The purpose of the Planned Development District shall be as
follows:
A.
To provide a means of developing or redeveloping significant land
areas considered, appropriate for residential, recreational, commercial
or industrial use; or a combination of these uses in a unified site
design that allows economies of scale, creative planning and design
concepts to be used. The PDD allows for the planning of a project
and the calculation of densities over the entire development, rather
than on an individual lot-by-lot basis. This flexibility is intended
to permit innovative planning and design concepts and not merely a
means to increase the density or bulk of a project without corresponding
public benefits.
B.
To uphold the spirit and intent of this chapter to promote orderly
growth and sound development of the City and ensure that the health,
safety and general welfare of prospective residents in the PDD and
adjacent residents will be protected.
A PDD shall meet the following minimum standard for district
area:
Development within a PDD requires City Council approval to amend
the Zoning Map to establish the PDD, based on the preliminary development
plan; and Planning Board site plan approval of proposed development
within the established PDD. Where the City Council establishes a PDD
District the previous use and dimensional specifications are replaced
by the PDD standards, modifications required by the City Council in
approving the establishment of the PDD and modifications required
by the Planning Board in approving development within the PDD. The
approved final site plan controls future land use and development
in the district.
A.
Presubmission conference. A presubmission conference between the
applicant and the Planning Board staff shall be held to discuss the
proposal, outline the review procedure and required submissions and
inform the applicant of minimum standards and potential City concerns
of the conceptual project. This step is beneficial because the applicant
will learn his or her responsibilities before expending significant
resources on the project.
B.
Application for establishment of a PDD. Application for establishment
of a PDD shall be made to the City Council to approve the preliminary
site plan and amend the City Zoning Map. Application may be made by
any party with legitimate interest in the parcel(s) of land in question.
Ownership or holding a bona fide accepted purchase contract with the
owner's consent shall be considered a legitimate interest.
C.
Referral(s). The City Council shall refer the application to the
City Planning Board within 10 days after receipt of the preliminary
plans, and make any required referrals and notifications necessary
to comply with New York State law, including the State Environmental
Quality Review Act[1] and §§ 239-m and 239-n of the General Municipal
Law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Art. 8 of the Environmental Conservation
Law.
D.
Required submissions. The City Planning Board shall compare the applicant's
submission with the list of required submissions available from the
Department of Planning and Development and determine whether a complete
application has been submitted. Incomplete applications may be returned
to the applicant for completion. Alternatively, the Planning Board
may waive submission requirements for a preliminary plan if, it its
judgment, the listed requirement is not necessary to fully assess
the proposed development.
E.
Optional public hearing. The Planning Board shall have the authority
to hold a public hearing on the proposal, and may hold such a meeting
in conjunction with the City Council. The Planning Board shall fix
a public hearing date within 30 days of receipt of a complete application
for any such hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be served by the
City, at least five days before the date of such hearing, to the public
and to each owner of real estate lying within a distance of 300 feet
from the exterior boundaries of the proposed Planned Development District.
The costs of notification, including but not limited to publishing,
posting and mailing costs, shall be paid by the applicant prior to
the issuance of any building permit.
F.
Planning Board review.
(1)
The Planning Board shall review any application for establishment
of a PDD and shall recommend approval, disapproval or approval with
modifications. Such decision shall be reached within 45 days of referral
by the City Council or completion of the SEQR review process.
(2)
In evaluating the proposal and in reaching its recommendation to
the City Council, the Planning Board shall consider the minimum standards
for establishing a PDD and the following considerations:
(a)
Conformance with the stated purposes of the PDD.
(b)
Consistency with the Comprehensive Development Plan.
(c)
Protection of established or permitted uses in the vicinity.
(d)
Provision for usable open space and recreational areas as appropriate
to the proposed uses(s) and the surrounding neighborhood.
(e)
Design and location so as to be safely and adequately served
by roads, water supply, sewage disposal, stormwater drainage, snow
removal, fire protection and school buses.
(f)
Provision for advantages of flexible planned development over
conventional lot-by-lot development such as the following:
[1]
Increased recreational areas and usable open space.
[2]
Preservation of natural features of the site.
[3]
Increased affordable housing opportunities.
[4]
A compatible mix of housing types and/or uses.
[5]
Decreased street and utility costs resulting from efficient
design of the entire site and clustered development.
[6]
Provision of public waterfront access or other public amenity.
G.
Notification of Planning Board recommendation. The Planning Board
shall forward its recommendation to the City Council along with its
findings and reasons for the recommendation within five days of its
action.
H.
City Council review.
(1)
Prior to amending the Zoning Map to establish a PDD, the City Council shall hold a public hearing in accordance with the procedure to amend this chapter (see Article XVII) and consider the report and recommendation of the City Planning Board and all other relevant comments, reviews and statements.
(2)
The City Council shall act to approve, disapprove or approve with
modifications, the application for establishing a PDD and preliminary
development plan, and shall report its decision to the City Planning
Board. Should the City Council wish to act contrary to any recommendation
for disapproval or approval with modifications made by the City Planning
Board or the County Planning Board under authority of § 239-m
of the General Municipal Law, it may do so only with a majority plus
one vote of its full membership.
I.
Application for development approval within an established PDD. Upon the establishment of a PDD a final development plan, consistent with any required modifications, shall be submitted to the Planning Board for site plan review prior to issuance of a building permit. Procedures under Article XV, Site Plan Review, shall be followed for the review of proposed development within the PDD, although referral to the County Planning Board in accordance with § 239-m of the General Municipal Law is not required.
J.
Final as-built site plan. A building permit may be issued by the
Code Enforcement Officer only after final as-built site plans have
been found complete and approved by the Planning Board.
All permits shall become null and void, and the Zoning Map amendment
revoked and restored to the zoning designation to which the district
had been prior to the PDD application, if:
