Town of North Hempstead, NY Article XXVII Amendments

§ 70-237 Ordinance subject to amendment.

The Town Board may from time to time amend, supplement, change, modify or repeal this ordinance, including the Zoning Map, by proceeding in the manner provided in this article.

§ 70-238 Hearing; method of amendment.

[Amended 2-13-1968; 8-29-1972; 10-24-1972; 9-26-1978 by L.L. No. 3-1978; 3-27-1979 by L.L. No. 3-1979; 6-8-1999 by L.L. No. 7-1999; 11-15-2005 by L.L. No.12-2005; 5-29-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]

A. Whenever an owner or owners of real property in any district or whenever the owners of more than 50% of the frontage in any district or part thereof affected by a proposed change of the ordinance or change of the Zoning Map shall present to the Town Board a petition duly signed and acknowledged, requesting an amendment, supplement, change, modification or repeal of the regulations prescribed for or of the Zoning Map including such district or part thereof, it shall be the duty of the Town Board to hold a public hearing thereon and cause notice thereof to be given in the manner prescribed in § 70-238A(1) through A(3). The aforesaid petition shall be accompanied by 10 copies of Items 1 through 4 below, to be filed in the Building Department, Permit Division:

(1) A title page, which shall include the following:

(a) Key map at a minimum scale of one inch equals 1,000 feet, showing clearly and accurately the location of the property in relation to the neighboring streets;

(b) Zoning/Site data analysis clearly identifying any items in which the proposed development plan will not conform to the standards of the proposed zoning designation;

(c) Names of the appropriate water, sewer and school districts;

(d) Name and address of the applicant, and the name and address of the owner of the site, if different from the applicant. If the applicant or owner is a corporation or partnership, the names of all principals shall be included;

(e) Name(s) and contact information of the professional engineer, land surveyor, architect, landscape architect and/or land planner involved in preparing the plans;

(f) Area map of the subject site and all properties within a radius of 300 feet of any contiguous property owned by the applicant. The area map shall include all proposed principal and accessory buildings, the names of abutting property owners, as well as section, block, and lot information for all properties within the three-hundred-foot radius;

(g) Names of all abutting streets and whether said streets are Town, county or state highways;

(2) Survey of existing conditions, prepared by a New York State licensed land surveyor at a scale of one inch equals 40 feet or larger, showing at a minimum:

(a) The locations of all existing buildings, driveways, patios, fences and accessory structures;

(b) The locations of property lines with bearings and distances clearly marked;

(c) The locations of all monuments, stakes or other permanent boundary markers;

(d) Underground and overhead utilities;

(e) The locations of all easements, if applicable;

(3) A schematic site plan which shall include the following:

(a) Location and arrangement of all principal buildings and structures;

(b) Location of proposed parking and loading facilities, access points and circulation aisles;

(c) Preliminary landscaping plan showing the locations and widths of all vegetated buffers;

(d) Any proposed right-of-way improvements or road widening;

(4) Building elevations and perspective drawings;

(5) Reports and documentation, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Boundary description of the property to be rezoned;

(b) Affidavit of ownership or notarized owner's authorization form;

(c) Full environmental assessment form;

(d) Traffic analysis, including capacity and level-of-service for the nearest signalized intersections;

(e) Water and sewer availability letters;

(f) Copies of any restrictive covenants existing on any portion of the site;

(g) Photographs of all properties abutting the parcel and across from the parcel within 300 feet;

(6) A Phase I environmental audit prepared in accordance with the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard practice for environmental site assessments for commercial real estate (ASTM E 1527, 2000) shall be required for all petitions to rezone commercial and industrial zoned and/or used properties to a residential use.

B. Hearing notice requirements.

(1) The Town Clerk shall publish notice of the public hearing for a change of zone in the local newspaper(s) of record at least 10 days before the hearing date. The notice shall identify the property affected by stating the section, block, lot and street address and shall also state the date, time and place of the hearing.

(a) Where a change of zone application is adjourned, the Town Clerk shall publish notice of the new hearing date in the local newspaper(s) of record at least 10 days before the hearing date. The notice shall identify the property affected by stating the section, block, lot and street address and shall also state the date, time and place of the hearing.

[Added 11-19-2019 by L.L. No. 15-2019]

(2) Before the application will be heard, the applicant must provide notice of the hearing to property owners within a radius of 300 feet of the site, in the manner provided herein, and must file an affidavit as to the mailing of such notices with the Town Attorney not less than seven days before the hearing. Not less than 10 days nor more than 20 days before the hearing, the applicant shall send, by registered or certified mail, a notice to each affected owner identifying the subject property, the proposed zoning designation and the date, time and place for the hearing.

(a) Where a change of zone application is adjourned, the applicant must provide notice of the new hearing date to property owners within a radius of 300 feet of the site, in the manner provided herein, and must file an affidavit as to the mailing of such notices with the Town Attorney not less than seven days before the hearing. Not less than 10 days nor more than 20 days before the hearing, the applicant shall send, via first-class mail, a notice to each affected owner identifying the subject property, the proposed zoning designation and the date, time and place for the hearing.

[Added 11-19-2019 by L.L. No. 15-2019]

(3) Sign notice requirements for rezoning applications:

(a) Sign notice shall be given by the property owner of the subject property by posting a sign stating the time, date and place of the public hearing;

(b) The sign shall be posted at least 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing;

(c) The sign shall be visible from adjacent rights-of-way, including waterways;

(d) If the subject property is on more than one right-of-way, a sign shall be posted facing each right-of-way;

(e) If a sign is destroyed or removed from the property, the owner of the subject property shall be responsible for replacing it;

(f) Five days prior to the public hearing, the owner of the subject property shall execute and submit to the Town Attorney an affidavit of proof of the posting of the public notice sign(s) according to this section. If the owner of the subject property fails to submit the affidavit, the public hearing will be postponed until after the affidavit has been supplied;

C. Fees and costs. Fees for a proposed rezoning of property shall be as stated in Article XXIII, § 70- 221.

D. No area of the Town shall henceforth be rezoned as Industrial B unless the Town Board shall make a specific finding that Industrial B zoning, to the exclusion of all other available zoning, is the only zoning which will enable the owner to realize a reasonable economic return on the property. Absent such a finding, all applications for Industrial B zoning shall be denied.

E. No area of the Town shall henceforth be rezoned as Golden Age Residence District unless the Town Board shall make a specific finding that Golden Age Residence zoning, to the exclusion of all other available zoning, is the only zoning which will enable the owner to realize a reasonable economic return on the property. Absent such a finding, all applications for Golden Age Residence zoning shall be denied.

§ 70-239 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor’s Note: Former § 70-239, Abandonment, was repealed 2-28-2019 by L.L. No. 5-2019.