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.
AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY
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.
APPLICANT
A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed an application for a land development activity.
BUILDING
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.
CHANNEL
A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.
CLEARING
Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.
DEDICATION
The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for general public use.
DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
DESIGN MANUAL
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.
DEVELOPER
A person who undertakes land development activities.
EROSION CONTROL
A measure that prevents sediment from being transported from a site.
EROSION CONTROL MANUAL
The most recent version of the New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control manual, commonly known as the "Blue Book".
GRADING
Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions thereof.
IMPERVIOUS COVER
Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively infiltrate rainfall, snow melt and water (e.g., building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).
INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER PERMIT
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.
INFILTRATION
The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.
JURISDICTIONAL WETLAND
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."
LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
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.
LANDOWNER
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.
MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT
A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater management practices.
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
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.
PHASING
Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the next.
POLLUTANT OF CONCERN
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.
PROJECT
Land development activity.
QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
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.
RECHARGE
The replenishment of groundwater.
SEDIMENT CONTROL
Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.
SENSITIVE AREAS
Cold water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, water supply reservoirs, habitats for threatened, endangered or special concern species.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
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.
SPDES GENERAL PERMIT FOR STORMWATER DISCHARGES FROM MUNICIPAL SEPARATE STORMWATER SEWER SYSTEMS
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.
STABILIZATION
The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.
START OF CONSTRUCTION
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.
STOP-WORK ORDER
An order issued which requires that all construction activity on a site be stopped.
STORMWATER
Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.
STORMWATER HOTSPOT
A land use or activity that generates concentrations of hydrocarbons, trace metals or toxicants in violation of NYS water quality standards.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
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.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FACILITY
One or a series of stormwater management practices installed, stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater runoff.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT OFFICER
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.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (SMPS)
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.
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN (SWPPP)
A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from a site during and after construction activities.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.
SURFACE WATERS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
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.
TRAINED CONTRACTOR
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.
WATERCOURSE
A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.
WATERWAY
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]
D. 
All land development activities not subject to review as stated in Subsection C above shall be required to submit a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) to the Stormwater Management Officer, who shall approve the SWPPP if it complies with the requirements of this chapter.
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.