It is hereby determined that:
A.
Land development activities and associated increases in site impervious
cover often alter the hydrologic response of local watersheds and
increase stormwater runoff rates and volumes, flooding, stream channel
erosion or sediment transport and deposition.
B.
This stormwater runoff contributes to increased flooding and quantities
of water-borne pollutants, including siltation of aquatic habitat
for fish and other desirable species.
C.
Impervious surfaces allow less water to percolate into the soil,
thereby decreasing groundwater recharge and stream baseflow.
D.
Clearing and grading during construction tends to increase soil erosion
and add to the loss of native vegetation necessary for terrestrial
and aquatic habitat.
E.
Improper design and construction of stormwater management practices
can increase the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby increasing
stream bank erosion and sedimentation.
F.
Substantial economic losses can result from these adverse impacts
on the waters of the municipality.
G.
Stormwater runoff, soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution can
be controlled and minimized through the regulation of stormwater runoff
and sediment and erosion control from land development activities.
H.
The regulation of stormwater runoff discharges from land development
activities in order to control and minimize increases in stormwater
runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel erosion and
nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater runoff is in
the public interest and will minimize threats to public health and
safety.
I.
Regulation of land development activities by means of performance
standards governing stormwater management and site design will produce
development compatible with the natural functions of a particular
site or an entire watershed and thereby mitigate the adverse effects
of erosion and sedimentation from development.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish minimum stormwater management requirements and controls to protect and safeguard the general health, safety and welfare of the public residing within this jurisdiction and to address the findings of fact in § 234-1 hereof. This chapter seeks to meet those purposes by achieving the following objectives:
A.
Meet the requirements of minimum measures 4 and 5 of the current
SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Municipal Separate
Stormwater Sewer Systems (MS4s), as amended or revised;
B.
Require land development activities to conform to the substantive
requirements of the current NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) General Permit
for Construction Activities, as amended or revised;
C.
Minimize increases in stormwater runoff from land development activities
in order to reduce flooding, turbidity, increases in stream temperature
and stream bank erosion and maintain the integrity of stream channels;
D.
Minimize increases in pollution caused by stormwater runoff from
land development activities which would otherwise degrade local water
quality;
E.
Minimize the total annual volume of stormwater runoff which flows
from any specific site during and following development to the maximum
extent practicable; and
F.
Reduce stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion and nonpoint
source pollution, wherever possible, through stormwater management
practices and ensure that these management practices are properly
designed, maintained and eliminate threats to public safety.
In accordance with § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule
Law of the State of New York, the Town Board of the Town of LaFayette
has the authority to enact local laws and amend local laws for the
purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare of the
Town of LaFayette and for the protection and enhancement of its physical
environment. The Town Board of the Town of LaFayette may include in
any such local law provisions for the appointment of any municipal
officer, employees or independent contractor to effectuate, administer
and enforce such local law.
The terms used in this chapter or in documents prepared or reviewed
under this chapter shall have the meaning as set forth in this section.
The activity of an active farm, including grazing and watering
livestock, irrigating crops, harvesting crops, using land for growing
agricultural products and cutting timber for sale, but shall not include
the operation of a dude ranch or similar operation, or the construction
of new structures associated with agricultural activities.
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed
an application for a land development activity.
Any structure, either temporary or permanent, having walls
and a roof, designed for the shelter of any person, animal or property,
and occupying more than 100 square feet of area.
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and
banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for
general public use.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual, most
recent version, including applicable updates, that serves as the official
guide for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.
A person who undertakes land development activities.
A measure that prevents sediment from being transported from
a site.
The most recent version of the New York Standards and Specifications
for Erosion and Sediment Control manual, commonly known as the "Blue
Book".
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions
thereof.
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively
infiltrate rainfall, snow melt and water (e.g., building rooftops,
pavement, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).
A State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued
to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the
pollutant levels associated with industrial stormwater discharges
or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions,
commonly known as "hydrophytic vegetation."
Construction activity, including clearing, grading, excavating,
soil disturbance or placement of fill that results in land disturbance
of equal to or greater than one acre, or activities disturbing less
than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan
of development or sale that will ultimately disturb one or more acres
of land, even though multiple separate and distinct land development
activities may take place at different times on different schedules.
The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding
the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding
proprietary rights in the land.
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed
restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater
management practices.
Pollution from any source other than from any discernible,
confined and discrete conveyances, and shall include, but not be limited
to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction,
subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with
the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the
next.
Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment
(such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other
pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any
water body that will receive a discharge from the land development
activity.
Land development activity.
A person who is knowledgeable in the principles and practices
of stormwater management and treatment, such as a licensed professional
engineer, registered landscape architect or other Department-endorsed
individual(s). Individuals preparing SWPPPs that require the post-construction
stormwater management practice component must have an understanding
of the principles of hydrology, water quality management practice
design, water quantity control design and, in many cases, the principles
of hydraulics in order to prepare a SWPPP that conforms to the Department's
technical standard. All components of the SWPPP that involve the practice
of engineering, as defined by the NYS Education Law (see Article 145),
shall be prepared by, or under the direct supervision of, a professional
engineer licensed to practice in the State of New York.
The replenishment of groundwater.
Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.
Cold water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, water
supply reservoirs, habitats for threatened, endangered or special
concern species.
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to developers of construction activities to
regulate disturbance of one or more acres of land.
A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (SPDES) issued to municipalities to regulate discharges from
municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA-established
water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
The first land disturbing activity associated with a development,
including land preparation such as clearing, grading and filling;
installation of streets and sidewalks; excavation for basements, footings,
piers or foundations; erection of temporary forms; and installation
of accessory buildings.
An order issued which requires that all construction activity
on a site be stopped.
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
A land use or activity that generates concentrations of hydrocarbons,
trace metals or toxicants in violation of NYS water quality standards.
The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are
designed to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate its adverse impacts
on property, natural resources and the environment.
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed,
stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater
runoff.
An employee or officer designated by the municipality to
accept and review stormwater pollution prevention plans, forward the
plans to the applicable municipal board and inspect stormwater management
practices.
Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined
to be the most effective, practical means of preventing flood damage
and preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution
inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.
A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from
a site during and after construction activities.
Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
Lakes, bays, sounds, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs,
rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Atlantic
Ocean within the territorial seas of the State of New York and all
other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal,
fresh or salt, public or private (except those private waters that
do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground
waters), which are wholly or partially within or bordering the state
or within its jurisdiction. Storm sewers and waste treatment systems,
including treatment ponds or lagoons which also meet the criteria
of this definition, are not waters of the state. This exclusion applies
only to man-made bodies of water which neither were originally created
in waters of the state (such as a disposal area in wetlands) nor resulted
from impoundment of waters of the state.
An employee from the contracting (construction) company that
has received four hours of Department-endorsed training in proper
erosion and sediment control practices from a Soil and Water Conservation
District or other Department-endorsed entity. After receiving the
initial training, the trained contractor shall receive four hours
of training every three years.
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water,
either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or
to the public storm drain.
A.
This chapter shall be applicable to all land development activities,
as defined in this chapter, within the portion of the Town of LaFayette
designated as a regulated MS4 area by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) or any similar agency, as amended from time to time.
B.
The municipality shall designate a Stormwater Management Officer,
who shall accept and review all stormwater pollution prevention plans
and forward such plans to the applicable municipal board. The Stormwater
Management Officer may 1) review the plans, 2) upon approval by the
Town Board of the Town of LaFayette, engage the services of a qualified
professional to review the plans, specifications and related documents
at a cost not to exceed a fee schedule established by said governing
board, or 3) accept the certification of a qualified professional
that the plans conform to the requirements of this chapter. An owner
or operator of a land development activity that is subject to the
requirements of this chapter must first develop a SWPPP in accordance
with all applicable requirements of this chapter and then have its
SWPPP reviewed and accepted by the Stormwater Management Officer prior
to submitting the notice of intent (NOI) to the Department. The owner
or operator shall have the MS4 SWPPP acceptance form signed by the
Stormwater Management Officer and then submit that form along with
the NOI to the address referenced under "Notice of Intent (NOI) Submittal"
in the applicable SPDES permit.
C.
All land development activities subject to review and approval by
the applicable board of the Town of LaFayette under subdivision, site
plan and/or special use permit regulations shall be reviewed subject
to the standards contained in this chapter.
[Amended 12-8-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
The following activities may be exempt from review under this
chapter
A.
Agricultural activity as defined in this chapter.
B.
Silvicultural activity, except that landing areas and log haul roads
are subject to this chapter.
C.
Routine maintenance activities that disturb less than five acres
and are performed to maintain the original line and grade, hydraulic
capacity or original purpose of a facility.
D.
Repairs to any stormwater management practice or facility deemed
necessary by the Stormwater Management Officer.
E.
Cemetery graves.
F.
Installation of fence, sign, telephone and electric poles and other
kinds of posts or poles.
G.
Emergency activity immediately necessary to protect life, property
or natural resources.
H.
Activities of an individual engaging in home gardening by growing
flowers, vegetable and other plants primarily for use by that person
and his or her family.
I.
Landscaping and horticultural activities in connection with an existing
structure.
J.
Any part of a subdivision if a plat for the subdivision has been
approved by the Town of LaFayette on or before the effective date
of this chapter.
K.
Land development activities for which a building permit has been
approved on or before the effective date of this chapter.
