In interpreting and applying this chapter, the requirements contained herein are declared to be the minimum requirements for the protection of the public health, morals, safety, comfort, convenience and general welfare. This chapter shall not be deemed to affect in any manner whatsoever any easements, covenants or other agreements between parties; provided, however, that where this chapter imposes greater restrictions upon the use of buildings or land or upon the erection, construction, establishment, moving, alteration or enlargement of buildings than are imposed by other ordinances, rules, regulations, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or by easements, covenants or agreements, the provisions of this chapter shall prevail. Except as hereinafter provided, the general regulations contained in this article shall apply.
No building shall be erected, moved, altered, rebuilt or enlarged, nor shall any land or building be used, designed or arranged to be used, for any purpose or in any manner except in conformity with this chapter and particularly with the specific regulations for the district in which such building or land is located. Any use not specifically permitted by this chapter is prohibited.
Every building hereafter erected shall be located on a lot as herein defined. There shall be not more than one main building and its accessory buildings on one lot, except for nonresidential buildings in districts where such uses are permitted.
No yard or other open space provided about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of these regulations shall be included as any part of the yard or open space for any other building; no yard or any other open space on one lot shall be considered as a yard or open space for a building on any other lot.
Should a lot hereafter be formed from the part of a lot already occupied by a building, such separation shall be affected in such manner as not to impair conformity with any of the requirements of this chapter with respect to the existing building and all yards and other required spaces in connection therewith, and no permit shall be issued for the erection of a building on the new lot thus created unless it complies with all the provisions of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 163, Subdivision of Land, for provisions as to subdivision of land generally.
Where a question exists as to the proper application of any of the regulations 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 such regulations shall be applied.
[Amended 11-14-2002 by L.L. No. 9-2002]
No permit for the erection of any building shall be issued unless the plot on which such building is proposed to be erected has access to a street or highway in accordance with the provisions of § 280-a of the Town Law. This section shall not preclude access by means of a shared driveway, if the Planning Board approves a special permit therefor.
[Added 3-28-1985 by L.L. No. 2-1985; amended 11-14-2002 by L.L. No. 8-2002[1]]
Notwithstanding the provisions as to bulk in the Schedule of Residential District Regulations of this chapter,[2] a parcel of land in the three-acre (R-3) zone may hereafter be divided into lots smaller than three acres in size, pursuant to a subdivision approved by the Planning Board pursuant to the Town subdivision regulations,[3] provided that:
A. 
Minimum lot size. Every lot shall have a minimum lot requirement of two acres.
B. 
Bulk requirements. The bulk requirements of the R-2 District, as contained in the Schedule of Residential District Regulations, shall apply to all lots.
C. 
Maximum number of lots. The maximum number of lots which may be created shall be equal to the number achieved by dividing the parcel by three and rounding to the next lowest number. The subdivision will also have to meet the standards of the Zoning Law relating to environmentally sensitive lands.
D. 
Legal assurances. The Planning Board shall require sufficient legal assurances to prevent the future subdivision of any lot which is larger than the minimum required lot size, if such subdivision would reduce the average density of the subdivision below an average of three acres per lot.
E. 
In the course of review of a proposed average density subdivision, the Planning Board can request the applicant to consider a cluster subdivision alternative.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also provided that any application for an average density subdivision of land in the R-2 Zoning District which has received preliminary Planning Board approval after January 1, 2002, and prior to the effective date of this local law (December 5, 2002), may continue to be processed, and lots created thereby shall be entitled to building permits, under the following conditions:
1. The subdivision meets all standards of § 194-14 as in effect prior to the adoption of this local law.
2. A legally sufficient application for final subdivision approval is submitted to the Planning Board within six months of the effective date of this local law.
3. Final subdivision approval is granted within six months after submission of the application, and the final plat is duly and timely filed in the Dutchess County Clerk's office pursuant to Town Law § 276.
[2]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 163, Subdivision of Land.
[3]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Bulk Regulations, including residential districts, is included at the end of this chapter.
[Added 11-14-2002 by L.L. No. 2-2002]
A. 
Designation. For the purpose of these regulations, "environmentally sensitive lands" shall include lands defined as "floodways," "water bodies," "wetlands," "one-hundred-year floodplains," and "steep slopes" as defined in § 194-3.
B. 
Proposed lots in conventional subdivisions must comply with the following two standards:
(1) 
Standards for lot count. For all subdivision applications, the maximum number of lots or dwelling units (N) which the Planning Board may approve for land to be subdivided shall be the whole number (all fractions excluded) which results from the following calculation:
[Amended 9-27-2007 by L.L. No. 7-2007[1]]
Gross parcel area (GPA), minus areas of wetlands, water bodies and watercourses (WWW) as defined in the Town Code Wetlands Ordinance,[2] minus areas of freshwater wetlands (FW), as defined in Article 24 of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law, minus areas within the one-hundred-year flood boundaries (FB) as defined on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, minus 50% of steep slopes (SS) over 20% minus 10% of the gross parcel area (GPA) (the ten-percent GPA deduction is to be made only when streets, shared driveways or private roads are included within the subdivision); all divided by the minimum lot size (MLS) required in the zoning district in which the parcel is located.
Lot count formula is:
GPA-WWW-FW-FB-50% SS-10% GPA
N.=
--------------------------------------------------
MLS
(a) 
Where any area of land is considered environmentally sensitive for more than one reason, no additional discount from area calculation shall be taken on such basis, although the more restrictive percentage would apply where there is a difference.
(b) 
From the acreage remaining after the deduction, the applicant shall further deduct the area of land necessary to provide roads, drainage facilities, and other infrastructure to serve the subdivision. The acreage remaining shall then be divided by the minimum lot size shown in the bulk schedule for conventional lots in the district in question. The number of lots to be created in the subdivision shall in no case be higher than the number derived in this calculation, subject to the incentive provisions of the Affordable Housing Laws.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: See Art. XXIII.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law provided that it will not apply to any application which has received preliminary approval upon the effective date of this law nor will this local law apply to any application for which a determination of significance has been adopted as of the effective date of this law and, in addition, for which a DEIS has heretofore been submitted to the lead agency conducting environmental review or for which a DEIS will be submitted within nine months from the effective date of this law.
[2]
Editor’s Note: See Ch. 110, Freshwater Wetlands, Water Bodies and Watercourses.
(2) 
Minimum buildable area. Each detached single-family lot shall provide a minimum buildable area as follows. The minimums provided herein are not subject to decrease under the Affordable Housing Law provisions.
Type of Subdivision
Minimum Buildable Area
With individual wells and individual sewage disposal systems
3/4 acre
With central water and individual sewage disposal systems, or vice versa
1/2 acre
With central water and central sewers
10,000 square feet average, with no lot smaller than 7,500 square feet
(3) 
Lots in the CRD Zoning District are subject to the exclusions of environmentally sensitive lands in that chapter. Accordingly, the requirements of Subsection B(1) and (2) above do not apply to lots in the CRD Zone.
C. 
Proposed site plans for nonresidential development. Environmentally sensitive lands shall be counted at the following percentages of their gross land area in meeting the requirements of minimum lot area or floor area ratio under the bulk regulations of the Zoning Law.
Type of Land
Percentage to be Discounted
Floodway
100%
Floodplain
50%
Steep slopes (greater than 20%)
50%
Water bodies
100%
Wetlands
50%
(1) 
Where any area of land is considered environmentally sensitive for more than one reason, no additional discount from area calculation shall be taken on such basis, although the more restrictive percentage would apply where there is a difference.
D. 
Applicability.
(1) 
This provision shall apply to all lots created after December 5, 2002 (the effective date of this section), including subdivisions and resubdivisions, and shall apply to all site plans approved after the effective date, including site plan amendments or expansions, except that this section shall not apply to lots on a subdivision map which has received preliminary subdivision approval by the East Fishkill Planning Board on or before December 5, 2002 (the effective date of this section), provided that a legally sufficient application for final subdivision approval is submitted to the Planning Board within six months after the effective date of this section.
(2) 
Redevelopment of a lot which is currently or previously has been improved shall be exempt but shall be subject to federal and state regulations.
[Added 6-22-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
[Added 10-28-2010 by L.L. No. 6-2010; amended 2-27-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
The facade of a house must face the street. Houses on corner lots should be oriented in the same direction as the adjacent houses, which is usually the street with the least frontage. Where no other method determines conclusively the front of a lot, the Planning Board shall designate the property line from which the front yard will be measured after considering the optimum orientation of the principal dwelling to minimize negative impacts on surrounding properties.
[Added 2-27-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
When an approving agency other than the Town creates a condition of an approval which may require enforcement, maintenance, or other action by the Town, the application must be referred to the Town Board for approval.
[Added 2-27-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
Applications pending before the Planning Board and the Zoning Board shall be deemed to be dormant and withdrawn by the applicant if the application does not appear on a Board agenda with new or additional information for a period of two years or more (including those applications awaiting submission of a draft environmental impact statement). Said time period may not be extended by the Board.