A.
Title. This chapter shall be known as "A Local Law enacting a new
Zoning Law for the Town of Busti" and is adopted as Local Law No.
1 of 2023. This chapter may be cited as the "Town of Busti Zoning
Law." This chapter is referred to herein simply as the "Zoning Law."
B.
Scope. This chapter regulates the location, design, construction, alteration, occupancy, and use of buildings and structures and the development of land within the Town of Busti, outside the incorporated Village of Lakewood and, for the purposes stated below, divides the Town into Zoning Districts as enumerated in Article II of this chapter.
C.
Authority. This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority and
power granted by the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York,
Article 2, § 10 et seq., and the Consolidated Laws of the
State of New York, Chapter 62, Article 16.[1] This chapter is enacted in accordance with the Chautauqua
Lake Waterfront Revitalization Program and the Town of Busti Comprehensive
Plan (as each may be modified from time to time).
[1]
Editor's Note: Said Ch. 62 is commonly referred to as the
"Town Law" and Art. 16 refers specifically to the Zoning and Planning
portion of the Town Law.
A.
Purposes. This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority cited
above to protect and promote public health, safety, comfort, convenience,
economy, aesthetics, environment, and general welfare and for the
following purposes:
(1)
To guide development of the Town in accordance with the Town
of Busti Comprehensive Plan, and in so doing, achieve the goals and
realize the vision of that Plan as a place to live and to work with
beneficial relationships among the residential, agricultural, commercial,
lake-front and mixed-use areas of the Town.
(2)
To protect property values and individual investments by encouraging
development appropriate to each zoning district;
(3)
To secure safety from fire, flood, and other dangers by controlling
building heights and separation of structures and through other beneficial
regulations;
(4)
To ensure that floodplains are reasonably controlled with respect
to types of allowed uses and the densities of allowed uses;
(5)
To encourage a range of business activities in appropriate locations
which are compatible with the Town's rural character and scale,
concentrating retail businesses in and near hamlets, allowing large-scale
business and industry in well-buffered locations with good transportation
access;
(6)
In recognition of the economic value of Busti's natural
beauty and environmental amenities, to protect the integrity of scenic
views, ridgelines, steep slopes, agricultural land, existing and potential
recreation areas, waterways, ground, and surface water supplies, ecological
systems, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and natural vegetation, and to
maintain environmentally significant open space in its predominantly
undeveloped state, in order to maintain property values and preserve
the open and rural character of the Town;
(7)
To encourage the continuation of agriculture and the preservation
of open space, and to avoid regulating agricultural uses in a manner
that unreasonably restricts or regulates farm structures or farming
practices while encouraging other economic activities that require
large areas of contiguous open space, such as forestry, tree farming,
and recreation, as well as the support services and industries that
add value to all of these uses, such as wood products, food processing,
resort, and tourist facilities;
(8)
To regulate building density in order to concentrate the population
in appropriate locations where municipal infrastructure is available,
and ensure access to light and air, conserve open space, facilitate
the prevention and fighting of fires, minimize the cost of municipal
services, and accomplish the other purposes enumerated in § 263
of the Town Law of New York State;
(9)
To integrate harmoniously different types of housing and varied
land uses in hamlet centers to encourage pedestrian activity and reduce
automobile traffic;
(10)
To reinforce and promote health standards, particularly with
respect to sewage- and water-related issues;
(11)
To preserve the natural beauty of the Town as provided in the
Comprehensive Plan, especially the unique ecological and scenic resources
along Chautauqua Lake, and to guide development consistent with maintaining
the Town's natural, scenic, and ecological resources;
(12)
To provide a flexible system of land use regulation that enables
the Town's economy and population to grow, while preserving the
most important natural, historic, scenic, architectural, and cultural
features; and
(13)
To base such flexible land use regulations on the unique characteristics
of the landscape, the needs of the people of the Town of Busti, the
property rights of landowners to make economically beneficial use
of their land, and the impact of proposed land uses on the natural
and human environment, and to avoid patterns of development that adversely
affect the scenic, historic, rural, and natural character of the Town.
To the extent that any provisions of this chapter are inconsistent
with the Town Law of the State of New York, Chapter 62 of the Consolidated
Laws, Article 16, the Town Board of the Town of Busti hereby declares
its intent to supersede those sections of the Town Law, pursuant to
its home rule powers under Municipal Home Rule Law, Article 2, § 10
et seq., of the Consolidated Laws of the State of New York. The courts
are directed to take notice of this legislative intent and apply it
in the event the Town has failed to specify any provision of law that
may require supersession. The Town hereby declares that it would have
enacted this chapter and superseded such inconsistent provision had
it been apparent.
It is not intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate
or annul any easement, covenant, or other agreement between parties;
provided, however, that when this chapter imposes a greater restriction
on the use of structures or land or on the heights of structures,
or requires larger open spaces, or imposes any higher standards than
are imposed or required by any easement, covenant, or agreement, the
provisions of this chapter shall control. Where the requirements of
this chapter differ from the requirements of another statute, law,
ordinance, rule, or regulation, the more restrictive standard shall
govern, unless this chapter specifically states otherwise.
A.
Compliance responsibility. It shall be the responsibility of all
property owners, developers, lessors, or others involved with the
temporary or permanent use of land or structures to comply with the
regulations of this chapter. No building shall be erected or altered
which will substantially limit the usefulness or depreciate the value
of the surrounding properties.
B.
Regulation applicability. The requirements of this chapter shall
apply and shall require a zoning/building permit (unless specifically
exempted from such requirements by this chapter) for the following
situations:
C.
Other related regulations.[1] The following regulations shall, as applicable, be complied
with prior to occupancy or where specifically stated prior to issuance
of a zoning permit:
(1)
Subdivision laws. State and existing local subdivision laws
must be complied with in addition to this chapter.
(2)
National Flood Insurance Program. It shall be the responsibility
of the applicant for a zoning/building permit to ensure that the National
Flood Insurance Regulations in addition to this chapter shall be complied
with for those parcels located within the floodplain as shown on Official
Flood Insurance Administration Maps, in addition to the requirements
of this chapter.
(3)
State Environmental Quality Review Act. Any development requiring
a permit, as well as amendments to this chapter, shall be subject
to an Environmental Assessment in accordance with the New York State
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). [Please refer to Article
8 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL).]
(4)
Health Department regulations. In areas not served by municipal
sewer or water systems, the regulations of the state, county, and
local health departments, with respect to water supply and sewage
disposal facilities, will apply. The applicant for a building or zoning
permit must obtain approval from the Chautauqua County Department
of Health for attachment to the application before the granting of
a certificate of occupancy.
(5)
Fire and building codes. No structure shall be erected, altered,
or used unless it also complies, where applicable, with the New York
State Uniform Fire and Building Code. It shall be the responsibility
of the applicant to seek review and approval from the Fire and Building
Code Enforcement Officer. The Enforcement Officer shall receive and
maintain copies of all zoning permits.
(6)
Wetland. Development taking place within 100 feet of state-designated
wetlands requires a Department of Environmental Conservation permit.
(7)
Right-of-way crossing. The appropriate Highway Superintendent
should be contacted prior to constructing a driveway or any other
activity involving a highway right-of-way.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter applies in addition to all other
state or federal agency regulations having jurisdiction.
A.
If any section, specific part, provision, or standard of this chapter
shall be determined to be invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such judgment shall be confined in its operation only to the part,
provision, or standard directly involved with the judgment rendered
and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this
chapter in any other circumstance. The other portions of these regulations
not affected by the decision of the court shall remain in full force
and effect.
B.
If any land use district boundary established by this chapter is
found by a court to be invalid for any reason, the decision of the
court shall not affect the validity of any other section, part, provision,
standard, or district boundary of these regulations except the provision
in question. The other portions of these regulations not affected
by the decision of the court shall remain in full force and effect.
