The Board of Appeals shall have the powers and duties authorized
by the New York State Town Law and shall have the following specific
powers and duties, provided that none of the following provisions
shall be deemed to limit any power of the Board of Appeals that is
conferred by law:
A. The Board of Appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or
may modify the order, requirement, decision, interpretation or determination
appealed from and shall make such order, requirement, decision, interpretation
or determination as in its opinion ought to have been made in the
matter by the administrative official or body charged with the enforcement
of this chapter, and to that end shall have all the powers of the
administrative official or body from whose order, requirement, decision,
interpretation or determination the appeal is taken.
B. The Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a
decision or determination of the administrative official or body charged
with the enforcement of this chapter, after public notice and hearing
and in accordance with the requirements of law and this chapter, to
grant area variances as defined herein.
C. The Board of Appeals shall have the power, upon an appeal from a
decision or determination of the administrative official or body charged
with the enforcement of this chapter, after public notice and hearing
and in accordance with the requirements of law and this chapter, to
grant use variances as defined herein.
D. The Board of Appeals shall, upon request from or appeal of a decision
by the Code Enforcement Officer or any administrative body of the
Town of Lumberland, including the Town Board, decide any question
involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including
determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there
is uncertainty with respect thereto.
Required submission for use variance for explicitly prohibited use. In addition to all of the other information required for all use variance applications (set forth in §§
250-60C and
250-63C above) and/or all other information required for appeal applications (set forth in §
250-61B), the following reports shall be required to be submitted as part of any application or appeal concerning what is otherwise an explicitly prohibited use. The purpose of these reports in the context of otherwise explicitly prohibited uses is to assist the Board of Appeals in its determination as to the impact of the proposed development project on the Town and/or the essential character of the neighborhood and/or to determine whether the proposed development project otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter:
A. A completed draft of an Environmental Assessment Form, Part I.
B. The approximate location of all neighboring residential, hamlet,
park/recreational, and/or agricultural areas, as well as all critical
environmental areas (if any) within a two-mile radius of the perimeter
of the site of the proposed use.
C. A traffic impact report, containing the following:
(1) The proposed traffic circulation plan, the projected number of motor
vehicle trips to enter or leave the site, estimated for daily and
peak hour traffic levels;
(2) Existing and proposed daily and peak traffic hour levels and road
capacity levels;
(3) A determination of the area of impact of traffic to and from the
proposed development project;
(4) The proposed traffic routes to the nearest intersection with an arterial
highway, including gross weights and heights of vehicles requirements
presented by the proposed development project;
(5) The projected traffic flow pattern, including vehicular movements
at all major intersections likely to be affected by the proposed development
project;
(6) The impact of this traffic upon existing abutting public and private
ways in relation to existing road capacities;
(7) A traffic impact analysis of the effects of the proposed development
project on the transportation network in the Town using passenger
car equivalents;
(8) Articulation of the effects and impacts of the proposed development
project on traffic based on existing conditions and projected future
background traffic on the state, county and Town road system;
(9) Evaluation of whether the resulting traffic conditions are likely
to hinder the passage of police, fire and emergency response vehicles
or degrade the quality of life, and/or otherwise contribute to hazardous
traffic conditions; and
(10)
Determination of whether there is sufficient road frontage so
that any vehicle leaving the site may turn into the lane of traffic
moving in the desired direction and be channeled within such lane
before crossing the nearest intersection or proceeding along the road,
and any vehicle entering the property may turn out of the nearest
lane of traffic without interfering with other traffic.
D. An evaluation of:
(1) Appropriate roadway geometry including required road widths, bridge
widths, starting and stopping sight distances, intersection sight
distances, horizontal and vertical curves along the proposed traffic
routes;
(2) The adequacy of existing pavement structures along the proposed traffic
routes to accommodate the full weight load of any high-impact trucks
likely to be used in connection with the proposed development project;
and
(3) Impacts to the rural or scenic character of any roads along the proposed
traffic route.
E. A description of ingress and egress through the proposed development
project site through which equipment and supplies will be delivered
and which will provide access during and after construction, and identification
of any roads, streets, intersections, bridges and other facilities
along the proposed traffic route that do not meet New York State Department
of Transportation standards. Such description and identification shall
describe any anticipated improvements to existing roads, bridges or
other infrastructure; any new road or access construction measures
which will be taken to avoid damaging access/traffic routes, and measures
that will be taken to restore damaged routes following construction,
and measures to maintain the scenic and/or rural characteristics of
such roads.
F. A noise impact report on the following topics:
(1) The existing audible conditions at the development project site to
identify a baseline sound presence and preexisting ambient noise,
including seasonal variation.
(2) A description and map of sound-producing features of the proposed
development project from any noise-generating equipment and noise-generating
operations that will be conducted in connection with the proposed
project site, including noise impacts from truck traffic travelling
within the Town to and from the proposed development project.
(3) For the noise generated by construction and use of the proposed development
project, the range of noise levels and the tonal and frequency characteristics
expected, and the basis for the expectation.
(4) A description and map of the existing land uses and structures, including
any sound receptors (i.e., residences, hospitals, libraries, schools
and places of worship, parks, areas with outdoor workers) within one
mile of the development project parcel boundaries. (Said description
shall include the location of the structure/land use, distances from
the proposed development project and expected decibel readings for
each receptor.)
(5) The report shall specifically cover (without limitation) low-frequency,
A-weighted, infrasound, pure tone, and repetitive/impulse noise.
(6) The report shall describe the development project's proposed noise-control
features, including specific measures proposed to protect workers
and mitigate noise impacts for sensitive receptors.
G. A visual presentation of how the site of the proposed development
project will relate to and be compatible with the adjacent and neighboring
areas, within a two-mile radius of the perimeter of the site of the
proposed development project. This presentation shall include computerized
photographic simulation showing the site during construction and fully
developed and demonstrating any visual impacts from strategic vantage
points. Color photographs of the proposed site from at least two locations
accurately depicting the existing conditions shall be included. The
study shall also indicate the color treatment of the facility's components
and any visual screening incorporated into the project that is intended
to lessen visual prominence.
H. A report containing:
(1) A description of any natural gas and/or petroleum extraction, exploration
or production wastes, and any other solid wastes, industrial wastes,
hazardous wastes, toxic wastes, and pollutants expected to be produced,
utilized, stored, injected, discarded, discharged, disposed, released
or maintained on the development project site;
(2) A description of controls and practices to eliminate or minimize
release of all such materials into the environment; and
(3) A plan for ultimate disposal of such materials whether on or off
site.
I. A discussion of:
(1) The extent of the use of nonrenewable resources during the initial
and continued phases of the proposed development project;
(2) The expected duration of the initial and continued phases of the
proposed development project; and
(3) The extent to which the proposed development project may contribute
to an irreversible commitment to the continuation of this proposed
use by future generations.
J. A discussion of characteristics of the proposed development project
that may decrease the Town's and/or the neighborhood's suitability
for other uses, such as residential, commercial, historical, cultural,
tourism, recreational, environmental or scenic uses.
K. An assessment describing the adverse effects and impacts on Town
revenue and costs necessitated by additional public facility and service
costs likely to be generated by the proposed development project.
L. A fire prevention, equipment failure, and emergency response report,
containing the following:
(1) Description of the potential fire, equipment failures and emergency
scenarios associated with the proposed development project that may
require a response from fire, emergency medical services, police or
other emergency responders;
(2) An analysis of the worst-case disaster associated with the proposed
development project and the impact of such a disaster upon the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town and their property;
(3) Designation of the specific agencies that would respond to potential
fires, equipment failures, accidents or other emergencies;
(4) Description of all emergency response training and equipment needed
to respond to a fire, accident, equipment failure or other emergency,
including an assessment of the training and equipment available to
local agencies; and
(5) The approximate or exact location of all fire, police and emergency
response service facilities within a five-mile radius of the perimeter
of the site of the proposed use, and a detailed fire control and pollution
prevention and emergency response plan.
M. A public facilities and services assessment, describing:
(1) Whether current Town public facilities and services, including water
supply, fire protection, school services, recreation facilities, police
protection, roads and stormwater facilities, are adequate for the
proposed development project (taking into account all other uses that
have been permitted or are currently operating in the Town);
(2) A comparison of the capacity of the public services and facilities
to the maximum projected demand that may result from the proposed
development project (in determining the effect and impact of the proposed
development project on fire, police and emergency services, the review
shall take into consideration response times and the number and location
of available apparatus and fire, police and emergency service stations,
and specification as to whether the same are manned by full-time,
paid or volunteer professional service personnel; and where applicable,
calculation of response time shall also include the time it takes
volunteer emergency personnel to get to their stations); and
(3) A review of the impact of the proposed development project on the
safety of all children going to and from school by car, bus, bicycle,
and walking during and outside of school zone hours and whether safety
measures such as signaled crosswalks, elevated sidewalks, green space
buffers for pedestrians/bikes where established walking/biking route
overlap/run along intended truck routes so as to prevent accidents.
N. A property value analysis, prepared by a licensed appraiser in accordance
with industry standards, regarding the potential impact of the development
project on the value of properties adjoining the project site.
O. A human health impact assessment that identifies ways in which the
proposed development project could adversely affect the health of
Town residents and a priority list of recommendations to minimize
the potential health impacts of the proposed development project.
The health impact assessment shall at a minimum include:
(1) A risk assessment of possible impact of chemical exposure on the
health of residents, including the chemical abstract service number
of all chemicals proposed to be used or generated at the development
project site;
(2) An assessment of possible health effects due to industrial operations
in non-heavy-industrial zoned areas;
(3) An assessment of possible health effects due to community changes,
including the presence of an industrial activity in a previously non-heavy-industrial
area, a perceived loss of shared community ideals and cohesion, declining
property values, impacts to the education system and sudden changes
in population numbers, demographics and customs; and
(4) Proposed remedies to address principal findings.