K. Intermittent watercourses, such as swales, should
be vegetated.
L. Retention and detention ponds shall be used to retain
and detain the increased and accelerated runoff which the development
generates. Water shall be released from detention ponds into watercourses
or wetlands at a rate and in a manner approximating the natural flow
which would have occurred before development.
M. Although the use of wetlands for storing and purifying
water is encouraged, care must be taken not to overload their capacity,
thereby harming the wetlands and transitional vegetation. Wetlands
should not be damaged by the construction of detention ponds.
N. The first one inch of runoff from impervious surfaces
shall be retained on the site of the development.
O. Runoff from parking lots shall be treated to remove
oil and sediment before it enters receiving waters.
P. Detention and retention areas shall be designed so
that shorelines are sinuous rather than straight and so that the length
of shoreline is maximized, thus offering more space for the growth
of littoral vegetation.
Q. The banks of detention and retention areas shall slope
at a gentle grade into the water as a safeguard against drowning,
personal injury, or other accidents, to encourage the growth of vegetation,
and to allow the alternate flooding and exposure of areas along the
shore as water levels periodically rise and fall.
R. The use of drainage facilities and vegetated buffer
zones as open space, recreation, and conservation areas shall be encouraged.