In accordance with § 27-a of New York General City Law, the Planning Commission is authorized to review, approve, approve with modification or disapprove all site plans for uses as required by § 264-90 of this article. It is the purpose of this article to provide a means for the City review of the following elements:
A.
Adequacy and arrangement of vehicular traffic access
and circulation, including intersections, road widths, pavement surfaces,
dividers and traffic controls.
B.
Adequacy and arrangement of pedestrian traffic access
and circulation, walkway structures, control of intersections with
vehicular traffic and overall pedestrian convenience.
C.
Location, arrangement, appearance and sufficiency
of off-street parking and loading.
D.
Location, arrangement, size, design and general site
compatibility of buildings, lighting and signs.
E.
Adequacy of stormwater and drainage facilities.
F.
Adequacy of water supply and sewage disposal facilities.
G.
Adequacy, type and arrangement of trees, shrubs and
other landscaping constituting a visual and/or noise buffer between
the applicant's and adjoining lands, including the maximum retention
of existing vegetation.
H.
In the case of an apartment complex or other multiple
dwelling, the adequacy of usable common property or open space for
play areas and informal recreation.
I.
Protection of adjacent or neighboring properties against
noise, glare, unsightliness or other objectionable features.
J.
Adequacy of fire lanes and other emergency zones and
the provision of fire hydrants.
K.
Special attention to the adequacy of structures, roadways
and landscaping in areas with susceptibility to ponding, flooding
and/or erosion.
L.
Conformance of the site plan with district bulk and
design requirements, together with all other applicable provisions
of this chapter.
M.
Conformance of the site design with the purposes and
intent of this chapter and the City subdivision regulations.
[Amended 9-12-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-15; 11-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-28]
Site plan review and authorization in accordance
with this article shall be required for one or more of the following
uses:
A.
Any development or substantial improvement for the
establishment or expansion of a nonresidential principal use in any
residential district.
B.
Any development or redevelopment which results in
the creation or addition of 10 or more parking spaces.
C.
The conversion of any public or private school or
other educational institution, library or religious institution facility
to another use.
D.
The conversion of any gas station or drive-in establishment
to another use.
E.
Any planned development zoning amendment and plan
tentatively approved by City Council.
F.
Any multiple-family development containing three or
more dwelling units, or conversion or redevelopment creating three
or more additional dwelling units.
G.
Any new development, redevelopment or expansion in
the bulk or cubic content of a building or structure which is used,
designed or intended for a nonresidential principal use and which
is wholly or partially located on a lot abutting any other lot located
in a residential district.
H.
Any development of a self-service storage warehouse
on a site larger than one acre or within 100 feet of a residential
district.
I.
Any new construction or expansion of a nonresidential
use which results in an addition of 1,000 square feet to the building
footprint or increases the building footprint by more than 25%.
J.
Any new construction, expansion, or renovation of
a business which sells fuel for motor vehicles, is a motor vehicle
or auto body repair establishment or is a convenience grocery store.
K.
Any new establishment or expansion of a motor vehicle
sales business.
L.
Any change in tenancy for a nonresidential structure
which is larger than 10,000 square feet.
M.
Any change in tenancy of a building or structure which
is used, designed, or intended for a nonresidential use, except where
said building or structure of the same intended use has been granted
site plan approval within the past 24 months.
(1)
Exemptions: changes in tenancy.
(a)
With respect to existing sites where a change
of tenant is being proposed and where the applicant meets certain
conditions, an application for exemption can be submitted to the Department
of Development. The conditions for obtaining an exemption are:
(b)
Any applicant requesting an exemption from the provisions of § 264-90M of this chapter must obtain a written verification of exemption from the Zoning Officer prior to obtaining any City permit.
(c)
To obtain an exemption, the applicant must submit
to the Zoning Officer a letter requesting a waiver from change in
tenancy review, including a written description of the proposed tenant's
operation, including the layout and floor area of the premises to
be occupied, number of employees, hours of operation, proposed signage
and number of parking spaces anticipated to be needed. The Zoning
Officer will make a determination of exemption based on the submission
and existing conditions of the property.
(d)
Approved exemption shall be until the next tenancy
change.
Applications for site plan approval shall be
submitted in 18 duplicate copies. An application fee and required
information shall accompany every application. Unless expressly excused
in writing by the Zoning Officer, each application shall contain at
least the following information:
A.
The applicant's name and address and his interest
in the subject property.
B.
The owner's name and address, if different from the
applicant, and the owner's signed consent to the filing of the application.
C.
The street address or legal description of the property.
D.
The zoning classification and present use of the subject
property.
E.
The proposed use or uses and a general description
of the proposed development.
F.
A site plan drawn to a scale of not less than 50 feet
to the inch on one or more sheets, illustrating the proposed development
and use and including the following:
(1)
The boundary lines and dimensions of the subject property;
existing subdivision lots; available utilities; and easements, roadways,
railroads, rail lines and public rights-of-way crossing and adjacent
to the subject property.
(2)
Any proposed regrading of the subject property and
any significant natural, topographical or physical features of the
property, including, at least, watercourses, marshes, trees in excess
of six inches in diameter and existing contours in excess of four
feet in 100 feet.
(3)
The location, size, use and arrangement (including
height in stories and feet, floor area ratio, total floor area, total
square feet of ground area coverage and number and size of dwelling
units by number of bedrooms) of proposed buildings and existing buildings
which will remain, if any.
(4)
Minimum yard dimensions and, where relevant, relation
of yard dimensions to the height of any building or structure.
(5)
Location, dimensions and number of all vehicular and
pedestrian circulation elements, including streets and roadways, driveways,
entrances, curbs, curb cuts, parking spaces, loading spaces and access
aisles, sidewalks, walkways and pathways.
(6)
All existing and proposed surface and subsurface drainage
facilities.
(7)
Location, size and arrangement of all outdoor signs
and lighting.
(8)
Proposed landscaping, including the type, location
and quantity of all plant materials, location and height of fences
or screen plantings and the type or kind of building materials or
plantings to be used for fencing or screening.
(9)
Location, designation and total area of all usable
open space or common property and the extent to which it is to be
improved.
G.
Such other and further information or documentation
as the Zoning Officer and/or Planning Commission may deem to be necessary
and appropriate to a full and proper consideration and disposition
of the particular application.
No site plan approval shall be valid for a period
longer than one year from the date of issue unless:
A.
A building permit is issued and construction is actually
begun within that period and is thereafter diligently pursued to completion;
B.
An occupancy permit is obtained and a use commenced
within that period; or
C.
An additional one-year extension of site plan approval
has been requested in writing and granted by the Planning Commission
within one year of original issuance in its discretion and upon such
further conditions as it may find appropriate at that time.
A.
Prior to the issue of building permits or zoning certification,
the applicant may be required to post performance bond(s) pursuant
to and in accordance with the same procedures as provided for in § 33
of New York General City Law, in sufficient amounts and duration to
assure that all street or other public places shown on the site plan
shall be suitably graded and paved and that street signs, sidewalks,
streetlighting standards, curbs, gutters, street trees, water mains,
fire alarm signal devices, including necessary ducts and cables or
other connecting facilities, sanitary sewers and storm drains shall
all be installed in accordance with standards, specifications and
procedure acceptable to the appropriate City departments.
B.
Alternatively, such improvements may be installed
by the applicant in accordance with standards, specifications and
procedures acceptable to the appropriate City departments.
Whenever the particular circumstances of a proposed
development or redevelopment require compliance with either the zoning
amendment review procedures or the requirements of the City Land Subdivision
Code, the Planning Commission may integrate, as appropriate, site
plan review as required by this article with the procedural and submission
requirements for such other compliance.
