[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of North Salem: Art
I, 5-14-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991. Section
157-5B amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-14-1991 by L.L. No. 2-1991]
This article shall be known and cited as the "Parkland Reservations
Law of North Salem for Multifamily Dwellings Requiring Site Plan Approval
Only."
This article is enacted pursuant to the authority of the Town to promote
the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizenry under the New
York State Municipal Home Rule Law.
Pursuant to the authority duly vested in it, it is the intention of
the Town Board to require the provision of parkland and recreation land in
conjunction with the granting of site development plan approval for multifamily
uses (such as the construction of condominiums and/or cooperative apartments
which require site plan approval only and do not require subdivision plan
approval) in all zoning districts of the Town of North Salem where such uses
are permitted. The Town of North Salem finds that multifamily housing places
an added burden on the Town of North Salem in regard to providing adequate
park and recreation areas to service the needs of the inhabitants of such
housing. In the event that this is not practical, in the opinion of the Planning
Board, for a particular development to provide park and recreation areas adequate
to service all of those needs, then such housing shall be required to pay
funds to the Town so that it can provide for these added needs as it is in
the best interests of the Town and future inhabitants. Such funds shall be
used exclusively for neighborhood parks, playgrounds or any other recreational
purposes, including the acquisition of property, which are intended to benefit
primarily, but not exclusively, the residents of the development subject to
the fee.
A.
Recreation areas. Except as provided in § 157-5 below, each multifamily development shall include a park and/or recreation area ("recreation area") which is planned, designed, improved and maintained for the use of the residents of such development and their nonpaying guests. Such recreation area shall comprise not less than 10% of the total site area or an area of one acre, whichever is greater, and shall be improved with facilities as determined necessary and appropriate by the Planning Board in consultation with the Parks and Recreation Board to meet the anticipated neighborhood recreational needs of the population expected to reside there. Environmentally sensitive lands, such as wetlands and steep slopes, shall not be included in the required minimum percentage of recreation land. The specific plan for the recreation area shall be subject to Planning Board approval as to location, design and adequacy, taking into consideration the size of the development and the anticipated occupancy of the units.
B.
Ownership. The ownership of reservations for park and/or
recreation areas shall be clearly indicated on the site development plan and
established in a manner satisfactory to the Planning Board and Town Attorney
so as to assure their proper future continuation and maintenance.
A.
Where the Planning Board determines that a suitable recreation
area cannot be properly located in any such development or is otherwise not
practical, the Board may require, as a condition of approval of any such site
plan, a payment to the Town of a sum which shall be placed in a trust fund
to be used by the Town Board exclusively for neighborhood park, playground
or recreation purposes, including the acquisition of property. Alternatively,
where such Planning Board determines that only a smaller sized recreation
area and/or one with less than the full range of facilities required to serve
the neighborhood recreational needs of the projected residents can be provided,
said Board may require the payment of only such proportion of the applicable
fees as it determines is appropriate in consideration of the unmet needs resulting
from the lesser sized recreation area and/or lesser facilities actually to
be provided.
This article shall be enforceable at the time of a site plan approval
against those tracts of land proposed to be developed for multifamily use
which require site plan approval only, where such development contemplates
the division of the development into individual ownership vis-a-vis fee ownership
of a unit or a proprietary lease.
Any property for which a recreation area has been provided or a fee
paid pursuant to this article or pursuant to the requirements of the Town
of North Salem's land subdivision regulations[1] shall be responsible only for the reservation of such area or
the payment of such fee which is in excess of that previously provided.
This article shall supersede inconsistent provisions of Town Law §§ 274-a
and 277, Subdivision 1, Article 16.
