These regulations shall be known as and may
be cited by the title "Subdivision Regulations, Town of Bethlehem."
A.
By the authority of the Town Board of the Town of
Bethlehem, pursuant to the provisions of Article 16 of the Town Law
of the State of New York, the Planning Board of the Town of Bethlehem
is authorized and empowered to approve plats showing lots, with or
without streets or highways, to approve the development of entirely
or partially undeveloped plats already filed in the office of the
Albany County Clerk and to conditionally approve preliminary plats,
within that part of the Town of Bethlehem outside the limits of any
incorporated village. In order that land subdivision may be made in
accordance with this policy, these regulations, known as the "Town
of Bethlehem Subdivision Regulations," have been adopted by the Planning
Board on August 2, 2005, and approved by the Town Board on August
24, 2005.
B.
The Planning Board of the Town of Bethlehem is also
hereby authorized and empowered, pursuant to Town Law § 276,
Subdivision 2, to approve the development of plats, entirely or partially
undeveloped, which were filed in the office of the Albany County Clerk
prior to the appointment of the Planning Board. The term "undeveloped"
shall mean those plats where 20% or more of the lots within the plat
are unimproved, unless existing conditions, such as poor drainage,
have prevented their development.
C.
This chapter is also intended to supersede and amend
inconsistent provisions of Town Law § 276, Subdivision 8,
by eliminating the provisions for default approval resulting from
the Planning Board's failure to take any action or hold any hearing
on a preliminary or final plat within the statutory time periods.
The Town of Bethlehem has authorized its Planning
Board and, under specified circumstances, its Department of Economic
Development and Planning to approve plats showing lots, blocks or
sites, with or without streets or highways, as a complete or as a
partial development of land, and to approve such plats for filing
with the office of the Albany County Clerk as provided in these regulations.
The Clerk of the Town of Bethlehem shall immediately file a certificate
of that fact with the office of the Albany County Clerk.
This chapter may be amended by the Town Board
after due notice and public hearing.
It is declared to be the policy of the Town
Board to consider land subdivisions as part of the orderly and desirable
development of land. These regulations provide procedures and standards
for the Planning Board in its review of subdivision plats. The intent
of these regulations is to encourage the most appropriate and best
development of land in order to protect and promote the general health,
safety and welfare, which is intended to include the following:
A.
To assure that land to be subdivided will produce
building sites of such character and area that will permit their development
for homes or buildings without danger to health or peril from fire,
flood or other menace.
B.
To facilitate the adequate and efficient provision
of community facilities, services and utilities and require the most
desirable and appropriate systems for drainage, water supply, sewage
disposal and other needed improvements, including any appropriate
parks and playgrounds.
C.
To promote the safe and convenient circulation of
vehicles and pedestrians and to promote the efficient design, location
and construction of roads, streets, sidewalks, pathways, and driveways
so as to accommodate current and future needs.
D.
To minimize the destruction of the natural character
of the land and promote the conservation of all elements of topography
and vegetation which contribute to the natural beauty of the land.
E.
To provide, through all subdivision planning and development,
for the privacy of family residents while enhancing the general appearance
of the community.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section
or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation
to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly
involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been
rendered or as determined by such judgment.
