Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
definitions shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings
herein indicated. Any pertinent word or term not a part of this listing
shall be construed to have its legal definition.
APPLICANT
A landowner, subdivider or developer, as hereinafter defined,
who has filed an application for development, including his heirs,
successors and assigns.
APPLICATION
Forms provided by the Board, with full answers to all requests
for pertinent information regarding a property proposed for subdivision,
along with the requisite information regarding its owner(s) and/or
developers and their intentions regarding the property, accompanied
by all supporting documentation, graphic and otherwise, necessary
for the Board to make a decision appropriate to its stage of review.
BOARD
The Town Planning Board.
BERM or SHOULDER
That portion of a roadway between the outer edge of the travelled
way or pavement and the point of intersection of the slope lines at
the outer edge of the roadway, for the accommodation of stopped vehicles
and for lateral support.
BUILDING
Any structure which is permanently affixed to the land, has
one or more floors or stories and is located on a lot. A "building"
shall not include such structures as billboards, fences or structures
with interior surfaces not normally accessible to human use, such
as gas tanks, grain elevators, coal bunkers or similar structures.
A "building" may accommodate more than one family and have more than
one dwelling unit and be used for residential, commercial or manufacturing
purposes. Mobile homes shall be considered "buildings."
CLEAR SIGHT TRIANGLE
An area of unobstructed vision at a street intersection(s),
defined by lines of sight between points at a given distance from
the intersecting street right-of-way lines.
COMMON OPEN SPACE
A parcel or parcels of land or an area of water, or a combination
of land and water, within a development site and designed and intended
for the use or enjoyment of residents of the development. It does
not include streets, off-street parking areas and areas set aside
for utility placement, rights-of-way or similar public facilities.
COMMON PROPERTY
All of the land and improvements that are part of a subdivision
or land development which is to be jointly owned and maintained by
the development and identified as such by the subdivider on any plan
offered to the Town for approval.
CONDOMINIUM
A mode of ownership wherein each dwelling unit may be owned
in fee simple, separately and individually from all others, but where
all such owners have an indivisible interest in the common areas.
Thus, they share ownership and attendant responsibility for the provision,
maintenance and/or repair of common internal facilities, utilities,
services, exterior building surfaces, land, landscaping and other
outdoor facilities.
COOPERATIVE
A mode of ownership for which title is held jointly by a
group of cooperators, each member owning a given number of shares
in the corporation in proportion to the value of his individual dwelling
unit, which he owns under an occupancy agreement. Each cooperator
is assessed, according to the number of shares owned, for maintenance
of common areas.
COUNTY
The County of Sullivan, State of New York.
CUL-DE-SAC
A minor street intersecting another street at one end and
terminated at the other by a vehicular turnaround.
DEDICATION
The appropriation of land by its owner, for any general or
public uses. This shall not be construed as acceptance by the Town
of responsibility for maintenance and/or ownership of such land and
attendant facilities, except where appropriate legal documents specifically
relating to the same have been executed.
DEEP PIT TEST
Opening excavated vertically from ground surface to a minimum
depth of six feet or solid ledge rock, whichever occurs first, to
expose groundwater conditions and subsurface soil stratas for examination.
[Added 11-24-1992 by L.L. No. 5-1992]
DEVELOPER
The owner or authorized agent of the owner, including but
not limited to any individual, partnership or corporation that undertakes
a subdivision or land development or any of the activities covered
by this chapter, particularly the preparation of a subdivision plan
showing the layout of the land and the public improvements involved
therein. The term "developer" is intended to include the term "subdivider,"
even though the personnel involved in successive stages of this project
may vary, and the terms of agreement to which the developer obligates
himself shall be continuing obligations of the ultimate purchaser(s),
their heirs and assigns.
DRAINAGE EASEMENT
An easement required for installation of storm sewers or
drainage ditches and/or required for the preservation or maintenance
of a natural stream or watercourse or other drainage facility.
DRIVEWAY
A defined private access from an individual lot to a public
highway or approved right-of-way.
DWELLING
A building, or part thereof, arranged, intended, designed
or used as the living quarters for one or more families living independently
of each other upon the premises. The term "dwelling" shall not be
deemed to include hotel, motel, rooming house or tourist home.
A.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGA building arranged, designed and intended to be used for and occupied exclusively by one family.
B.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGA building arranged, designed and intended to be used for and occupied by two families living independently and having no cooking or sanitary facilities in common.
C.
MULTIPLE DWELLINGA building arranged, designed and intended to be used for and occupied by three or more families living independently and having no cooking or sanitary facilities in common.
EASEMENT
Authorization by a property owner for the use by another,
for a specified purpose, of any designated part of his property.
IMPROVEMENTS
Those physical changes to the land necessary to produce usable
and desirable lots from raw acreage, including but not limited to
sewers, gutters, drains and betterments to existing watercourses;
sidewalks; street signs; crosswalks; shade trees; sodding or seeding;
street name signs; and monuments.
LOT
A parcel or portion of land separated from other parcels
or portions, for purpose of sale, lease or separate use, by means
of a description as indicated by a subdivision plat, a recorded map
or deed or by metes and bounds or separated by a public street or
railroad right-of-way. The term "lot" shall also mean parcel, plot,
site or any similar term.
A.
LOT AREAThe area of land contained within the limits of the property lines bounding that lot. Any portion of a lot included in a street right-of-way shall not be included in calculating "lot area."
B.
LOT WIDTHThe distance between the two side lot lines at the edge of the highway right-of-way or other point of access.
MAJOR SUBDIVISION
Any subdivision or land development which is not a minor
subdivision. Any subdivision which involves the utilization of off-site
sewage disposal systems or water supplies, the construction of any
streets or the utilization of clustering techniques shall also be
considered a "major subdivision," regardless of the number of lots
or other considerations.
MINOR SUBDIVISION
A subdivision or development containing four lots or fewer
or a cumulative development on a lot-by-lot basis, for a total of
four lots, of any original tract of land of record (i.e., not previously
subdivided or developed subsequent to the effective date of these
regulations by the owner or the owner's duly appointed agent) where
no new streets or accesses are required.
OFFICIAL MAP
The map established by the Town Board pursuant to § 270
of the Town Law, showing streets, highways, parks and drainage, both
existing and proposed.
OFFICIAL SUBMITTAL DATE
The date on which a subdivision plat is considered officially
submitted to the Planning Board pursuant to § 276 of the
Town Law and hereby defined as the date the Planning Board receives
the formal subdivision plat in proper form.
PARENT PARCEL
Any parcel of land owned individually and separately and
separated in ownership from any adjoining tracts of land on the effective
date of this chapter and for which there exists the legal possibility
of subdivision or resubdivision.
PERCOLATION TEST
A measurement of the rate of downward flow or infiltration
of water through the pores or spaces of a rock or soil.
PERFORMANCE BOND
A security which may be accepted by the municipality in lieu
of a requirement that certain improvements be made before the Planning
Board gives final approval to a subdivision plat. Such security shall
be sufficient to cover the full cost of all incompleted improvements
in the subdivision as estimated by the Planning Board or agency designated
by the Town Board. Securities shall include such collateral or agreements
acceptable to the Town Board or a bond issued by a surety company
and to run for a term not to exceed three years; provided, however,
that the term may be extended by the Town Board with the consent of
the parties thereto.
PLAN or PLAT
A map or chart indicating the subdivision or resubdivision
of land, which, in its various stages of preparation, can include
the following:
A.
SKETCH PLANAn informal plan, identified as such with the title "Sketch Plan" on the map, indicating salient existing features of a tract and its surroundings and the general layout of the proposed subdivision, to be used as a basis for consideration by the Town.
B.
PRELIMINARY PLATA complete plan prepared by a registered professional engineer or registered surveyor, identified as such with the wording "preliminary plat" in the title, accurately showing proposed streets and lot layout and such other information as required by these regulations.
C.
FINAL PLATA complete and exact plan, identified as such with the wording "final plat" in the title, with a registered surveyor's seal affixed and prepared for official recording as required by these regulations, to define property rights and proposed streets and other improvements.
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER or ENGINEER
A person licensed as a professional engineer by the State
of New York or licensed in a state with a reciprocal agreement with
New York State.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
A strip of land, owned in fee simple or used through easement,
reserved for a linear transit element (i.e., roads, railroads, fixed-route
mass transit or bikeways) or utility elements (i.e., high-tension
lines, gas and oil pipelines, aqueducts and sewer lines). Ordinarily,
it is a type of easement that conveys a right to use a corridor of
land for purposes of ingress and egress. The "right-of-way" shall
not be considered as land area when computing lot size.
SETBACK or BUILDING LINE
The line within a property defining the required minimum
distances between any structure and the adjacent right-of-way or property
line of any lot. The "setback" shall be measured from the edge of
the right-of-way bordering the property.
SIGHT DISTANCE
The distance one can see in any direction from a given point
on a street, generally from the position of a driver's seat in a passenger
vehicle.
STREET
A way for vehicular traffic, whether designated as a street,
highway, parkway, throughway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, place
or however else designated. The term "street" includes the land between
the street right-of-way lines, whether improved or unimproved, and
may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, sidewalks, planted strips,
parking areas and other areas within such street lines.
A.
MAJOR TRAFFIC STREETSThose which service large volumes of comparatively high-speed and long-distance traffic such as New York State Routes 42 and 55 and County Highways 16, 17 and 19.
B.
COLLECTOR STREETSThose which, in addition to giving access to abutting properties, intercept minor streets and provide routes, carrying considerable volumes of traffic, to community facilities and to major traffic streets.
C.
MINOR STREETSThose which primarily provide access to abutting properties.
D.
MARGINAL ACCESS STREETSThose parallel to major traffic or collector streets and primarily providing access to abutting properties.
E.
STREET WIDTHThe shortest distance between the lines delineating the right-of-way of a street.
SUBDIVIDER
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or association
who shall lay out any subdivision, or part thereof, as defined herein,
either for himself or others.
SUBDIVISION
The division of a parcel of land into two or more lots, sites
or other divisions of land for immediate or future sale or for building
development, or any division of a parcel of land requiring a new public
street or public street extension.
TOWN ENGINEER
An engineer officially retained by, and consulting with,
the Town Board and/or the Planning Board.
WATERCOURSE
A discernible, definable natural course or channel along
which water is conveyed ultimately to streams and/or rivers at lower
elevations. A "watercourse" may originate from a lake or underground
spring(s) and be permanent in nature, or it may originate from temporary
sources, such as runoff from rain or melting snow.