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Town of Carmel, NY
Putnam County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The provisions of this chapter shall be subject to such exceptions, additions or modifications as herein provided by the following general regulations.
A. 
Lot for every building. Every building shall be located on a lot and, except for nonresidential buildings in districts where such uses are permitted, there shall be not more than one main building and its accessory buildings on one lot.
B. 
Yard and open space for every building. No yard or other open space required for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be considered as providing a required open space or yard for any other building on the same or any other lot.
C. 
Subdivision of a lot. No lot shall be formed from part of a lot already occupied by a building unless such building and all yards and open spaces connected therewith and the remaining lot comply with all requirements prescribed by this chapter for the district in which said lot is located. No permit shall be issued for the construction of a building on any new lot thus created, unless such building and lot comply with all the provisions of this chapter, the Subdivision Ordinance[1] and all other applicable rules, regulations and codes of the Town of Carmel and the State of New York.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 131, Subdivision of Land.
D. 
Irregularly shaped lots. Where a question exists as to the proper application of any of the requirements of this chapter to a particular lot or parcel because of the peculiar or irregular shape of the lot or parcel, the Board of Appeals shall determine how the requirements of this chapter shall be applied.
E. 
Lots under water or subject to flooding. No more than 10% of the minimum area requirement of a lot may be satisfied by land which is under water or subject to periodic flooding.
F. 
Required street frontage. No building permit shall be issued for any structure unless the lot upon which that structure is to be built has a frontage of at least 100 feet on a Town, county or state street or highway, which street or highway shall provide safe access, as provided in Town Law, § 280-a. At culs-de-sac, turnarounds or similar cases, a fifty-foot frontage is permissible.
G. 
(Reserved)[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Former § 63-8A(8), New buildings on lots less than the minimum area, as amended 9-22-1982, was deleted 3-20-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002.
H. 
Site plan approval. Site plan approval by the Planning Board is required for all uses of land except detached one-family dwellings and detached two-family dwellings and their permitted accessory uses, except as otherwise provided herein.
I. 
Existing lots with existing dwellings in single ownership, according to the records of the Building Department ,on the date this local law becomes effective, that either want to construct additions or add permitted accessory structures shall meet the following minimum requirements based on lot area:
[Amended 7-2-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
Principal Use
Accessory Use
Lot Area
(acres)
Front
(feet)
Sides
(feet)
Rear
(feet)
Front
(feet)
Sides
(feet)
Rear
(feet)
Up to 1/4
25
10
15
25
10
10
1/4 to 1/2
25
15
20
25
10
10
1/2 to 1
40
20
30
40
15
15
Larger than 1
40
25
40
40
20
20
A. 
No building erected on any lot need be set back farther from the street line than the average alignment of existing buildings within 250 feet on each side of the lot and within the same block front and zoning district. However, regardless of the alignment of neighboring buildings, no building erected between two existing buildings on immediately adjacent lots need be set back farther from the street right-of-way lines than said two buildings.
B. 
In the case of corner lots, all yards along street lines shall be deemed to be front yards.
C. 
No porch, deck or balcony may project into any required yard. A terrace shall not be considered in the determination of yard requirements or lot coverage; provided, however, that such terrace is unroofed and without walls, parapets or other form of enclosure and shall at no point exceed a height of 12 inches above the ground. A terrace may have a guardrail or fence, not greater than four feet in height, measured from the surface of the terrace.
D. 
Projecting horizontal architectural features. Architectural features, such as windowsills, belt courses, chimneys, cornices, eaves or bay windows, shall not project more than three feet into any required yard.
E. 
At all street intersections, no obstructions to vision exceeding 30 inches in height shall be erected or maintained on any lot within the triangle formed by the street lines on such lot and a line drawn between points along such street lines 30 feet distant from their point of intersection.
F. 
Awnings. No awning or similar weather-shielding features projecting beyond the property line of any lot into the sidewalk shall be erected or maintained on any building unless such awning or feature is at all points in its lowered position at least seven feet above the level of said sidewalk area. No awning or other similar feature may project beyond said property line a distance greater than six feet and shall be firmly affixed to the building.
A. 
Chimneys (other than chimneys for central heating plants), flues, ventilators, skylights, towers, bulkheads, water tanks, cooling towers and all other decorative features and necessary mechanical appurtenances and similar features usually carried above the roof level, but excluding telegraph, radio and television transmission or broadcasting antennas, shall be exempt from the height provisions of this chapter, provided that:
(1) 
The aggregate area covered by all such features, but excluding solar-heating features, shall not exceed 20% of the area of the roof of the building of which they are a part.
(2) 
The height of each such feature shall not exceed 15 feet above the level of such roof measured at the highest point of such roof.
(3) 
All such features shall be constructed or enclosed within walls of a material and design deemed by the Planning Board to be in harmony with that of the main walls of the building of which they are a part.
B. 
Where the height of a building conforms to the requirements of this chapter on that side or sides thereof which face(s) the street, but where, due to the topography of the lot, said height is in excess of said requirements along one or more sides of such building other than the side or sides which face(s) the street, the Building Inspector may issue a building permit, provided that at no point along the periphery of the building does the height thereof exceed by 10 feet and/or by one story, the maximum height prescribed by this chapter for the district in which such building is located. (See definition of "height of building" in § 156-8.)
C. 
A cable television receiving antenna owned and operated by a public utility franchised by the Town of Carmel shall be exempt from the height provisions of this chapter, provided that it does not exceed a height of 125 feet.
[Added 11-30-1983]
No exterior part of any building or structure that is listed or is eligible for listing in the Federal or State Registers of Historic Places, as determined by the Town of Carmel Historical Society, shall be altered or demolished until the Board of Architectural Review shall approve an application and plans for such changes to the exterior architectural features which are subject to public view from a public street or place.
A. 
All existing nonresidential uses of land shall provide a buffer at least six feet in height and at a width and density which will substantially screen adjacent properties from the glare of headlights, light from structures, noise and movement of people, vehicles and equipment. The buffer may consist of a fence, trees, shrubs, bushes or combinations thereof.
B. 
All users of improved nonresidential properties shall submit a landscaping-screening plan to the Planning Board within 18 months of the date of the adoption of this chapter. Said plan shall consist of a sketch map, drawn to scale, showing the following information:
(1) 
The name of the applicant and owner, if different from the applicant.
(2) 
The date, scale, North point, Tax Map block and lot number.
(3) 
The boundaries of the property.
(4) 
The location of all existing structures, showing the ground area covered by said structure. The use of the site shall be indicated. Where applicable, the areas used for outdoor selling, display or storage shall be shown.
(5) 
The location of on-site parking areas and means of vehicular and/or pedestrian circulation.
(6) 
The location and design of buffer areas of screening devices, including the height, density and type of planting.
C. 
Review criteria. The Planning Board, in its review of the landscaping-screening plan, shall consider the height, density and type of planting and the nature of the use.
D. 
Public hearing.
(1) 
Within 45 days of the receipt of a complete landscaping-screening plan, a public hearing on the landscaping-screening plan shall be held by the Planning Board. Such hearing shall be advertised at least once in the official newspaper of the Town at least five days before such hearing.
(2) 
The applicant shall notify by mail all owners of property within 500 feet of the extreme limits of the site at least five days prior to the hearing, as their names appear on the municipal tax record. Said notice shall be on forms provided by the Planning Board and shall state the time and place of hearing, a brief description of the proposal and that a copy of the landscaping-screening plan is on file with the Planning Board Secretary for public inspection. Proof of mailing shall be filed with the Planning Board prior to the hearing.
E. 
Action by Planning Board. The Planning Board shall, by resolution, either approve, conditionally approve or disapprove the landscaping-screening plan within 45 days of the date of the public hearing. However, where the Planning Board requires additional time in which to make a decision, the applicant may agree to an extension, not to exceed 45 days, of the time within which the Planning Board must act. The decision of the Planning Board shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk, and a copy thereof shall be mailed to the applicant. Where the Planning Board has disapproved a landscaping-screening plan, the applicant shall have three months to submit a revised plan. The applicant shall comply with the approved landscaping-screening plan within one year of its approval.
F. 
Waiver of landscaping-screening plan approval. The submission of a landscaping-screening plan may be waived when the applicant can either demonstrate to the Planning Board the location of a buffering in conformance with the requirements of this section or an inability to comply with the requirements of this section by reason of exceptional physical conditions on the site. The request for a waiver of landscaping-screening plan approval shall be made in accordance with the provisions of § 156-61L of this chapter.