In considering applications for subdivision of land, the Planning Board shall be guided by the standards set forth hereinafter. Said standards shall be considered to be minimum requirements and shall be waived by the Board only under circumstances set forth in Article VIII herein.
All required improvements shall be constructed or installed to conform to the Town specifications, which may be obtained from the Town Engineer.
Existing features, such as specimen trees, watercourses, significant viewsheds, prime agricultural soils, historic sites, significant geologic formations, stone walls, mature hedgerows, and habitat for endangered or wildlife or plant species should be preserved through harmonious design of the subdivision, including use of conservation subdivision design.
A.
Width, location and construction. Streets shall be of sufficient width, suitably located and adequately constructed to conform to the Comprehensive Plan, if such exists, and to accommodate the prospective traffic and afford access for firefighting, emergency response vehicles, snow removal and other road-maintenance equipment. The arrangement of streets shall be such as to cause no undue hardship to adjoining properties and shall be coordinated so as to compose a convenient system.
B.
Relation to topography. Streets shall be logically related and conform insofar as possible to original topography. They shall be arranged so as to obtain as many as possible of the building sites at or above the grades of the streets. A combination of steep grades and sharp curves shall be avoided.
C.
Block size. Block dimensions shall be at least twice the minimum lot depth and generally not more than 12 times the minimum lot width. In long blocks, the Planning Board may require the dedication through the block of a twenty-five-foot-wide easement to accommodate utilities or pedestrian traffic.
D.
Intersections. Intersections of major streets by other streets shall be at least 800 feet apart, if possible. Cross (four-cornered) street intersections shall be avoided, except at important traffic intersections. A distance of at least 150 feet shall be maintained between offset intersections. Within 40 feet of an intersection, streets shall be approximately at right angles, and grades shall be limited to 1.5%. All street intersection corners shall be rounded by curves of at least 25 feet in radius at the property line.
E.
Visibility at intersections. Within the triangular area formed at corners by the intersecting street lines, for a distance of 75 feet from their intersection and the diagonal connecting the end points of these lines, visibility for traffic safety shall be provided by excavating, if necessary. Nothing in the way of fences, walls, hedges or other landscaping shall be permitted to obstruct such visibility.
F.
Design and construction standards. Streets shall meet standards of the Town of Beekman Highway Department and Town Engineer.
G.
Dedication. The Town Board shall, in consideration of an offer of dedication of roadway, have the right to reject the same if all other municipal improvements concerning the lots fronting on said roadway are not also complete. In making said offer of dedication, the subdivider shall submit the following documents to the Town Attorney:
(1)
An abstract of title continued to recent date showing marketable title to the premises offered for dedication or, in the alternate, a policy of title insurance insuring the fee interest of said roadway to the Town of Beekman in an amount to be determined by the Town Board.
(2)
A copy of the survey of the subject roadway, certified to the Town of Beekman by the person preparing the same, acceptable to the Town Engineer.
(3)
A continued tax search of subject premises.
(4)
A written review by the Highway Superintendent and Town Engineer.
(5)
If surfacing material has not been applied, then a certified check, bond or letter of credit in an amount recommended by the Town Highway Superintendent and Town Engineer to cover the cost of satisfactorily completing construction of said roadway.
(6)
An affidavit signed by the subdivider agreeing to complete surfacing of the roadway within two years or when 90% of the units are completed, whichever is less. Said subdivider shall bear the expense of any paving cost overruns if the certified check, bond or letter of credit on deposit with the Town, with accrued interest, should be an insufficient amount. The letter of credit shall be an irrevocable letter of credit, and the Town shall require that the letter of credit be presented to a local confirming bank. The draft demand for payment shall be accompanied by a sworn statement, signed by the appropriate official of the Town (Town Supervisor), stating the developer is in default. In addition, should any amount of moneys remain after surfacing is satisfactorily completed, said moneys, plus accrued interest, shall be refunded to the subdivider.
H.
Continuation of streets into adjacent property. Streets shall be arranged to provide for the continuation of local and collector-streets between adjacent properties where such continuation is necessary for convenient movement of traffic, effective fire protection, efficient provision of utilities, and particularly where such continuation is in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan. Every effort shall be undertaken in order to expand the Town-wide system of through streets and minimize the development of subdivisions with only one vehicular access point. If the adjacent property is undeveloped and the street must be a dead-end street temporarily, the right-of-way and improvements shall be extended to the property line. Additionally, the Planning Board, in consultation with the Beekman Fire Advisory Board, shall require the subdivider to include appropriate design features which maximize safety for the development served by a single vehicular connection to a public street. The greater the length of the proposed dead-end street, the more substantial the additional safety measures to be required. A temporary circular turnaround, a minimum of 70 feet in radius, shall be provided on all temporary dead-end streets with the notation on the plat that land outside the street right-of-way shall revert to abutters whenever the street is continued. The turnaround shall include a landscaped and curbed center island. A planting and maintenance schedule shall be provided. The center island shall be designed to minimize or eliminate maintenance. Where maintenance is necessary, a note placed on the subdivision plat shall identify the proposed responsible entity.
I.
Inspection of improvements. If the Town Engineer shall find, upon inspection of the improvements performed before the expiration date of the performance bond, that any of the required improvements have not been constructed in accordance with plans and specifications filed by the subdivider, he shall so report to the Town Board and the Planning Board. The Town Board then shall notify the subdivider and, if necessary, the bonding company, and take all necessary steps to preserve the Town's rights under the bond. No plat shall be approved by the Planning Board as long as the subdivider is in default on the previously approved plat.
J.
Permanent dead-end streets.
(1)
Every effort shall be undertaken in order to expand the Town-wide system of through streets and minimize the development of subdivisions with a single vehicular access to an existing public street. Where the Planning Board finds that it is not practicable to provide a through street, now or in the future, in conjunction with a proposed subdivision, dead-end streets shall not extend to the property boundary. It shall be separated from such property boundary by a distance of not less than 100 feet. Reserve strips of land shall not be left between the end of a proposed street and adjacent property. However, the Planning Board may require the dedication of a twenty-foot-wide easement to accommodate pedestrian traffic or utilities. A circular turnaround with a minimum right-of-way radius of 70 feet shall be provided at the end of a permanent dead-end street. The turnaround shall include a landscaped and curbed center island. A planting and maintenance schedule shall be provided. The center island shall be designed to minimize or eliminate maintenance. Where maintenance is necessary, a note placed on the subdivision plat shall identify the proposed responsible entity.
(2)
Where the size, configuration and/or presence of natural constraints to development preclude a through street, the design of the subdivision shall incorporate features that afford greater physical safety and quality of neighborhood character. The Planning Board, in consultation with the Beekman Fire Advisory Board, shall require the subdivider to include appropriate design features which maximize the safety for the development served by a single vehicular connection to a public street. The greater the length of the proposed dead-end street, the more substantial the additional safety measures to be required. Loop roads which provide a single vehicular connection to an existing public street are considered dead-end streets for the purposes of these regulations.
K.
Street names. All streets shall be named, and such names shall be subject to the approval of the Town Board. Street names shall be selected from the official list of street names maintained by the Town Clerk. Names shall be sufficiently different in sound and spelling from other street names in the Town so as not to cause confusion and, further, shall be acceptable to the Dutchess County 9-1-1 emergency response agency. A street which is a continuation of an existing street shall bear the same name.
L.
Improvements. Streets shall be graded and improved with pavement, street signs, sidewalks, streetlighting standards, curbs, gutters, trees, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm drains and fire hydrants and underground electric cable television and telephone services, except where the Planning Board may waive, subject to appropriate conditions, such improvements as it considers are not requisite to the interest of public health, safety and general welfare.
M.
Underground utilities. Underground utilities required by the Planning Board shall be placed between the paved roadway and street line to simplify location and repair of the lines, and the subdivider shall install underground service connections to the property line of each lot before the street is paved.
N.
Grading and improvements shall conform to the Town minimum road specifications and other Town standards and shall be approved as to design and specifications by the Town Engineer or other duly designated Town Official.
A.
Arrangement. The arrangement of lots shall be such that there will be no foreseeable difficulties for reasons of topography or other conditions in locating a building on each lot and in providing access to buildings on such lots from an approved street.
B.
Access across watercourses. Where a watercourse separates the buildable area of a lot from the access street, provisions shall be made for the installation of a culvert or other structure, of a design approved by the Town Engineer. Nothing in this section shall conflict or supersede provisions of the New York State Freshwater Wetlands Act or other applicable statutes.
C.
Side lot lines. Proposed side lot lines shall be at substantially right angles or radial to street lines unless, in the judgment of the Planning Board, a variation from this rule will allow a better street or lot plan. Where the Planning Board identifies an irregular side lot line(s) evidently configured for the viability of an additional lot(s), rather than to enhance the design of the development, the Planning Board may require an alternate layout which eliminates the irregular lot line(s).
D.
Access from major streets. Lots shall not, in general, derive vehicular access from a major street; where driveway access from a major street may be necessary for several adjoining lots, the Planning Board may require that such lots be served by a marginal street parallel to the major street, or a combined access drive in order to limit possible traffic hazard on such street. Where direct access from a major street is proposed, it shall be the burden of the subdivider to document unusual circumstances that necessitate deriving access from a major street.
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide an equitable and effective standard for securing adequate land for parks, playgrounds and open space recreation uses in subdivisions throughout the Town.
B.
Planning Board finding. Land for park, playground or other recreational purposes shall not be required until the Planning Board has made a finding that a proper case exists for requiring that a park or parks be suitably located for playgrounds or other recreational purposes. Such finding shall include an evaluation of the present and anticipated future community needs for park and recreational facilities in the Town based on projected demographic trends. The Planning Board shall consider the following in determining the suitability of the land proposed for recreational purposes:
(1)
The size and shape of the reserved land.
(2)
Whether the land is "usable land," which, for purposes of these regulations, shall be taken to mean that such lands are not already environmentally and/or statutorily constrained, including but not limited to, New York State freshwater wetlands or associated regulatory buffer area, United States Army Corps of Engineers regulated wetlands, one-hundred-year floodplains, critical environmental areas (CEAs) under SEQRA, or other areas that are already subject to protection by local law or state or federal statute.
C.
Fee in lieu of land. When requested by the subdivider, or in cases where the Board finds that, due to the size, shape, topography or location of the subdivision, land for park, playground or other recreation purpose cannot be properly located therein, the Planning Board may waive the requirement that the plat show land for such purposes. The Board shall then require as a condition of approval of the plat a payment of recreation fees in lieu of land, such amount shall be in the amount specified by Chapter 75 of the Code of the Town of Beekman at the time the subdivision plat is presented for signature by the Chairman of the Planning Board. Such payment in lieu of land for recreation shall be required only after the Planning Board has issued an appropriate finding as to the need for parkland proportional to the proposed development. Such amount shall be determined by the total number of dwelling units approved, whether or not the units in the development are to be held in fee simple ownership. No plat shall be signed by the authorized officer of the Planning Board until such payment is made. Such payments shall be held in a special fund for acquisition and development of recreation land, all money in this fund is to be used only for:
(1)
The purchase of land that is suitable for new or enlarged parks, playgrounds or open spaces and located so as to serve the inhabitants of the Town's residential neighborhoods; and
(2)
The improvement of new or existing park, playground and open space lands which serve the Town's residential neighborhoods.
D.
In any case, the Planning Board shall be satisfied that required recreation land will be maintained and will not be used for other than recreation purposes.
E.
Nothing in this section will be construed as prohibiting a developer from reserving other land for recreation purposes in addition to the requirements of this section.
F.
The Planning Board shall not at any time authorize the waiver of both the land dedication and fee-in-lieu-thereof requirements.
Where topography or other conditions are such as to make impractical the inclusion of utilities or drainage facilities within street rights-of-way, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 20 feet in width for such utilities shall be provided across property outside the street lines and with satisfactory access to the street.
The Planning Board may require, in order to facilitate pedestrian access from street to schools, parks, playground or other nearby streets, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 12 feet in width. Such pedestrianways shall be finished with a surface to be determined by the Planning Board. Where appropriate, the Planning Board may require planting along each side of pedestrianways in order to provide a measure of privacy to immediately adjacent lots.
Land subject to flooding or land deemed by the Planning Board to be uninhabitable shall not be platted for residential occupancy, nor for such other uses as may increase danger to health, life or property or aggravate the flood hazard, but such land within the plat shall be set aside for such uses as shall not be endangered by periodic or occasional inundation or improved in a manner satisfactory to the Planning Board to remedy said hazardous conditions. Chapter 83, Flood Damage Prevention, of the Code of the Town of Beekman, shall be employed in order to facilitate fulfilling the standards contained herein.
A landscape plan shall be prepared by a licensed landscape architect for subdivisions of 10 lots or more. Such landscape plan shall include:
A.
The location and species of street trees, if retained within the right-of-way or proposed to be planted by the subdivider.
B.
Details of methods of tree protection and tree planting.
C.
Plans and details of any site improvements related to park or recreation planning, including layout, grading, planting and details of any improvements.
D.
Plans and details of any other public amenities provided in the subdivision.
E.
The date and scale.
F.
The title under which the proposed subdivision is to be recorded with the names of the owner and landscape architect who prepared the landscape plan; the license number and seal of the landscape architect shall be affixed to the drawing.
A.
Purpose and intent.
(1)
In order to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the Town of Beekman and preserve open space, it is the policy of the Town of Beekman to encourage conservation subdivision design techniques, also known as "cluster development" under § 278 of the Town Law. Conservation subdivision techniques may be invoked only during the review of residential subdivisions. Specific objectives of a residential conservation development are to incorporate flexibility and innovation in design and development of land in such a manner as to promote the most appropriate use of land; achieve greater variety in the type, design and layout of buildings; maintain the natural and scenic qualities of the Town of Beekman; preserve areas of ecological and historical significance; and minimize the amount of land required for roads and utilities.
(2)
To fulfill the above purposes, and to preserve environmental, visual and historically significant resources that are important to the community's well-being (including but not limited to wetlands, steep slopes, stream corridors, prime farmlands, ridge tops, erosive soils and scenic landscapes), the Planning Board may require an applicant for subdivision approval to apply for a residential cluster development under this section in order to protect such resources from the adverse effects resulting from a conventional subdivision layout.
B.
Permitted uses. The following uses are permitted in a residential conservation subdivision.
C.
Overall residential density. A residential conservation development shall not contain a total number of dwelling units which exceeds the number which could be permitted if the land were subdivided into conventional lots conforming to the minimum lot size and density requirements of this chapter applicable to the district or districts in which such land is located and conforming to all other applicable requirements.
D.
Open space.
(1)
Each conservation development shall preferably result in preservation of at least 35% of the gross area, exclusive of streets and other paved areas, for parks, recreation, public trails, conservation, agricultural, or other open space purposes.
(2)
The open space shall have access, shape, dimensions, character, location and topography suitable for the purpose intended as approved by the Planning Board. In determining which land is to be preserved as open space, the natural and scenic qualities of the site shall be taken into consideration, as well as the ecological significance of the site and its utility as an open space.
(3)
The open space shall be shown on the plat map and shall be labeled in a manner to indicate that such land is not to be platted for building lots and is permanently reserved for open space.
(4)
If the Planning Board finds that part of such open space is of such size, location, shape, topography and general character as to be useful to satisfy the recreational purposes of the Town, the Planning Board may require the applicant to provide 5,000 square feet of recreational area within such open space for each detached dwelling unit and 750 square feet of recreational area within such open space for each semidetached or attached dwelling unit. When the Planning Board finds that there is no such land within the open space that is of such a character as to be useful to satisfy recreational purposes, then the applicant shall pay to the Town of Beekman a recreation fee for each dwelling unit as set forth in Chapter 75 of the Code of the Town of Beekman. The funds shall be placed in the Town's recreational fund to be used by the Town exclusively for park, playground or other recreational purposes, including the acquisition of property.
E.
Common open space title.
(1)
Deed restriction. The applicant shall deliver to the Planning Board for its approval appropriate documents establishing deed restrictions prohibiting in perpetuity any land designated for common open space from being used for any other purpose.
(2)
Ownership of open space. The Planning Board shall determine the ownership of the open space. Ownership options:
(a)
Granted to the Town with the approval of the Town Board.
(b)
Granted to a qualified not-for-profit conservation organization.
(c)
Owned in common by a homeowners' association.
(d)
If it is determined that the open space is not to be granted, then the Planning Board shall require the applicant to establish a legally constituted organization for the ownership and maintenance of all common open space and any undedicated streets. This organization shall not be dissolved, nor shall it dispose of any common open space, by sale or otherwise.
(e)
Rules for organization. Any organization established in accordance with § 155-54E(2)(b)[3][a] above shall:
(3)
Be established before a building permit has been issued for any dwelling unit in the residential conservation development.
(4)
Make membership mandatory for each owner of a residential building and any succeeding owner.
(5)
Guarantee access to all the common open space.
(6)
Be responsible for liability insurance and maintenance of all common open space.
(7)
Require owners of residential buildings to pay their pro rata share of the costs listed above, provided that an assessment levied by the organization shall have the same force and effect as a debt or ground rent or lien against the real property.
(8)
Be able to adjust the assessment to meet changing needs.
(9)
Common open space maintenance; maintenance plan required. The documents establishing or creating such organization shall provide for a plan for the maintenance of all common open space and undedicated streets in the residential conservation development.
F.
Heights, bulk, coverage, location and land uses. In order to encourage and enable a residential conservation development of desirable and imaginative design and to maintain a flexibility of this chapter, specific controls of the height, bulk and lot coverage of buildings and the location of the various permitted land uses and public facilities are not contained in this section. Instead, it is required that all stages of a residential conservation development be developed according to a comprehensive final plan for the overall development, as approved by the Planning Board, which shall conform to the requirements of this chapter.
G.
Initial consideration.
(1)
Application for a residential conservation development shall be made to the Planning Board. A written statement by the applicant shall set forth the reasons why, in his opinion, a residential conservation development would be consistent with the objectives set forth herein.
(2)
The statement shall include a description of the proposal and the purpose to be accomplished by the plan.
(3)
The applicant shall also submit sketch layouts for both conventional subdivision and conservation development of the site. A preliminary plat subdivision layout shall also be required to enable the Planning Board to determine the number of conventional lots, which could be permitted if the land were subdivided in accordance with all applicable regulations. This preliminary plat shall conform to the submission and all other requirements contained in this chapter and Chapter 155, Zoning.
H.
Planning Board review.
(1)
The Planning Board shall study the practicality of the sketch layout, taking into consideration the declared objectives of this section and requirements of the Town. Particular attention will be given to the arrangement of lots; location, width and safety of proposed roads; topography, access, location and layout of proposed recreation sites; proposed methods of handling water and sewage disposal needs; and any requirements of the Town Comprehensive Plan.
(2)
Review of the conservation proposal will further consider the arrangement of the buildings on the site and in relation to adjacent properties and the nature of the proposed open space. The proposal must, in the Planning Board's judgment, meet the objectives of this section as set forth in § 155-54A of the Code of the Town of Beekman.
I.
Town Engineer. Upon receipt of a formal application for the use of this planning concept, a set of all pertinent materials shall be forwarded to the Town Engineer and any government agency deemed necessary, for their review and recommendation.