It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the Incorporated
Village of the Branch to protect, enhance, rehabilitate and perpetuate
lands, buildings and structures in the Village having a special historic
aesthetic value and interest, and to preserve the character of a certain
geographical area within the Village containing a significant number
of such lands, buildings and structures.
A.
In such connection, it is hereby found that within the Incorporated
Village of the Branch there is an area, hereinafter designated as
the Historic District, which contains a significant number of buildings,
structures, streets, sites, places and objects that display the architecture,
landscaping and related features of an early Long Island Village by
reason of many of such buildings having been constructed during the
period between 1700 and 1850 and being of construction and design
typical of that period of American history. It is found that this
area has:
(1)
A historic value and interest by reason of historic events that took
place within, on or near it, by age or association with historic or
famed personages, or by being illustrative of events or periods in
the history and growth of the Town of Smithtown and the surrounding
areas; and
(2)
A special aesthetic value and interest by reason of being representative
of a style and period in the architectural design of buildings or
the landscaping of trees which form an integral part of the area's
environment.
B.
It is further found that without the encouragement and assistance
of the Village and the establishment of incentives that will serve
to protect, enhance, rehabilitate and perpetuate specific buildings,
structures, streets, sites, places and objects within the Historic
District, many of such places important to the district as a whole
and to its character and preservation may fall into such disrepair
as to endanger such character of the district and cause such places
to become a blight upon the community. The following regulations are
hereby enacted in furtherance of the foregoing objects and purposes
and to promote the general welfare of the community.
The Historic District is hereby described as that part of the
Incorporated Village of the Branch:
A.
On the north side of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25), beginning
at North Country Road (Route No. 25-A) and running to the east boundary
of the Village, extending to a depth of 600 feet north from Middle
Country Road (Route No. 25);
B.
On the south side of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25), beginning
at new Route No. 111 and running to the east boundary of the Village,
extending to a depth of 400 feet south from Middle Country Road (Route
No. 25); and
C.
On the east side of new Route No. 111, beginning at the south boundary
of Middle Country Road (Route No. 25) and running south a distance
of 650 feet to a point, extending to a depth of 400 feet east from
new Route No. 111.
In the Historic District, no building or structure shall hereafter
be erected and no premises shall be used except for one or more of
the following purposes:
A.
Any use permitted in a residence district.
B.
Office building.
C.
Medical or other professional building.
D.
Bank.
E.
Stock or other investment brokerage firm.
F.
Library or museum open to the public and operated on an exclusively
nonprofit basis.
G.
Any public purpose of the United States, the State of New York or
the Incorporated Village of the Branch.
H.
Funeral home, by special exception granted by the Village Board of
Trustees.
I.
Pharmacy, by special exception granted by the Village Board of Trustees;
provided, however, that such pharmacy shall only sell prescription
drugs and nonprescription medicinal products. The sale of any nonmedicinal
nonprescription products, including but not limited to cosmetics,
greeting cards, candy, fragrances, food, beauty products, magazines,
books and newspapers, diapers and health food products shall be prohibited.
The sale of soft drinks, water and juices shall be allowed provided
said beverages are contained, in the selling area, in one refrigerated
beverage case of not more than 50 cubic feet. Said pharmacy shall
be restricted to operation within an area no larger than 1,200 square
feet of billable space per lease agreement or 1,000 actual square
feet, whichever is more.
[Added 4-14-1999 by L.L. No. 1-1999]
In the Historic District, no building or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected on a lot containing less than one acre.
In the Historic District, not more than 33 1/3% of the
area of any lot shall contain buildings or structures of any kind
hereafter erected.
In the Historic District, no building or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected on any lot containing less than 110 feet
fronting on any public or private street, road or highway when measured
at the front building setback line.
[Amended 10-9-1984 by L.L. No. 4-1984]
In the Historic District, no building shall hereafter be erected
on the south side of Middle Country Road, as existing on the effective
date of this chapter, unless the front thereof shall be set back at
least 80 feet from said road, and no building shall hereafter be erected
on the north side of said road unless the same shall be set back at
least 40 feet from said road. No building shall hereafter be erected
in the Historic District, any part of which shall abut on Route No.
111, unless the same shall be set back at least 20 feet from said
roadway. No building shall be erected in the Historic District fronting
on any other road unless the same shall be set back at least 40 feet
from said other roadway.
[Amended 10-14-1980 by L.L. No. 4-1980]
In the Historic District, no building or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected on any lot containing any side yard less
than 15 feet in width.
In the Historic District, no building or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected, enlarged or altered so that any part thereof
shall be more than 35 feet above ground level; provided, however,
that spires, belfries, cupolas, domes and decorative railings and
fences on the top of buildings shall be excluded from the foregoing
height limitations so long as no part thereof shall be used for human
occupancy.
In the Historic District, no building or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected on any lot containing a rear yard less
than 35 feet in depth.
[Amended 5-12-1981 by L.L. No. 1-1981]
A.
No building or structure shall hereafter be erected, enlarged or
altered in the Historic District unless at least the following number
of off-street parking spaces shall be provided for use in connection
with such building or structure:
|
Type of Use
|
Required Minimum Number of Parking Spaces
|
|---|---|
|
Any use permitted in the Residence A District or in the Residence
B District except as otherwise provided herein
|
The same requirements shall apply in the Historic District as
apply in the Residence A District or the Residence B District, as
the case may be.
|
|
Bank, stock brokerage firm
|
1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Funeral home
|
1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Home occupation, home professional office
|
1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area given to this component
of the land use, but in no case less than 2 spaces
|
|
Medical or other professional building
|
1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Offices, office building
|
1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
|
|
Public or private school
|
1 per employee plus 1 per each 8 students in grade 12 or above,
or the parking requirement for the auditorium or gymnasium component,
whichever is the greater
|
B.
All of the foregoing parking facilities shall be located on the premises
on which the building or structure shall be situated, at the rear
or sides thereof or underneath said building or structure; provided,
however, that the Board of Trustees may, by special exception, permit
parking facilities required in connection with the foregoing to be
provided on any plot in the Village which is located within 300 feet
of such building, if the Board shall determine that it is not practical
to provide all of the parking facilities required on the same premises
on which the building or structure shall be situated.
C.
Each parking space shall have an area of not less than 200 square
feet, and there shall be provided in addition thereto adequate areas
for entering and leaving said parking facilities.
A.
In order to protect property in any residential district which shall
abut or adjoin property in the Historic District, there shall be provided
on the property in the Historic District a landscaped buffer zone
of at least 50 feet in depth adjoining such residential district,
within which no building, accessory building or parking shall be allowed.
Such landscaping shall consist of trees and shrubs at least six feet
in height and shall be so located and of sufficient density as to
effectively screen the Historic District from such residential district.
Within the buffer zone and along the boundary line between the Historic
District and the residential district, there shall be erected a continuous
Dubois-type or stockade-type fence six feet in height, which fence
shall be anchored by galvanized posts set in concrete and fastened
with stainless steel straps.
B.
Any site plan required to be submitted for approval pursuant to this
article shall designate the trees and shrubs intended to be planted
and the location thereof.
C.
The aforesaid buffer zone and all trees and shrubs required to be
planted and fences required to be erected therein shall be maintained
by the owner of the property. This shall include but shall not be
limited to, the replacement of trees and shrubs of whatever type which
may die and/or otherwise become destroyed, the replacement of fences
which shall fall into disrepair and the general maintenance of the
buffer zone in a clean, healthful, sanitary and aesthetic condition.[1]
D.
The owner of property containing a buffer zone shall replace any
trees or shrubs and/or repair or replace any fences which the Building
Inspector shall have determined require repair or replacement pursuant
to this section within 10 days after an order requiring such owner
to do so has been duly served upon such owner by the Building Inspector
by ordinary mail addressed to his last known mailing address. In the
event that the owner fails to do so, the Village Board may thereupon
notify such owner in writing in the same manner as the aforesaid notice
that, unless such work is completed within 15 days after such notice
from the Village Board, the Village will accomplish the same and the
entire cost thereof will be assessed by the Village upon the real
property in question, and the expense so assessed shall constitute
a lien and a charge upon such real property until paid or otherwise
satisfied or discharged and shall be collected in the same manner
and at the same time as other charges, taxes and assessments of the
Village.
A.
No building shall be hereafter erected in the Historic District whose
external style of architecture shall be representative of a period
subsequent to 1850.
B.
Every application for a building permit to erect a new structure
or building in the Historic District, or to alter any existing structure
or building in any way so as to change the outside dimensions, front
facade or appearance thereof, shall be referred to the Village Planning
Board for review prior to the issuance or denial thereof. Said Board
shall consider all such applications and, within 45 days after receipt
of the same, shall report to the Building Inspector its approval,
disapproval or approval subject to stated modifications of the application.
The Board shall have the power, by majority vote, to disapprove such
application upon its finding that the proposed structure or building,
or proposed alteration of an existing structure or building, is not
in harmony with, or is inconsistent in appearance with, or will cause
a depreciation in the value of, neighboring or adjacent buildings
or structures or of the Historic District in general. If the Board
shall not approve the application, its report shall set forth the
specific reasons for its disapproval, with particular reference to
the standards set forth in this article. If such report shall not
be submitted within 45 days after the receipt by the Board of such
application, or such longer time as may be agreed upon between the
applicant and the Board by majority vote of said Board at a meeting
duly held, the Board shall forfeit its right further to suspend action
on said application and its approval shall be deemed to have been
given to the plans as submitted to it; provided, however, that the
failure of said Board to so act shall in no way be deemed to be a
waiver on the part of the Village of any of the provisions, requirements,
standards, conditions and restrictions set forth in this article or
any part thereof, all of which shall remain in full force and effect
with respect to said application.
C.
The Building Inspector shall issue a building permit upon his receipt
from the Village Planning Board of an approving or conditionally approving
report as set forth in the foregoing subsection, or upon the expiration
of its time to render the same; provided, however, that all other
provisions, requirements, standards, conditions and restrictions contained
in this article or in any other provision of law applicable thereto
are met. In the event of disapproval by the Board or of the failure
of the applicant to otherwise comply with any or all provisions, requirements,
standards, conditions or restrictions set forth in this or any other
law, rule or regulation applicable to the application, the Building
Inspector shall deny such application and shall notify the applicant
of all of his reasons for such denial. In the event that a report
of the Village Planning Board shall have been rendered to the Building
Inspector, a copy thereof shall accompany the notice sent to that
applicant by the Building Inspector.
D.
In the review of building permit applications under these subsections,
the Village Planning Board shall take into consideration the visual
relationship between the property in question and existing structures
and the character of the district as regards architectural style (particularly
in relation to properties which are within view of existing structures
of historic significance or of meritorious architectural quality),
heights and masses of buildings and the location and arrangement thereof
(including the screening from view of any feature deemed visually
inappropriate in the district), and the maintenance of the visual
character of the district as indicated by such matters as setbacks,
heights, materials, mass, line, color and detail.
E.
The Village Planning Board shall be governed in its decisions by
the public policy and purposes hereinbefore described and by the special
and peculiar character of the Historic District.
Notwithstanding anything in this article to the contrary, no
building or other structure in the Historic District which shall have
been constructed prior to the year 1850 shall be structurally altered,
modified, demolished or changed in any way in its interior or its
exterior, nor shall such building or structure be moved from its existing
location in the Historic District, except upon a determination by
the Village Board of Trustees, by resolution, that such acts shall
not be contrary to the purposes of this article.
A.
In accordance with the public policy of the State of New York concerning
the conservation of natural resources and the reservation of lands,
or moneys for the public acquisition of lands for park, playground
and recreational purposes by land developers, as particularly expressed
in the Constitution of the State of New York and the Village Law of
the State of New York, and for the purpose of promoting the public
good and orderly development of lands in the Historic District in
accordance with the purposes of this article, it is hereby directed
and declared to be the public policy of the Incorporated Village of
the Branch that no building or structure shall hereafter be erected
in the Historic District, and no existing building or structure shall
hereafter be structurally altered, enlarged, modified, expanded or
otherwise changed so as to increase the assessed valuation thereof
by more than 50% of the assessed value of such building or structure
at the time of the effective date of this chapter, unless the owner
of such property shall first either set aside and donate to the Village
10% of the land to be so developed by way of fee title or pay to the
Village a sum, to be determined by the Board of Trustees of the Village,
equal to the market value of 10% of the land to be so developed. The
land so donated to the Village shall be solely used and developed
by the Village for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes;
or if moneys are donated in lieu of land, such funds shall constitute
a trust fund for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes,
including acquisition and/or development.
B.
The determination of whether to accept lands or trust fund moneys
shall be in the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees. In making
its determination, the Board shall consider such factors as:
(1)
The total existing acreage then owned by the Village and reserved
for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes.
(2)
The size of the parcel under consideration for donation by the developer.
(3)
The location of such parcel, especially its proximity to buildings
and structures of historic value which are located in the Historic
District.
(4)
The prospective character of the proposed development of the balance
of the land in question for purposes other than those permitted solely
in a residential district in the Village.
(5)
The density of occupancy existing and proposed of and for the land
to be developed.
(6)
The topography thereof and the general suitability of such lands
or any part thereof for park, playground or recreational purposes.
C.
Any land donated to the Village for park, playground, recreation
or conservation purposes pursuant to this article may include all
or any part of the buffer zone required to be maintained by the owner
of premises in the Historic District, and may or may not be on the
same lot proposed to be developed.
No certificate of occupancy shall hereafter be issued by the
Building Inspector with respect to buildings and structures in the
Historic District unless any and all of the provisions of this article
shall have been complied with, if applicable to the property in question.
[Added 7-14-1981 by L.L. No. 2-1981]
A.
Statement of purposes. Certain nonprofit organizations and not-for-profit
corporations located within the Historic District of the Village of
the Branch, which corporations or organizations provide religious,
charitable and community services or perpetuate the purposes for which
the Historic District was formed, have a need to raise funds for their
activities. Consistent with that need, such organizations or corporations
shall be permitted to conduct certain fund-raising activities within
the Historic District of the Village of the Branch without profit
of any kind or nature going to any member, officer or director of
said organization or corporation, provided that said fund-raising
activities do not detract from the surrounding business and residential
communities and, provided, further, that the applicant receives and
obtains a special use permit from the Board of Trustees of the Village
of the Branch to conduct said fund-raising activities.
B.
Application for special use permit. The application for a special
use permit to conduct the fund-raising activity shall be made to the
Board of Trustees at least 90 days prior to the date on which the
activity is proposed to begin. The application must include the following:
(1)
The dates and times of the proposed activity.
(2)
The anticipated peak attendance.
(3)
A description of the nature of the activity.
(4)
A description of the facilities to be used for the activity: indoor,
outdoor, area and location.
(5)
Provisions for parking, including statements from owners of any off-premises
property proposed for use.
(6)
Sanitation provisions: latrines and litter control.
(7)
Percent participation by organization members in terms of personnel.
(8)
Proof of communication with the Suffolk County Police Department
requesting additional police officers, if necessary, for the safety
of any participants in the fund-raising activity, including but not
limited to traffic safety.
(9)
Insurance certificates, if necessary, for the protection of surrounding
business and residential communities and any persons participating
in the fund-raising activity.
C.
Applicant. Any applicant for a special use permit under this section
of the Code of the Village of the Branch must be a nonprofit organization
or a not-for-profit corporation and, further, must be the principal
occupant of any property to be utilized for said fund-raising activity.
D.
Frequency and duration of fund-raising activity. No special use permit
shall be considered by the Board of Trustees of the Village of the
Branch unless the following prerequisites are shown in the application
for permit:
(1)
In the case of affairs, these are limited to one affair per weekend,
the weekend days/nights defined as Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
[Amended 11-8-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
(2)
That no fund-raising activity has been held or will be held within
90 days of the termination date of the special use permit being applied
for.
(3)
A clear statement that the fund-raising activity shall not continue
beyond a seventy-two-hour period.
E.
Standards for consideration of special use permit. In its determination
to grant such permit, the Board of Trustees may consider the following:
(1)
The compatibility of the activity with the area.
(2)
The impact upon the surrounding areas.
(3)
The impact upon local retail business.
(4)
The extent to which the organization members participate.
(5)
The impact on the traffic patterns in the general community and within
the special area of the Historic District of the Village of the Branch.
(6)
The provisions for safety of pedestrians and participants in the
proposed fund-raising activity.
(7)
Provisions for special insurance, if necessary.
F.
Carnivals. Nothing herein contained shall allow the holding of a
carnival, circus or other amusement-park-type operation, nor the establishment,
on any basis, of rides or other activities usually connected with
commercial carnivals.
G.
Exceptions. Activities which are staffed solely by members of the
organizations, run for no more than a twenty-four-hour basis, operating
solely with volunteers, are excepted from the provisions of this section.
[Added 4-2-1984 by L.L. No. 1-1984]
Any building located within the Historic District, which building
is being used, in whole or in part, for residential purposes, shall
be subject to the following requirements:
A.
Battery-operated smoke detectors must be installed in common hallways
adjacent to all sleeping areas in those portions of the building being
used for residential purposes. Said smoke detectors shall be placed
on walls approximately eight inches from the ceiling height.
B.
An all-purpose (Type ABC) fire extinguisher of at least twelve-pound
capacity shall be installed on each level.
