As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An area designated pursuant to Article 25-AA of the New York
State Agriculture and Markets Law.
A narrow street or passage between properties or buildings
serving as a secondary means of access to abutting property.
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association or
other entity who or which shall lay out any land division, lot line
revision, subdivision, or resubdivision, or part thereof, either on
behalf of himself or itself or for another or others.
A subdivision carried out in accordance with this chapter
which includes a number of lots having less than the required minimum
lot size. Said lots shall be deemed to be conforming lots, provided
that the total number of dwelling units within the subdivision does
not exceed the maximum density unit requirements of this chapter.
Open space, landscape areas, fences, walls, berms or any
combination thereof used to physically separate or screen one use
or property from another use or property so as to visually shield
or block noise, light, or other nuisances.
The space remaining on a lot after the minimum yard, area and bulk requirements of Chapter 128, Zoning, have been met or that area of the lot for which a variance from said minimum yard, area and bulk requirements has been granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
A lot having a buildable area capable of accommodating proposed
principal and accessory improvements and including, where required,
an on-site water supply facility and sewage treatment system that
meet the standards of the Albany County Department of Health.
The maximum unit density for a proposed subdivision after
deduction of constrained land areas.
[Amended 10-8-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008]
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls
and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals
or chattel.
The total of the areas taken on a horizontal plane at the
main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings,
exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps. All dimensions
shall be measured between the exterior faces of walls.
The line of that face of the building nearest the front line
of the lot. This face includes sun parlors and covered porches, whether
enclosed or unenclosed, but does not include steps.
The diameter of a tree as measured at a point six inches
above the ground level (up to and including four-inch caliper size)
and 12 inches above the ground level (for larger sizes).
The materials, written and/or graphic, including but not
limited to maps, charts, studies, resolutions, reports and other descriptive
material, that identify the goals, objectives, principles, guidelines,
policies, standards, devices and instruments for the immediate and
long-range protection, enhancement, growth and development of the
Town located outside the limits of any incorporated village.
Approval by the Planning Board of a preliminary or a final
plat, subject to such conditions as may be set forth by the Planning
Board in a resolution conditionally approving such plat. Such conditional
approval does not qualify a final plat for recording nor authorize
issuance of any building permits prior to the signing of the plat
by a duly authorized officer of the Planning Board and recording of
the plat in the office of the County Clerk or Registrar as herein
provided.
A residential subdivision pursuant to Town Law § 278
where the dwelling units that would result on a given parcel under
a conventional subdivision plan are allowed to be concentrated on
a smaller and more compact portion of land and where a majority of
the remaining land is left in its natural open space condition in
perpetuity. Conservation development results in a flexibility of design
and development to promote the most appropriate use of land, to facilitate
the adequate and economical provisions of streets and utilities, and
to preserve the natural and scenic qualities of open lands.
Land containing one or more of the following: state and/or
federal protected freshwater wetlands; one-hundred-year floodplains
or flood hazard areas; steep slopes of 20% and greater; and open bodies
of water, including streams, ponds and lakes.
A dead-end street or a portion of a street having only one
vehicular outlet.
The Department of Economic Development and Planning of the
Town of Bethlehem, New York, also sometimes referred to as "Department."
A committee appointed by the Director composed of staff members
of the Department of Economic Development and Planning of the Town
of Bethlehem.
The Director of the Department of Economic Development and
Planning of the Town of Bethlehem.
A building designed or used as the living quarters for one
or more families. The term "dwelling," "one-family dwelling," "two-family
dwelling" or "dwelling group" shall not be deemed to include a motel,
boardinghouse, tourist home or guest house.
A building designed for or occupied exclusively by four families
living independently of each other.
A building or portion thereof containing five or more dwelling
units on one plot but which may have joint services or joint facilities,
or both, also known as a "multiple dwelling," and includes garden
apartment, townhouse, cooperative, and condominium developments, assisted
living projects, and continuous care retirement community (CCRC) developments.
A detached building designed for or occupied exclusively
by one family.
A building designed for or occupied exclusively by three
families living independently of each other.
A building designed for or occupied exclusively by two families
living independently of each other.
A building or entirely self-contained portion thereof containing
complete housekeeping facilities for only one family, including any
domestic servants employed on the premises, and having no enclosed
space (other than vestibules, entrance or other hallways or porches)
or cooking or sanitary facilities in common with any other dwelling
unit. A trailer, motor home, travel or camping trailer, boarding-
or rooming house, convalescent home, dormitory, fraternity or sorority
house, hotel, inn, lodging, nursing or other similar home, or other
similar structure, shall not be deemed to constitute a "dwelling unit."
Authorization by a property owner for the use by another,
for a specified purpose, of any designated part of real property.
The elevation, in feet, above mean sea level, as determined
from the nearest United States Coastal and Geodetic benchmark of the
principal building to be sited on a lot.
A drawing prepared by a New York State licensed professional
engineer or land surveyor (with appropriate certification), in a manner
prescribed by these regulations, showing a proposed subdivision and
containing, in such additional detail as shall be provided by these
regulations, all information required to appear on a preliminary plat
and the modifications, if any, required by the Planning Board at the
time of approval of a preliminary plat of such proposed subdivision
if such preliminary plat has been so approved and which, if approved,
may be filed or recorded by the owner in the office of the Albany
County Clerk.
The signing of a plat in final form by a duly authorized
officer of the Planning Board pursuant to a Planning Board resolution
granting final approval to the plat or after conditions specified
in a resolution granting conditional approval of the plat are completed.
Such final approval qualifies the plat for recording in the office
of the County Clerk.
The elevation of the center line of the streets as officially
established by the Town authorities.
The completed surfaces of lawns, walks and roads brought
to grades as shown on official plans or designs relating thereto.
The alteration of the surface or subsurface conditions of
land, lakes, ponds or watercourses by excavation or filling to a depth
greater than six inches.
That portion of any lot which bounds a street, as measured
along the property line, which is coincidental with such street right-of-way
or center line, or on a corner lot in which case frontage is along
both streets.
Adjustments to the maximum unit density requirements of the
Town Zoning Law[1] in exchange for the preservation of significant open space
and/or the provision of improvements, facilities or amenities deemed
to be of benefit to the Town.
Any activity involving the clearing, cutting, excavation,
filling, grading or any other activity that alters land topography
or vegetative cover.
Any division of a parent parcel so as to create one new lot fronting on an existing street and not involving the construction of any new streets or roads, not involving a resubdivision, and not adversely affecting the development of the remainder of the parcel or any adjoining property and meeting the criteria of § 103-20 of this chapter and not in conflict with any provision or portion of Chapter 128, Zoning, or this chapter.
Land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory
buildings or by a dwelling group and its accessory buildings, together
with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this
chapter, having not less than the minimum area and width required
by this chapter for a lot in the district in which such land is situated
and having its principal frontage on a street or on such other means
of access as may be determined in accordance with the provisions of
state law to be adequate as a condition of the issuance of a building
permit for a building on such land.
A lot which has an interior angle of less than 135° at
the intersection of two street lines. A lot abutting upon a curved
street shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve
at the points of intersection of the side lot lines intersect at an
interior angle of less than 135°.
That percentage of the lot covered by the footprint of the
principal and accessory building area.
The mean horizontal distance between the front and the rear
lot lines, measured in the general directions of its side lot lines.
A lot which has sufficient frontage on a public street to
comply with the minimum lot frontage requirements of this chapter
but which is shaped in such a manner that the portion of the lot closest
to the street can only be used for access purposes and not as a yard
or buildable area, and whose width some distance back from the right-of-way
is sufficient to provide proper space to meet the yard and setback
requirements.
In cluster subdivisions, that portion of the subdivision
reserved as a development area for the location of dwelling units
and constituting lands outside of the protected open space areas.
A lot other than a corner lot.
Any line dividing one lot from another.
The lot line generally opposite to the street line; if the
rear lot line is less than 10 feet in length or if the lot comes to
a point in the rear, the rear lot line shall be deemed to be a line
parallel to the front lot line not less than 10 feet long lying farthest
from the front lot line.
A change in the location of a boundary between two or more
lots within a subdivision plat previously approved by the Planning
Board and filed in the Albany County Clerk's office.
An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately
parallel streets but which is not a corner lot.
The mean distance measured at the required minimum front
yard depth along a line at right angles to the depth of lot line and
parallel to the street right-of-way (ROW) line.
The map and any amendments thereto adopted by the Town Board
under § 270 of the Town Law or by the County under § 239-h
of the General Municipal Law.
Land left in a natural state for conservation and agricultural
purposes or land landscaped for scenic purposes, devoted to active
or passive recreation, or devoted to the preservation of distinctive
architectural, historic, geologic or botanic sites. The term shall
not include land that is paved, used for the storage, parking or circulation
of automobiles, or occupied by any structure. Open space may be included
as a portion of one or more large lots or may be contained in a separate
open space lot but shall not include private yards within 50 feet
of a principal structure.
An unenclosed portion of the ground of a lot which is not
devoted to driveways or parking spaces, which is free of structures
of any kind, of which not more than 25% is roofed for shelter purposes
only, the minimum dimension of which is 40 feet and which is available
and accessible to all occupants of the building or buildings on said
lot for purposes of active or passive outdoor recreation. Accessory
building roof space may be substituted for ground space, provided
that such space is available and accessible to all said occupants
by means of access other than stairs.
The owner of record of a tract or parcel, the subdivision
of which requires approval of the Planning Board, or a person or persons
holding an option to purchase a tract or parcel, contingent only upon
receipt of Planning Board approval of a proposed subdivision of such
tract or parcel. The owner may be represented by a duly authorized
agent or representative in the conduct of business before the Board,
except in those instances specified hereafter that require the appearance
of the owner in person.
A parcel of land legally in existence on the effective date
of this chapter. For purposes of this chapter, the parent parcel shall
be deemed to be that lot, parcel or tract of land owned by the person
or persons as shown on the records of the Town of Bethlehem Assessor's
office as of the effective date of this chapter.
The Town of Bethlehem Planning Board.
A drawing, prepared in the manner prescribed in this chapter,
showing the layout of a proposed subdivision, including but not restricted
to road and lot layout and approximate dimensions, key plan, topography
and drainage, and all proposed facilities, including preliminary plans
and profiles, at suitable scale and in such detail as this chapter
requires.
The approval of a proposed subdivision as set forth in a
preliminary plat, but subject to the approval of the final plat in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Any lot or parcel of land.
A change in a subdivision plat previously approved by the
Planning Board and filed in the County Clerk's office, which change
affects any street layout shown on such plat, affects any area reserved
thereon for public use, or changes the number of lots.
The individual appointed by the Planning Board to perform,
among other things, the duties set forth in Town Law § 274-a,
§ 274-b, § 276, § 277, and this chapter.
A conceptual sketch made on a topographic survey map showing
the proposed subdivision in relation to existing conditions and with
reference to the minimum lot and area requirements of the zoning district
in which the property is located.
The review of a conceptual layout of a proposed subdivision by the Department of Economic Development and Planning. The review is limited to ensuring that the proposed subdivision meets the minimum lot and area requirements as set forth in the Town Zoning Law, Chapter 128, subject to approval of the plat in preliminary and/or final form in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The vertical distance, in feet, between the highest elevation
of a lot or development and the lowest elevation of a lot or development,
divided by the horizontal difference between these two elevations,
in feet, said horizontal distance ordinarily to be the natural course
of stormwater runoff. Should the site be sufficiently large, in the
judgment of the Planning Board, and heterogeneous in character (difference
of one or more slope factors), the site should be divided into different
measurement units, with a gradient defined for each.
All ground areas having a topographical gradient equal to
or greater than 20%, measured by utilizing two-foot contours.
A right-of-way for vehicular traffic, including but not limited to a road, avenue, lane, highway or other way designated and constructed in accordance with Chapter 100, Streets and Sidewalks, of the Town of Bethlehem Code, as amended, the Town of Bethlehem Department of Public Works Guidelines for Final Subdivision Plans dated August 25, 1997, as amended, and/or the State Highway Law, as amended.
[Amended 2-8-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
A street which serves or is designed to be used primarily
for crosstown movement by fast or heavy traffic.
A street which carries traffic from local streets to the
major system of arterial streets; the principal entrance and circulation
streets within a development.
The officially established grade of the street upon which
a lot fronts. If there is no officially established grade, the existing
grade of the street shall be taken as the street grade.
The dividing line between the street and the lot.
A street intended to serve primarily as an access to abutting
residential properties.
The wearing or exposed surface of the roadway used by vehicular
traffic.
The distance between property lines.
The division of any parcel of land resulting in the creation
of three or more lots, plots, or sites, with or without streets or
highways, for the purpose, with respect to any portion of the original
parcel, of immediate or future development, or for the immediate or
future sale, lease or any other transfer of any interest in any portion
of such original parcel. The term "subdivision" shall include a resubdivision.
[Amended 2-8-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
A residential subdivision pursuant to Town Law § 278
where the dwelling units that would result on a given parcel under
a conventional subdivision plan are allowed to be concentrated on
a smaller and more compact portion of land and where a majority of
the remaining land is left in its natural open space condition in
perpetuity. Conservation development results in a flexibility of design
and development to promote the most appropriate use of land, to facilitate
the adequate and economical provisions of streets and utilities, and
to preserve the natural and scenic qualities of open lands.
The subdivision of land into lots that meet or exceed the
minimum area, yard and bulk regulations of the district in which it
is located.
Any subdivision not classified as a minor subdivision, including
but not limited to subdivisions of five or more lots or any size subdivision
requiring any new street or road or the extension of municipal facilities.
Any subdivision or resubdivision containing not more than four lots fronting on an existing improved public street and not involving construction of any new street(s) or road(s) and that meets the criteria of § 103-13C of this chapter.
The duly elected Town Superintendent of Highways or other
such authorized official.
A comprehensive plan for the development of the Town as adopted
by the Town Board pursuant to § 272-a of the Town Law, which
may include general recommendations for various public works and reservations,
and for the general physical development of the Town, including any
part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment to such plan
or parts thereof.
Any body of land, including contiguous parcels of land, under
the control of one or more owners acting in concert as part of a common
scheme or plan.
A street or alley or other thoroughfare or easement permanently
established for passage of persons or vehicles.
