The way in which presently undeveloped acreage in the Town is developed is of critical importance to the public interest. The standards for lot count contained in Chapter
307, Zoning, which exclude environmentally sensitive lands from the acreage upon which lot count is based, are designed to provide for flexibility in the siting of buildings and other facilities so that the disturbance or alteration of steep slope areas and other environmentally sensitive lands can be avoided. Nonetheless, the Town recognizes that disturbance or alteration of steep slope areas may be necessary in some cases involving only moderately steep slopes (grades of between 15% and 30%), and in exceptional cases involving grades of 30% or greater in which compelling circumstances have been clearly demonstrated, including that no other reasonable use of the site, lot or parcel is possible without disturbance to the steep slope area. The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations which prevent improper disturbance or alteration of steep slopes. The intent is not to restrict general development in the Town, but to guide land use proposals into areas where they best preserve and enhance these natural resources and preserve and protect the visual and environmental character of the land.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
CUSTOMARY LANDSCAPING
Land maintenance involving tree trimming and pruning, the removal
of dead and diseased vegetation, lawn and garden care and the planting of
decorative trees, shrubs and plants.
DISTURBANCE
Excavation or fill or any combination thereof and shall include the
conditions resulting from any excavation or fill.
EXCAVATION
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other similar material
is cut into, dug, quarried, uncovered, removed, displaced or spread.
FILL
Any act by which earth, sand, gravel, rock or any other material
is deposited, placed, replaced, dumped, transported or moved by person or
persons to a new location.
STEEP SLOPES
Ground areas with a slope greater than 15% with a minimum area of
500 square feet which possesses one dimension of a minimum of 10 feet. Measurements
shall be made along a horizontal plane.
The approval authority with respect to applications hereunder shall
be as follows:
A. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall be the approval authority
with respect to any application which requires the issuance of any other permit
or approval by it pursuant to the local laws and ordinances of the Town of
Cortlandt.
B. The Planning Board shall be the approval authority with
respect to any application which requires the issuance of any other permit
or approval by it pursuant to the local laws and ordinances of the Town of
Cortlandt, including any application which also requires the issuance of any
permit or approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
C. The Town Board shall be the approval authority with respect
to any application which requires the issuance of any other permit or approval
by it pursuant to the local laws and ordinances of the Town of Cortlandt,
including any application which also requires the issuance of any permit or
approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board.
D. The Director of Technical Services or the Deputy Director
of Code Enforcement shall be the approval authority with respect to all other
regulated activities.
In denying, granting or granting with modifications any application for a permit as required by this section, the approval authority shall consider, and make specific findings addressing, the consistency of the proposed activity with the findings set forth in §
259-2 of this chapter and each of the following standards:
A. Disturbance or alterations of trees and forests and topographical disturbances or alterations on steep slopes shall be in conformance with all provisions of this steep slopes ordinance as well as with all other applicable ordinances and regulations of the Town of Cortlandt, including, by way of example only, the requirements of Chapter
175 regarding flood damage control, Chapter
283 regarding trees, and Chapter
301 regarding diversion of watercourses.
B. Activities within wetlands shall be in conformance with Chapter
179, Freshwater Wetlands, Water Bodies and Watercourses, and, whether within or outside of wetlands, will not adversely affect any wetlands, water bodies, or watercourses.
C. The proposed activity will not result in creep, sudden
slope failure, or additional erosion.
D. The proposed activity will not adversely affect existing
or proposed wells or sewage disposal systems.
E. The proposed activity will not adversely affect any endangered
or threatened species of flora or fauna.
F. The proposed activity is in accordance with the principles
and recommendations of the most recent Master Plan of the Town.
G. The proposed activity constitutes the minimum disturbance
necessary to allow the property owner a reasonable use of the property.
H. Disturbance or alteration of areas with steep slopes
shall additionally be in conformance with the following provisions:
(1) The planning, design and development of buildings shall
provide the maximum in structural safety, slope stability and human enjoyment
while adapting the affected site to, and taking advantage of, the best use
of the natural terrain and aesthetic character.
(2) The terracing of building sites, including the mounding
of septic tile fields, shall be kept to an absolute minimum.
(3) Roads and driveways shall follow the natural topography
to the greatest extent possible in order to minimize the potential for erosion
and shall be consistent with all other applicable ordinances and regulations
of the Town of Cortlandt and current engineering practices.
(4) Replanting shall consist of indigenous vegetation and
shall replicate the original vegetation on the site as much as possible.
(5) The natural elevations and vegetative cover of ridgelines
shall be disturbed only if the crest of a ridge and the tree line at the ridge
remain uninterrupted. This may be accomplished either by positioning buildings
and areas of disturbance below a ridgeline or by positioning buildings and
areas of disturbance at a ridgeline so that the elevation of the roofline
of the building is no greater than the elevation of the natural tree line.
However, under no circumstances shall more than 100 feet along the ridgeline,
to a width of 100 feet generally centered on the ridgeline, be disturbed.
(6) Any regrading shall blend in with the natural contours
and undulations of the land.
(7) Cuts and fills shall be rounded off to eliminate sharp
angles at the top, bottom and sides of regraded slopes. Visible construction
cuts and permanent scarring should be minimized.
(8) The angle of cut and fill slopes shall not exceed a slope
of one vertical to two horizontal except where retaining walls, structural
stabilization or other methods acceptable to the Director of Technical Services
are used.
(9) Tops and bottoms of cut and fill slopes shall be set
back from structures a distance that will ensure the safety of the structure
in the event of the collapse of the cut or fill slopes. Generally, such distance
shall be considered to be six feet plus 1/2 the height of the cut or
fill. Nevertheless, a structure built on a slope or at the toe of a slope
is permitted if it is properly designed to retain the slope and withstand
the forces exerted on it by the retained slope.
(10) Disturbance of rock outcrops shall be by means of explosive
only if labor and machines are not effective and only if rock blasting is
conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations of the Town
of Cortlandt, County of Westchester, and the State of New York.
(11) Disturbance of steep slopes shall be undertaken in workable
units in which the disturbance can be completed and stabilized in one construction
season so that areas are not left bare and exposed during the winter and spring
thaw periods (December 15 through April 15).
(12) Disturbance of existing vegetative ground cover shall
not take place more than 15 days prior to grading and construction.
(13) Temporary soil stabilization, including, if appropriate,
temporary stabilization measures such as netting or mulching to secure soil
during the grow-in period, must be applied to an area of disturbance within
two days of establishing the final grade, and permanent stabilization must
be applied within 15 days of establishing the final grade.
(14) Soil stabilization must be applied within two days of
disturbance if the final grade is not expected to be established within 60
days.
(15) Measures for the control of erosion and sedimentation
shall be undertaken consistent with the Westchester County Soil and Water
Conservation District's Best Management Practices Manual for Erosion and Sediment
Control and New York State Guidelines for Urban Erosion and Sediment Control,
as amended, or their equivalents satisfactory to the approval authority.
(16) All proposed disturbance of steep slopes shall be undertaken
with consideration of the soils limitations characteristics contained in the
Identification Legend, Westchester County Soils Survey, 1989, as prepared
by the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District, in terms of
recognition of limitation of soils on steep slopes for development and application
of all mitigating measures and as deemed necessary by the approval authority.
(17) Topsoil shall be stripped from all areas of disturbance,
stockpiled and stabilized in a manner to minimize erosion and sedimentation
and replaced elsewhere on the site at the time of final grading. Stockpiling
shall not be permitted on slopes of greater than 10%.
(18) No organic material or rock with a size that will not
allow appropriate compaction or cover by topsoil shall be used as fill material.
Fill material shall be no less granular than the soil upon which it is placed
and shall drain readily.
(19) Compaction of fill materials in fill areas shall be such
to ensure support of proposed structures and stabilization for intended uses.
I. Burden of proof.
(1) The presumption in all cases shall be that no disturbance or alteration of any steep slope shall be approved by the approval authority. The applicant shall in all cases have the burden of proof of demonstrating, by clear and convincing evidence, that the proposed activity is fully consistent with each of the findings sat forth in §
259-2 and that each of the standards for approval set forth in Subsections
A through
G above has been fully and completely met.
(2) With respect to applications involving proposed disturbance
or alteration of any steep slope with a grade of 30% or greater, the applicant
shall have the additional burden of demonstrating, again by clear and convincing
evidence, that the applicant's circumstances are compelling and exceptional,
including, at a minimum, demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that
no reasonable use of the site, lot, or parcel is possible without disturbance
to a steep slope area having a grade of 30% or greater.
In granting a permit, the approval authority shall require a security
in an amount and with surety and conditions satisfactory to it securing to
the Town of Cortlandt compliance with the conditions and limitations set forth
in the permit.