Any subdivider who proposes to develop a subdivision
in the Town of Milton shall observe all general requirements for land
subdivision as herein provided.
A.
Character of land. Land to be subdivided shall be
of such character that, in the opinion of the Planning Board, it can
be used safely for building purposes without danger to health or peril
from fire, flood or other menace and with a minimum of detrimental
effect on the environment.
B.
Preservation of any significant features. The Planning Board may
require the preservation of natural features which add value to development
and to the community, such as large trees or wooded areas, watercourses
and falls, beaches, historic spots and similar irreplaceable assets.
In particular, all wetlands, floodplains, steep slopes and streams
shall be protected from development encroachment by having the areas
deducted from the plot prior to calculating development density of
buildable area under the Zoning Code, § 1, 80-22.
[Amended 10-1-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
C.
Conformance to Official Map and Comprehensive Plan. Subdivision plats and improvements provided shall conform to the Official Map and Chapter 180, Zoning, of the Town of Milton and shall be in harmony with the Comprehensive Plan.
E.
Plats with access through other municipalities. Whenever
access to a subdivision is by crossing land in another municipality,
the Planning Board may require assurance from said municipality that
such access is adequately improved or that a legally adequate performance
guaranty has been duly posted and is sufficient in amount to assure
the construction of the necessary road or roads.
F.
Replatting. Replatting of all or part of land covered
by an existing plat which has been laid out prior to compulsory subdivision
plat review, approval and filing shall comply with this chapter as
now required.
G.
Preservation of topsoil. No topsoil shall be removed
from any land in the Town, except that in areas over which heavy equipment
will be operated, the topsoil shall be stripped and stockpiled on
the property. When final grades have been established and construction
activities have been completed, the entire property shall be suitably
graded and, to the extent practicable, recovered with topsoil to a
depth of at least six inches after rolling, except that portion of
the site covered by buildings or included in the roads.
H.
Watercourses. Where a watercourse separates a proposed
street from abutting property, provision shall be made for access
to all lots by culverts or other permanent drainage structures. Where
a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse, drainageway, channel
or stream, there shall be provided a stormwater easement or drainage
right-of-way not less than 30 feet in width. All such structures and
rights-of-way shall be of design and specification approved by the
designated Town Engineer and the Town Highway Superintendent.
I.
Floodplains. If any portion of the land within the
subdivision is subject to periodic inundation or flood hazard caused
by stormwater, this portion shall be clearly indicated on any submissions
required by these regulations. In cases of doubt, the Planning Board
may require the submission of a flood hazard study delineating the
limits of the one-hundred-year-floodplain. Such study shall be conducted
by a licensed professional engineer.
(1)
Land subject to flooding and land deemed by the Planning
Board to be otherwise uninhabitable shall not be platted for residential
occupancy nor for any such other use that may increase danger to health,
life or property or aggravate the flood hazard.
(2)
Any subdivision, including all proposed improvements
and construction, must comply with all further applicable provisions
of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, including all amendments
thereto.
J.
Wetlands. Areas of wetlands shall be clearly indicated
on any submissions required by these regulations and shall be protected
from negative impacts related to development.
K.
Steep slopes. Slopes in excess of 15% shall be clearly
indicated on any submissions required by these regulations and shall
be protected from negative impacts related to development.
L.
Stormwater. Best management practices (BMPs) shall
be employed in designing all subdivisions under these regulations.
Areas where an engineered stormwater solution will be required shall
be clearly indicated on any submissions of a proposed plat.
The subdivider shall additionally conform to all subdivision design standards as herein provided. These standards shall be considered minimum standards and shall be modified or waived by the Planning Board only as provided for in §§ 154-27 and 154-28 of this chapter.
A.
Lots.
(1)
Lots to be buildable. The lot arrangement shall be such that, in constructing a building in compliance with Chapter 180, Zoning, there will be no foreseeable prohibitions to development based upon soils, topography or other natural conditions, including the presence of wetlands of floodplain areas.
(2)
Corner lots. Corner lots shall be of sufficient dimensions
so that any structure placed thereon shall conform to the building
setback line on both streets as well as side yard requirements for
the zoning district in which the lot is located.
(3)
Minimum lot size. Each lot shall be no smaller than the minimum lot area and lot dimensions required by Chapter 180, Zoning, for the district in which it is located.
(4)
Driveway grade. Driveway grades between the street
pavement and the building setback line shall not exceed 8%.
(5)
Access from public streets.
(a)
The subdividing of land shall be such as to
provide each lot with satisfactory access, either directly or via
suitably improved private streets, for routine and emergency purposes
from the community's system of public streets and roadways.
(b)
A lot of less than three-hundred-foot frontage
fronting on a county or state highway shall be designed as to share
a common curb cut with an adjacent lot if either adjacent lot has
not been previously granted a curb cut permit. Whenever practicable,
new developments shall use existing curb cuts of neighboring properties.
When more than three lots are proposed to be subdivided from a parcel
with frontage on a county or state highway (or there is a possibility
of creating four or more lots equal in size to the average area of
the lots proposed for subdivision), frontage for all such lots shall
be on internal streets and not on the county or state highway. Each
lot permitted to front on a county or state highway shall provide
for an improved on-site turnaround so as to obviate the necessity
of any vehicle from backing onto such highway. Similar provisions
on Town highways shall be encouraged.
(c)
Any access driveway shall be constructed with
a driveway apron and related curbing installed wholly to the edge
of right-of-way and of the same material specification as the adjoining
street.
(6)
Access from private streets. Access from privately owned and maintained streets, as may be specifically authorized in accordance with § 280-a of the Town Law, shall be deemed acceptable only if such streets are designed and improved in accordance with § 154-19B of this chapter and means satisfactory to the Planning Board are provided for the long-term ownership and maintenance of said privately owned and maintained streets.
B.
Streets.
(1)
General objectives. Streets shall be of sufficient
width, suitably located. The arrangement of streets shall be coordinated
such that they compose a convenient system and cause no undue hardship
to adjoining properties.
(2)
Arrangement of streets. To the extent practicable,
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 by use of stub streets, 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 services. Any stub street shall be provided with a temporary turnaround
with a pavement radius of at least 40 feet. A note on the subdivision
plat shall state that the land included within the turnaround which
is outside the normal street right-of-way shall revert to abutters
upon continuation of the stub street.
(3)
Street connections. Subdivisions containing 20 or
more lots shall have at least two connections with existing public
streets, with streets shown on the Town's Official Map as may be developed
in accordance with § 270 of the Town Law, or street shown
on an approved subdivision plat for which a performance bond or similar
performance guaranty has been posted.
(4)
Cul-de-sac streets. In order to provide for convenience of traffic
movement and to facilitate effective police, fire and related emergency
protection, a turnaround with a radius of at least 60 feet and a pavement
radius of 40 feet shall be provided at the end of any cul-de-sac or
permanent dead-end streets.
[Added 10-1-2014 by L.L.
No. 2-2014]
(5)
Design standards. Streets and related improvements shall be constructed in accordance with the design standards as further detailed by Chapter 152, Street and Highway Specifications, of the Code of the Town of Milton. Dimensions of travel lanes, shoulders and other laid out measures shall be determined by the Planning Board based on the zoning district and design guidelines.
C.
Parks and public open space. Adequate lands for parks
and other public open space purposes shall be provided in any subdivision
of land for residential purposes throughout the Town of Milton.
(1)
Amount of land dedicated. In general, the Planning
Board shall require that not less than 5% nor more than 10% of the
total land area within the subdivision be set aside and shown on the
plat for park and public open space purposes. The minimum area of
contiguous open space acceptable for this use shall be five acres.
A smaller public open space may be approved by the Planning Board
if the difference in area between the open space offered and the five-acre-minimum
may reasonably be expected to be provided by future subdivision of
adjacent land for residential purposes. All lands designated on the
plat as park or public open space must be deemed suitable for this
purpose by the Planning Board, based upon analysis of the lands' topographic,
geologic, hydrological and locational characteristics. The Planning
Board may establish such conditions on the subdivision concerning
access, use and maintenance of such park and public open space lands
as deemed necessary to ensure the preservation of the lands, in perpetuity,
for their intended purposes. Such conditions shall be clearly noted
by the licensed land surveyor and/or professional engineer on the
plat prior to final plat approval and subsequent recording of the
plat in the office of the Saratoga County Clerk and Milton Town Clerk.
(2)
Information to be submitted. In the event that an
area to be used for park or public open space is required to be shown,
the subdivider shall submit, prior to final plat approval, to the
Planning Board drawings at a scale of not less than 20 feet to the
inch of such area and showing the following features thereof:
(a)
The boundaries of said area, giving lengths
and bearings of all straight lines; and radii, lengths, central angles
and tangent distances of all curves.
(b)
Existing features such as streams, ponds, clusters
of trees, rock outcrops and structures, existing and proposed.
(c)
Existing and, if applicable, proposed changes
in grade contours of the said area and of the area immediately adjacent,
for a distance of not less than 100 feet, with such contours to be
at an interval of not more than two feet.
(d)
Plans for improvements of said area, not limited
to grading, seeding, fencing and landscaping, the provision of play
and related equipment and the address of conditions relating to the
protection of the public health and safety.
(3)
Payment in lieu of dedication. In cases where because
of the size, topography or location of the subdivision or because
of the size of the individual lots provided within the subdivision
or of the proposed open space, the requirement for land dedication
or reservation for parks and other public open space purposes would
be deemed unreasonable or undesirable by the Planning Board, the Planning
Board shall alternatively require, under § 277 of the Town
Law, that a payment be made into a special fund for Town recreation
site acquisition and/or improvement in lieu of such land dedication
or reservation within the subdivision. Such payment shall be a condition
of approval of the final plat and shall be assessed in accordance
with the subdivision fee schedule established and annually reviewed
by the Town Board upon recommendation of the Planning Board. No final
plat shall be signed by the Chairman of the Planning Board until such
payment has been received by the Town Clerk and receipt therefor provided
to the Planning Board.
D.
Public improvements and utilities.
(1)
Placement. Underground improvements required by the Planning Board in accordance with § 154-13 and public franchise utilities shall be placed in the street right-of-way between the street paving and the right-of-way line. Where topography makes such placement impracticable, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 30 feet in width shall be provided for along lot frontages abutting the street lines, with satisfactory access to the street. Wherever possible, easements shall be as continuous from block to block and their layout shall be as regular as possible. Subject to the discretion of the Town Board, an underground public improvement or utility operated for revenue by the Town or by a special district may be installed by the Town in a private street, provided that a public easement of satisfactory size is obtained for such improvement or utility. Before the street is paved, the subdivider shall install underground service connections for all required improvements and utilities to the property line of each lot within the subdivision.
(2)
Service connections.
(a)
Water. Where an appropriate public or community
water main already exists and is physically and legally accessible,
the subdivider may connect into said main and provide a water connection
for each lot in accordance with Article 12 of the Town Law, the Public
Health Law and other applicable laws, rules and regulations. Where
an appropriate water main does not exist or is not accessible, the
subdivider shall install, at his own expense, such main, together
with all necessary valves, cutoffs, fire hydrants, pumps, storage
tanks, meters and other equipment necessary to make such water system
conform to the standards of the Town and other permit approving agencies.
(b)
Sanitary sewers. Where an appropriate public
sanitary sewer system is reasonably accessible, physically and legally,
the subdivider shall install, at his expense, the necessary connections
into the system and provide a sewer connection for each lot.
(c)
Storm drainage system.
[1]
The subdivider shall install all necessary storm
drainage sewers and appurtenant facilities, at his expense, in accordance
with standards of the Town and of all authorities having jurisdiction.
Where an appropriate storm drainage system is reasonably accessible,
the subdivider shall make proper connection thereto. Otherwise, the
subdivider shall provide appropriate means and methods for stormwater
runoff satisfactory to the Planning Board and all other authorities
having jurisdiction. In either event, the storm drainage facilities
provided shall be fully consistent with storm drainage design standards
which may be promulgated and from time to time reviewed and modified
by the Planning Board.
[2]
The drainage system shall be large enough to accommodate potential runoff from the entire upstream drainage area, whether inside or outside of the subdivision. The designated Town Engineer shall approve the design and size of facilities based on anticipated runoff from a twenty-five-year storm under conditions of total potential development permitted by Chapter 180, Zoning, in the watershed. The cost of a culvert or other drainage facility in excess of that required for the particular subdivision may be deemed to be the responsibility of the Town or may be prorated among the upstream property owners.
[3]
The subdivider's engineer shall also study and
report on the effect of each subdivision on the existing downstream
drainage system outside the area of the subdivision, and this report
shall be reviewed by the designated Town Engineer. When it is anticipated
that the additional runoff incident to the development of the subdivision
will overload an existing downstream drainage facility during a twenty-five-year
storm of one-hour duration, the Planning Board shall notify the Town
Board of such a potential condition. In such case, the Planning Board
shall not approve the plat until provisions have been made for the
improvement of said condition.
E.
Pedestrianways.
(1)
Adequate provisions shall be made for the convenient
and safe movement of pedestrians and bicyclists in any subdivision
of land throughout the Town of Milton.
(2)
To the extent considered practicable by the Planning
Board, and in consideration of public health, safety and convenience,
the Planning Board may require additional or alternatively located
pedestrianways (either pedestrian path, sidewalk or bikeway) be provided
within a residential subdivision to provide access to parks or public
spaces, school sites, neighborhood shopping facilities or similar
destinations. Any such pedestrianway may be situated within a public
right-of-way established within a suitable easement.
F.
Private water supply and sewage disposal facilities.
Where community or public water supply and/or sewage disposal facilities
are not available, the Planning Board shall ascertain as a part of
subdivision plat review and approval that each prospective lot and
dwelling unit may be adequately served by acceptable water supply
and sewage disposal facilities and all such on-site water supply and
sewage disposal facilities shall be designed and installed in accordance
with the requirements of the New York State Departments of Health
and Environmental Conservation.
G.
Street trees. Trees shall be planted on both sides
of a newly installed street or roadway in locations approved by the
Planning Board, except where unnecessary due to the presence of significant,
preservable existing vegetation, which shall be identified on the
subdivision plat. Street trees shall generally:
(1)
Be located near the property line and be spaced approximately
50 feet apart, subject to variations made necessary by driveways and
street corners as well as by the species of trees planted;
(2)
Have a caliper of three inches or larger measured
at breast height and be not less than 10 feet in height; and
(3)
Be approved as to species by the Planning Board.
