[Adopted 11-4-1957 (Ch. 18, Art. III, of the 1966 Codification)]
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the
Town Board to provide for the proper use of land to prevent all manner
of excavations which create pits, holes or hollows in the earth, leaving
it in a hazardous or dangerous state, or cause soil erosion which
depletes the land of its natural vegetative cover and supply of organic
material and renders such land unproductive and unsuitable for agricultural
purposes and undesirable for building homes, resulting in lower land
values. By this article, the Town Board seeks to remove the danger
to health and life caused by deep excavations remaining in the ground
and the stripping of topsoil thereby resulting in damage to agricultural
crops through dust storms in dry weather by exposure of the earth
to wind action and in wet periods by pools of water, which ordinance
will promote the safety, health and general welfare of the people
of the Town. This article shall rescind all ordinances of this Town
which terms are contradictory hereto.
No excavation for purposes other than the construction of a wall, driveway, sidewalk, sewage disposal construction, groundwater drainage, well digging, farming or public use, building or part thereof or as permitted by § 163-12 of this article shall be commenced except in conformity with the provisions of this article.
Before any excavation for purposes other than
the construction of a wall, driveway, sidewalk, building or part thereof,
farming or a public use, sewage disposal construction, groundwater
drainage or well digging is commenced and topsoil, earth, sand, gravel,
rock or other substance is removed from the ground, the owner, lessee
or agent of the premises shall obtain a written permit therefor from
the Town Board, except that, where operations are being carried on
at the time this article becomes effective, a period of 60 days shall
be allowed for obtaining a permit while operations continue. However,
all such excavations shall be subject to all provisions of this article
from the date of its adoption. For that purpose, each applicant shall
file with the Town Clerk of the Town of Lancaster, New York, a verified
application for such permit, containing a detailed statement of the
proposed work, together with a plan. If such excavation is below road
level or the contour of adjoining property, this plan must be made
by a duly licensed engineer or surveyor.
A.
All information
as required in the application form prepared by the Town Board, including
a detailed statement of the proposed work and a three-dimensional
sketch of the proposed excavation and exact condition of the plot
or premises before work is commenced and the proposed condition of
said plot or premises after the work is completed shall be required;
which plan and sketch shall be drawn by a licensed engineer in the
State of New York.
[Amended 5-16-1988 by resolution]
B.
The plan shall
be drawn to a scale of not less than one inch equaling 100 feet and
give all streets adjoining the property, the location and dimensions
of the premises upon which it is proposed to excavate, the location,
size and use of any buildings, a cross section of the property, giving
elevations thereof at intervals of one-hundred-foot squares and also
at each break in the grades, and the elevation of the premises as
compared to the elevation of any abutting highways.
C.
For areas where
only topsoil is to be removed, the plan shall show the provisions
that have been made for draining or otherwise preventing the collection
of water on any portion of said plot which is not restored to original
grade.
D.
A duly acknowledged
consent, in writing, of the owner and/or lessee of the premises and
mortgagee, if any, including his or their addresses, together with
a statement warranting that no restrictions are violated, shall be
required.
E.
Receipted tax
bills or a certificate from the Receiver of Taxes of the Town of Lancaster
and the County Treasurer of Erie County showing payment of all taxes
and assessments to date against the property described in the application
shall be required.
F.
A certificate
of the Superintendent of Highways of the Town of Lancaster after approval
by Planning Board that such proposed excavation and the finished grades
of said property, as shown on said map, will not interfere with the
drainage or endanger any road, street or highway of the State of New
York, the County of Erie or the Town of Lancaster or other property
of said state, county or Town, shall be required.
[Amended 2-3-1992]
No such excavation shall be made:
A.
Within 250 feet
of any building, except that buildings owned by the applicant for
the permit shall be excluded.
B.
Within 50 feet
of any property line; however, the Town Board may, within its discretion,
allow excavations closer than 50 feet to any property line, provided
that the applicant submits to the Town Board a duly acknowledged consent,
in writing, of the owner, lessee and mortgagee, if any, of the adjoining
property affected, consenting to such excavation, and shall state
the distance agreed upon between the parties.
C.
Within 150 feet
of the edge of any street or highway right-of-way line.
D.
Unless said excavations
shall be leveled on the bottom by refilling, if necessary, or grading,
all sides being left with a slope from top to bottom of not more than
20%.
E.
Except that where
the material being removed is rock, in lieu of sloping all sides of
the excavation as hereinbefore provided, a permanent fence or barricade
designed to effectively prohibit access to the excavation must be
erected on all sides bordering streets, highways and neighboring properties
and at the conclusion of operations, a permanent fence or barricade
must be erected and maintained on all sides of such excavation.
F.
Except where the
pit or excavation is below the water level, this excavation must be
drained.
G.
During operations
at any such excavation, the licensee shall comply with any reasonable
direction by the Town Engineer or engineer for the Town for control
of dust by the spreading of oil or other dustdown material at said
operation. Failure to comply shall be grounds for revocation of any
permit by the Town Board after public hearing in its discretion.
I.
No strippings,
wastes or materials shall be banked or stored within 100 feet from
any property line, street or highway right-of-way line, except for
purposes of reserve for redevelopment.
No stripping or removal of topsoil shall be
made within 10 feet of any property line, and, upon completion of
the work, the premises, if below grade, shall be graded to the level
of the abutting highway or the original grade if the same were below
the level of the highway. Dustdown, or its equal, shall be spread
to prevent dust from flying and there shall be left upon the surface
of the land from which topsoil is removed not less than five inches
of topsoil from the original topsoil removed. All areas from which
topsoil is removed shall, during the period between April 1 and May
15 or August 15 and October 1, be prepared into a loose level seed
bed, limed, fertilized and seeded in the following steps:
A.
Apply ground limestone
at the rate of three tons per acre.
B.
Apply 5-10-10
fertilizer at the rate of 600 pounds per acre.
C.
Disc area to work
limestone and fertilizer into the soil to a depth of at least three
inches.
D.
Smooth area with
a smoothing harrow.
E.
Sow the following
seed mixture at the rate of 24 pounds per acre.
|
Seed
|
Pounds
|
|---|---|
|
New York State Broadleaf Trefoil
|
7
|
|
Timothy
|
5
|
|
Kentucky Bluegrass
|
2
|
|
Rye Grass
|
10
|
|
______
| |
|
Total
|
24
|
F.
Brush in seed
lightly.
G.
Roll firm with
ground roller.
H.
Except where this
area is to be used for agricultural purposes, regular farm practices
shall be deemed compliance.
[Amended 2-3-1992]
A.
Bond or cash deposit.
Before the issuance of a permit, the applicant and the owner of record
of the premises shall execute and file with the Town Clerk a bond,
approved by the Town Board of the Town of Lancaster in an amount to
be fixed by said Board, but not less than $2,000 for topsoil removal
and not less than $2,000 for all others, which amount shall not exceed
$1,000 for each acre excavated, with a maximum of $100,000, with a
surety company as surety and conditioned for the faithful performance
of the conditions contained in this article, the observance of all
state, county and municipal ordinances and laws and to indemnify the
Town of Lancaster and/or the Superintendent of Highways for any damage
to Town property and shall be further conditioned for compliance with
the terms and conditions of said permit which require the filling,
leveling off, sloping, grading and reseeding of said excavation. In
the event of a default, such bond shall be forfeited to the Town of
Lancaster.
B.
Said bond shall remain in full force and effect until a certificate of completion has been issued by the Town Board after public hearing certifying to the fact that all provisions of this article and conditions of the permit have been fully complied with. Application for such certificate shall be made by the applicant, owner, lessee or his agent on forms provided by the Town of Lancaster and shall be accompanied by a map drawn to scale showing a cross section of the affected property, giving elevations thereof as provided in § 163-6B of this article, after the completion of operations, who shall also certify that there is not less than five inches of topsoil remaining upon the ground from which topsoil has been removed and that such has been seeded in compliance with § 163-8 hereof.
C.
In lieu of such
bond, a cash deposit or deposit of negotiable securities may be made
with the Supervisor of the Town of Lancaster.
[Amended 1-15-1979; 5-2-1988; 2-3-1992]
For all activities not subject to regulation
by the State of New York:
A.
The Town Clerk,
when all conditions of this article are complied with, shall issue
permits and charge and collect the following fees, which are intended
to cover the cost to the Town for any necessary engineering review
and inspection:
B.
Payment of the
fee for permits shall be made at the time of application and thereafter
on the first day of January of the calendar year, if said permit is
renewed.
All permits shall expire on January 1 of each
year.
A.
Nothing contained
in this article shall require a person to obtain a permit to remove
or prevent a person from removing topsoil, sand, gravel, rock, limestone
or subsoil from part of his lands to another part of the same premises
when such removal is necessary as an accessory use or is made for
the purpose of farming or improving said property, and a free runoff
of surface waters at all places is provided; provided, however, that
any person, firm, corporation or association engaged in the development
of areas as "subdivisions" within the Town of Lancaster and removing
topsoil to correct grades, shall replace topsoil to the same depth
as existed prior to its removal.
For any and every willful violation of the provisions
of this article, the owner, general agent or contractor of a building
on premises where such violations have been committed or shall exist,
and the lessee or tenant of the premises where such violation has
been committed or shall exist, and the owner, general agent, contractor,
lessee or tenant of any part of the premises in which part of said
violation has been committed or shall exist, and the general agent,
architect, engineer, surveyor, building contractor who maintains,
permits, takes part or assists in any such violation, or who maintains
any premises in which such violation shall exist, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $50 or more
than $250 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days or both. Each day's
continued willful violation shall constitute a separate additional
violation. Such fines or penalties shall be collected as like fines
are now by law collected.
Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary
hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this article,
the Town Board shall have power to vary and modify the application
of such ordinance so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed,
public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section
or part of this article shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its
operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof
directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall
have been rendered.
