No development may be commenced within the City of Watervliet
prior to the issuance of all relevant permits or approvals. The required
permits and approvals include the following:
A. Building permits and certificates of occupancy. The issuing, posting and expiration of building permits and the issuance of certificates of occupancy will be done according to Article
XIII.
B. Planned development districts. All planned development district applications shall be subject to the provisions of Article
VI.
C. Site plan approvals. Site plan review and approval shall be required for all proposed uses except single- and two-family dwellings and their accessory uses. The site plan review and approval process is provided in Article
XI.
D. Special use permits. All special use permit applications shall be subject to the special use permit provisions of Article
XII and may be subject to the site plan review provisions of Article
XI.
E. Variances. All area and use variances shall be subject to the provisions of Article
XIV.
F. Zoning permit. A zoning permit shall be required for the construction or alteration of a sign, the conversion or change in use of any existing building, structure, or parcel of land, to verify that such use is in accordance with this chapter. The zoning permit process is provided in Article
XIII.
In addition to any application fees, the Planning Board or the
Zoning Board of Appeals may, at their discretion, engage the services
of planning, engineering, legal, environmental or other professional
consultants, at the expense of the applicant, for the review of applications
involving significant issues beyond the scope or complexity of normal
review. The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals may require
costs to be paid in advance into an escrow account to be held and
managed by the City and may deny an application upon failure of the
applicant to make such payment in a timely manner. The City Corporation
Counsel and the Director of Finance shall establish the terms of the
account and shall provide a monthly accounting of the escrow account
to the applicant and provisions for further funding of the escrow
account when the balance is drawn down to a specified amount.
To ensure the completion of required improvements, such as, but not limited to, roads, landscaping, or other improvements required by the Planning Board as part of Article
XI, Site Plan Review, the Planning Board may require as a condition of approval a performance bond or other security in such form and from a source acceptable to the City's Corporation Counsel in an amount sufficient to cover the estimated cost of completion of the improvements. Such bond or other acceptable form of security shall comply with the requirements of §
33, Subdivision 8, of Article 27.b of the General City Law of New York State. A period of
one year (or such other period as the Planning Board and/or the Zoning
Board may determine appropriate, not to exceed three years) shall
be set forth in the bond within which required improvements must be
completed.
The City shall comply with the provisions of the New York State
Environmental Quality Review Act under Article 8 of the Environmental
Conservation Law and its implementing regulations as codified in Title
6, Part 617, of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Upon receipt
of any complete application, the City or any officer, department or
board of the City shall initiate the New York State environmental
quality review process by issuing a determination of significance.