The Planning Board, in considering an application
for the subdivision of land, shall be guided by but shall not be bound
by the following considerations and standards, upon which the Planning
Board shall be the determining agent. In general, these standards
shall be deemed to be the minimum requirements for the convenience,
health, safety and welfare of the Town.
All reservations and easements shall be clearly
indicated on the final subdivision plat, along with appropriate notations
indicating the rights which exist with respect to each such reservation
and/or easement. Title, if vested in interests other than the developer,
shall be clearly indicated on all reservations for park and playground
purposes.
A. Park reservations.
(1) General standards. Land shall be reserved for parks
for playground or other recreation purposes in locations designated
on the Town Development Plan or Official Map or otherwise where the
Planning Board shall deem such reservation to be appropriate. Each
reservation shall be of suitable size, location, dimension, topography
and general character for a park for playground or other recreation
purposes and shall have adequate street access for the purpose. The
area shall be shown and marked on the plat as "Reserved for Park for
Playground or Other Recreation Purposes." In no case shall the Planning
Board require that more than 15% of the gross area of the subdivision
be dedicated or reserved for recreation purposes. In calculating such
percentage, the Board may give due credit for open areas reserved
as wetlands or by covenants in all deeds for the common use of such
open areas for all property owners in the proposed subdivision.
(2) Minimum size. Except for parcels considered by the
Planning Board to be ecologically significant, land in subdivisions
dedicated or reserved for park and recreation purposes generally shall
have an area which the Planning Board deems adequate and suitable.
When a proposed subdivision is too small to require such an area,
the Planning Board may require that the recreation area be located
on the edge of the subdivision so that additional land may be added
at such time as the adjacent land is subdivided.
(3) Ownership of park areas. The ownership of reservations
for park purposes shall be clearly indicated on the plat and established
in a manner satisfactory to the Planning Board so as to assure their
proper future continuation and maintenance.
(4) Cash payment in lieu of reservation. Where the Planning
Board determines that a suitable park or parks of adequate size cannot
be properly located in a subdivision or where such a reservation is
otherwise not practical, the Board may require, as a condition to
approval of any such plat, a payment to the Town of a sum determined
for such cases by the Town Board. In residential subdivisions, the
recreation fee shall be based upon the number of new building lots
to be created. In nonresidential subdivisions, the recreation fee
shall be based upon the number of theoretical residential lots that
could be developed on the property as zoned. Such payments shall be
deposited in a trust fund to be used by the Town Board exclusively
for the acquisition of land for park, playground or recreation purposes,
including capital improvements on such property. Such payments shall
be made prior to endorsement of the plat for filing.
B. Widening or realignment of existing streets. Where
a subdivision borders an existing street which is narrower than the
recommended right-of-way width as specified for such streets in these
regulations or where a subdivision borders an existing street planned
for widening or realigning in such a way as to require the use of
some land in the subdivision, the Planning Board may require the subdivision
plat to show such areas which shall be marked "Reserved for Street
Realignment (or Widening) Purposes." Land reserved for such purposes
may not be counted in satisfying yard or lot area requirements of
the Zoning Ordinance.
C. Utility and drainage easements.
(1) Where topography or other conditions are such as to
make impractical the inclusion of utilities or drainage facilities
within street rights-of-way, perpetual unobstructed easements shall
be provided for such utilities or drainage facilities across properties
outside the street lines and with satisfactory access to the street.
Drainage easements shall extend from the street to the watercourse
or other drainage facility and shall convey to the holder of fee title
of the street the perpetual right to discharge stormwater runoff from
the street and the surrounding area onto and over the affected premises
by means of pipes, culverts or ditches, or a combination thereof,
together with the right to enter said premises for the purpose of
making such installations and doing such maintenance work as the holder
of such fee title may deem necessary to adequately drain the street
and the surrounding area.
(2) Drainage easements. When a proposed drainage system
will carry water across private land outside the subdivision, appropriate
drainage rights must be secured in a form satisfactory to the Town
Attorney and suitable for recording in the office of the County Clerk.
D. Slopes easements. Where determined appropriate by
the Planning Board, said Board may permit an embankment alongside
a proposed street to extend beyond the normal right-of-way of such
street, provided that a slope easement is granted, conveying to the
holder of fee title of the street the right to enter the premises
for the purpose of maintaining such slope. Where the embankment slope
is located on private land outside the subdivision, such easement
shall be permitted only where the appropriate rights have been secured
in a form satisfactory to the Town Attorney and suitable for recording
in the office of the County Clerk.
E. Sight easements. Sight easements shall be provided
across all street corners, outside the street right-of-way, within
the triangular area formed by the nearest edges of street pavement
and a straight line between two points each 75 feet back from the
theoretical intersection of the edges of such pavement prolonged.
The easements shall provide that the holder of fee title to the abutting
streets shall have the right to enter the easement area for the purpose
of clearing, pruning or regrading so as to maintain a clear line of
sight in either direction across such triangular area between an observer's
eye 3.5 feet above the pavement surface on one street and an object
one foot above the pavement surface on the other. The initial establishment
of clear sight lines within the sight easement area shall be the responsibility
of the subdivider.
F. Easements for pedestrian access. The Planning Board
may require, in order to facilitate pedestrian access from streets
to schools, parks, public areas, streets or neighboring areas, the
reservation of perpetual unobstructed easements for such purposes.
The subdivider may place restrictions on any
of the land contained within the subdivision which are greater than
those required by the Zoning Ordinance. Such restrictions shall be indicated on the final subdivision
plat.
Where the Planning Board finds that extraordinary
hardships may result from strict compliance with these regulations,
it may adjust the regulations so that substantial justice may be done
and the public interest secured, provided that any such adjustment
will not have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of these
regulations, the Town Zoning Ordinance, the Town Master Plan or the Official Map of the Town.
In granting any adjustment, the Planning Board shall attach such conditions
as are, in its judgment, necessary to secure substantially the objectives
of the standards or requirements so adjusted.
[Added 4-13-2021 by L.L. No. 4-2021]
A. Definition.
"Cluster development" shall have the same meaning as set forth in
Town Law § 278.
B. By this
section, the Town Board of the Town of Mt. Pleasant authorizes the
Planning Board of the Town to approve cluster developments simultaneously
with the approval of a plat or plats within the Town's R-40, R-20,
R-10, R-5A, R-3A, R-3AU, and PRDT Zoning Districts in conformance
with Town Law § 278 and the Town Code, where applicable.
C. Accessory
structures as identified in the Town Code, including, but not limited
to, sheds, fences, pools, detached garages, tennis courts, basketball
courts, etc., proposed during the cluster development process shall
meet the zoning setback regulations in which the cluster development
lies. The Planning Board is granted authority, in its sole discretion,
to waive any setback requirements for accessory structures during
its review of a cluster development.
D. After
final cluster development approval, if a property owner within the
cluster development seeks to construct an accessory structure as identified
in the Town Code, including, but not limited to, sheds, fences, pools,
detached garages, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc., and said
accessory structure is not on the approved final cluster development
plat, such accessory structure shall comply with the zoning setback
regulations in which the cluster development lies. If the accessory
structure does not comply with the zoning setback regulations in which
the cluster development lies, the property owner shall be required
to seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
E. If a
parcel is located in two different zoning districts, the Building
Inspector shall apply the laws of the more restrictive district.