Town of Hamptonburgh, NY Article IV Supplementary Regulations in All Districts

§ 150-10 Driveways and access drives.

A. Slope. For all uses, driveway access to a public road shall not exceed a 10% slope at any point.

B. Slope at intersection with public road. In addition to the requirements of Subsection A, the driveway slope shall not exceed 2% for a minimum distance of 20 feet from the intersection of the driveway with any public road, except that, where any other agency having jurisdiction over curb cut permits has more stringent requirements in this regard with the application to any individual curb cut permit, such requirements shall supersede the requirements of this subsection only.

C. Waiver. The Planning Board shall have the power to waive the 10% access slope requirement in unusual circumstances where the topography and other site-specific conditions renders the achievement of such slope prohibitively difficult, except that in no case shall the slope exceed 12% at any point. Where the Planning Board grants such a waiver, it may also place reasonable conditions on the granting of such waiver in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare.

D. Driveways shall be paved for a minimum of 25 feet from the edge of the Town road, with no less than two inches of blacktop.

[Added 3-6-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]

E. All driveways that have received a waiver from the Planning Board to allow any portion of said driveway to have a slope over 10%, which in any case may not exceed 12%, shall be paved for the entire length of the driveway.

[Added 3-6-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]

F. All driveways that exceed 250 feet in length must provide a turnaround area sufficient for emergency vehicles as well as provide at least one area of the driveway that is wide enough for two emergency vehicles to simultaneously pass one another.

[Added 3-6-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]

§ 150-11 Supplementary yard and bulk regulations.

A. Supplementary yard regulations in all districts.

(1) Location of accessory buildings.

(a) Except where other provisions of this chapter apply, accessory buildings may be located in any required side or rear yard, provided that:

[1] Such buildings shall not exceed 15 feet in height, except that barns or related structures which are used for the stabling of animals shall not exceed 25 feet in height. Silos shall not be subject to such height limitations.

[2] Such buildings shall be set back at least 10 feet from any lot line.

[3] All such buildings in the aggregate shall not occupy more than 10% of the area of the required rear or side yard.

(b) Accessory buildings constructed at the same time may be located in pairs or groups in the required rear or side yard along the common side lot line or rear lot line of contiguous lots.

(c) An accessory building on that portion of a lot not included in any required yard shall conform to the height regulations for principal buildings.

(d) No accessory building shall project nearer to the street on which the principal building fronts than such principal building. Should topographic conditions be such that practical difficulties would be caused by this requirement with respect to the location of garages, application should be made to the Zoning Board of Appeals, which may authorize the erection of garages under such conditions as it deems appropriate.

(2) Corner lots.

(a) Obstruction to vision at street intersections. At all street intersections in all residence districts, no obstructions to vision exceeding 30 inches in height above curb level shall be erected or maintained on any lot within the triangle formed by the street lines of such lot and a line drawn between points along such street lines 30 feet in distance from their point of intersection.

(b) Rear and side yards. On a corner lot, a front yard is required on both street frontages. The Town Building Inspector shall determine what remaining yards shall be designated as the rear yard and side yard or yards.

[Amended 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

(c) The construction of a new Town road shall not, for the purposes of this subsection, require any adjoining, improved parcel or parcels (not in common ownership) to have more than one front yard, and such adjoining, improved parcel or parcels shall continue to have only one front yard notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein set forth.

[Added 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

(3) Exceptions to yard requirements.

(a) Permitted obstructions. Cornices or cantilevered roofs may project not more than three feet into a required yard. Belt courses, windowsills and other ornamental features may project not more than six inches into a required yard.

(b) Fences. Fences shall be permitted subject to the requirements set forth in § 150-23L of this chapter.

(c) Paved areas. Paved areas other than such as are needed for access to the buildings on the lot shall not project within 15 feet of a street line nor four feet of any lot line, whichever is more restrictive.

(d) Entries and porticoes. A roofed but unenclosed projection, in the nature of an entry or portico, not more than eight feet wide and extending not more than six feet out from the wall of the building shall be exempt from the front yard requirements set forth in the Table of Bulk Regulations when the building itself otherwise complies with all other yard requirements of said Table of Bulk Regulations.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Said Table of Bulk Regulations is located at the end if this chapter.

(e) Existing setback. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, no proposed one- or two-family dwelling need have a front yard setback greater than the average setback of the existing dwellings within 200 feet on each side of the proposed dwelling, except where such contrary provisions are necessary for health and safety considerations.

(f) Front yards on narrow streets. For lots fronting on streets with less than a fifty-foot right-of-way, the front yard setback shall be measured from the center line of the existing street, and 25 feet shall be added to the front yard setback, except where the provisions of the preceding subsection apply.

(4) Uniformity of design. In order to avoid monotony of architectural design, no building permit shall be issued for the erection of a single-family or two-family detached dwelling if it is substantially like any neighboring building which is existing or for which a building permit has been issued or which is concurrently under application.

(a) A building shall be considered neighboring if it fronts on the same street as the building being considered, and is the first or second house along the street in either direction or faces the building site being considered from across the street.

(b) In considering those items listed in Subsection A(4)(c) below, buildings shall be considered substantially alike in any dimension in which they differ by less than two feet, except 20 feet for setback differences. Buildings between which the only difference in relative location of elements is end-to-end or side-to-side reversal shall be deemed alike in relative location of such elements.

(c) Buildings shall be considered substantially alike unless they differ in at least three of the following respects or dimensions:

[1] Setback from the street.

[2] Relation of a garage visible from the street to the main structure.

[3] Length of the main roof ridge.

[4] Height of the roof ridge above the first floor elevation.

[5] Width, measured perpendicular to the main roof ridge, if the building has a gable extending from the main roof visible to the street.

[6] Relationship to each other of windows, doors, chimney or any porch in the front elevation.

(d) The Planning Board may waive or vary any requirement of this subsection where the layout of the neighborhood, road pattern, topography, natural features, views and the siting of individual structures is such as to avoid monotony of appearance, despite similarity of buildings.

B. Road frontage for lots fronting on specified roads; lots fronting on cul-de-sacs. Lots which front on the terminal portion of a cul-de-sac (i.e., on the circular or bulbous terminus of the cul-de-sac) shall require a minimum road frontage of only 1/4 of the minimum required lot width.

[Amended 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

C. Supplementary regulations applying to nonresidential buildings.

(1) Structures such as chimneys, flues, towers and spires shall be exempt from height limitations set forth in the Table of Bulk Requirements, provided that in the aggregate they occupy not more than 20% of the roof area and further provided that they not create public health, safety and welfare impacts.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Said Table of Bulk Requirements is located at the end of this chapter.

(2) Waiver of yards. Side or rear yard requirements may be waived at the discretion of the Planning Board where such yard abuts an operating railroad right-of-way.

(3) Courts. The minimum dimension of an inner court shall not be less than twice the height of all surrounding walls. However, in no case shall an inner court have a dimension of less than 30 feet. The height of walls surrounding an inner court shall be measured from finished grade at the base thereof to the top of such wall, except that, in the case of roofs with a slope exceeding five inches vertical to 12 inches horizontal, the height shall be measured to the mean point between the top of the said wall and the highest point of the roof. The minimum dimension of an outer court shall be 20 feet, and its depth shall not exceed its width.

D. Buffer screening areas. Any application for the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration or movement of any building or structure or for the establishment of any use within any business or industrial district or any nonresidential use in any residential district shall include provisions for a buffer screening area at least 50 feet in width along any lot line abutting or, if determined necessary by the approving authority, directly across the street from any lot in a residential district. This requirement may be reduced by the approving authority in situations where it determines that large distances, topographic features or existing vegetation satisfy the same purpose, but in no case shall be reduced below 20 feet in width. Such a buffer screening area shall meet the following standards:

[Added 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

(1) Be of evergreen planting of such type, height, spacing and arrangement as, in the judgment of the approving authority, will screen the activity involved from the neighboring residential area. Non-evergreen planting may seasonally supplement evergreen planting but not take its place.

(2) The plan and specifications for such planting shall be filed with the plans for the use of the lot.

(3) Required planting shall be properly trimmed and maintained in good condition at all times.

(4) A wall or fence, of location, height, design and materials approved by the approving authority as providing equivalent screening, may be substituted for part or all of the required planting.

E. Transition between residential and nonresidential districts.

[Added 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

(1) Recognizing that the potential for conflict between incompatible land uses is greatest at the border between residential and nonresidential districts, and for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, welfare and property values of persons and properties in such areas by assuring a more orderly transition between commercial and residential neighborhoods, including the possible limitation of potentially undesirable uses in such locations, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Town of Hamptonburgh to establish transition areas at the perimeter of all business and industrial districts. This is in addition and supplementary to the requirement for the provision of landscaped buffer screening in such areas, as required by § 150-11D above.

(2) Within such transition areas, the reviewing agency, whether it is the Planning Board, Town Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, is hereby granted the authority necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section within the limitations as set forth below. This additional authority shall apply only to lots within business and industrial districts, any portion of which is situated within 100 feet of any portion of a lot in a residence district. Implementation of this authority shall be accomplished as part of the site plan or special permit review process, as appropriate to the particular application involved.

(3) On lots within the defined transition area, the Planning Board, Town Board or the Zoning Board of Appeals, as appropriate, may require limitations on the types of uses permitted, the type, intensity and location of exterior lighting, the storage of refuse, the loading and unloading of trucks, the location of signs and other similar factors to the extent determined necessary by said Board to accomplish the purposes of transition zoning as set forth herein. These limitations may include, but are not limited to, the authority to prohibit certain special permit uses entirely within such transition areas if it is determined by the reviewing agency that the potentially adverse impacts of such uses cannot be sufficiently mitigated by other means.

§ 150-12 Clearing and grading performance standards.

A. Purpose. All land disturbance clearing and grading activities in all districts shall be carried out with due and deliberate care in order to minimize soil loss and air and water pollution resulting from soil erosion; to encourage the rapid restoration and revegetation of the site; to minimize negative visual impacts or damage to highway drainage systems; and to avoid the creation of hazardous road conditions due to the spread of gravel, stones or soil on public roads.

B. Permitting standards.

[Amended 9-2-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]

(1) Activities exempt from permit.

(a) In all districts, a total land area of no more than 50% of any lot that is two acres or smaller in area or a total land area of one acre may be disturbed on any lot without the need for a permit pursuant to this section. Excepted from this category shall be all land disturbance activities within the Gateway Road Overlay Subdistrict which may be subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board, excepting only the removal of diseased trees or those presenting an imminent hazard, the determination of which shall be made by the Building Inspector upon request of the owner of such tree(s). See Subsection B(2) below for further information on related permitting requirements. Notwithstanding the above, persons engaged in land disturbance activities shall comply with the following performance standards:

[1] Access to lands to be disturbed shall be achieved in a safe and secure manner, with consideration for:

[a] Providing the safest feasible sight distances for site accessways for equipment ingress and egress.

[b] Providing for the continued uninterrupted passage of any preexisting highway drainage ditches adjoining the site.

[c] Providing measures, as needed, to avoid the deposit or spread of gravel, stones, dirt, mud, silt or other foreign material upon the public roads. Such measures may include the installation of a wheel cleaning bed of stone or other material on the site. Prompt and immediate cleanup of materials spilled on public roads shall be provided for.

[2] The continued temporary and permanent safe and adequate passage of drainage on lands to be disturbed shall be provided for, without creating negative impacts on the lands of others. This may involve the creation of temporary siltation basins, water bars and diversion ditches, among other things.

[3] Erosion control measures shall be followed as necessary to reduce soil loss and to maintain soils on the site. Sharp changes in grade or the creation of grades in excess of recommended maximum slopes for a given soil type should be avoided in order to reduce the need for costly engineered erosion control measures.

[4] Sites that have been subject to cutting and clearing operations shall be left in a neat and sightly manner at and prior to the conclusion of such operations. For example, stumps shall be cleaned up, and any brush to be left on the site shall be neatly stacked.

(b) Specific reference is made to the documents Reducing the Impacts of Stormwater Runoff from New Development, prepared by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and New York Guidelines for Urban Erosion and Sediment Control, prepared by the Soil Conservation Service, for further information on recommended management practices, evaluation of site soils and runoff calculations and related considerations. These documents are on file at Town Hall and are also available from the above listed agencies.

(2) Relation to other permit requirements. Nothing in the preceding subsections shall be construed as exempting any person engaging in land disturbance activities which are not subject to a permit pursuant to this section from any other relevant permit requirements of any other agency, including, but not limited to, County or State Public Works Departments for curb cut permits; or other requirements pursuant to federal or state jurisdiction; or other requirements of Town of Hamptonburgh local law. See also the provisions of § § 150-15E and § 150-9C of this chapter, as they may be applicable to such land disturbance activities.

(3) Activities requiring permit. In all districts, a total land area of over one acre may be cleared or disturbed on any given lot, subject to the receipt of a permit pursuant to this section. See also the provisions of § 150-15E and § 150-9C, as they may be applicable to such land disturbance activities.

(a) Procedure.

[1] Applications for land disturbance permits shall include a sketch or a plan of the proposed disturbance. Such plan need not fulfill the requirements of § 150-18 of this chapter, but should, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, provide reasonable and sufficient indication of the existing and proposed general topography in and around the area to be disturbed; the general density, type and size of vegetation in and around the area to be disturbed; and, particularly, any vegetation which screens the area to be disturbed or any vegetation which screens any structure and is proposed to be removed.

[2] Applications for land disturbance permits shall be submitted to the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector shall determine whether such application involves lands which are within the Gateway Road Overlay Subdistrict or whether such application involves mining activities as regulated pursuant to this chapter. If so, the Building Inspector shall refer such applications pursuant to the requirements of this chapter. For all other land disturbance permit applications, the Building Inspector may:

[a] Opt to process the same himself as an administrative permit; or

[b] At his discretion, refer the same to the Planning Board for its determination. Considerations which may indicate the need for referral of such an application to the Planning Board include whether, in the Building Inspector's judgment, the application may involve large scale issues of drainage, planning or land use, such as may significantly affect the future use and/or the aesthetic character of a property or its surrounding neighborhood, or which may involve extensive erosion and potential impacts on the quality of stormwater runoff.

[3] In reviewing applications for land disturbance permits, the Building Inspector may secure the advice or assistance or one or more expert consultants, including, but not limited to, the Town Engineer, a consulting forester or landscape architect or the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District, as qualified to advise on the technical aspects of the proposed action. Costs of such consultation shall be reimbursed to the Town by the applicant, and a copy of such consultant's report shall be furnished to the applicant.

[4] The Building Inspector, in rendering his decision on an application for land disturbance permit, may approve, disapprove or approve with reasonable conditions or modifications. Any disapproval shall include written reasons supporting said decision, which shall be supplied to the applicant. Any conditions or modifications to be incorporated into a conditional approval shall be reasonably related to protection of air and water quality, to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, to preserve or protect traffic safety, to provide for necessary drainage control measures and to provide reasonable aesthetic protection measures. Appeals from such decisions of the Building Inspector shall be made to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

[5] Land disturbance activities requiring a permit shall comply with the same performance standards set forth at Subsections B(1)(a) and (b) of this section, and applicants shall make reference to the same reference materials listed therein with regard to recommended practices for control of runoff and erosion and protection of air and water quality.

[6] The Building Inspector shall comply with the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review Act, Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law, and its implementing regulations under Title 6, Part 617 of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations.

[7] Any violation of conditions of a land disturbance permit approval shall be enforceable by the Building Inspector, who shall issue a violation notice to require correction of the same.