A. 
By an ordinance adopted by the Common Council of the City of Plattsburgh on March 30, 1955, pursuant to the provisions of the General Municipal Law, and by an ordinance subsequently adopted by the Common Council on June 5, 1973, pursuant to the provisions of the General City Law, the Planning Board of the City of Plattsburgh has the power and authority to approve, modify and disapprove plats, showing lots, blocks or sites with or without streets or highways, to approve the development of entirely or partially undeveloped plats already filed in the office of the Clerk of the county and to conditionally approve preliminary plats within the City of Plattsburgh. As a basis for such approval, the Planning Board prescribes the following regulations governing subdivisions.
B. 
All references herein to the General City Law are for the purpose of incorporating by reference all of the provisions contained in such law as though the same were set forth herein in full length and adopting the contents of such provisions of the General City Law as a part thereof.
C. 
Appointment. The Mayor shall appoint the regular and alternate members of the Planning Board, subject to confirmation by the affirmative vote of three members of the Common Council. At least one regular member or alternate member shall be appointed from each Ward. The Mayor shall appoint a chairperson of the Planning Board from among the regular members. No member of the Common Council or the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Plattsburgh shall be eligible for appointment to the Planning Board. A Board member may be removed from office by vote of the Common Council if he (she) fails to attend five or more Board meetings out of 12, consecutive regular or special meetings of the Board.
[Added 1-30-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003]
It is declared to be the policy of the City of Plattsburgh Planning Board, to consider land subdivision plats as part of a plan for the orderly and efficient future growth and development of the City affording suitable and adequate facilities for the housing, transportation, distribution, comfort, convenience, safety, health and welfare of its population. The following objectives shall guide the Planning Board's decisions:
A. 
Land to be subdivided shall be of such character that it can be used safely for building purposes without danger to health or peril from fire, flood or other menace.
B. 
Proper provision shall be made for water supply, drainage, sewerage and other needed public improvements and utilities in accordance with the Comprehensive Master Plan.
C. 
Proposed streets shall compose a convenient system conforming to the Comprehensive Master Plan.
D. 
Streets shall be of such width, grade and location as to accommodate present and prospective traffic.
E. 
All subdivision design shall assure adequate light and air.
F. 
All development shall facilitate adequate fire protection and provide access for firefighting equipment.
G. 
Open space for parks and playgrounds shall be shown on the subdivision plat wherever appropriate.
H. 
In case any of these regulations shall conflict or be inconsistent with any provisions of City law, such relevant provisions shall apply.
A. 
Rules of construction of language.
(1) 
Words used in the present tense include the future.
(2) 
Words used in the singular number include the plural, and words used in the plural number include the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.
(3) 
The word "shall" is always mandatory. The word "may" is permissive.
(4) 
A "building" or "structure" includes any part thereof. "Building or other structure" includes all other structures of every description, regardless of dissimilarity to conventional building forms.
(5) 
The phrase "used for" includes "arranged for," "designed for," "intended for," "maintained for" and "occupied for."
(6) 
The word "person" includes a corporation as well as an individual.
(7) 
The word "lot" includes the word "plot" or "parcel."
(8) 
The term "Planning Board" shall mean the "City Planning Commission."
B. 
Terms defined. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CITY PLANNER
The duly designated Planner of the City of Plattsburgh.
[Amended 8-17-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017]
COLLECTOR STREET
A street which serves or is designed to serve as a trafficway for a neighborhood or as a feeder to a major street.
CUL-DE-SAC STREET
A street with only one means of vehicular ingress and egress and with a turnaround at its terminus.
EASEMENT
An acquired right of use on the property of another for a specified purpose.
ENGINEER
A person licensed as a professional engineer by the State of New York.
INTERIOR LOT
A lot enclosed on all sides by other lots and not abutting a public street.
MAJOR STREET
A street which serves or is designed to serve rapid or heavy flows of traffic and which is used primarily as a route for traffic between communities and/or other heavy traffic-generating areas. Arterial streets and highways are "major streets."
MAJOR SUBDIVISION
Any subdivision not classified as a "minor subdivision," including but not limited to subdivisions of five or more lots, or any size subdivision requiring any new street or extension of municipal facilities.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREET
A local street which is parallel to and adjacent to a major artery and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
MASTER PLAN
A Comprehensive Plan prepared and/or approved by the Planning Board, which indicates the general locations recommended for the various functional classes of public works, places and structures and for the general physical development of the City and includes any unit or part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof.
MINOR STREET
A street intended to serve primarily as access to abutting properties.
MINOR SUBDIVISION
Any subdivision containing not more than four lots, each of at least the minimum size as permitted by the Zoning Ordinance,[1] each fronting on an existing public street, not involving any new street or road or the extension of municipal facilities, not adversely affecting the development of the remainder of the parcel or adjoining properties and not in conflict with any provisions or portion of the Master Plan.
OFFICIAL MAP
The map established or to be established by the City Council showing streets, highways and parks theretofore laid out, adopted and established by law and any amendments thereto adopted by the City Council or additions thereto resulting from the approval of subdivision plats by the Planning Board and the subsequent filing of such approved plats.
PRELIMINARY PLAT
A drawing or drawings, clearly marked "preliminary plat," showing the salient features of a proposed subdivision, as specified in § 300-23 of these regulations, submitted to the Planning Board for purposes of consideration prior to submission of the plat in final form and of sufficient detail to apprise the Planning Board of the layout of the proposed subdivision.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
The property of a circulatory facility. (See "street width.")
SKETCH PLAN
A sketch of a proposed subdivision showing the information specified in § 300-21 of these regulations to enable the subdivider to reach general agreement with the Planning Board as to the form of the layout and objectives of these regulations.
STREET
A way for vehicular traffic, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, road, artery, avenue, boulevard, lane, place or however otherwise designated, between right-of-way lines.
STREET PAVEMENT
The wearing or exposed surface of the roadway use by vehicular traffic.
STREET WIDTH
The width of the right-of-way or the distance between property lines on opposite sides of a street, measured at right angles to the center line of the street.
SUBDIVIDER
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or association who shall lay out any subdivision or part thereof as defined herein, either for himself, itself or for others.
SUBDIVISION
The division of any parcel of land into two or more lots, plots, sites or other division of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or building development. Such division shall include resubdivision of plats already filed in the office of the County Clerk if such plats are entirely or partially undeveloped. Such division may be for residential or nonresidential use.
SUBDIVISION PLAT or FINAL PLAT
A drawing, in final form, showing a proposed subdivision containing all information or detail required by law and by these regulations to be presented to the Planning Board for approval and which, if approved, may be duly filed or recorded by the applicant in the Office of the County Clerk.
SURVEYOR
A person licensed as a land surveyor by the State of New York.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 360, Zoning.