The following standards shall apply to the establishment or expansion of any "campground," defined here as any plot of ground upon which two or more sites are located for occupancy by seasonal rental cabins, tents, campers, trailers or other recreational vehicles for recreational, educational or vacation purposes:
A. The plans for the construction or expansion of any facility shall be reviewed and approved by the Planning Board under the provisions of Article
IV prior to the start of construction and the occupancy of any site.
B. Within a campground, there shall be a minimum area of 3,500 square feet and a minimum width of 70 feet per campsite, exclusive of roadways, common facilities and open space. In no case shall the overall density of the campground be greater than one site per 5,000 square feet, inclusive of roadways, common facilities and open space.
C. All recreational vehicles, tents or shelters and utility and service buildings shall be set back a minimum of 100 feet from all property and street lines and set back a minimum of 75 feet from the normal high-water mark of any water body or stream.
D. A properly landscaped buffer area at least 50 feet in width shall be maintained along all property and street lines.
E. Sanitary and recreational facilities shall be located to conveniently and safely service the occupants of the facility.
F. The design of roads and walkways within the site must accommodate pedestrian traffic and provide pedestrian safety.
G. Walkways shall be designed where possible to avoid crossing roads to reach service buildings or recreation areas. Walkways in the campground shall be indicated on the plan and shall be surfaced with an all-weather, dustless material.
H. Roads within campgrounds shall be at least 14 feet wide for one-way roads and 20 feet wide for two-way roads. All roads shall be maintained in a well-graded, well-drained condition and surfaced with an all-weather, dustless material.
I. All entrance and exit roads shall intersect public roads at an angle between 80° and 90° and at a grade not to exceed 3% for the first 75 feet of the campground road.
J. All campgrounds shall provide the following facilities:
(1) Two toilets, one toilet for each sex, per 10 sites shall be provided. Toilet facilities shall be located within 700 feet of each site. Urinals shall be provided. Up to 1/2 of the male toilets may be urinals. Regardless of the number of sites in the campground, a minimum of four toilets, two toilets for each sex, shall be provided.
(2) Where water and sewage hookups are not provided, two lavatories or other hand-washing facilities shall be provided, one for each sex, per 15 sites.
(3) Where individual water hookups and sewage disposal facilities are provided, the ratio shall be two toilets and lavatories, one per sex, for every 40 sites, located within 2,000 feet of each site. Where service buildings are not provided, privies and hand-washing facilities shall be provided at a ratio of two, one per sex, for every 40 sites, located within 500 feet of each site.
(4) Showers, serving hot and cold or tempered water, shall be provided at all campgrounds of 75 sites or more, and four showers, two per sex, shall be provided for every 50 sites.
(5) Utility sinks shall be provided. The sink should be located near the door if within a building where it can be utilized for disposal of dishwater brought in buckets.
K. An adequate supply of water shall be provided within 250 feet of all campsites. One water spigot with soakage pit or other disposal facilities shall be provided for each 10 campsites without water facilities.
L. All sewage treatment facilities and water systems shall meet all requirements of the New York State Department of Health and all other local and state requirements.
M. Circulation.
(1) Pedestrian safety. The design of roads and walkways within the campground must indicate pedestrian traffic.
(2) Walkways shall be designed, where possible, to avoid crossing roads to reach service buildings or recreation areas. Walkways in the campground shall be indicated on the plan and shall be surfaced with an all-weather, dustless material.
The following standards shall apply to all self storage units.
A. Vegetative buffering and/or fencing shall be provided along any road frontage and adjacent properties where determined necessary by the Planning Board. Fencing adjacent to the street shall be a decorative type.
B. Lighting shall be designed consistent with the standards in §
190-39.
C. Buildings shall be sited perpendicular to the road so that only the end unit faces the road.
D. The building shall be designed so that it is in harmony with the appearance of the surrounding neighborhood. A false facade or roof shall be used for end units facing the roadway.
E. The storage of flammable liquids, explosives, hazardous chemicals, radioactive wastes, pets or animals or illegal substances is prohibited.
F. Hours of access shall be specified by the Planning Board in keeping with the character of the surrounding neighborhood.
[Amended 9-6-2012 by L.L. No. 3-2012]
Accessory structures less than 120 square feet in size do not need to comply with the setback standards of this chapter. Accessory structures greater than 120 square feet in size must comply with the setback standards of this chapter. If the principal building or use to which the structure is accessory would require site plan review or a special use permit under this chapter, then the accessory structure requires such review.
The following standards shall apply to all private driveways in the Town of Greenwich.
A. Private driveway grades shall not exceed 12%.
B. Private driveway grades shall not exceed 3% within 100 feet of the intersection with a public roadway.
C. Adequately designed road culverts are to be installed at all driveways that connect to a public road. Culverts must be at least 30 feet long and shall be no less than 12 inches in diameter and shall be constructed of HDPE pipe.
D. There shall be no obstruction such as mailboxes, markers, stones or parked vehicles within three feet of the edge of the public roadway.
E. Driveways in excess of 500 feet must be accessible to and able to hold a fifty-thousand pound, thirty-foot-long vehicle, as determined by a licensed engineer, with facilities for turning around within 100 feet of any structure.
F. Shared driveways shall be allowed at the discretion of the Planning Board. In determining whether to allow shared driveways, the Planning Board shall consider whether doing so would result in better use of the land and would further the purposes of the Comprehensive Plan and this Zoning Ordinance. For any lots that propose to utilize a shared driveway, an agreement between landowners addressing access and shared maintenance responsibilities shall be provided to the Town and shall be executed by the landowners prior to any building permit being issued. The agreement shall be effective in perpetuity.
[Added 9-6-2012 by L.L. No. 3-2012]
The keeping of more than five junk vehicles or more than 10 trailers or storage containers on a property shall require a special use permit pursuant to Article
V of this chapter.
[Added 9-6-2012 by L.L. No. 3-2012]
A. Except as provided in Subsection
B, no occupied travel trailer shall be parked or otherwise placed within the Town of Greenwich unless such travel trailer is parked or placed in an approved campground (see §
190-62).
B. Temporary occupancy of a travel trailer in the Town of Greenwich outside of a campground for more than 14 consecutive days or more than 30 days per year shall require a certificate of occupancy to assure that adequate health and safety standards are met. To obtain a certificate of occupancy for a travel trailer, the applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer that there is a sanitary and adequate means of wastewater disposal as well as a safe and adequate supply of drinking water. Under no circumstances may a travel trailer be occupied outside a campground more than 60 days a year.
[Added 12-28-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
A. Solar as an accessory use or structure.
(1) Roof-mounted solar energy systems.
(a) Roof-mounted solar energy systems that use the electricity on-site or off-site are permitted as an accessory use in all zoning districts when attached to any lawfully permitted building or structure. No site plan or special use permit review is required for a roof-mounted solar energy system installed as an accessory use.
(b) Roof-mounted solar energy systems shall not exceed the maximum height restrictions of the zoning district in which they are located and are permitted the same height exemptions granted to building-mounted mechanical equipment.
(2) Ground-mounted solar energy systems.
(a) Ground-mounted solar energy systems that use the electricity primarily on-site are permitted as accessory structures in all districts. No site plan or special use permit review is required for a ground-mounted solar energy system installed as an accessory use.
(b) Ground-mounted solar energy systems shall adhere to the height, setback and lot coverage requirements of the underlying zoning district in which they are located.
(c) In all districts ground-mounted solar energy systems shall be installed in side or rear yards. The Code Enforcement Officer, at his or her discretion, may require that ground-mounted solar energy systems be screened from adjoining properties. The Code Enforcement Officer may require that such screening be installed within one year of the date of installation of the system.
(3) Approval standards for large-scale solar systems as a special use.
(a) No more than 20% of a large-scale solar system, and the access roads and infrastructure related thereto, may be underlain by prime, unique or important farmland as classified by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
(b) No solar array shall be installed until evidence has been provided to the Code Enforcement Officer that the owner has submitted notification to the utility company of the customer’s intent to install an interconnected customer-owned generator.
(c) Equipment specification sheets shall be submitted for all photovoltaic panels, significant components, mounting systems, and inverters proposed to be installed.
(d) The applicant shall submit a plan for the operation and maintenance of the solar array, which shall include measures for maintaining safe access to the installation, measures for managing vegetation growth, and general procedures for operation and maintenance of the system.
(e) Lighting shall be limited to that required for safety and operational purposes and shall be reasonably shielded from abutting properties. Lighting shall be directed downwards unless determined infeasible by the Planning Board and shall incorporate full cut-off fixtures to reduce light pollution.
(f) A copy of the plans shall be provided to the local fire chief. All means of shutting down the solar array shall be clearly marked.
(g) Visual impacts shall be minimized by preserving natural vegetation, screening abutting properties and roadways and other means as determined necessary by the Planning Board.
(h) The Planning Board may, at its discretion, require that the facility be enclosed by fencing to prevent unauthorized access. The type of fencing, if required, will be determined by the Planning Board.
(i) Signage shall be provided warning against unauthorized access and providing the owner’s contact information.
(j) To ensure the proper removal of large-scale solar energy systems, a decommissioning plan shall be submitted as part of the application. Compliance with this plan shall be made a condition of the issuance of a special use permit under this section. The decommissioning plan must specify that after the large-scale solar energy system can no longer be used, it shall be removed by the applicant or any subsequent owner. The plan shall demonstrate how the removal of all infrastructure and the remediation of soil and vegetation shall be conducted to return the parcel to its original state prior to construction. The plan shall include an expected timeline for execution. A cost estimate detailing the projected cost of executing the decommissioning plan shall be prepared by a licensed professional engineer. Cost estimations shall take into account inflation. Removal of large-scale solar energy systems must be completed in accordance with the decommissioning plan.
(k) A performance bond or other financial surety suitable to the Town Board shall be assigned to the Town of Greenwich for decommissioning purposes.
(l) All large-scale solar systems must enter into a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the Greenwich Town Board. Evidence of such agreement must be provided to the Planning Board prior to granting of approval.
(m) At the time that an application for site plan review for a large-scale
solar system is submitted, or an application for a building permit for any other
solar energy systems is submitted, all such applicants shall pay an application fee in the amount adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Town Code §
110-1 and listed on the Town's Fee Schedule.
[Added 6-8-2021 by L.L. No. 3-2021]
(4) Abandonment.
Solar energy systems are considered abandoned after one year without electrical energy generation and must be removed from the property. An extension from the Planning Board may be applied for using the procedures in Article
V.