In accordance with Article 9 of the Town Law
and the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York, the Town
Board of the Town of Canandaigua has the authority to enact local
laws for the purpose of promoting the health, safety or general welfare
of the Town of Canandaigua, including the protection and preservation
of the property of its inhabitants. By the same authority, the Town
Board of the Town of Canandaigua may include in any such local laws,
provision for the appointment of any municipal officers or employees
to effectuate and administer such local laws.
It is the purpose of this chapter to protect
public health, safety and welfare in the Town of Canandaigua by regulating
site preparation and construction activities, including excavation,
filling, grading and stripping so as to prevent problems related to
erosion, sediment or drainage. In relation to this purpose, this chapter is intended
to:
A. Preserve the quality of the natural environment from
such adverse effects of site preparation and construction as:
(1) Pollution of lakes, ponds, and watercourses from silt
or other materials;
(2) Unnecessary destruction of trees and other vegetation;
(3) Excessive exposure of soil to erosion;
(4) Unnecessary modification of natural topography or
unique geological features; and
(5) Failure to restore sites to an attractive natural
condition.
B. Protect people and properties from such adverse effects
of site preparation and construction as:
(1) Increased runoff, erosion and sediment;
(2) Increased threat to life and property from flooding
or stormwaters;
(3) Increased slope instability and hazards from landslides
and slumping; and
(4) Modifications of the groundwater regime that adversely
affect wells and surface water levels.
C. Protect the Town of Canandaigua and other governmental
bodies from having to undertake, at public expense, programs of repairing
roads, flood protection facilities and other public facilities.
D. Ensure that site preparation and construction consistent
with the Comprehensive Plan of the Town of Canandaigua.
The provisions of this chapter shall be held
to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public
health, safety, and welfare. Whenever the requirements of this chapter
are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted
rules, regulations, or ordinances, the most restrictive, or that imposing
the higher standards, shall govern.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
All activities directly related to the growing or raising
of crops or livestock for the sale of agricultural produce, including
horticultural and fruit operations.
AUTHORIZED OFFICIAL
The person designated by the Town Board of the Town of Canandaigua
(by resolution) to administer and maintain the provisions of this
chapter.
DRAINAGE
The gravitational movement of water or other liquids by surface
runoff or subsurface flow.
EROSION
The wearing away of the land surface by action of wind, water,
gravity or other natural forces.
EXCAVATION
Any activity which removes or significantly disturbs rock,
gravel, sand, soil or other natural deposits.
FILLING
Any activity which deposits natural or artificial material
so as to modify the surface or subsurface conditions of land, lakes,
ponds or watercourses.
GRADING
The alteration of the surface or subsurface conditions of
land, lakes, ponds or watercourses by excavation or filling.
MULCHING
The application of a layer of plant residue or other material
for the purpose of effectively controlling erosion.
SEDIMENT
Solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension,
is being transported, has been deposited, or has been removed from
its site of origin by erosion.
SITE PREPARATION
The activities of stripping, excavation, filling and grading,
no matter what the purpose of these activities.
SOIL
All unconsolidated mineral or nonliving organic material
of whatever origin which overlies bedrock.
STRIPPING
Any activity which removes or significantly disturbs trees,
brush, grass, or any other kind of vegetation.
TOPSOIL
The natural surface layer of soil, unusually darker than
subsurface layers, to a depth of at least six inches within an undisturbed
area of soils.
WATERCOURSE
Any natural or artificial stream, river, creek, ditch, channel,
canal, conduit, culvert, drainageway, gully, ravine, or wash in which
water flows in a definite direction of course, either continuously
or intermittently, and which has a definite channel, bed and banks,
and any area adjacent thereto subject to inundation by reason of overflow,
flood, or stormwater.
No site preparation shall commence until a soil erosion and sedimentation control permit has been issued for any activity requiring a permit as listed in §
165-7.
[Amended by L.L. No. 7-1992; 12-5-2011 by L.L. No.
11-2011; 6-20-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
None of the following activities shall be commenced until a
permit has been issued under the provisions of this chapter:
A. Any site preparation, regardless of location within the Town, which
in the aggregate exceeds either of the following thresholds:
(1) Stripping or grading which affects more than 10,000 square feet of
ground surface.
(2) Excavation or filling of more than 100 cubic yards of material.
B. Any site preparation which in the aggregate exceeds 500 square feet
of stripping or grading, or the excavation or filling of more than
five cubic yards of material within any of the following environmentally
sensitive regions of the Town:
(1) Areas within NYSDEC freshwater wetlands;
(2) Within the Canandaigua Lake Watershed, areas of greater than ten-percent
slope. Outside of the Canandaigua Lake Watershed, areas of greater
than fifteen-percent slope;
(3) Areas within the one-hundred-year floodplain and/or floodways of any watercourse or lake as regulated under Chapter
115 of the Town of Canandaigua Code; or
(4) Areas within 500 feet of Canandaigua Lake or a recognized Canandaigua
Lake tributary as indicated in the most recent USGS 7.5-minute series
topographical maps for the Canandaigua and Canandaigua Lake quadrangles.
[Amended by L.L. No. 7-1992]
The following activities are exempted from permit
requirements:
B. Activities subject to permits for commercial excavation under Chapter
220, Zoning;
C. Governmental activities to the extent such activities
are exempted by law;
D. Household gardening and activities on existing developed lots related to the maintenance of landscape features, septic disposal systems, wells, water systems, walks and driveways, provided the thresholds of §
165-7A are not exceeded.
In granting a permit under this chapter, the
standards and considerations taken into account shall include but
not be limited to the following:
A. Excavation, filling, grading, and stripping shall
be permitted to be undertaken only in such locations and in such a
manner so as to minimize the potential of erosion and sediment, and
so as to minimize any threat to the health, safety and welfare of
neighboring property owners and the general public;
B. Site preparation and construction shall be fitted
to the vegetation, topography and other natural features of the site
and shall preserve as many of these features as feasible;
C. The control of erosion and sediment shall be a continuous
process undertaken as necessary prior to, during, and after site preparation
and construction;
D. The smallest practical area of land shall be exposed
by site preparation at any given time;
E. The exposure of areas by site preparation shall be
kept to the shortest practical period of time prior to the construction
of structures or improvements or the restoration of the exposed areas
to an attractive natural condition;
F. Mulching or temporary vegetation suitable to the site
shall be used where necessary to protect areas exposed by site preparation,
and permanent vegetation which is well adapted to the site shall be
installed as soon as practical;
G. Where slopes are to be revegetated in areas exposed
by site preparation, the slopes shall not be of such steepness that
vegetation cannot be readily established or that problems of erosion
or sediment may result;
H. Site preparation and construction shall not adversely
affect the free flow of water by encroaching on, blocking or restricting
watercourses except as permitted by approved detention systems;
I. All fill material shall be of a composition suitable
for ultimate use of the fill, free of rubbish and carefully restricted
in its content of brush, stumps, tree debris, rocks, frozen material,
and soft or easily compressible material;
J. Fill material shall be compacted sufficiently to prevent
problems of erosion, and where the material is to support structures,
it shall be compacted to a minimum of 90% of standard proctor with
proper moisture control;
K. Topsoil which is excavated from a site shall be stockpiled
and used for the restoration of the site, and such stockpiles shall
be seeded or otherwise treated to minimize the effects of erosion,
if the pile is to remain for a period of more than 90 days;
L. Prior to, during, and after site preparation and construction,
an integrated drainage system shall be provided which at all times
minimizes erosion, sediment, hazards of slope instability, and adverse
effects on neighboring property owners;
M. The natural drainage system shall generally be preserved
in preference to modifications of this system, excepting where such
modifications are necessary to reduce levels of erosion and sediment
and adverse effects on neighboring property owners;
N. All drainage systems shall be designated to adequately
handle anticipated flows both within the site and from the entire
upstream drainage basin;
O. Sufficient grades and drainage facilities shall be
provided to prevent the ponding of water, unless such ponding is proposed
within site plans, in which event there shall be sufficient water
flow to maintain proposed water levels and to avoid stagnation;
P. There shall be provided such measures as benches,
berms, terraces, diversions, and sediment, debris and retention basins,
where necessary, to minimize erosion and sediment;
Q. Drainage systems, planting and other erosion or sediment
control devices shall be maintained as necessary to provide adequate
protection against erosion and sediment and to insure that the free
flow of water is not obstructed by the accumulation of silt, debris
or other material, or by structural damage; and
R. The New York Guidelines for Urban Erosion and Sediment
Control shall be the reference or technical guide used in the development
of the soil erosion and sediment plan for any specific site or project.
The Town Board may from time to time on its
own motion, on petition, or on recommendation of the Town Planning
Board, and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, amend,
supplement, or repeal the regulations or provisions of this chapter.
The Town Board may, from time to time and by
resolution, establish appropriate fees for the review and processing
of the permits under this chapter.