This chapter shall be known as the "Zoning Law of the Village of Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, New York" and shall hereafter be referred to as the "Zoning Law."
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority and power granted by the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York (Chapter 36-a of the Consolidated Laws), and under § 7-700 of the Village Law of the New York State, to protect and promote public health, safety, comfort, convenience, economy, aesthetics, general welfare, and natural and cultural resources of the Village of Wappingers Falls (the "Village"), and for the following additional purposes:
A. 
To guide development and redevelopment of the Village in accordance with the Village Comprehensive Plan so that the Village may realize its potential as a place to live and work, with the most beneficial and convenient relationships among the residential, commercial, mixed-use, and public areas within the Village and with due consideration to:
(1) 
The character of the district and its suitability for particular uses;
(2) 
The existing conditions and trends in population, economic value of buildings and neighborhoods;
(3) 
The limitations imposed upon development by natural and cultural resources; and
(4) 
The historical pattern of compact, pedestrian-oriented development in the Village.
B. 
To protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the Village and to protect and conserve the value of land and buildings appropriate to the various districts established by this chapter.
C. 
To improve the physical appearance of the community with urban design standards that provide more predictable results in the form and character of buildings.
D. 
To coordinate the placement, orientation, and design of buildings in established neighborhoods to ensure a coherent and walkable streetscape and traditional urban character by creating well-defined street edges with uniformly placed building walls, appropriate frontage types, and architectural features that create visual interest and an attractive pedestrian environment.
E. 
To enhance the appearance of the Village as a whole by ensuring that all development is orderly and beneficial to the Village, by eliminating inappropriate and poor quality design in the provision of site improvements and in the exterior appearance of structures, and by controlling the erection and maintenance of signs and lighting in the Village.
F. 
To facilitate the provision of affordable housing and a variety of housing choices within the Village.
G. 
To capitalize on opportunities to attract a variety of residential building types, retail, service, and cultural establishments to serve local needs, enhance tourism, and create a robust economic base.
H. 
To enable and encourage mixed-use development within areas of the community in support of viable and diverse locally oriented business and cultural institutions.
I. 
To preserve residential neighborhoods and provide privacy for residents by protecting such areas from, among other factors, the intrusion of nonresidential uses and, wherever reasonable, by the elimination of nonconforming uses.
J. 
To preserve the Village's historic heritage and in particular to protect and restore designated historic districts, buildings, sites, features, and their environs.
K. 
To prevent the pollution of streams, lakes, wetlands, groundwater and other water resources; protect steeply sloped areas; avoid hazardous conditions and excessive damage resulting from stormwater runoff and flooding; protect significant wildlife habitats; and encourage the appropriate use and sound management of natural resources throughout the Village in order to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the community and the value of the land.
L. 
To make provision for access to sunlight and the accommodation of solar energy equipment and other alternative energy systems.
M. 
To promote energy conservation and low impact, environmentally sensitive development.
N. 
To facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water supply, sewage disposal, schools, parks, and other public facilities and services as needed by the community.
O. 
To bring about the gradual conformity of the uses of land and buildings throughout the Village through the comprehensive zoning law set forth in this chapter.
P. 
To promote the most beneficial relationship between the uses of land and buildings and the street system which serves these uses, having particular regard to the potential amount and intensity of such land and building uses in relationship to the traffic capacity of the street system, so as to avoid congestion in the streets and to promote safe and convenient vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle traffic movements.
Q. 
To provide a guide for public policy and action in the orderly and efficient provision of public facilities and services and for private enterprise in building development, investment and other economic activity relating to uses of land and buildings throughout the Village.
R. 
To ensure compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, local, county, state and federal, governing the use and development of land and structures within the Village.
S. 
To implement the policies of the Dutchess County and Village Comprehensive Plans, as set forth in Directions (February 1987), and the Village Comprehensive Plan (2023), respectively, as may be amended from time to time, and the Village's Brownfield Opportunity Area Nomination Study (2020).
The Village is a member of Dutchess County's Greenway Compact Program and has adopted Greenway Connections: Greenway Compact Program and Guides for Dutchess County Communities, as amended from time to time, as a statement of land use policies, principles and guides to supplement other established land use policies in the Village. In its discretionary actions under this chapter, the reviewing agency should be guided by said statement of policies, principles and guides, where and whenever appropriate.
A. 
This chapter shall apply to all land, buildings, structures, and uses of land, buildings, and structures within the Village, unless an exemption is provided by or granted pursuant to the terms of this chapter, or otherwise by law.
B. 
Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, no building, structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied, and no building or structure or part thereof shall hereafter be constructed, erected, moved, altered, reconstructed or enlarged for any purpose, except in conformity with all of the regulations herein, and in conformity with Chapter 18 of the New York Consolidated Laws, Article 18, known as the "New York State Uniform Building Code" and Chapter 64, Unsafe Buildings, of this Code.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4 of L.L. No. 3-2023 stated as follows:
EXEMPTIONS. The following applications shall be exempt from this local law:
A. Planning Board applications. Applications for subdivision approval, site plan approval and special use permit approval for which the Planning Board has adopted a resolution granting final conditional approval prior to the effective date of this local law, and said approval has not expired, shall be exempt from the provisions of this local law, but shall be subject to the 2015 Zoning Law of the Village of Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, New York, as amended. On the effective date of this local law, the Planning Board Attorney shall certify a list of all subdivision, site plan and special use permit applications which shall be exempt. All other applications before the Planning Board, pending as of the effective date of this local law, shall be bound by and subject to the provisions of this local law.
B. Zoning Board of Appeals applications. Applications for area variances, use variances and other applications for which the Zoning Board of Appeals has adopted a resolution granting final conditional approval prior to the effective date of this local law, and said approval has not expired, shall be exempt from the provisions of this local law, but shall be subject to the 2015 Zoning Law of the Village of Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, New York, as amended. On the effective date of this local law, the Zoning Board of Appeals Attorney shall certify a list of all area variance, use variance and other applications which shall be exempt. All other applications before the Zoning Board, pending as of the effective date of this local law, shall be bound by and subject to the provisions of this local law.
The Village Board hereby declares its legislative intent to supersede any provision of any local law, rule, or regulation or provision of NYS Village Law inconsistent with this chapter. The NYS Village Law provisions intended to be superseded include all of Article 7 of NYS Village Law, and any other provision of law that the Village may supersede pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law and the Constitution of the State of New York. Courts are directed to take notice of this legislative intent and apply it in the event the Village has failed to specify any provision of law that may require supersession. The Village Board hereby declares that it would have enacted this chapter and superseded such inconsistent provision had it been apparent.
A. 
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, convenience, comfort and general welfare.
B. 
Where the requirements of this chapter are inconsistent with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted statute, law, ordinance, rule or regulation, the more restrictive provisions, or those imposing the higher standards, shall govern.
C. 
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 buildings or land or upon the erection, construction, establishment, moving, alteration or enlargement of buildings, or imposes any higher standards than are imposed or required by any easement, covenant or agreement, the provisions of this chapter shall control.
A. 
Except where an application is submitted for the purpose of curing existing violations or will result in the curing of existing violations, no application for subdivision plat approval, site plan approval, special use permit, certificate of appropriateness, certificate of demolition or removal, change of nonconforming use, or variance pursuant to this Zoning Law shall be deemed complete for purposes of commencing review of the same by either the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as applicable, for any premises or property on which there is an existing violation as defined in Subsection C, infra, of this Zoning Law or of any Village, county or state law or regulation governing building construction and/or the development and use of land, buildings and structures within the Village. This provision does not apply to a legal nonconforming use or legal nonconforming structure or lot, nor shall it be interpreted to prohibit the issuance of a certificate of demolition or removal if demolition or removal is deemed by the Code Enforcement Officer to be the reasonable means to remedy a condition determined by the Code Enforcement Officer to be an imminent threat to public health and safety.
B. 
No building permit, sign permit, certificate of occupancy, or certificate of compliance shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer for any premises or property within the Village on which there is an existing violation of this Zoning Law or of any Village, county or state law or regulation governing building construction, and/or the development and use of land, buildings and structures.
C. 
For purposes of this section, a premises or property shall be deemed to be in violation of this Zoning Law where a stop-work order, notice of violation, order to remedy violation, or similar notice or order has been issued by the Village's Code Enforcement Officer in accordance with the provisions of the Village Code, or the Village has filed a criminal or civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction and the violation which is the subject of the order, notice or legal action has not been remedied by the property owner. In the event the automatic stay provisions of § 7-712-A, Subdivision 6, of NYS Village Law are invoked by timely appeal of any such order or notice to the Zoning Board of Appeals, the applicable Board or the Code Enforcement Officer can deem the application complete for purposes of commencing review, but no final approval shall be granted by the Board until such time as the Zoning Board of Appeals has reversed the determination of the officer or the violation has been remedied. For purposes of this provision, remedy of a violation shall be deemed to have occurred when the officer who issued the order or notice has inspected the property and has notified the property owner, in writing, that the violation has been satisfactorily remedied.
D. 
No application under this chapter shall be accepted, processed or considered without proof that all taxes, water and sewer bills, garbage bills, and all other fees or fines payable to the Village, including any fines due and payable to the Village Justice Court, for the property subject to the application are paid in full.
From time to time, at intervals of not more than five years, the Planning Board shall conduct a review of the effectiveness of the provisions of this chapter, including the locations of zoning district boundaries, and shall submit a report thereon to the Village Board, recommending such changes or amendments, if any, which may be desirable in the interest of the public health, safety, convenience, necessity or welfare.
This chapter, together with the Zoning Map described in § 151-13, shall take effect immediately upon its filing in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of New York, in accordance with the applicable provisions of law, specifically § 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
It is the legislative intent of the Village Board in adopting this Zoning Law that all provisions shall be liberally construed to implement the purposes set forth herein and the Village Comprehensive Plan, and to guide zoning and development in accordance with the existing and future needs of the Village as established in the Comprehensive Plan. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, subsection or part of this chapter is for any reason adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, 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. Without affecting or limiting this general statement, each section of the sign regulations in Article VII, Signs, of this chapter are specifically severable, and the invalidity of any regulation in that article shall not affect the validity or enforceability of other regulations in that article.