[Added 8-4-2021 by L.L. No. 8-2021]
A. Purpose and intent: The Town Board recognizes vehicle fueling stations
are a necessity for the continued economic function of the Town. However,
responsible legislation is necessary to properly integrate such stations
into the local community and the Town's land use patterns and to regulate
station development and preserve and advance the public health, safety
and welfare. Vehicle fueling stations, referred to previously in this
Zoning Law as "gasoline filling stations," have previously been regulated
only in connection with a larger group of automobile-related uses.
The Town Board seeks to include in the Zoning Code regulations specific
to vehicle fueling stations, which will govern the location, design
and use of current and future vehicle fueling stations. The regulations
are intended to ensure that vehicle fueling stations continue to operate
in the Town without unduly impacting community character and local
transportation network, particularly in residential neighborhoods,
as well as in a manner that is protective of the general health and
safety of the Town. These regulations will encourage the most appropriate
siting and use of current and future vehicle fueling station sites,
create sufficient buffers from residential areas, and improve the
aesthetic environment of the Town.
B. Siting criteria.
(1) No premises may be used as a vehicle fueling station except in conformance
with this article.
(2) There is hereby established a Vehicle Fueling Station Floating Overlay (VFS) District, which may be mapped by a legislative action of the Town Board in accordance with Article
XIV (Amendments) of this chapter only on parcels which meet all of the following criteria:
(a)
The lot possesses a minimum lot area of 30,000 square feet,
unless the underlying district regulations require a larger lot area.
(b)
The lot located along major commercial thoroughfares possesses
a minimum street frontage of 200 feet, unless the underlying district
regulations require a larger road frontage.
(c)
The vehicle fueling station facility must be located at least
500 feet from any property developed for residential use which is
located in a residential district. For the purposes of this section,
"facility" shall include any structures on any property including
a vehicle fueling station. The required distance shall be measured
from the property line of the property developed for residential use
which is located in a residential district to the closest point of
any structures or improvements on the vehicle fueling station property.
(d)
The vehicle fueling station facility must be located at least
500 feet from another vehicle fueling station, including any pre-existing
motor vehicle service facilities containing a gasoline filling station
approved prior to the effective date of this section of the Zoning
Code.
(3) No petition to map a lot in the VFS District shall be entertained,
heard, acted upon, or granted unless such land shall lie in one or
more of the following Business and Commercial Districts in the Town:
(a)
Neighborhood Highway Business (B-NH).
(c)
Shopping Center Business (B-SC).
(f)
Red Oaks Mill Neighborhood Services Center (ROMNSC).
C. VFS District regulations.
(1) Permitted uses. Any parcel utilized as a vehicle fueling station
shall be prohibited from conducting any use and/or operation except:
(a)
The storage and retail sale of automotive fuel, kerosene, and
propane.
(b)
Electric vehicle charging stations.
(c)
The retail sale of automotive accessory items.
(d)
The retail sale of over-the-counter consumer merchandise.
(e)
Secondary permitted principal uses to accompany a vehicle fueling station are limited to the following: use as a car wash, quick-stop maintenance or convenience store selling goods and food for off-site consumption, but not including repair services or facilities. If a secondary permitted principal use as a car wash is involved, the restrictions of Zoning Law §
210-90F shall also apply.
(2) Non-permitted uses. Further, in addition to other nonpermitted uses,
the following activities shall be strictly prohibited on any parcel
containing a vehicle fueling station:
(a)
The sale, lease, storage or display of new or used vehicles.
However, the outdoor storage of a vehicle awaiting minor repairs is
permissible in designated areas for a period of not more than 24 hours.
(b)
Outdoor storage and/or display of new and/or used automobiles,
boats, automobile parts or other merchandise except for small sample
displays of automotive accessory items.
(c)
Any outdoor use involving fire, sparks or a high level of heat,
or any use involving fuel from portable fuel tanks, with the exception
of the storing and sale of propane.
(d)
Junkyards and/or parts scavenging.
(e)
Outdoor storage and/or display of vending machines, except those
located directly adjacent to the walls of the principal building.
A total number of four vending machines shall be permitted per site.
This restriction shall not apply to air dispensers.
(3) Area and bulk regulations.
(a)
Lot coverage. The maximum lot coverage shall be that applicable
in the underlying district.
(b)
Fuel dispensers. The number of permitted fuel dispensers shall
be determined on the basis of the requirements of 1,500 square feet
of lot area per dispenser subject to a maximum of 16 dispensers per
station. A multiple dispenser stanchion shall be counted according
to the number of dispensers; for example, a double stanchion shall
be counted as two dispensers.
(c)
Height. No building, structure, dispenser or other equipment
except approved signs shall exceed 18 feet in height as measured from
the average finished grade abutting said building, structure, or equipment.
(d)
Depth. The lot shall have a depth of not less than 100 feet.
(4) Yards and setbacks. No vehicle fueling station shall be erected or
operated except in compliance with the following requirements:
(a)
All buildings and structures except fuel dispensers shall have
the minimum yards and setbacks as those required in the underlying
district.
(b)
Location of fuel dispensers. All fuel dispensers and islands
shall be located at least 25 feet from any street property line and
at least 25 feet from any side line or rear property line.
(5) Off-street parking. The provisions of §
210-92 of this chapter shall apply to off-street parking in the VFS District.
(6) Amenities and design. No site plan approval or building permit shall
be issued for a vehicle fueling station without compliance with the
following requirements:
(a)
Fences. A six-foot-high stockade fence, as measured from ground
level and woven in a neutral inconspicuous color, shall be erected
and maintained along business and residential property lines, but
no fence shall be erected closer than 15 feet from any street property
line.
(b)
Landscaping. A five-foot buffer strip shall be provided to protect
any adjoining businesses or property developed for residential use
which is located in a residential district near the site. Such strip
shall contain evergreens not less than seven feet high and planted
not more than seven feet apart and maintained in good condition, provided
that such planting shall not be closer than 15 feet from the property
line abutting a street.
(c)
Walls. In lieu of the above-mentioned fence and landscaping
requirements, the owner may install a wall of good quality and design
on all such abutting property lines other than street lines or, in
the alternative, may install such fences and landscaping along a portion
of such abutting property lines and install such a wall along the
remaining portions of such property lines. A detailed plan of such
substitution of walls for fences and landscaping shall be shown on
the site plan upon an original application.
(d)
Distance between fuel dispensers. The maximum distance between
two dispensers on an island shall be 10 feet.
(e)
Intrusion into required area. No building or structure, fuel
dispenser, dispenser island, service island, sign, pole or parking
area shall be located within a required front, side or rear yard.
(f)
Exterior lighting. The provisions of Article
VII of this chapter, §
210-81 (Lighting) shall apply to any proposed vehicle fueling station.
(g)
Underground storage of fuel. All bulk petroleum products or
similar substances shall be stored underground, and all applicable
rules governing the storage of underground petroleum tanks shall apply.
D. Review of petitions for mapping in the VFS District; site plan approval
required.
(1) A petition for inclusion of new premises in the VFS District shall be submitted in accordance with Article
XIV of this chapter. No petition for the inclusion of any land in the VFS District shall be entertained, heard, or acted upon unless such application shall be accompanied by a sketch plan submitted to the Town Board with such application and including such details as the Town Board may require.
(2) Upon the Town Board applying the VFS District to a particular parcel in their legislative discretion and in consideration of the requirements set forth herein, site plan approval by the Planning Board, along with any other permits and approvals required under the Town Code or by any other law or regulation, is required prior to any building permits being issued to operate a vehicle fueling station. The Planning Board shall prescribe such additional requirements and standards as are provided for in Article
XIII of this chapter (Procedures and Standards for Site Plan Approval).
E. Principal permitted uses. Only the permitted use(s) established in §
210-42C(1) above may operate at one time on any site mapped in the VFS District. In the event that the owner of a lot improved with a vehicle fueling station seeks to the change the principal use from a vehicle fueling station to another use permitted in the underlying district, site plan approval shall be required in accordance with the provisions of Article
XIII of this chapter.
F. Discontinuance of vehicle fueling stations. Upon the discontinuance
of a vehicle fueling station in the VFS District, the permitted uses
on the lot shall be limited to the uses permitted in the underlying
zoning district. A discontinued vehicle fueling station, gasoline
filling station and/or motor vehicle service facility containing a
gasoline filling station use on any lot in the Town (whether existing
prior to the enactment of this VFS District or in accordance with
the provisions of this section) shall not be resumed or reestablished
without approval from the Town Board, and any subsequent use of the
lot shall conform to the use regulations of the underlying district.
A vehicle fueling station, gasoline filling station and/or motor vehicle
service facility containing a gasoline filling station shall be deemed
to have been discontinued if: (1) there is a cessation of the use
of the vehicle fueling station, Gasoline Filing Station, and/or motor
vehicle service facility containing a gasoline filling station by
the owner or operator for a period of six consecutive months; (2)
the removal of fuel dispensers from the premises and their continuous
absence from the premises for a period of 30 consecutive days unless
the owner has obtained a waiver of this condition upon written application
to the Town Board; (3) the owner or operator does not obtain a building
permit within one year of the Town Board granting approval for inclusion
of the lot in the VFS District, or such longer period as the Town
Board may by resolution determine; or (4) the owner or operator does
not complete construction of the vehicle fueling station within the
time permitted under the site plan approval issued by the Planning
Board. Additionally, and for purposes of this section, the completion
of construction shall be the date on which a certificate of occupancy
is issued by the Town of Poughkeepsie.
G. Gasoline filling stations existing prior to the creation of the VFS
District.
(1) All existing gasoline filling stations outside of the VFS District,
which shall be deemed to include any motor vehicle service facility
containing a gasoline filling station, existing as of the effective
date of this section shall be permitted to continue as nonconforming
uses.
(2) The provisions of Article
X (Nonconforming Buildings and Uses) of this chapter shall apply to any proposed expansion or extension of a nonconforming gasoline filling station outside of the VFS District, except that any modernization of the existing machinery on the property improved with a nonconforming gasoline filling station outside of the VFS District shall not constitute an expansion of extension of the nonconforming use, but shall require site plan review by the Planning Board.
(3) If an existing gasoline filling station has been discontinued (as said term is defined in Subsection
F above), such land shall thereafter be used only for a conforming use.
H. Signs. In addition to the requirements set forth in Article
IX, §§
210-117 through
210-123.2 and §
210-130 of this Zoning Law, the following are additional requirements on any sign erected or maintained in any vehicle fueling station in the VFS District:
(1) The price/grade signs must at all times accurately reflect the actual
price of automotive fuel and kerosene being offered for sale.
(2) Signs bearing the corporate insignia and/or brand name of the gasoline
sold and/or type of services available on site (i.e., full-service
and/or self-service), shall be the only signs permitted on the canopy.
(3) Signs affixed to or incorporated into the canopy shall not face residentially
zoned and developed properties.