The owner shall observe the following general
requirements and principles of land subdivision.
[Amended 8-13-1990 by L.L. No. 5-1990]
A. If the Planning Board so directs, the Planning Board
may require in subdivisions that exceed 125 dwelling units, or as
the Planning Board in particular cases determines, the owner to dedicate
to the Town "usable land" equal in size to 5% of the owner's subdivided
tract. This land shall be used by the Town for parks, playgrounds
or for other specific public recreational uses (to be defined as "parkland")
or may be left as passive open space (to be defined as "open space")
as deemed desirable by the Town Planning Board. The Planning Board
may refer such offers to the Town Board for review and recommendations.
B. If the Planning Board determines that the five-percent
area offered by the owner is not desirable, in the Planning Board's
discretion, or if the number of dwelling units is less than 125, or
based upon the Board's review in the particular case regardless of
whether there are more or less than 125 units, would not be useful
for the public purpose, or is otherwise not practical, or is not in
conformance with the Town's recreation policy or practice, the Board
shall require as a condition to approval of the plat that the owner
pay to the Town a recreation fee per dwelling unit included in the
plat, which sum shall constitute a trust fund to be used by the Town
exclusively for neighborhood park, playground or recreation purposes,
including the acquisition of property. This fee shall be set forth
in the fee schedule in Appendix 1. If the Board determines that only a portion of the five-percent
area offered by the owner is acceptable for public use, then the owner
shall dedicate the acceptable land as determined by the Board and
pay a fee based upon the difference in the percentage of land offered,
with any improvements constructed by the developer at the Board's
direction as determined by the Board's engineers and surveyors and
at the Board's approval, and the 5% required.
C. The Planning Board may require that more than 5% of
the subdivider's tract be offered to the Town.
D. The above-referenced recreation fee will be collected
on all subdivisions, planned development districts and residential
developments of any nature or kind where the five-percent dedicated
area is not required by the Board for recreation purposes, except
minor subdivisions, those being subdivisions of four or less dwelling
units, for which minor subdivisions of up to four dwelling units out
of one parcel or all subdivided portions of one parcel shall be exempted
from the recreation fee referenced above and specified in Appendix
1.
E. For purposes of determining parcels in existence and
for determining subdivisions, each part or parcel existing in the
Town on the date of this chapter shall constitute a parcel. Any subdivision
or further division or breakdown of that parcel in the future to encompass
more than four dwelling units will cause invoking of this portion
of the chapter requiring payment of the fee or deduction of lands
regardless of whether the same owner or a successor subdivides the
parcel into more than four dwelling units, or subdivides or divides
the parcel which thereafter becomes more than four dwelling units
in total, or creates apartments, condominiums, etc. upon said parcel.
F. Any application for a subdivision for which a recreation
fee is due and payable shall contain, as a condition of final approval
and stamping of the plan, a requirement that the payment for the recreational
fee (if the current number of dwelling units require a recreational
fee for four dwelling units or less) be paid in full at the time of
the final stamping of the subdivision plan and condition to final
approval.
G. In the event that the subdivision for which a recreation
fee is due and payable is five or more dwelling units, whether upon
the initial application or as accumulated and incurred over phases,
the fee shall be paid in increments, with increments to be for five
dwelling units at each time that a building permit for any one of
the next or subsequent section of dwelling units is applied for, i.e.,
the first one through five dwelling units: payment for five will be
required on the stamping of the final subdivision approval plan and
as a condition of final approval; five through 10 units: payment for
those five dwelling units shall be due and payable on the issuance
of the building permit for the first of those five; 10 through 15:
payment for the five dwelling units shall be due on the issuance of
the building permit for the 11th dwelling unit and so forth, as payment
shall be made for all five dwelling units in each incremental section
even if only one building permit is applied for in that section. In
the event there are less than five dwelling units applied for, the
payment shall be for all dwelling units for which a recreation fee
is due.
Unique and scenic areas and those areas bordering streams, lakes or other watercourses may be given special consideration by the Planning Board should they be desirable for public open spaces. Where such sites and open spaces are deemed essential by the Planning Board upon consideration of the particular type of development proposed in the subdivision and especially in large-scale neighborhood unit developments, the Planning Board may recommend that the Town Board require the offering of reservation of areas in excess of the requirements set forth in §
143-23A above. Under such conditions, a money payment at a fair market value determined at the time the application for approval of the final subdivision plat is made to the Planning Board shall be made to the owner to compensate his loss in excess of the five-percent contribution. Fair market value, for purpose of this paragraph, shall mean the percent created by determining the amount of acreage taken as a percent of the total acreage proposed by the owner for subdivision. That percent so determined shall be applied against the total assessed value to determine the fair market value of the land taken (i.e., one acre of a ten-acre parcel equals 10% by $100,000 total assessed value equals $10,000 fair market value for a one-acre parcel taken).