[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Huntington Bay 4-8-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Huntington Bay
Steep Slope Law."
The Board of Trustees hereby finds that the maintenance and
protection of slope lands in the Village is essential to the public
health, safety and welfare of both present and future residents of
the Village and is specifically necessary to prevent soil erosion,
sedimentation, the loss of protective vegetation and resultant flooding
and drainage hazards, as well as to provide safe building sites with
proper access thereto for pedestrian, vehicular and emergency traffic,
and to preserve wildlife habitats and to protect important scenic
resources, all in furtherance of state and county development policies
and objectives.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
Either steep slopes or very steep slopes.
An area of land with a gradient of 15% or more but less than
25% over a horizontal length of at least 25 feet and extending for
a horizontal width of at least 25 feet.
An area of land with a gradient of 25% or more over a horizontal
length of at least 25 feet and extending for a horizontal width of
at least 25 feet.
[Amended 2-10-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992; 12-21-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2002; 1-5-2012 by L.L. No. 6-2012]
The Board of Trustees shall not approve the partitioning or subdivision of any parcel of land into building lots unless each such lot shall contain the lot area required under § 91-9 of the Code of the Village of Huntington Bay and shall contain both of the following:
A.
Building envelope or alternative:
(1)
A potential building envelope ("the envelope") on a contiguous area
of land within the lot of at least 5,000 square feet, which area does
not include any slope lands. The envelope must include a twenty-foot
perimeter work area surrounding all sides of the foundation; or
(2)
In the alternative, an existing single-family dwelling which complies
with all other requirements of this Code.
B.
A minimum of at least the lot area required under § 91-9 of the Code after deducting from the area of the lot the land area for those portions of such lot which consist of slope lands, as follows:
(1)
For very steep slopes, the reduction factor shall be 0.75, i.e.,
1.0 acre of very steep slope would equal 0.25 acre of calculable land
area.
(2)
For steep slopes, the reduction factor shall be 0.50, i.e., 1.0 acre
of steep slope would equal 0.5 acre of calculable land area; provided,
however, that no lot shall be required to be larger than five acres.
[Amended 1-5-2012 by L.L. No. 6-2012]
No building development or the construction of other site improvements
nor the excavation, filling or grading of any slope lands within a
lot, nor the cutting of trees or the destruction of natural vegetation
shall be permitted unless a special permit shall have been issued
therefor by the Board of Trustees, except that the Building Inspector
or Village Engineer may verbally approve the removal of dead, damaged
or diseased trees or vegetation without any written application. Prior
to taking such action, said Board shall determine that there is no
other suitable alternative site within the lot available for the proposed
use, improvement or development of such lot, that the activity proposed
is the minimum activity necessary to make reasonable use of said land,
that all feasible construction standards and precautions are or will
be taken to assure that the resulting environmental hazard will be
minimized, that such proposed action is otherwise in full compliance
with all applicable requirements of the Village, town, county, state
and federal agencies and that the purpose and intent of these regulations
are satisfied to the maximum feasible degree as determined by said
Board.
A.
Application. Application for such permit shall be submitted to the
Village Administrator in eight copies not less than 10 days prior
to the meeting at which it is to be officially received by the Board
of Trustees and shall include the following:
(1)
A topographic survey of the property showing:
(a)
Existing contours with vertical intervals of no more than two
feet;
(c)
The location of any existing buildings, structures, driveways
and utilities of the site.
(d)
Existing easements and rights-of-way; the present use of land
and structures.
(e)
The specific type, size and location of trees with a diameter
of 12 or more inches at a height three feet above ground level.
(f)
Any other existing features or characteristics of the site which
may be of environmental, historical, archaeological or other significance.
(2)
A plan for the proposed site development indicating building and
driveway locations, parking areas, landscaping, grading, drainage,
utilities and other planned site uses and improvements.
(3)
Specific design measures proposed to mitigate the potential impact
of the proposed site development upon the environmentally sensitive
features of the property, both during and after construction.
(4)
An application fee in the amount of $1,000.
B.
Procedure.
(1)
Upon receipt of a properly completed application, the Board of Trustees
shall refer it for review and report to the Village Engineer and other
such experts as may be determined necessary or appropriate by said
Board to assist in its review of the proposed application. In the
event that the cost of such review exceeds the amount of the application
fee, such additional cost shall be borne by the applicant up to an
additional cost of $1,000. A copy of the application shall also be
referred to appropriate town, county and state agencies whose approval
may be required or whose recommendations may be sought.
(2)
Within 60 days of the date of the Board of Trustees meeting at which
the properly completed application is officially received, said Board
shall act to approve, approve with modifications or disapprove the
special permit application.
C.
Determination.
(1)
Prior to making a determination to approve any such application,
either with or without modifications, the Board of Trustees shall
first find that the proposed site development has been designed in
such a way as to minimize any adverse environmental impacts to the
maximum degree reasonably feasible through redesign, reduction in
the size of the proposed project, the implementation of special environmental
protection measures, permanent restrictions on the use and development
of the property which may be established by deed restrictions, or
a combination of the above. In so finding, the Board of Trustees shall
further determine that the slope lands shall not be significantly
impaired, that the proposed site design will provide safe building
locations with proper access thereto, that important scenic and visual
resources will be protected to the maximum extent feasible and that
there will be no significant adverse impact upon any rare or endangered
species of flora or fauna. The Board of Trustees shall attach such
conditions to its approval as it may determine necessary to assure
compliance with these standards and requirements.
(2)
In the event that the applicant fails to establish that the proposed
use and development of the site, and the conditions which the applicant
proposed in relation thereto, comply with these essential environmental
standards, the Board shall disapprove said application, and the Building
Inspector shall deny the issuance of any permits in relation thereto.
D.
In addition to the above, the requirements of the State Environmental
Quality Review Act shall also be applicable.
[Added 12-21-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall be empowered to hear and decide
variances with respect to the dimensional requirements of this chapter.
[Added 12-21-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
No structure in an area of slope lands shall hereafter be constructed,
extended, converted or altered and no land within an area of slope
lands shall be excavated or filled or cleared of its natural vegetation
without first obtaining a permit from the Building Department and
without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and any other
applicable regulations. Any infraction of the provisions of this chapter
by failure to comply with any of its requirements, including infractions
of conditions and safeguards established in connection with conditions
of the permit, shall constitute a violation. Any person who violates
this chapter or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall,
upon conviction thereof, be fined no more than $500, or imprisoned
for not more than 15 days, or both. Each day of noncompliance shall
be considered a separate offense. Nothing herein contained shall prevent
the Village of Huntington Bay from taking such other lawful action
as necessary to prevent or remedy any infraction.
[Added 12-21-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
If any part or provision of this chapter or the application
thereof to any person or circumstance be adjudged invalid by any court
of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its
operation to the part or provision or application directly involved
in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered
and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this
chapter or the application thereof to other persons or circumstances,
and the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Huntington
Bay hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter or the
remainder thereof had such invalid application or invalid provision
been apparent.
[Added 12-21-2001 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing in the
Office of the Secretary of State of New York.
