The purpose of this article is to ensure functional
and attractive subdivision design, to minimize adverse impacts and
to ensure that a project will be an asset to the community. In acting
upon plats, the Planning Board shall require in the public interest,
among other conditions, that the tract shall be adequately drained
and that the streets shall be of sufficient width and suitable grade
and suitably located to accommodate prospective traffic and to provide
access for emergency equipment to all buildings and recreation areas.
The Planning Board shall further require that all lots shown on the
plats be adaptable for the intended purpose without danger to health
or peril from flood, fire, erosion or other menace. Required improvements
shall be designed and constructed to conform to minimum specifications
established by the municipality. 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.
Improvements shall be designed and constructed
in accordance with Town of Wawayanda specifications and as required
by the Planning Board. All improvement design and installation shall
be approved by the Town Engineer and Highway Superintendent. All subsurface
construction under roadways shall be completed prior to the paving
of streets.
A. Streets shall be constructed in conformance with the
minimum standard requirements of the Town Road Specifications.
B. If determined necessary by the Planning Board, curbs,
sidewalks and street lighting shall be provided to adequately serve
the future residents of the subdivision and the community.
C. Street signs and traffic control signs shall be installed
as required by the Planning Board and in accordance with Town Highway
Department requirements and the latest edition of the New York State
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
D. Driveways.
(1) Driveways shall be installed in approved locations.
Driveways must provide emergency vehicle access to all buildings pursuant
to specifications required by the Town Engineer.
(2) Adequate sight distance must be available at all driveway
locations.
(3) Driveways may serve not more than one lot unless specifically
approved by the Planning Board.
(4) Driveway grades shall not exceed 15%. All driveways
with grades in excess of 10% shall be paved with a minimum of two
inches of asphaltic concrete top course for the entire length prior
to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
(5) Driveways shall slope from the street at a grade of
not greater than 2% percent for a minimum distance of 20 feet measured
from the edge of the pavement.
(6) As a minimum, all driveways shall be paved and properly
crowned for a minimum of 20 feet from the edge of the pavement.
(7) Turnarounds shall be provided to prevent vehicles
from backing on to public roads.
E. Utilities.
(1) The Planning Board shall require all utilities to
be installed underground.
(2) Service connections to all lots shall be provided
for all utilities and shall extend to the lot property lines. The
developer shall, at his own expense, install the necessary bases,
connections and metal utility poles for the street lighting of the
development, as required.
(3) Written assurance may be required by the Planning
Board stating that any involved utility company, public or private,
will provide service and service installations, as required, to the
proposed development within a specified time period. The developer
shall also contact the telephone, electric and gas companies and have
underground facilities installed in the street right-of-way and on
the lots. These requirements are under Public Service Commission and
Planning Board rulings.
(4) Utility companies shall allow for the future location
of facilities and prevent accidental damage to buried facilities by
physically marking their location, documenting their as-built location
and/or uniformly aligning them with streets or other physical features.
(5) Conduit placed beneath roadways shall be capable of
withstanding the anticipated load and shall meet requirements for
AASHTO H-20 loading.
F. Drainage improvements.
(1) A stormwater management system and other drainage
improvements shall be installed as required. Stormwater drainage systems
shall be designed to protect natural waterways, convey upstream and
on-site stormwater runoff to a natural watercourse or to a storm drainage
facility, provide protection from the storm event and prevent property
damage and loss of life.
(2) Drainage systems shall be designed in relation to
the drainage pattern affecting the areas involved, with proper provision
to be made for adequate stormwater control facilities. The subdivider
may be required by the Planning Board to carry away, by pipe or open
ditch, any spring- or surface water that may exist either previous
to or as a result of the subdivision. Drainage facilities shall be
located in the street right-of-way, where feasible, or in perpetual
unobstructed easements of appropriate length and width. A culvert
or other drainage structure shall, in each case, be of adequate size
to accommodate the potential runoff from the entire upstream drainage
area, whether inside or beyond the subdivision area. The design and
size of drainage structures shall be subject to the approval of the
Town Engineer.
(3) Drainage structure capacity shall be based on anticipated
runoff from the following storm frequencies:
(a)
For watersheds with drainage areas of less than
320 acres, all structures shall be designed to convey and control
peak runoff for a twenty-five-year storm event.
(b)
For watersheds with drainage areas of between
320 and 640 acres, the structures shall be designed to convey and
control peak runoff for a fifty-year storm event.
(c)
For watersheds with drainage areas larger than
640 acres (one square mile), all structures shall be designed to convey
and control peak runoff for a one-hundred-year storm event.
(4) Drainage facilities shall be designed to control stormwater
runoff so that peak runoff flow rates after development do not exceed
peak flow rates prior to the proposed development. Deviation from
this requirement may be permitted by the Planning Board only when
the subdivider proves to the satisfaction of the Board that no detrimental
effects will result and special circumstances warrant.
(5) Drainage facilities shall be designed, at a minimum,
to attenuate "first flush" accumulated contaminants contained in initial
runoff during a storm event and shall be in compliance with the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation's most current
publication regarding reducing the impacts of stormwater runoff from
new development.
(6) The subdivider's engineer shall study all drainage
considerations and submit a written drainage report on the effect
of the proposed development on the existing drainage basin and downstream
drainage facilities, including those outside the area of the development.
This report shall also adequately support the sizing and capacity
of all existing and proposed drainage structures. Such study shall
be reviewed by the Town Engineer.
(7) Adequate drainage of individual lots and dwellings,
including footing drain, roof, driveway and other impervious surface
runoff, shall be required by the Planning Board.
(8) Site grading necessary for proper drainage shall be
indicated on the plans.
G. A developer shall install water mains and sanitary
sewers with services to the right-of-way line. All such utilities
shall be designed in accordance with Town specifications and with
the guidelines established by the New York State Department of Health
and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Proposed
and as-built prints of the water and sanitary sewer improvements shall
be given to the electric, gas and telephone company and the Town.
H. Erosion and sedimentation control.
(1) Erosion and sedimentation control plans are to be
submitted to the Planning Board. Such plans shall include adequate
temporary and permanent measures for the control of erosion and siltation,
governed by the guidelines and policies contained herein, the most
current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) publication
regarding New York guidelines for urban erosion and sedimentation
control and the most current New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC) publication regarding reducing the impacts of
stormwater runoff from new development.
(2) Submitted erosion and sedimentation control plans
may be subject to review by the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation
District.
(3) The following measures, among others, shall be utilized
to control erosion and sedimentation and stabilize all areas disturbed
during site work and construction:
(a)
The smallest practical area of land shall be
disturbed at any one time during construction.
(b)
When land is exposed during construction, the
exposure shall be kept to the shortest practical period of time.
(c)
Temporary vegetation, mulch, silt fences, hay
bale dikes and other measures shall be used as necessary to protect
areas disturbed during clearing, grading and construction.
(d)
Temporary or permanent sediment basins (silt
traps) shall be installed and maintained to remove sediment from stormwater
runoff.
(e)
Runoff shall be temporarily or permanently diverted
to avoid flowing over or through disturbed areas.
(f)
Provisions shall be made to effectively accommodate
the increased runoff caused by changed soil and surface conditions
during and after construction.
(g)
Permanent final vegetation, drainage structures
and erosion and sedimentation control measures shall be installed
as soon as practical during construction.
(h)
The development plan shall be fitted to the
topography and soils so as to create the least erosion potential.
(i)
Natural vegetation shall be retained and protected
to the greatest extent possible.
(j)
The natural topography shall be maintained to
the greatest extent possible.
(k)
New drainage swales shall be stabilized, as
necessary, immediately following construction.
(4) Control measures must be installed prior to the commencement
of any site work, including clearing and grading.
(5) The estimated cost of constructing and maintaining
the required control measures shall be included in the performance
bond.
I. All rights-of-way shall be properly graded and prepared
for vegetation establishment. Rights-of-way shall be paved, seeded,
or sodded, and landscaped in coordination with the Town Highway Superintendent
and Planning Board.
J. All improvement shall be constructed and completed
in close coordination with the Town Engineer and Highway Superintendent
to ensure that adequate inspections are performed.
To provide for the establishment of adequate
land for parks, playgrounds, recreation and schools, or other public
use shown on the Town Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Board shall
require either the reservation of land or the payment of a fee to
the Town, to be used for said land acquisition or improvements.
A. The Planning Board may require the reservation of
land for park or recreational purposes to be designated on the plat.
The land area required to be reserved for these purposes shall not
exceed 10% of the total gross area of the subdivision, but the applicant
may choose to offer a larger area. Such reservation must be of character,
extent and location suitable for the development of a park, playground
or other recreational purpose. In general, such reservation shall
have an area of at least 10 acres and adequate street access. The
Planning Board may require that the developer satisfactorily grade
and seed any such recreation areas shown on the plat.
(1) Such reserved area may be dedicated to the Town by
the subdivider, if approved by the Town Board.
(2) Such reserved area may be retained in private ownership
and shall be subject to such conditions as the Planning Board may
establish for the subdivision concerning access, use and maintenance
of such lands as deemed necessary to assure the preservation of such
lands, in perpetuity, for their intended purposes. Such conditions
shall be shown on the plat prior to plat approval and recording.
B. In cases where the Planning Board finds that, because
of the size, topography, location or character of the subdivision,
land for park, playground or other recreation purposes cannot be properly
located therein; or if, in the opinion of the Town Board, it is not
in the public interest to accept municipal dedication of a proposed
recreation facility nor would a private recreational facility serve
the public interest, the Planning Board may waive the requirement
that the plat show land reserved for such purposes. The Planning Board
shall then require, as a condition to final approval of the plat,
a payment to the Town of a fee in lieu of land reservation. Such fee
shall be of the amount specified and approved by the Town Board in
the most current Town fee schedule. Such fee shall be used for the
purchase and development of sites for parks, playgrounds or other
recreational purposes. If the Town Board feels that recreational facilities
only partially serve the public interest, the Board may approve a
partial fee in lieu of providing additional parkland.