The intent of this chapter is to establish a specific and detailed
plan for the orderly and desirable development and use of land in
the Town of Bethel in accordance with the authority granted to the
Town under Article 16 of the New York Town Law. This chapter is, moreover, intended to protect and promote
public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience and the general
welfare of the people by meeting the goals, objectives and recommendations
set forth in the Comprehensive Plan and to effectuate the Comprehensive
Plan.
Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular
number shall include the plural, and the plural, the singular; the
word "structure" shall include the word "building"; the word "used"
shall include "arranged," "designed," "constructed," "altered," "converted,"
"rented," "leased" or "intended to be used"; and the word "shall"
is mandatory and not optional.
As used in this chapter, including all schedules, maps and appendixes
included herein, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated
below. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular
number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular; and
the word "shall" is mandatory and not optional. Words appearing in
this chapter not specifically defined shall have their ordinary dictionary
meanings.
ABANDONMENT OF USE
The telecommunications facility equipment or structure has
not received or transmitted telecommunications or radio signals for
one year.
[Added 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure subordinate to the principal use of a
building on the same lot and serving a purpose customarily incidental
to the use of the principal building.
ACRE
Consists of 43,560 contiguous square feet of land.
AGRIBUSINESS
A commercial, nonanimal, agricultural operation with intensive
operational characteristics, including but not limited to high water
consumption or energy use; employment generating demand for on-site
parking; or processes requiring extensive building coverage. Agribusiness
may include uses requiring facilities for indoor growing, cooking,
dehydrating, refining, packing, warehousing or other treatment of
agricultural products. Said definition specifically excludes slaughterhouses,
rendering plants or other agricultural operations involving animals.
AGRICULTURE, ON-SITE PROCESSING
One or more facilities or operations that transform, package,
sort, or grade dairy products, agricultural commodities, or plants
or plant products, into goods that are used for intermediate or final
consumption, including goods for food and nonfood use.
AIRPORT or HELIPORT
Any area of land which is used or intended for use for the
landing and taking off of aircraft; also, any appurtenant areas which
are used or intended for use or other airport buildings and facilities.
ANTENNA
A device used to collect or transmit telecommunications or
radio signals. Examples are panels, microwave dishes, and single poles,
known as "whips."
[Added 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
AUTOMOTIVE-RELATED USES
A use that includes any automotive sales where two or more
new motor vehicles in operating condition are offered for sale or
are displayed for hire or for sale and includes establishments engaged
in the short-term rental or long-term leasing of passenger cars, vans
or trucks without drivers.
AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, SERVICE, AND FILLING STATIONS
Any use used for the supply of gasoline, oil or other fuel
for the propulsion of motor vehicles and the provision of such services
for motor vehicles that includes polishing, greasing, servicing, or
repairing said motor vehicles. Such use shall include any building
used for the servicing and repair of motor vehicles, including bodywork.
Such repair work shall be conducted wholly within a completely enclosed
building.
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
Owner-occupied one-family dwelling used for providing overnight
accommodations that may include a morning meal to transient lodgers,
containing at least three but not more than five bedrooms for such
lodgers.
BILLBOARD
A sign which directs attention to a business commodity, service
or entertainment conducted, offered or sold elsewhere than on the
premises where the sign is located.
BOATHOUSE
A building especially designed for the storage of boats, including motorboats, personal watercraft, and vessels, as those terms are defined in §
104-3 of this Code.
BUILDING
A structure having a roof supported by columns or walls,
used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons,
animals or property.
BUILDING COVERAGE
That portion of a lot which is covered by structures, including
buildings, carports, patios and other appurtenances having an attachment
to the ground but not including driveways or sidewalks.
BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance measured from the average of the ground
levels at the front and rear of a building to the highest point of
the roof, not including chimneys, spires, water tanks and similar
projections.
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL
A structure in which is conducted the principal use of the
site on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling
shall be deemed to be a "principal building" on the lot on which the
same is located.
CAMPSITE
Shall have the definition for the term "campsite" as set forth in Chapter
120, §
120-2.
[Amended 10-22-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
CEMETERY
Land used for the interment of human remains, including a
burial park for earth interments, which may include a mausoleum for
vault or crypt interments, operated for a not-for-profit organization.
COMMERCIAL GROUP
Two or more retail establishments totaling at least 10,000
square feet of rentable commercial space and sharing certain facilities
such as parking, public utilities and open space.
COMMUNITY BUILDING
A facility that is constructed for and devoted to meetings
or gatherings for business, educational, recreational or community
pursuits for use publicly or privately.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Comprehensive Plan adopted by the Town Board of the Town
of Bethel for the future preservation and development of the Town
pursuant to § 272-a of the New York State Town Law, as the
same may from time to time be amended, updated, and supplemented,
including without limitation by planning policy statements, goals,
and standards adopted by the Town Board.
[Amended 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
CONSERVATION SUBDIVISION
A form of development for single-family residential subdivisions
that permits a reduction in lot area and other development standards,
given the specific site conditions, and where no less than a specified
proportion of the total land area is devoted to permanent open space.
CONTAMINATION
Any hazardous substance, toxic material, or other substance,
chemical or waste, emission, discharge or pollutant or comparable
material (hereafter, a "pollutant") listed, identified or regulated
pursuant to any applicable federal, state or local laws, statutes,
ordinances, rules or regulations and other requirements of governmental
authorities relating to the environment, natural resources, or human
health and safety, which has been released into the environment. Contamination
includes the release of any substance for which any governmental authority
has provided a waiver or exemption to any potential discharger or
class of dischargers, and but for that waiver or exemption the substance
would be a pollutant because of its hazardous characteristics, including,
but not limited to, ignitability, toxicity, corrosivity, and/or reactivity,
or potentially significant negative impact on public health and safety
and/or the environment.
[Added 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING
The Sullivan County Department of Planning and Environmental
Management or any successor agency or department that fulfills the
requirements for review under the New York State General Municipal
Law § 239-m.
DAY-CARE CENTER
A facility licensed or authorized and regulated by the State
of New York Department of Social Services pursuant to § 390
of the Social Services Law. A day-care-center program provides for
more than three hours and less than 24 hours per day of care away
from the child’s home by an individual, association, corporation,
institution or agency by someone other than the parent, stepparent,
guardian, or relative within the third degree of consanguinity of
the parents or stepparents of such child for three or more children.
A day-care center shall not include a day camp, after-school program
operated for the primary purpose of religious education or a facility
operated by a public school district.
[Amended 4-12-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
DWELLING
Any building or portion thereof designed or used exclusively
as the residence or sleeping place for one or more persons. A dwelling
shall not include either a manufactured home or a mobile home.
[Amended 4-14-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
A.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILYA detached building, designated for or occupied exclusively by one family and containing not more than one dwelling unit.
B.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILYA detached or semidetached building where not more than two individual family or dwelling units are entirely separated by vertical walls or horizontal floors, unpierced except for access to the outside or to a common cellar.
C.
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILYA building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for three or more apartment or dwelling units, including one-family attached dwellings or townhouses.
D.
DWELLING, SEASONALA detached single-family or two-family dwelling which is temporarily occupied by a person or persons having a usual residence elsewhere from whence they customarily journey to work, send children to school, vote, or conduct other principal activities. A seasonal dwelling may have any of the following characteristics: a lack of year-round water supply; a lack of a furnace or heat source; a lack of indoor plumbing; a lack of insulation; or seasonal use typically during warmer weather months.
E.
DWELLING, SEASONAL/COMMERCIALA seasonal dwelling that is offered for lease or rent to occupants who are primarily transient in nature or otherwise qualifies as an R-1 residential occupancy as defined under the Building Code of New York State, Section 310.1, as hereafter supplemented or amended.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms, including cooking facilities and sanitary
facilities, in a structure designed as a unit for occupancy by not
more than one family for living and sleeping purposes.
EATING AND DRINKING PLACE
Any establishment where food and drink are regularly prepared
and served for consumption either on or off the premises, including
restaurants, food service establishments, commercial food stands and
drive-in or fast-food establishments. An eating and drinking place
may be operated from any facility specifically constructed for this
purpose.
ENCLOSED STRUCTURE
A building with a floor, walls and a roof all made of impervious
materials, providing structural support and designed to prevent the
release of contamination resulting from any of the activities conducted
or materials stored within.
[Added 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
ENLARGEMENT OR EXPANSION
When applied to a nonconforming use shall mean:
[Added 10-22-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
A.
Any increase in the height or area of any building or building
footprint, including but not limited to the addition of any stories,
dormers, rooms, porches, decks or similar improvements;
B.
The construction of any additional buildings or improvements
on the real property comprising such nonconforming use or the addition
of any accommodations thereto that could be used for dwelling purposes
that are:
(1)
An extension of said nonconforming use; or
(2)
An accessory use to said nonconforming use;
C.
The increase of any land area comprising such nonconforming
use; or
D.
The increase of the intensity of the nonconforming use.
EQUIPMENT SALES
Any commercial use that consists of the display for sale
or hire new or used farm, lawn and garden, or construction or similar
equipment.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance, by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, CATV, steam or water transmission or distribution systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health or safety and general welfare. "Essential services" shall also include firehouses, first-aid and emergency-aid squads, whether provided by a municipal or nonprofit agency. The term "essential services," however, shall not include the term "telecommunications facility," which is separately defined herein and regulated by §
345-28 of this chapter.
[Amended 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
FAMILY
One or more persons related by blood, adoption or marriage,
living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, or a number
of persons living together as a single housekeeping unit though not
related by blood, adoption or marriage.
FARM OPERATIONS
Shall have the same meaning as set forth in the New York
State Agriculture and Markets Law at § 301, Subdivision
11.
FARM STAND
A temporary structure designed or used for the display or
sale of agricultural products primarily produced on the premises upon
which such stand is located.
FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment where food and drink are prepared specifically
for consumption off site as in the headquarters of a catering operation.
FOUNDATION
A wall or pier extending at least four feet below grade or
an equivalent load-bearing structure certified by a licensed professional
engineer, having a fixed location on the ground and capable of serving
as a support for a structure or structural part of a building, such
as a wall, pier or column. All foundations shall meet the relevant
criteria set forth in the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and
Building Code applicable to general building construction.
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION
A group of people formally organized for a common interest,
usually cultural, religious, or entertainment, with regular meetings,
rituals, and formal membership requirements.
GROUP HOME
A nonprofit or for-profit boarding home for sheltered care
of persons with special needs, which, in addition to providing food
and shelter, may also provide some combination of personal care, social
or counseling services, and transportation.
HOME-BASED BUSINESS
A business that sells products at retail to the general public
in person, or provides a service oriented to the rural residential
or agricultural needs of the Town (e.g., excavating business, lawn
maintenance, landscaping business or personal service establishments)
that proposes the use of space in the principal residential structure
or in its accessory building(s) that is clearly incidental and secondary
to the use of the principal structure.
HOME OCCUPATION
Any legal activity carried out for gain by a resident that
is customarily incidental to the principal permitted residential use
and is conducted entirely within the principal dwelling unit or accessory
structure. Examples include, but are not limited to, an artist studio,
creation of crafts, mail-order business, home office or professional
office. A home occupation shall not involve in-person retail sales
to the general public nor the storage of materials out-of-doors.
HOTEL
A building or portion thereof containing rooms that are used,
rented or hired out to be occupied for transient sleeping purposes
for compensation, whether the compensation is paid directly or indirectly.
No such rooms shall contain individual kitchen or cooking facilities.
INSTITUTIONAL USE
A nonprofit or public use, such as a library, hospital, or
government-owned or -operated building, structure, or land used for
public purpose.
INTERPRETIVE CENTER
Is a facility dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge
of natural or cultural heritage, similar to a museum, but located
near and operated in connection with a cultural, historic or natural
site.
JUNKYARDS
Buildings, structures or premises where junk, waste, discarded
or salvage materials are bought or sold, exchanged, stored, baled,
packed, disassembled or handled, including automobile wrecking yards
and yards for house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment,
but not including premises used for the purchase or storage of used
furniture and household equipment or used cars in operable condition.
KENNEL
Any enclosure, premises, building, structure, lot or area
in or on which more than four dogs of at least four months of age
are kept, harbored or maintained for commercial or noncommercial purposes
for continuous periods of 24 hours or more.
LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USE or LIGHT INDUSTRY
A business premises engaged in the fabrication of finished products or parts, predominantly from previously prepared materials, including processing, assembly, treatment, packaging, and incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products, but excluding manufacturing use as defined in this §
345-5, and excluding any explicitly prohibited use, as defined at §
345-38.
[Amended 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
LIVESTOCK RAISING
The keeping, fattening or breeding of various forms of farm,
ranch and preserve animals, including but not limited to rabbits,
deer, dairy and beef cattle, hogs, sheep and goats, poultry, equines,
ratites, llamas and other farm, game and exotic animals raised as
a source of income or as a novelty.
LOT
A piece or parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied
by a principal building, or a group of such buildings and accessory
buildings, or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory or incidental
to the operation thereof, together with such open spaces as are required
by this chapter, and having frontage on a public street.
A.
LOT, CORNERA lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection or upon two parts of the same street, such streets or parts of the same street forming an interior angle of less than 135°. The point of intersection of the street lot lines is the corner.
B.
LOT DEPTHThe mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
C.
LOT LINESThe property lines bounding the lot.
(3)
LOT LINE, SIDEAny lot line other than a front or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is called a "side street lot line."
D.
LOT WIDTHThe distance between the two side lot lines measured at the required setback line.
E.
LOT AREAThe computed area contained within the lot lines of any parcel.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling
unit when affixed to a permanent foundation or placed on a concrete
slab and connected to the required utilities. Manufactured homes are
built to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development standards.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK
Any plot of ground upon which two or more manufactured homes,
spaced less than 500 feet apart and occupied for dwelling or sleeping
purposes, are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made
for such accommodation.
MANUFACTURING or MANUFACTURING USE
A business premises engaged in the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products, including the assembling of component parts, and the creation of products, but excluding any explicitly prohibited use, as defined at §
345-38.
[Amended 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
MINING
The extraction of overburden and minerals from the earth; the preparation and processing of minerals, including any activities or processes or parts thereof for the extraction or removal of minerals from their original location and the preparation, washing, cleaning, crushing, stockpiling or other processing of minerals at the mine location so as to make them suitable for commercial, industrial, or construction use, exclusive of manufacturing processes, at the mine location; the removal of such materials through sale or exchange or for commercial, industrial or municipal use; and the disposition of overburden, tailings and waste at the mine location. Mining shall not include the excavation, removal and disposition of minerals from construction projects, exclusive of the creation of water bodies, or excavations in aid of agricultural activities. In no event shall mining be construed to mean, be, or include natural gas and/or petroleum exploration activities or natural gas and/or petroleum extraction activities (as those terms are defined at §
345-38 of this chapter).
[Amended 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
MOBILE HOME
A movable or portable dwelling not less than 12 feet in width
nor 50 feet in length, built on a chassis, designed for long-term
occupancy, containing a flush toilet, a tub or shower and bath and
kitchen facilities and equipped with water supply, electrical supply
and sewage disposal connected to outside systems.
MOBILE HOME PARK
Any plot of ground upon which two or more mobile homes, spaced
less than 500 feet apart and occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes,
are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such
accommodation.
MODULAR HOME
A home that is constructed to New York State Building Code
standards, partially assembled in a factory and transported to a home
site in a minimum of two sections, each of which is transported to
building site separately, with installation of heating system and
application of siding coming after erection of the home, and which
is indistinguishable in appearance from conventionally built homes.
MOTELS, MOTOR COURTS and MOTOR HOTELS
A series of attached dwelling structures, where each unit
has convenient access to parking space for the use of the unit's occupant.
The units, with the exception of the manager's or caretaker's, are
designed to provide sleeping accommodations for automobile transients
or overnight guests and without the provision for cooking in any room
or suite.
MUSEUM
A permanent facility in the service of society and of its
development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches,
communicates and exhibits the heritage of humanity and its environment,
for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment.
NEIGHBORHOOD STORE
A retail business establishment of not more than 5,000 square
feet in floor area, offering consumer goods for sale and located in
a separate building, if one story, or on a separate floor of a multistory
building. This excludes drive-in restaurants.
NONCONFORMING USE
Any use, lawfully in existence within a given zoning district
on the effective date of this chapter, which shall be made nonconforming
on the passage of this chapter or any applicable amendment thereto.
NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
Any educational institution of higher learning chartered
by the State of New York or a private educational institution subject
to regulations prescribed by the State of New York, which institution
is operated on a nonprofit basis.
NURSERY or GREENHOUSE (COMMERCIAL)
A facility involved in the cultivation of ornamental and
horticultural products, including but not limited to flowers, trees,
shrubs, and vines. Activities may also include the retail sale of
said products outdoors or in an enclosed facility.
OPEN SPACE
Any land or water area in which the preservation in its present
state would conserve and enhance natural or scenic resources, protect
streams or water supply, promote conservation of soils, wetlands,
beaches or tidal marshes, enhance the value to the public of abutting
or neighboring parks, forest, wildlife preserves, or nature reservations
or sanctuaries or other open space areas, enhance recreation opportunities,
preserve historic sites, or preserve visual quality along highway,
road, and street corridor or scenic vistas. Open space is also that
land that is developed to enhance any of the foregoing elements, including
the construction of access points, hiking trails, ATV and snowmobile
trails, beaches, golf courses, and similar recreational activities,
all on such conditions as may be reasonably required by the Planning
Board.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT
A structure or group of structures designed to be maintained
and operated as a unit in single ownership or control by an individual,
partnership, corporation or cooperative group, which has certain facilities
in common, such as yards and open spaces, recreation areas, garages
and parking areas and includes 75 or more dwelling units.
PLANNING BOARD
The duly appointed Planning Board of the Town of Bethel.
POULTRY RAISING, HIGH-DENSITY
A farm, the major occupation of which is the raising of poultry,
wherein there is one square foot or less of floor space per bird in
those structures housing the poultry.
POULTRY RAISING, LOW-DENSITY
A farm, the major occupation of which is the raising of poultry,
wherein there is more than one square foot of floor space per bird
in those structures housing the poultry.
PRIMARY OFFICE
A professional or business office that is the headquarters
or main office of any business or commercial use.
PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS OFFICE
A building or portion of a building wherein services are
performed involving predominantly administrative, professional or
clerical operations.
RECREATIONAL FACILITY
[Amended 10-22-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
D.
RECREATIONAL FACILITY, PRIVATE NONCOMMERCIAL OUTDOORA recreational facility such as a pool, tennis court, playground or similar amenity that is operated by a private organization, to include but not be limited to summer camps, schools or similar organizations, and open only to bona fide members, guests or residents of that private organization. Private noncommercial outdoor recreational facilities are subject to the requirements of §
345-17B of this chapter.
[Amended 4-12-2017 by L.L. No. 2-2017]
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
A use devoted to the systematic investigation or experimentation
involving innovation or technical risk, the outcome of which is either
new knowledge or new or improved materials, products, devices, processes,
or services. The research and development use includes basic research,
applied research, and experimental development and testing. The research
and development use does not include the manufacture of products for
wholesale or retail sale or the commercial servicing or repair of
products.
RESTAURANT
Any establishment primarily offering sit-down dining for
sale and consumption of food and drink on-premises.
RETAIL USE
A use devoted principally to the sale of goods or commodities
in small quantities directly to consumers.
RURAL ECO -TECH RETREAT
Corporate retreat centers with year-round, on-site services
to corporation employees, member organizations and retreat guests,
but not to the general public, that may include amenities such as
a welcome center, single-unit accommodations, two multi-bedroom (two
to five) accommodations, food services, recreation facilities, fitness/spa
facilities, communal work spaces, private work spaces, training programs,
corporate events and sustainable agriculture.
[Added 1-27-2021 by L.L. No. 1-2021]
SERVICE USE
A use devoted principally to the sale of services directly
to consumers.
SCHOOL
Public or private, primary and secondary educational facilities
providing education up through and including the twelfth-grade level
operated by a local school district or by a private, denominational,
or parochial organization.
[Added 10-22-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
SHOOTING RANGE
An indoor or outdoor facility intended to be used for firearms
practice. Indoor ranges typically will have a back wall with a sloped
earthen berm or bank, with reinforced baffles additionally situated
along the roof and side walls. Ventilation is carefully controlled
to pull smoke and lead particles away from the shooting line and to
exhaust them from the building. Outdoor shooting ranges typically
will be backed by a high retaining wall, earth mound, sandbag barrier
or specially designed funnel-shaped traps to prevent the ricochet
of bullets or shots going outside the bounds of the shooting range.
SIGN
A name, identification, description, display or illustration
or any other visual display which is affixed to or painted or represented
directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or piece of land
and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity,
person, institution, organization or business. A "sign" includes a
billboard, neon tube, fluorescent tube or other artificial light or
string of lights outlining or hung upon any part of a building or
lot for the purposes mentioned above, but does not include legal notices
such as "no trespassing" notifications, provided that they are no
larger than two square feet in area or the flag or insignia of any
nation or of any governmental agency or of any political, educational,
charitable, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious or similar
organization, campaign, drive, movement or event which is temporary
in nature.
SIGN, DIRECTIONAL
A sign indicating the location and direction of premises
other than those on which the sign is located.
SPECIAL USE
A use which because of its unique characteristics requires individual consideration through a procedure of review by the Planning Board, applying the standards and criteria of §
345-30 of this chapter, in order to determine whether a special use permit should be granted, conditionally granted, or denied.
[Amended 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
STORAGE TANKS, COMMERCIAL
An aboveground or belowground storage tank exceeding a storage
capacity of 1,000 gallons used for the storage for resale of gaseous
or liquid materials, including but not limited to propane, chemicals
and petroleum products.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed, the use of which requires permanent
location on the ground or attachment to something having permanent
location on the ground, including stationary and portable carports.
SUMMER CAMP
The development or use of a lot, tract or parcel of land
for recreation or instruction on a seasonal basis within the approximate
time period of May 15 to October 15 offering access to recreational
or educational facilities and which includes any or all of the following
features: temporary or permanent shelters, buildings or structures
that are designed for warm weather, seasonal use, including cabins,
dormitories, cafeterias, gymnasiums, community centers, administration
buildings, and similar structures designed for use by the camp attendees;
ball playing fields; basketball courts; tennis courts; running tracks;
swimming pools; horseback riding facilities; hiking or riding trails
and similar recreational or educational facilities. The seasonal occupants
of a summer camp shall be limited to the owner and his or her immediate
family, the caretaker, children under the age of 18 years who may
pay a fee or tuition to attend as campers and persons employed by
the owner or operator of any such camp to support its functions, including
counsellors, cooks and maintenance personnel. A summer camp shall
not include temporary or permanent shelters, buildings or structures
designed for use or occupancy by family members of the children who
are attending the summer camp or the employees who work there.
[Amended 10-22-2014 by L.L. No. 2-2014]
SWINE RAISING, HIGH-DENSITY
Any farm operation conducted for financial or other valuable
consideration that consists of the raising of swine where the number
of swine exceeds 50 at any given time.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT BUILDING
The building in which the electronic receiving and relay
equipment for a telecommunications facility is housed.
[Added 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
Consists of the equipment and structures involved in receiving
or transmitting telecommunications or radio signals, but limited to
those facilities with respect to which the state and federal governments
have not, under public utility laws, strictly preempted the Town from
regulating.
[Added 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
THEATER
Is a performance hall where theatrical works or plays are
performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be given.
A theater shall include all open-air facilities, such as outdoor stages,
amphitheaters or performing arts centers.
TOWER
A structure that is intended to support equipment used to
transmit and/or receive telecommunications signals. Examples of such
structures include monopoles and lattice construction steel structures.
[Added 3-24-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
TOWN BOARD
The duly constituted Town Board of the Town of Bethel.
TRANSIENT
To remain in a place for only a brief time, typically less
than six months. It shall also mean a person who stays for a short
time only, such as a hotel guest, boarder, or seasonal lessee or licensee.
[Added 4-14-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
TRAVEL TRAILER
A vehicular portable structure, built on a chassis, designed
to be used as a temporary residence for travel, recreational and vacation
use, having a body width not exceeding eight feet and being of any
length, provided that its gross weight does not exceed 4,500 pounds.
A.
TRAVEL TRAILER, INDEPENDENTA travel trailer having sleeping, kitchen and full bathroom equipment, with a holding tank and provision for attachment to a sewer connection.
B.
TRAVEL TRAILER, DEPENDENTA travel trailer having sleeping and kitchen facilities but without full bathroom equipment, a holding tank and provision for attachment to a sewer connection.
USABLE AREA (WITH RESPECT TO INDIVIDUAL WASTE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS)
The general area required and suitable for the normal and
reasonable development of each building site in a subdivision to permit
the provision of water supply and sewage facilities to serve the area
for the proposed occupancy in accordance with the provisions of local
ordinances, watershed rules and regulations and the requirements of
the New York State Department of Health or other state agency having
jurisdiction.
A.
A usable area shall not be deemed to include any area occupied
by an existing building, structure, lake, stream, pond or swamp or
area of exposed or underlying rock or groundwater within two feet
of the surface, or marginal areas subject to flooding or along streams
or other bodies of water.
B.
The area intended for separate sewerage systems shall be well
drained by natural or artificial means.
C.
The Department may require to be shown such usable area as it
may deem necessary for any other type of land usage other than single-family
occupancy indicated on the plan or permitted under existing zoning
laws, if any.
D.
The usable area shall include a protective area not less than
10 feet in width laterally on all sides of the separate sewerage system
and such other protective area between any separate sewerage system
and any water supply line or drainage, watercourse or other hazardous
condition as the Department shall deem necessary or adequate.
E.
As applied to separate sewerage systems, the usable area shall
contain suitable absorptive area for a depth of not less than two
feet below proposed leaching devices. Where placement of soils is
made in sewage leaching areas, the existing surface soils may not
be displaced over clay or rock.
USE
The specific purpose for which a parcel of land or a building
is designed, arranged, intended, or for which it is or may be occupied
or maintained.
VARIANCE
An area variance or a use variance, as the context may admit.
[Added 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
VARIANCE, AREA
The authorization by the Zoning Board of Appeals for the
use of land in a manner that is not allowed by the dimensional or
physical requirements of the applicable zoning regulations.
[Added 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
VARIANCE, USE
The authorization by the Zoning Board of Appeals for the
use of land for a purpose that is otherwise not allowed or is prohibited
by the applicable zoning regulations.
[Added 4-26-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012]
VINEYARD
A plantation or farmland devoted to cultivating grape-bearing
vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also for raisins, table grapes
and nonalcoholic grape juice.
WAREHOUSE
A building, or part of a building, for storing goods, wares
and merchandise, whether for the owner or others, and whether it is
a public or private warehouse.
YARD
An open space which lies between the principal building or
group of buildings and the nearest lot line and is unoccupied and
unobstructed from the ground upward except as herein permitted.
A.
YARD, FRONTAn open space extending the full width of the lot between a principal building and the front lot line, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward.
B.
YARD, REARAn open space extending the full width of the lot between a principal building and the rear lot line, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward.
C.
YARD, SIDEAn open space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between a principal building and the nearest side lot line, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward.
ZONING MAP
The Zoning Map or Maps for the Town of Bethel, New York,
together with all amendments subsequently adopted.
In the interpretation and the application of the provisions
of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements
for the promotion of the health, safety, morals and general welfare.
It is not intended to interfere with or abrogate or annul other rules,
regulations or ordinance, provided that where this chapter imposes
greater restrictions upon the use of buildings or premises or upon
the height or bulk of a building or requires larger open spaces, the
provisions of this chapter shall apply.