The subdivider shall observe all design standards for land subdivision as hereinafter provided. These standards shall be considered minimum standards and shall be varied from or waived only as provided in Article VI. Particular attention should be given to matters outlined in § 277 of the Town Law as well as to the specific requirements of these regulations with regard to parks, playgrounds, open spaces, streets, pedestrian ways, lots and blocks and public utilities.
A.
Character of land. Only land that is of such character
that it can be used without danger to health or peril from fire, flood
or other menace shall be subdivided for building purposes.
B.
Preservation of natural features. The Planning Board
may require the preservation of all natural features which add value
to residential developments and to the community, such as large trees
or groves, watercourses and falls, historic spots and similar irreplaceable
assets.
C.
Conformance to the Zoning Local Law and Master Plan.
Subdivision plats and improvements provided shall conform to the Zoning
Local Law of the Town of New Paltz, if one exists,[1] and shall be in harmony with the Comprehensive Master
Plan for the area in which the subdivision is located.
D.
Plats with access through other municipalities. Whenever
access to a subdivision is through land of another municipality, the
Planning Board may require certificates from authorities having jurisdiction
that such access is adequately improved or that a legally adequate
performance bond has been duly posted and is sufficient in amount
to assure the construction of the necessary road or roads.
E.
Replatting. Replatting of all or part of the land
covered by an existing plat which has been laid out prior to compulsory
filing shall follow these regulations now required for an original
plat, including the vicinity map. Such replat shall show clearly what
area or areas have been vacated. It shall also show the file number
of all previous plats of the same area with dates of filing.
F.
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 piled on the property.
When final grades have been established and construction activities
have been completed, the entire property shall be suitably graded
and recovered with the topsoil to a depth of at least four inches
after compaction.
G.
Watercourses. Where a watercourse separates a proposed
street from abutting property, provision shall be made for access
to all lots by bridges, culverts or other permanent structures of
a design approved by Town officials. Where a subdivision is traversed
by a watercourse, drainageway, channel or stream, there shall be provided
a stormwater easement or drainage right-of-way according to specifications
of the Town Engineer or Town Superintendent of Highways.
H.
Floodplains. Where a development is located within a floodplain area as shown on the National Flood Insurance Program community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), all aspects of the proposed development must comply with the standards, criteria and restrictions of § 140-19, Floodplain District, and Chapter 82, Flood Damage Prevention, of the Code of the Town of New Paltz.
[Amended 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
A.
Recreation land required. Areas for parks, open spaces
and playgrounds shall be of reasonable size for the neighborhood they
will serve. No arbitrary percentage of area shall be insisted upon
by the Board, but, in general, the subdivider shall set aside not
more than 10% of the area of his total subdivision for these purposes.
However, if the Planning Board finds that, due to size, topography
or location of the subdivision, land for parks, open spaces, playgrounds
or other recreational purposes cannot be properly located therein
or if, in the opinion of the Board, it is not desirable, the Board
shall require, prior to the signing of the plat, a payment to the
Town of New Paltz Recreation Trust Fund of a sum of money in such
amount as is duly established by resolution of the Town Board for
recreation fees per dwelling lot in the subdivision or section thereof
being considered for approval at this time, whether such dwelling
unit is a single dwelling unit or a dwelling unit within a proposed
multiple dwelling. Such amount shall be paid to the Town at the time
of final plat approval, and no plat shall be signed until such payment
is made. The lot encompassing the residence of the subdivider shall
be exempt from this fee.
[Amended 5-26-1982 by L.L. No. 4-1982; 2-28-2002 by L.L. No. 2-2002]
B.
Large-scale developments. In large-scale developments
or developments of a size and nature not proposed or anticipated by
the Master Plan, the Planning Board may request the subdivider to
dedicate or reserve sites for playgrounds and parks whose character,
extent and location will be suitable to the needs created by such
development, whether or not such sites are shown on the Master Plan.
Such areas dedicated for playgrounds and/or parks shall be, in the
judgment of the Planning Board, of reasonable size for neighborhood
playgrounds or other recreation uses. In general, the Planning Board
shall require and the subdivider shall dedicate 10% of the gross area
of the subdivision for this purpose.
C.
Minimum size.
(1)
(2)
The Planning Board will require the dedication of
even smaller parcels if they can be made contiguous to existing public
parks, and it reserves the right to waive or modify all dedications
if the character and location of such potential parkland cannot be
utilized to advantage by the Town.
A.
General objectives. No streets shall be built without
prior approval of the Planning Board. Streets shall be of sufficient
width, suitably graded and located and adequately constructed to accommodate
the prospective traffic and to afford adequate light and air, to facilitate
fire protection and to provide access for fire-fighting, snow removal
and other road maintenance equipment and shall be coordinated so as
to compose a convenient system properly related to the proposals shown
on the Master Plan. The arrangement of streets shall be such as to
cause no undue hardship to adjoining properties, and no property shall
be rendered inaccessible from an existing public street or from a
proposed street in a subdivision for which a completion bond has been
posted.
B.
Arrangement. The arrangement of streets in the subdivision
shall provide for the entrance and continuation of principal streets
from adjoining subdivisions and for the extension of principal streets
into adjoining land which has not yet been subdivided. Such arrangement
shall be required in order to facilitate fire protection, movement
of traffic and the construction or extension, currently or as needed
in the future, of necessary utilities and public services, such as
sewers, water and drainage facilities.
C.
Street widths.
(1)
Streets shall have the following minimum right-of-way
and minimum paving widths:
|
Shoulders
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Right-of-Way
(feet)
|
Paving Width
(feet)
|
Right
(feet)
|
Left
(feet)
| ||
|
Collector streets
|
60
|
24
|
10
|
10
| |
|
Minor streets
|
50
|
24
|
6
|
6
| |
D.
Drains, culverts and ditches. All drains, culverts,
ditches and other necessary street drainage improvements required
by the Planning Board shall provide adequate drainage of all roads
and other public lands, shall conform to the Town's specifications
and shall be acceptable to the Superintendent of Highways. The installation
of these improvements shall be at the expense of the subdivider.
E.
Arterial streets. Where the proposed subdivision contains
or is adjacent to an existing or proposed arterial street, the Planning
Board may require service streets, dead-end streets, reverse-frontage
lots, screen planting and other treatment to protect adjacent properties,
to separate arterial and local traffic and to create lots suitable
for the appropriate use of the land between the streets and the right-of-way
of the arterial street. Arterial streets within a floodplain area
shall be constructed to a minimum elevation that is not more than
0.5 foot below the base flood elevation.
[Amended 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
F.
Minor streets. Minor streets shall be laid out in
a manner to discourage their use by through traffic. Minor and collector
street openings onto an arterial road shall normally be at least 500
feet apart. Minor streets within a floodplain area shall be constructed
to a minimum elevation that is not more than 1.5 feet below the base
flood elevation.
[Amended 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
G.
Street connections. Subdivisions containing 50 lots
or more shall have at least two connections with existing streets.
H.
I.
Grades and curves.
(1)
Grades of all streets shall conform to the general
terrain and shall be no less than 1/2 of 1% nor more than 8%, except
that minor streets with grades up to 10% may be approved by the Planning
Board. A combination of steep grades and curved streets shall be avoided.
(2)
All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical
curves of such length and radius as will meet with the approval of
the Superintendent of Highways, but in no case shall the following
minimum standards be violated:
|
Type of Street
|
Minimum Length of Vertical Curves
(feet)
|
Minimum Sight Distance
(feet)
|
|---|---|---|
|
Collector streets
|
200, but not less than 30 for each 1% algebraic
difference of grade
|
250
|
|
Minor streets
|
100, but not less than 20 for each 1% algebraic
difference of grade
|
100
|
(3)
All corners of pavement at street intersections shall
be rounded by curves of at least 25 feet of radius. The corner property
lines also shall be rounded so as to maintain a margin between the
street curb and the property line equal to that along the minor intersecting
street.
(5)
The outer street line in each case shall be concentric
with the inner street line.
(6)
Wherever possible, reverse curves shall be separated
with tangents at least 100 feet long.
J.
Street intersections.
(1)
Intersection of streets shall be at angles of approximately
90º but in no case shall two streets intersect at any angle smaller
than 60º. To achieve this, an oblique street should be curved
when approaching an intersection.
(2)
On a corner lot in any residence district, no fence,
wall, hedge, structure or planting more than 2 1/2 feet in height
shall be erected, placed or maintained within the triangular area
formed by the intersecting pavement lines or their projections where
corners are rounded and a straight line joining the pavement lines
at points 50 feet distance from their point of intersection. Land
at the corners of intersecting streets shall be graded so as not to
exceed in elevation, at any point, the surface of an imaginary triangular
plane established as follows: the apex shall be at a point 2 1/2 feet
above the intersection of the street center lines; the other two corners
shall be a vertical distance of 2 1/2 feet above points 100 feet from
the apex along the center line of the intersecting streets.
K.
Street jogs. Street jogs with center-line offsets
of less than 150 feet shall not be permitted.
L.
Dead-end streets. No dead-end streets without proper
turnarounds are permitted.
M.
Culs-de-sac. Culs-de-sac shall not exceed 750 feet
in length, measured from the center-line of the continuous street
providing the only access to the cul-de-sac, along the center-line
of the cul-de-sac, to the center of the turnaround or, if the cul-de-sac
has several branches, to the center of the farthest turnaround. The
cul-de-sac shall terminate in a circular turnaround having a minimum
radius of 50 feet for the outside curb at the closed end.
N.
Easements in culs-de-sac. Where needed or desirable,
the Planning Board may require the reservation of a twenty-foot-wide
easement at the end of culs-de-sac to provide for continuation of
pedestrian traffic and utilities into the next streets.
O.
Street names. All streets shown on the preliminary
layout or the subdivision plat shall be named, and all street names
shall be substantially different in order not to be confused in sound
or spelling with present street names in the Town of New Paltz, except
that streets which join or align with streets of an abutting subdivision
or area shall bear the same name.
P.
Street signs. Street signs shall be installed at the
expense of the developer at such times as the grading and paving of
the highway or street is completed and with the approval of the Planning
Board and Town Highway Superintendent.
Q.
Clearing and grading. The right-of-way shall be completely
cleared of all brush and scrub trees and completely graded for its
entire width so that additional work by the Town of this nature will
not be necessary.
R.
Subbase and paving. Any unsatisfactory material within
the limits of the proposed pavement shall be removed, and the proposed
road alignment shall be filled and compacted with not less than 12
inches of hard shale, well-graded gravel or quarry rubbish, as may
be approved for the particular project by the Superintendent of Highways.
The subbase shall be covered with not less than six inches of approved
hard shale or graded gravel. The wearing course shall consist of not
less than two inches of No. 2 compacted stone. This stone shall be
penetrated with one gallon per square yard of P434 oil and chipped
with No. 1 stone, dragged and rolled and penetrated with 3/10 gallon
per square yard of RC-2 oil, chipped with No. 1A stone and rolled
lightly.
S.
Street trees. Trees may be planted on both sides of
a street, in locations approved by the Planning Board, except where
unnecessary because of existing tree growth or undesirable because
of special circumstances. They 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 two inches or larger measured at
a height of at least six inches above ground level and shall have
a minimum height of 12 feet from the ground level. The species of
trees shall be approved by the Planning Board.
T.
Utility poles. Utility poles shall be set in such
a location that they will normally be in back of the curbline and
between the curbline and the theoretical sidewalk line. Where overhead
utility wires are to exist, trees of a type that will grow to a limited
height and not interfere with the wiring shall be used.
U.
Release from requirements. Any deviation from any
of the above specific engineering and construction requirements can
only be made by a written release from the Town Superintendent of
Highways, such release to accompany the owner's petition for the acceptance
of the proposed Town highway.
A.
Sidewalks on collector streets. All streets designated
as collector streets shall have a sidewalk at least four feet wide
on both sides of the street, except that, at the discretion of the
Planning Board, sidewalks may be eliminated. All such sidewalks shall
be so placed that there will be a distance of at least four feet between
the sidewalk and the street paving and a distance of at least three
feet between the outer edge of the sidewalk and the right-of-way line.
Planting of street trees will be permitted in the space between the
sidewalk and the right-of-way line only.
B.
Sidewalks on minor streets. All minor streets shall
be provided with sidewalks on both sides of the street, except that,
at the discretion of the Planning Board, sidewalks may be eliminated.
The size and location of such sidewalks shall be the same as for collector
streets.
B.
Deep lots. Lots shall not be of unreasonable depth,
thus encouraging the later creation of a second building lot at the
rear, but if such depth is unavoidable, provision should be made wherever
possible in the layout of the subdivision for streets which may be
added later, through resubdivision, to serve the development of the
rears of deep lots.
C.
Corner lots. Corner lots shall be of sufficient dimensions
so that any structure placed thereon shall conform to the building
setback line and side yard requirements of the zoning district in
which the lot is located and generally should be of increased size.
D.
Double-frontage lots. Double-frontage lots shall be
avoided, except where necessary to separate residential areas from
major traffic arteries or other incompatible use. In such cases, a
planting screen easement at least 10 feet wide providing no right
of access to the lot shall extend along the lot line abutting the
traffic artery right-of-way or incompatible use.
E.
Lots on private streets. Lots fronting on existing
private streets shall be deemed acceptable only if such streets are
designed and improved and the lots serviced in accordance with these
regulations. No new private streets will be allowed.
F.
Minimum lot size. Each lot shall be no smaller than
the minimum lot size required by the Zoning Local Law[2] for the district in which it is located, with the exception that smaller lot sizes may be allowed in a clustered subdivision development approved in accordance with § 121-25.
[Amended 12-30-1987 by L.L. No. 9-1987; 9-10-2003 by L.L. No. 5-2003]
G.
Side yard lines. All side yard lines of lots shall
be approximately at right angles to straight street lines and radial
or nearly radial to curved street lines.
H.
Driveway access. Wherever possible, lots shall be
laid out so that driveways have access to a street which is intended
to carry the least traffic.
I.
Block design. Each block shall normally be designed
to provide two rows of lots, but irregularly shaped blocks indented
by cul-de-sac streets and which contain interior parks will be acceptable
when properly designed. Block lengths generally shall not exceed 1,500
feet in length. In long blocks, the Planning Board may require the
reservation through the block of a twenty-five-foot-wide easement
to accommodate utilities and/or pedestrian traffic.
J.
Lots in floodplain areas. All lots proposed to be developed on lands within the Floodplain District shall strictly comply with the site development restrictions and design criteria specified in § 140-19, Floodplain District, and Chapter 82, Flood Damage Prevention, of the Code of the Town of New Paltz. A floodplain development permit shall be issued, when required to allow construction of any public or private improvements shown on the final subdivision plan, for the proposed development prior to final subdivision approval. All final subdivision plans shall include a note identifying lots included within the Floodplain District and state that a floodplain development permit is required for any construction or other regulated activities within that area.
[Added 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
A.
Placement.
(1)
Underground public improvements and utilities required
by the Planning Board shall be placed within the street right-of-way
in accordance with standards designated by the Town Engineer. Where
topography makes such placement impracticable, perpetual unobstructed
easements at least 15 feet wide shall be provided for utilities along
lot frontages abutting the street lines, with satisfactory access
to the street. Wherever possible, easements shall be continuous from
block to block, and their layout shall be as regular as possible.
If placed in the street right-of-way, underground utilities required
by the Planning Board shall be placed between the paved roadway and
the sidewalk or right-of-way line to simplify location and repair
of lines.
(2)
The subdivider shall install, at his own expense,
such additional drainage structures as may be required by the Town
Engineer if, in his opinion, such additional structures will further
improve the durability and maintenance of rights-of-way.
(3)
Subject to the discretion of the Town Board, an underground
public improvement or utility operated for revenue by the Town may
be installed by the Town in an existing private street, provided that
a public easement of satisfactory size is obtained for all required
public improvements or utilities to the property line of each lot
within the subdivision.
B.
Water mains. Where a water main does not exist or
is not accessible but the subdivision is located reasonably near a
water supply network, the subdivider shall install such main, together
with all necessary valves, cutoffs, fire hydrants, pumps, booster
tanks, storage tanks, meters and other equipment necessary to make
such water system conform to the standards of the Town. All such mains
and appurtenant items of the water system equipment as may be necessary
shall be installed at the expense of the subdivider in accordance
with Town specifications and subject to the approval of the Town Engineer
and all other authorities having jurisdiction.
C.
Sanitary sewer systems.
(1)
Where a public sanitary sewer system is reasonably
accessible, the subdivider shall connect into the sewer and provide
a sewer connection for each lot.
(2)
Where a public sanitary sewer is not reasonably accessible
but where the plans for the sanitary sewer district in which the subdivision
is located have been prepared, the subdivider shall install sewers
in conformity with those plans although a connection with an existing
main may not be immediately possible. In such cases and until such
connection can be made with the sewer system of the district, the
subdivider shall provide private separate sewer facilities which shall
conform to the requirements of all authorities having jurisdiction.
(3)
Where no existing or planned public sewers exist,
lots shall be provided with separate sewer facilities. Such lots shall
be of sufficient size, according to the character of the land and
the size of the system, to provide adequate leaching or satisfactory
performance of the system, in compliance with regulations of the Town,
the Ulster County Health Department and other appropriate authorities.
(4)
Where
no existing or planned public sewer providing service to the proposed
lots exists, on-site sanitary disposal systems shall be located outside
floodplain areas whenever possible, and those systems that must be
located within a floodplain area shall be elevated such that the minimum
ground surface elevation of the on-site sanitary disposal system shall
be a minimum of three feet above the base flood elevation to eliminate
infiltration of floodwaters, and otherwise designed in a manner that
is acceptable to the Health Department and to the Town Engineer. A
licensed engineer shall certify that the system was constructed in
accordance with a design approved by the Health Department.
[Added 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
(5)
On-site
sanitary disposal systems proposed to be constructed on lands located
within a floodplain area shall not be located closer than 100 feet
to the natural bank of a perennial or intermittent stream.
[Added 5-20-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
D.
Stormwater management. The subdivider shall install all necessary storm sewers, culverts and appurtenant stormwater management facilities at his expense in accordance with the standards of the Superintendent of Highways and the engineer for the Town and in strict conformity with Chapter 116, Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control, of the Code of the Town of New Paltz.
[Amended 12-22-2016 by L.L. No. 3-2017]
