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Town of Philipstown, NY
Putnam County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (9) Index
[Adopted 6-19-80, approved 7-3-80]
Pursuant to § 280-a, Subdivision 4, of the Town Law, the Town Board of the Town of Philipstown, New York, has by resolution dated May 27, 1958, declared "...that the whole of the Town of Philipstown lying outside the Villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville and lying outside of existing subdivisions (as defined in § 1115 of the Public Health Law) shall be and the same hereby is made an open development area wherein permits may be issued for the erection of structures to which access is given by private right-of-way or easement upon such conditions and subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by general or special rule of the Planning Board."
The following regulations apply to the open development area of the Town of Philipstown and shall govern the issuance of permits in said area for the erection of structures to which access is given by private right-of-way or easement.
Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, the private right-of-way or easement shall be improved with a travelway meeting the minimum standards for private ways as specified in the Land Subdivision Regulations. (See Summary of standards in § 112-64.) The travelway shall have suitable grades and alignment to provide safe and convenient access to cars, fire apparatus and service vehicles. In no case shall the requirement for grading, drainage and alignment be construed to exceed the requirements therefor contained in the Town Road Specifications in effect at the time the application is made.
The following shall be submitted with and form part of all applications for permits for the erection of structures to which access is given by private right-of-way or easement:
A. 
Proof of access: proof, in writing, of the permanent creation of the right-of-way or easement.
B. 
Maps: the two copies of the layout or plot plan required under § 175-8 of the Zoning Law of the Town of Philipstown, drawn to a scale of not less than one inch equals 100 feet and showing the right-of-way or easement and the dimensions thereof; copies of a subdivision plat map approved by the Philipstown Planning Board showing the right-of-way and lot may constitute such map.
C. 
Statement: a verified statement on forms prescribed by the Planning Board setting forth that the right-of-way or easement has been or, prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, will be improved with a travelway conforming with the requirements of § 112-54 hereof; or, if full conformity is not shown or proposed, a statement of the respects in which the travelway, as existing or proposed, does not conform with said requirements and of the reason or reasons therefor.
A. 
If, upon examination of the application, all of the following are evident to the Building Inspector, then the Building Inspector shall issue a permit, provided that the requirements of all other applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations are met:
(1) 
That the private right-of-way or easement is at least 50 feet wide.
(2) 
That, if required by the Land Subdivision Regulations, the private right-of-way or easement and the lot to which access is to be given are shown on a subdivision plat map approved by the Planning Board and filed or recorded in the Office of the Putnam County Clerk.
(3) 
That the private right-of-way or easement connects to:
(a) 
An existing state highway or county road;
(b) 
An existing Town of Philipstown street or highway; or
(c) 
A private right-of-way or easement meeting the requirements of these regulations.
(4) 
That the travelway, as existing, meets the requirements of § 112-54 of these regulations or is guaranteed to be so completed by a completion bond filed under Subsection C below.
(5) 
That it is further evident that there cannot be legally created or exist on or along said right-of-way or easement more than four building lots, including the lot for which the permit is sought as well as any other lot which has legal access to the right-of-way or easement or in fact uses the right-of-way or easement for access.
B. 
Should the application not meet the foregoing conditions, the Building Inspector shall either forthwith refer the same to the Planning Board, together with a statement of the reasons therefor, or shall, if applicable, consider the application under the provisions of § 112-60 hereof.
C. 
Bond. In the event that the required improvements to the travelway have not been completed at the time of application for a permit, a completion bond sufficient to cover the full cost of such improvement, as estimated by the Planning Board, shall be furnished to the Town by the applicant. Such completion bond shall be a surety, cash or savings account bond with security acceptable to the Town Board and approved by the Town Board as to form, sufficiency and manner of execution.
Upon receipt of the application referred by the Building Inspector, the Planning Board shall promptly call the applicant into consultation and after such consultation or, if the applicant shall not appear, after the time fixed therefor shall proceed as follows:
A. 
Approval. If the Planning Board is satisfied, in its discretion, that the access to the parcel for which the permit is sought will provide safe and convenient access to such traffic, including but not limited to cars, fire apparatus and service vehicles, as may be necessary to serve not only the parcel for which the permit is sought, but other lands which then or in the future may share the use of such access, it shall approve the application. Such approval may include approval of access to more than the four building lots specified in § 112-56A(5) when the Planning Board finds that the lot for which the permit is sought has usable practical access on a state highway or county road but that approval of the application will assist traffic safety by avoiding construction of additional driveways onto such highway or road.
B. 
Modification and approval. If it shall appear that such access does not meet the standard therefor set forth in Subsection A hereof but that it is capable of meeting the same if modified or altered, the Planning Board may, with the consent of the applicant, modify or alter the application in the respects necessary to meet such standard and, as so modified or altered, shall approve the same.
C. 
Disapproval reference to other regulations. If the Planning Board is satisfied, in its discretion, that the access does not and cannot, under any modification or alteration thereof that may be made under these regulations, meet the standard therefor set forth in Subsection A hereof, the Planning Board shall disapprove the application and, in an appropriate case, shall require that before a building permit may be issued, the applicant comply with the Land Subdivision Regulations of the Town of Philipstown and the Town Road Specifications.
Unless its time to do so shall have been extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Planning Board, such Board shall, within 45 days after the receipt by it of any application referred to it hereunder, file with the Building Inspector a written return of its action thereon. The return shall state whether the application is approved or denied and, if denied, shall state the reasons therefor; if the application is modified or altered and, as modified or altered, approved, the return shall specify the modifications or alterations made.
Upon receipt of the return, the Building Inspector shall proceed as follows:
A. 
If the application has been approved as filed, or as modified or altered, he shall forthwith issue a building permit on the application as filed, or as filed and modified or altered, provided that the requirements of all other applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations are met.
B. 
If the application has been denied, he shall forthwith notify the applicant of such denial and the reason or reasons therefor.
For the purpose of these regulations, an existing right-of-way or easement is a private right-of-way or easement improved with a travelway and providing access to one or more existing lots containing a dwelling or other principal structure as of July 3, 1980 (the effective date of these regulations, as amended).
A. 
Action by Building Inspector.
(1) 
If the access to the parcel for which the permit is sought is an existing right-of-way or easement, the Building Inspector may issue a permit, notwithstanding that the right-of-way or easement is less than 50 feet in width and notwithstanding that the travelway does not meet the standards of construction therefor set forth in § 112-54 hereof, provided that:
(a) 
The authority of the Building Inspector to issue permits for parcels deriving access from any such right-of-way or easement shall be limited to such number, which, when added to the number of principal structures existing on or along said right-of-way or easement or any tributaries thereof and deriving access therefrom, shall not exceed eight on a right-of-way or easement existing before August 5, 1960 (the date of Town Board approval of the initial Open Development Area General Regulations), or four on a right-of-way or easement existing before July 3, 1980 (the effective date of these regulations, as amended).
(b) 
The travelway, as constructed or proposed to be improved, provides a reasonable and practical equivalent of the access required in § 112-54 hereof, not only for the parcel for which the permit is sought but for all other parcels that may exist or legally be created on or along the right-of-way or easement.
(c) 
The right-of-way or easement is of sufficient width to allow, in addition to the travelway, an easement at least 10 feet in width for the introduction of utilities and utility lines and pipes to structures existing or that may be constructed on or along said right-of-way.
(d) 
The requirements of all other applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations are met.
(2) 
In the event the provisions of Subsection A(1)(a) through (d) hereof are not complied with, the Building Inspector shall refer the application to the Planning Board for its action thereon.
B. 
Action by Planning Board: Upon receipt of an application referred to it under Subsection A, the Planning Board shall proceed in the manner provided by § 112-57 hereof and, in passing upon the application, may make any reasonable exception to any part of these regulations and may approve the application subject to conditions that will preserve the overall purpose and intent of the regulations.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any structure erected under a building permit issued pursuant to any part of these regulations unless the travelway has first been fully completed and complies in all respects with the specifications therefor upon which the building permit was issued.
If the applicant is aggrieved by the action of the Planning Board, he may, within 30 days after the return of the Planning Board is filed with the Building Inspector, appeal such action to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the same provisions are hereby applied to such appeals as are provided in cases of appeals on zoning regulations.[1] Where there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of these regulations or where the circumstances of the case do not require the structure to be related to existing or proposed streets or highways, the Board of Appeals may make any reasonable exception and may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the action appealed from, subject to conditions that will preserve the spirit of these regulations, secure the public safety and welfare and work substantial justice. The action by the Board of Appeals shall be filed forthwith with the Building Inspector, who shall proceed thenceforth as though the action of the Board of Appeals was the original action of the Planning Board.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 175, Zoning, Art. IV.
The Building Inspector shall maintain a file and map record of all applications under these regulations.
The following is a summary of the standards for new open development area private rights-of-way and easements layouts:
A. 
Right-of-way width: 50 feet. The right-of-way is to consist of an easement superimposed upon the abutting lots; fee to land under the easement owned by the abutting lots to the center line of the right-of-way.
B. 
Travelway: fourteen-foot width constructed with a suitable compacted gravel or crushed stone base, eight inches in depth, meeting the specifications for a foundation course as set forth in the Town Road Specifications [§§ 112-34J and 112-35A of the Subdivision Regulations; §§ 150-20B(2) and 150-21B of the Town Road Specifications].
C. 
Drainage: The travelway is to be provided with sufficient drainage to protect the stability of the travelway and to prevent water from crossing the travelway surface (§ 112-35B of the Subdivision Regulations).
D. 
Maximum grade: 14% (§ 112-34J of the Subdivision Regulations).
E. 
Turnaround: 75 feet diameter of right-of-way, or a hammerhead- or branch-type capable of accommodating the turning and backing movements of a vehicle 40 feet in length [§ 112-34G(2) of the Subdivision Regulations].
F. 
Alignment: 75 feet minimum radius of curvature (§ 112-34L of the Subdivision Regulations).
G. 
Street connection: shall connect to:
(1) 
An existing state highway or county road;
(2) 
An existing Town of Philipstown street or highway;
(3) 
A proposed Town street or highway shown on a plat approved by the Philipstown Planning Board and filed in the Putnam County Clerk's office; or
(4) 
A private right-of-way or easement meeting the requirements of the Open Development Area General Regulations of the Town of Philipstown and giving sole access to no more existing or potential lots, including the lots proposed under the application, than permitted by such general regulations [§ 112-34B(3) of the Subdivision Regulations].
H. 
Lots: maximum of four lots; minimum area of 120,000 square feet and shall be of such shape that a square 250 feet on each side will fit on the lot. [See § 112-33B(2) and (3) of the Subdivision Regulations.]
I. 
Requirement precedent to issuance of permit: The right-of-way shall connect to existing state, county or Town highway or an improved open development area right-of-way (excluding proposed Town highways); travelway and drainage complete or guaranteed; proof of access; etc. (See §§ 112-55 and 112-56 of these regulations.)
J. 
Requirement of recorded right-of-way maintenance agreement.
[Added 9-25-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013[1]]
(1) 
Prior to granting final approval of a new open development area subdivision pursuant to these regulations, the Planning Board shall require the applicant to submit a right-of-way maintenance agreement that complies with the criteria in Subsection J(4) below.
(2) 
Final approval of the subdivision shall be conditioned upon recording the approved maintenance agreement in the County Clerk's office, and the Planning Board Chair shall not sign the plat until the applicant has shown proof of such recording and provided a suitable notation of such recording on the plat.
(3) 
An applicant may substitute a recorded property owners' association agreement for a recorded right-of-way maintenance agreement, provided that the Town Attorney finds that the property owners' association documents provide assurances of maintenance of the right-of-way that meet the requirements in Subsection J(4). The property owners' association agreement shall be recorded in the County Clerk's office prior to or simultaneously with final approval of the plat.
(4) 
The right-of-way maintenance agreement or property owners' association (POA) agreement shall meet the following minimum requirements:
(a) 
The signatories to the maintenance agreement or the POA agreement shall have adequate powers to charge the subdivision lot owners for their proportionate share of the maintenance costs of the private road.
(b) 
The maintenance agreement or the POA agreement shall ensure that the road will be maintained and kept open to permit emergency vehicle access.
(c) 
The maintenance agreement or POA agreement shall bind all lot owners in the subdivision and their successors in title.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also redesignated former Subsection J as Subsection K.
K. 
Note: See the Land Subdivision Regulations and Town Board Specifications for details and other requirements.