The purpose of this article is to ensure that the highest standards of site, building and landscape design are conscientiously met through the use of qualified technical and aesthetic judgment, compatible with the Master Plan of the Town of Tuxedo. In acting upon plats, the Planning Board shall require among other conditions, in the public interest, that the tract shall be adequately drained and the streets shall be of sufficient width and suitable grade and suitably located to accommodate the prospective traffic and to provide access for fire-fighting equipment to buildings. The Planning Board shall further require that all lots shown on the plats shall be adaptable for the intended purposes without danger to health or peril from flood, fire, erosion or other menace. Required improvements shall be designed and constructed to conform to the specifications as established by the Town. In considering applications for subdivision of land, the Planning Board shall be guided by the standards set forth hereinafter. Said standards shall be considered to be minimum requirements and shall be waived by the Board only under circumstances set forth in §§
85-33 and
85-34 herein.
The purpose of this section is to provide an
equitable and effective development standard for securing adequate
land for parks, playgrounds and recreation purposes in new subdivisions
throughout the Town of Tuxedo. Except as hereinafter provided, lands
shall be reserved for parks, playgrounds or recreation purposes in
a location with suitable public access within the subdivision, as
selected and determined by the Planning Board.
A. Recreation areas shown on Master Plan. Where a proposed park, playground or open space shown on the Master Plan is located in whole or in part in a subdivision, the Board shall require that such area or areas be shown on the plat in accordance with the requirements specified in Subsection
B below. Such area or areas may be dedicated to the Town or county by the subdivider upon approval by the Town Board. While the plan may show only a general location of such proposed sites, the required reservation of land for recreation purposes must be specifically located and designated on the subdivision plat.
B. The Board shall not accept areas of less than three acres and shall require that not less than 10 acres of recreation and open space be provided per 100 dwelling units shown on the plat. Open spaces of a lesser area may be approved where the difference may be made up in conjunction with the future subdivision of adjacent land. Such area or areas may be dedicated to the Town by the subdivider if the Town Board approves such dedication. All lands designated on the plat as park, playground and recreation areas not in Town ownership, as set forth in §
85-15, shall be subject to such conditions as the Planning Board may establish on the subdivision concerning access, use and maintenance of such lands as deemed necessary to assure the preservation of such land, in perpetuity, for their intended purposes. Such conditions shall be shown on the plat prior to plat approval and recording.
C. Information to be submitted. In the event that an
area to be used for a park or playground is required to be so shown,
the subdivider shall submit to the Planning Board prior to final approval
three prints (one on cloth) drawn in ink showing, at a scale of not
less than 30 feet to the inch, such area and the following features
thereof:
(1) The boundaries of said area, giving lengths and bearings
of all straight lines, and the radii, lengths, central angles and
tangent distances of all curves, prepared by a New York State licensed
land surveyor.
(2) Existing features such as brooks, ponds, clusters
of trees, rock outcrops and structures.
(3) Existing and, if applicable, proposed changes in grade
and contours of said area and of the area immediately adjacent.
D. Waiver of plat designation of area for parks and playgrounds.
In cases where the Planning Board finds that due to size, topography
or location of the subdivision, land for park, playground or other
recreational purposes cannot be properly located therein, or if, in
the opinion of the Town Board, it is not desirable, the Planning Board
may waive the requirement that the plat show land for such purposes.
The Planning Board shall then require as a condition of approval of
the plat a payment to the Town in accordance with the following schedule
(certified check) for each proposed dwelling unit or building lot,
whichever provides the grater amount, except that a lot created to
accommodate an existing dwelling shall be exempt from this requirement.
Such amount shall be paid to the Town Board at the time of final plat
approval, and no plat shall be signed by the authorized officer of
the Planning Board until such payment is made: fee per lot: $1,500.
All such payments shall be deposited in a fund to be designated by
the Supervisor and may, at the sole discretion of the Town Board,
he utilized for the acquisition of recreation land and/or construction
of recreation facilities, improvements and maintenance.
[Amended 4-12-1982 by L.L. No. 2-1982; 2-26-1985 by L.L. No.
2-1986; 6-23-1987 by L.L. No. 2-1987]
E. Reserve strips prohibited. Reserve strips of land
which might be used to control access from the proposed subdivision
to any neighboring property or to any land within the subdivision
itself shall be prohibited.
F. Preservation of natural features. The Planning Board shall, wherever possible, establish
the preservation of all natural features which add value to residential
developments and to the community, such as large trees or groves,
watercourses and waterfalls, beaches, historic spots, vistas and similar
irreplaceable assets.
(1) Natural terrain. Subdivision design shall preserve,
insofar as possible, the natural terrain and natural watercourses,
improvements and drainage areas.
(2) Trees. A conscious effort shall be made to preserve
all worthwhile trees and shrubs which exist on the site. Such features
may well be suggested for park or playground areas. On individual
lots or parcels care shall be taken to preserve selected trees to
enhance the landscape treatment of the development. No tree with a
diameter of eight inches or more, as measured three feet above the
base of the trunk, shall be removed unless such tree is within the
right-of-way of a street as shown on the final subdivision plat. Removal
of additional trees shall be subject to the approval of the Planning
Board. In no case, however, shall a tree with a diameter of eight
inches or more, as measured three feet above the base of the trunk,
be removed without prior approval by the Planning Board.
(3) Soil. Natural fertility of the soil shall be preserved
by disturbing it as little as is possible, and no topsoil shall be
removed from the site.
(4) Watercourses. Open watercourses shall be recognized
as community assets. Subdivision design may well be enhanced by featuring
streams and brooks. Floodplain land, areas bordering on watercourses,
drainageways and other lands which cannot be used safely for building
purposes without danger to health or peril from flood may be offered
to the Town as a gift to be used as public open space or for recreational
purposes.
(5) Lots. On a lot intended for single-family purposes,
no more than 5,000 square feet shall be cleared for development purposes.
G. School sites. Upon receipt of a letter from the School
Board declaring its interest in a school site of a specific size and
location within a proposed subdivision, the Planning Board may require
a subdivider to set aside such area in the design of the subdivision.