Town of Niskayuna, NY Design Standards

Editor's Note: See Ch. 180, Soil Erosion and Sediment Control.

§ 189-16 Street layout.

Width, location and construction.

Streets shall be of sufficient width, suitably located and adequately constructed to conform to the Master Plan and to accommodate the prospective traffic and afford access for fire-fighting, snow removal and other road maintenance equipment.

The arrangement of streets shall be such as to cause no undue hardship to adjoining properties and shall be coordinated so as to compose a convenient system.

Arrangement. The arrangement of streets in the subdivision shall provide for the continuation of principal streets of adjoining subdivisions and for proper projection of principal streets into adjoining properties which are not yet subdivided, in order to make possible necessary fire protection, movement of traffic and the construction or extension, presently or when later required, of needed utilities and public services such as sewers, water and drainage facilities. Where, in the opinion of the Planning Board, topographic or other conditions make such continuance undesirable or impracticable, the above conditions may be modified.

Local streets. Local streets shall be so laid out that their use by through traffic will be discouraged.

Special treatment along major arterial streets. When a subdivision abuts or contains an existing or proposed major arterial street, the Board may require marginal access streets, reverse frontage with screen planting contained in a nonaccess reservation along the rear property line, deep lots with rear service alleys or such other treatment as may be necessary for adequate protection of residential properties and to afford separation of through and local traffic.

Provision for future resubdivision. Where a tract is subdivided into lots substantially larger than the minimum size required in the zoning district in which a subdivision is located, the Board may require that streets and lots be laid out so as to permit future resubdivision in accordance with the requirements contained in these regulations.

Block size. Blocks generally shall not be less than 600 feet nor more than 1,200 feet in length. In general, no block width shall be less than twice the normal lot depth. In blocks exceeding 800 feet in length, the Planning Board may require the reservation of a twenty-foot-wide easement through the block to provide for the crossing of underground utilities and pedestrian traffic where needed or desirable and may further specify, at its discretion, that a four-foot-wide paved footpath be included.

Intersections with collector or major arterial roads. Minor or secondary street openings into such roads shall, in general, be at least 500 feet apart.

Street jogs. Street jogs with center-line offsets of less than 125 feet shall be avoided.

Angle of intersection. In general, all streets shall join each other so that for a distance of at least 100 feet the street is approximately at right angles to the street it joins.

Relation to topography.

The street plan of a proposed subdivision shall bear a logical relationship to the topography of the property, and all streets shall be arranged so as to obtain as many of the building sites as possible at or above the grade of the streets.

Grades of streets shall conform as closely as possible to the original topography.

Other required streets. Where a subdivision borders on or contains a railroad right-of-way or limited-access highway right-of-way, the Planning Board may require a street approximately parallel to and on each side of such right-of-way, at a distance suitable for the appropriate use of the intervening land (as for park purposes in residential districts or for commercial or industrial purposes in appropriate districts). Such distances shall also be determined with due regard for the requirements of approach grades and future grade separations.

§ 189-17 Street design.

Widths of rights-of-way.

Streets shall have the following widths:

Type of Street	Minimum Right-of-Way (feet)	Minimum Pavement (feet)
Major	84	36
Local collector	84	32
Local	60	26

When not indicated on the Master Plan or Official Map, the classification of streets shall be determined by the Board.

The Board may require widths greater than the minimums stated above if it determines that increased widths are required by particular conditions associated with the proposed subdivision.

(4)

Streets shall be graded to the full width of the right-of-way. The slope of the shoulder shall be approved by the Town Engineer.

[Added 4-17-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]

Improvements. Streets shall be graded and improved with pavements, wings and gutters, sidewalks, storm drainage facilities, water mains, sewers, streetlights and signs, street trees and fire hydrants, except where waivers may be requested, and the Planning Board may waive, subject to appropriate conditions, such improvements as it considers may be omitted without jeopardy to the public health, safety and general welfare. Pedestrian easements shall be improved as required by the Town Engineer. Such grading and improvements shall be approved as to design and specifications by the Town Engineer.

Utilities in streets. The Planning Board shall, wherever possible, require that underground utilities be placed in the street right-of-way between the paved roadway and street line in the manner set forth in the Street and Roadway Ordinance of the Town of Niskayuna[1] to simplify location and repair of lines when they require attention. The subdivider shall install underground service connections to the property line of each lot within the subdivision for such required utilities before the street is paved.

Editor's Note: See Ch. 185, Streets and Sidewalks, Art. II.

Utility easements. Where topography is such as to make impractical the inclusion of utilities within street rights-of-way, the Board may, with the concurrence of the Town Engineer, allow all perpetual unobstructed easements at least 30 feet in width to be otherwise provided with satisfactory access to the street. Wherever possible, easements shall be continuous from block to block and shall present as few irregularities as possible. Such easements shall be cleared and graded where required.

[Amended 6-1-2004 by L.L. No. 11-2004]

Street grades. Street grades shall not exceed 6% nor be less than 0.5%. Street grades in excess of 6% but at no time greater than 14% may be constructed at the discretion of the Town Engineer, provided that there is a second means of ingress and egress on an accepted street with grades less than 6%. Grades at intersections shall not exceed 3% for a distance of 150 feet from the center lines at street intersections, and grades in excess of 6% shall not exceed 600 feet in length.

[Amended 6-1-2004 by L.L. No. 11-2004]

Changes in grade. All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical curves of such length and radius as meet with the approval of the Town Engineer so that clear visibility shall be provided for a safe distance.

Curve radii at street intersections. All street right-of-way lines at intersections shall be rounded by curves of at least 25 feet radius and curbs shall be adjusted accordingly.

Steep grades and curves. A combination of steep grades and curves shall be avoided.

Corner lots. At all street intersections, no obstruction to vision exceeding 30 inches in height above the established grade of the street at the property line shall be maintained within a triangle formed by the street lot lines of such lot and a line drawn between the points along such street lines 30 feet distant from their point of intersection. The only exceptions shall be existing buildings or structures or trees where foliage shall be at least eight feet above grade.

Culs-de-sac.

[Amended 6-1-2004 by L.L. No. 11-2004]

Where culs-de-sac are designed to be permanent, they should, in general, not exceed 500 feet in length and shall terminate in a circular turnaround having a minimum right-of-way radius of 60 feet and pavement radius of 45 feet.

The entire pavement radius shall be paved.

At the end of temporary dead-end streets, a temporary turnaround with a pavement radius of 45 feet shall be provided, unless the Planning Board approves an alternative.

Watercourses.

Where a watercourse separates a proposed street from abutting property, provision shall be made for access to all lots by means of culverts or other structures of design approved by the Town Engineer.

Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, there shall be provided a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way, as required by the Town Engineer, in no case less than 20 feet in width.

Curve radii. In general, street lines within a block, deflecting from each other at any one point by more than 10°, shall be connected with a curve, the radius of which for the center line of street shall not be less than 400 feet on major streets and 100 feet on minor streets.

§ 189-18 Street names.

Type of name. All street names shown on a preliminary plat or subdivision plat shall be approved by the Planning Board. In general, streets shall have names and not numbers or letters.

Names to be substantially different. Proposed street names shall be substantially different so as not to be confused in sound or spelling with present names, except that streets that join or are in alignment with streets of an abutting or neighboring property shall bear the same name.

Generally, no street should change direction by more than 90° without a change in street name.

§ 189-19 Lots.

Lots to be buildable.

The lot arrangement shall be such that in constructing a building in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance,[1] there will be no foreseeable difficulties for reasons of topography of other natural conditions. Lots should not be of such depth as to encourage the later creation of a second building lot at the front or rear.

Editor's Note: See Ch. 220, Zoning.

Shapes of lots shall lend themselves to utilization of entire lots as building and yard space. Shapes such as triangles and quadrangles with small included angles are discouraged.

Side lines. All side lines of lots shall be substantially at right angles to straight street lines and radial to curved street lines, unless a variance from this rule will give a better street or lot plan.

Corner lots. In general, corner lots should be larger than interior lots to provide for proper building setback from each street and provide a desirable building site.

Driveway access. Driveway access and grades shall conform to specifications as set forth by the Town Engineer. Driveway grades between the street and the setback line shall not exceed 10%.

Access from private streets. Access from private streets shall be deemed acceptable only if such streets are designed and improved in accordance with these regulations.

Monuments and lot corner markers. Permanent monuments meeting specifications approved by the Town Engineer as to size, type and installation shall be set as such block corners, angle points, points of curve in streets and other points as the Town Engineer may require, and their location shall be shown on the subdivision plat.

§ 189-20 Drainage improvements.

All developers of land are required to conform to the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance, Chapter 180 of the Town Code of the Town of Niskayuna.

[Amended 4-17-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]

Drainage structure to accommodate potential development upstream. A culvert or other drainage facility shall, in each case, be large enough to accommodate potential runoff from its entire upstream drainage area, whether inside or outside the development area. The Town Engineer shall approve the design and size of facility based on anticipated runoff from a twenty-five-year storm under conditions of total potential development permitted by the Zoning Ordinance[1] in the watershed.

[Amended 10-10-2000 by L.L. No. 8-2000]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 220, Zoning.

Responsibility from drainage downstream. The subdivider's engineer shall also study the effect of each subdivision on the existing downstream drainage facilities outside the area of the subdivision. This study shall be reviewed by the Town Engineer. Where it is anticipated that the additional runoff incident to the development of the subdivision will overload an existing downstream drainage facility during a five-year storm, the Planning Board shall notify the Town Board of such potential condition. In such case, the Planning Board shall not approve the subdivision until provision has been made for the improvement of said condition.

Land subject to flooding. Land subject to flooding or land deemed by the Planning Board to be uninhabitable shall not be platted for residential occupancy nor for such other uses as may increase danger to health, life or property or aggravate the flood hazard, but such land within the plat shall be set aside for such uses as shall not be endangered by periodic or occasional inundation or improved in a manner satisfactory to the Planning Board to remedy said hazardous conditions.

§ 189-21 Parks, open spaces and natural features.

Recreation areas shown on Town Plan. Where a proposed park, playground or open space shown on the Town Plan is located in whole or in part in a subdivision, the Board shall require that such area or areas be shown on the plat in accordance with the requirements specified in Subsection B below. Such area or areas may be dedicated to the Town or County by the subdivider if the Town Board approves such dedication.

Parks and playgrounds not shown on Town Plan. The subdivider shall dedicate to the Town usable land equal in size to 10% or more of the subdivider's tract. This land shall be used by the Town for parks, playgrounds or for other specific public recreational uses as deemed desirable by the Planning Board. Usable area or areas bordering a stream, lake or other watercourse can be given special consideration by the Board in excess of the ten-percent minimum.

Information to be submitted. In the event that an area to be used for a park or playground is required to be so shown, the subdivider shall submit, prior to final approval, to the Board, three prints (one on cloth or other suitable material such as Mylar, drawn in ink) showing, at a scale of not less than 30 feet to the inch, such area and the following features thereof:

The boundaries of said area, giving lengths and bearings of all straight lines and radii, lengths, central angles and tangent distances of all curves.

Existing features such as brooks, ponds, clusters of trees, rock outcrops and structures.

Existing and, if applicable, proposed changes in grade and contours of said area and of the area immediately adjacent at intervals of two feet.

Waiver of plat designation of area for parks and playgrounds.

In cases where the Planning Board finds that, due to size, topography or location of subdivision, land for parks, playgrounds or other recreation purposes cannot be properly located therein or if, in the opinion of the Board, it is not desirable, the Board may waive the requirement that the plat show land for such purposes. The Board shall then require, as a condition to approval of the plan, a payment of cash or a combination of cash and land to the Town of Niskayuna in lieu of such land dedication. The amount of land which otherwise would have been acceptable as a recreation site shall be determined in accordance with the standards set forth in Subsection B above.

[Amended 6-1-2004 by L.L. No. 11-2004]

Such amount shall be paid to the Town at the time of final plat approval, and no plat shall be signed by the authorized officer of the Planning Board until such payment is made. All such payments shall be held by the Town in a special Town Recreation Site Acquisition and Improvement Fund to be used for the acquisition of land that is suitable for permanent park, playground or other recreational purpose and is so located that it will serve primarily the general neighborhood in which the land covered by the plat lies and shall be used only for park, playgrounds or other recreational land acquisition or improvements. Such money may also be used for the physical improvement of existing parks or recreation areas serving the general neighborhood in which the land shown on the plat is situated, provided that the Planning Board finds there is a need for such improvements.