[Added 11-5-2025 by L.L. No. 7-2025]
The purpose of this article is to suspend temporarily the processing or approval of applications for conditional use permits pursuant to § 270-51 in the Village's T (Two-family) zoning district. This temporary suspension is intended to provide the Village with the time and opportunity to consider potential changes to its zoning and land use regulations in the T zoning district while preserving the status quo. For the T zoning district, the following uses are identified (Appendix A, Use Tables, Table A-2[1]) as requiring a conditional use permit: cemeteries, parking uses-nonaccessory, educational uses-elementary or secondary, educational uses- higher learning, places of worship, senior living facilities and home occupation, major.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said appendix is included as an attachment to this chapter.
Pursuant to the statutory authority vested in the Village to regulate and control land use and to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ossining adopts this moratorium on the review and approval of new, as of yet unfiled and any and all pending applications for conditional use permits in the T zoning district. During the period of this moratorium:
A. 
The Planning Board shall not accept any application, grant any approval to, or continue the review of a conditional use permit for properties in the T zoning district.
B. 
The Planning Board shall not authorize the Building Inspector to issue permits for any new or expansion of existing conditional uses in the T zoning district for which permits are required.
C. 
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall neither accept nor continue to review any application or grant any approval for a variance or provide an interpretation that would have as a result the permitting, construction, development and/or expansion of conditional uses within the T zoning district.
D. 
The Building Department shall not accept any building permit application, grant approval to or the continue the review of such application or grant any certificate of occupancy that would have as a result the permitting of new, construction and/or development or expansion of conditional uses permitted in the T zoning district.
E. 
Projects currently under construction and projects that have received conditional use permit approval are not subject to this moratorium.
A. 
Should the Board of Trustees determine that no new local law which addresses the substantive issues set forth herein needs to be enacted and adopted prior to the date that the moratorium expires, then the moratorium imposed by this article shall expire on the date such determination is made by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
B. 
In the event that any new local law which addresses the substantive issues set forth herein, should be enacted and adopted by the Board of Trustees prior to the date that the moratorium imposed herein expires, then the moratorium shall expire on the date the new local law takes effect pursuant to section 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
C. 
In the event that more than six months have passed since the implementation of this article, and it shall be determined by the Board of Trustees that an extension of this moratorium is required, then the Board of Trustees by resolution may extend this moratorium for such a period of time as it deems necessary in order to fulfill the purpose noted in § 270-108 up to and including four additional months from the date of the original intended expiration of this article.
A. 
Should an applicant affected by this article suffer any extraordinary hardship due to the enactment and application of this moratorium, then the applicant may apply to the Board of Trustees in writing for a variance from strict compliance with this article upon submission of proof of such extraordinary hardship. For purposes of this article extraordinary hardship shall not be considered:
(1) 
The mere concern that regulations may be changed or adopted or that the Village Code may be amended; or
(2) 
The mere delay in being permitted to make an application or waiting for a decision on the application for land use approval during the period of the moratorium imposed by this article.
B. 
An application for an exception based upon extraordinary hardship shall be filed with the Village Clerk including a fee of $500 for each tax map parcel claimed to be subject to extraordinary hardship by the applicant. The application shall provide a recitation of the specific facts that are alleged to support the claim of extraordinary hardship and shall contain such other information and/or documentation as the Board of Trustees requires to be fully informed with respect to the application.
C. 
A public hearing on any application for an exception to the moratorium shall be held by the Board of Trustees no later than 45 days after receipt of a complete application. The Board of Trustees shall note in the resolution calling for the public hearing that the application is complete.
D. 
In reviewing an application for an exception from the moratorium based upon a claim of extraordinary hardship, the Board of Trustees shall consider the following criteria:
(1) 
The extent to which the proposed development activity would cause significant environmental degradation, adversely impact existing development in the affected zoning districts, be detrimental to public health, comfort or safety concerns and/or have a negative impact on the Village of Ossining.
(2) 
Whether the moratorium will expose an applicant to substantial monetary liability to a third person or would leave the applicant completely unable, after a thorough review of alternative solutions, to have a reasonable alternative use of the property.
(3) 
The extent to which actions of the applicant were undertaken in good faith belief that the proposed development would not lead to significant environmental degradation, adversely impact existing development in the area, have an adverse impact on public health or safety, and/or have a negative impact upon the Village of Ossining.
(4) 
Compatibility of the proposed application with the existing land use and character of the area in general proximity to the subject of the application, and its effect upon aesthetic resources of the community.
(5) 
Such other considerations and issues as may be raised by the Board of Trustees.
E. 
At the public hearing the applicant and any other parties wishing to present evidence with regard to the application shall have an opportunity to be heard. The Board of Trustees shall, within 30 days of the close of the public hearing, render its decision in writing granting, denying, granting in part or denying in part the application for a hardship waiver from the strict requirements of this article. If the Board of Trustees determines that an applicant will suffer an extraordinary hardship if this article is strictly applied to a particular property, then the Board of Trustees shall vary the application to this article to the minimum extent necessary to provide the applicant relief from strict compliance with this article.
A. 
Any person, firm, corporation or other entity that shall take any action in violation of this article shall be guilty of a violation and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000 for an individual and a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000 for a corporation, association or other entity or to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 15 days, or both. Each and every week that the violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
B. 
Any person, firm, corporation or other entity that violates this article shall be liable to pay a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day or part thereof during which the violation continues. The civil penalty shall be recoverable in an action brought by the Corporation Counsel. In addition to the aforementioned penalty, the person, firm, entity or corporation found to have violated this article shall be liable for all reasonable attorneys' fees, costs and disbursements incurred by the Village to recover the civil penalty.
C. 
Compliance with this article also may be compelled and violations restrained by order or by injunction of a court of competent jurisdiction in an action brought by the Corporation Counsel on behalf of the Village.
D. 
Loss of profit. Where any person, firm, entity or corporation has gained a profit as a result of the violation of this article, the court, in lieu of imposing the civil penalty in Subsection B, may order the party to pay an amount fixed by the court not to exceed double the amount of the profit from the violation. The court shall make a finding as to the amount of profit after a hearing.
E. 
If the civil penalty or loss of profit awarded to the Village by the court is not paid in full within 30 days from the date of assessment by the court such award shall be included on the next annual tax levy for the involved tax lots.
This article shall be enforced by the Village's Building Inspector, Assistant Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officers.
This article is adopted pursuant to New York State Constitution, Article IX, Section 2(c)(6) and (10), New York Statute of Local Governments, Section 10(1) and (7), and Municipal Home Rule Law Section 10. This article shall supersede those provisions of New York State Law and the Village Code requiring the Board of Trustees, Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Appeals to accept, process and/or approve applications involving the construction of residential units in the RDD and SP-N zoning districts within specified statutory time periods.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this article shall be adjudged to be invalid by any court o competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate any other part of this article, or the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph or section thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.