No use, change in use, expansion, enlargement, alteration or
construction activity requiring approval under this article shall
be commenced unless and until the property owner has submitted to
and secured approval by the Planning Board.
Review and approval shall be required for any use listed in
Article 5 as a use requiring Planning Board permit.
The Planning Board shall hear and approve, approve with modifications
or conditions, or disapprove an application for site plan review approval
based on its compliance with standards set forth in this chapter.
If a proposed structure or use does not meet any of the dimensional requirements of this chapter, a variance must be obtained from the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with §
240-9.2 prior to a public hearing by the Planning Board.
All site plan applications shall conform to the Town-wide standards
in Articles 6 and the standards for specific activities, land uses
and zones where appropriate in Article 7 of this chapter. In addition,
where applicable, site plans shall also conform to the following standards.
A. Erosion control. Erosion and sedimentation control plans shall be
developed so as to ensure that erosion of soil and sedimentation of
watercourses and water bodies will be minimized by employing the following
"best management" practices:
(1)
Stripping of vegetation, soil removal and regrading or other
development shall be accomplished in such a way as to minimize erosion.
(2)
The duration of exposure of the disturbed area shall be kept
to a practical minimum.
(3)
Temporary vegetation and/or mulching shall be used to protect
exposed areas during development.
(4)
Permanent (final) vegetation and mechanical erosion control
measures, in accordance with the standards of the County Soil and
Water Conservation District, shall be installed as soon as possible
after construction ends.
(5)
Until a disturbed area is stabilized, sediment in runoff water
shall be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt
traps or other acceptable methods.
(6)
The top of a cut or the bottom of a fill section shall not be
closer than 10 feet to an adjoining property, unless otherwise specified
in this chapter.
(7)
During grading operations, methods of dust control shall be
employed, wherever practicable.
B. Parking lot design criteria.
(1)
Vehicular entrance and exit.
(a)
Entrances and exits shall be clearly identified by the use of
signs, curb cuts and landscaping.
(b)
Entrance/exit design shall be reviewed for size, location, sight
distance, grade separation, and possible future changes in highway
alignment of any affected public roads.
(c)
Access points from a public road to commercial and industrial
operations shall be so located as to minimize traffic congestion and
also to avoid generating traffic on local access streets of a primarily
residential character.
(d)
At each driveway curb cut, no visual obstructions higher that
three feet above street level shall be allowed closer than 10 feet
to the traveled way for 25 feet from the intersection, measured along
both the street and the driveway.
(e)
Where a site occupies a corner of two intersecting roads, no
driveway entrance or exit shall be located within 50 feet of the point
of tangency of the existing or proposed curb radius of that site.
(f)
No part of any driveway shall be located within 10 feet of a
side property line. However, the Planning Board may permit a driveway
serving two or more adjacent lots to be located within 10 feet of
the side lot line between the adjacent lots.
(g)
Where two or more two-way driveways connect a single site to
any one road, a minimum clear distance of 100 feet measured along
the right-of-way line shall separate the closest edges of any two
such driveways. If one driveway is two-way and one is a one-way driveway,
the minimum distance shall be 75 feet.
(h)
Driveways should intersect the road at an angle of as near 90°
as site conditions will permit and in no case less than 60°.
(i)
Acceleration and deceleration lanes should be provided where
the volume of traffic using the driveway and the volume of traffic
on the road would otherwise create unsafe traffic conditions.
(2)
Interior vehicular circulation.
(a)
Painted arrows and/or signs shall be used as necessary to define
desired circulation patterns.
(b)
Enclosures, such as guardrails, curbs, fences, walls and landscaping,
shall be used to identify circulation patterns and to restrict driving
movements diagonally across parking aisles where necessary, but not
to reduce visibility of oncoming pedestrians and vehicles.
(c)
Any parking lot with an area over one acre shall be provided
with shade trees planted at representative points throughout the lot.
There shall be one tree planted for every 35 parking spaces.
(3)
Parking.
(a)
Access to parking spaces shall not be from major interior travel
lanes, and shall not be immediately accessible from any public way.
(b)
Parking areas shall be designed to permit each motor vehicle
to proceed to and from the parking space provided for it without requiring
the moving of any other motor vehicles.
(c)
Parking aisles should be oriented perpendicular to stores or
businesses for easy pedestrian access and visibility.
(d)
Lighting of parking areas may be required at the discretion of the Planning Board. All lighting shall meet the provisions of Chapter
245, Lighting, Outdoor.
(e)
When parking areas are paved, painted stripes shall be used
to delineate parking spaces.
(f)
Bumpers and/or wheel stops shall be provided where overhang
of parked cars might restrict traffic flow on adjacent through roads,
restrict pedestrian movement on adjacent walkways, or damage landscape
materials.
(g)
Parking spaces shall be provided to conform with the number required in §§
240-6.9 and
240-6.10.
C. Stormwater management. Stormwater management plans shall be developed
so as to ensure that surface water runoff shall be minimized and detained
on site if possible. If it is not possible to detain water on site,
downstream improvements may be required to minimize off-site impacts.
The natural state of watercourses, swales, floodways or existing rights-of-way
and easements shall be maintained as nearly as possible. Where the
development involves more than 10,000 square feet of impervious surface,
a stormwater drainage system capable of handling a fifty-year storm
without adverse impact on adjacent properties and downstream facilities
shall be constructed. Stormwater and surface water runoff, whether
channelized or not, shall not be diverted onto adjacent properties
without an easement, unless in a natural or previously existing channel.
D. Buffers. Buffers include natural vegetation, plantings, fences, berms
and mounds used to protect adjacent properties or roadways from any
detrimental features of a proposed development or use. The following
guidelines apply:
(1)
Buffers shall be considered in or for the following areas and
purposes:
(a)
Along property lines, to shield various uses from each other.
(b)
Along interior roads running parallel to roads exterior to the
site.
(c)
Around commercial parking areas, waste collection and disposal
areas, storage areas and loading and unloading areas, to minimize
the visual impact and to prevent wind-borne debris from leaving the
site.
(2)
Natural features shall be maintained wherever possible to provide
a buffer between the proposed development and noncompatible abutting
properties and public roadways. When natural features such as topography,
gullies, stands of trees, shrubbery or rock outcrops do not exist
or are insufficient to provide a buffer, other kinds of buffers shall
be considered.
(3)
Buffers shall be sufficient to shield structures and uses from
the view of noncompatible abutting properties and public roadways.
(4)
All buffers shall be properly maintained by the owner and shall
be located within the property line so as to allow access for maintenance
on both sides without intruding upon abutting properties.
E. Emergency access and circulation.
(1)
All new commercial and industrial buildings, hotels, motels,
nursing homes, elder-care facilities, and buildings used by the general
public shall provide a clear, unimpeded route of access for emergency
vehicles. This route shall be acceptable to the Fire Chief. The route
shall be identified on the site by appropriate pavement marking and/or
signs that restrict parking, standing or unloading within this access
route.
(2)
A new facility such as a hospital, nursing home, or elder-care
facility that regularly accommodates ill, infirm, or elderly occupants
shall provide a separate entrance for the movement of incapacitated
people. This entrance shall be designed to accommodate a stretcher
and shall allow for a rescue unit to reach the entrance conveniently
and in an unimpeded manner.
(3)
A new facility such as a hospital, nursing home, or elder-care
facility that regularly accommodates ill, infirm, or elderly occupants
shall provide for the convenient movement of incapacitated people
between floors of the building. Where appropriate, at least one elevator
capable of accommodating a stretcher in a horizontal position shall
be included in the buildings.
Upon consideration of the factors listed above, the Planning
Board may attach such conditions, in addition to those required elsewhere
in this chapter, that it finds necessary to further the purposes of
this chapter. Violation of any of these conditions shall be a violation
of this chapter. Such conditions may include, but are not limited
to, specifications for: type of vegetation, specified sewage disposal
and water supply facilities, landscaping and planting screens, period
of operation, operational controls, professional inspection and maintenance,
sureties, deed restrictions, restrictive covenants, type of construction,
or any other reasonable conditions necessary to fulfill the purposes
of this chapter.
When a proposed subdivision includes a conditional use, the Planning Board may review that conditional use as part of the overall subdivision review as guided by Chapter
415, Subdivision Regulations. The Planning Board review process and findings of fact for the final approval of the subdivision will specifically address compliance with the conditions of §
240-10.10 for the proposed conditional use. An additional application, hearing and notification process shall not be required when such proposed uses are reviewed in conjunction with the proposed subdivision. For a conditional use approval obtained under this section, the time periods for expiration of the approval contained in §§
240-10.8I and
240-11.7B shall not begin to run on the date of the approval but shall begin to run on the earlier of the following dates:
A. Two years prior to the date on which Chapter
415, Subdivision Regulations, require substantial completion of the subdivision or the phase of the subdivision that contains the conditional use;
B. An
earlier date designated by the Planning Board in its approval; or
C. Any
date on which this chapter is amended to convert the conditional use
into a prohibited use.