A.
These standards shall apply to all new or expanded uses of land and buildings which are listed as permitted or conditional uses in Article IV of this chapter.
B.
Prohibited uses include all uses which would be obnoxious or injurious
because of odor, dust, smoke, refuse matter, fumes, noise, vibration
or waste material, or which would be dangerous to the health and safety
of the community or which would disturb or annoy the community, notwithstanding
any other provision of this chapter and applicable state and federal
laws and regulations.
C.
Plans for the effective control and/or elimination of the same shall
be presented to the Planning Board for approval. When the effects
of a use are uncertain, the Code Enforcement Officer, after prior
notification to and at the expense of the applicant, shall employ
such independent recognized consultant as necessary to ensure compliance
with all requirements of this Code specifically related to the public
health, safety and welfare and the abatement of nuisances. The estimated
costs of such studies shall be deposited with the Town Clerk prior
to their undertaking.
A.
The proposed development shall provide for safe access to and from
public and private roads. Safe access shall be assured by locating
an adequate number of access points, with respect to sight distances,
intersections, schools and other traffic generators. Curb cuts shall
be limited to the minimum width necessary for safe entering and exiting.
The proposed development shall not have an unreasonable negative impact
on the Town road system and shall assure safe interior circulation
within its site by separating pedestrian and vehicular traffic and
providing adequate parking and loading areas. All exit driveways shall
be designed according to the following standards of safe sight distance:
Site Distances
| |||
---|---|---|---|
Posted Speed Limit
(miles per hour)
|
Recommended
(feet)
|
Minimum
(feet)
| |
25
|
250
|
175
| |
30
|
300
|
210
| |
35
|
350
|
245
| |
40
|
400
|
280
| |
45
|
450
|
315
| |
50
|
500
|
350
| |
55
|
550
|
385
|
B.
This section shall not be used as the sole criterion for rejecting
an application, unless all possible entrances/exits are deemed to
be unsafe due to poor sight distances.
A.
Excessive noise at unreasonable hours shall be required to be muffled
so as not to be objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency,
shrillness or volume. (Please refer to the table below.) The maximum
permissible sound pressure level of any continuous, regular or frequent
source of sound produced by any activity regulated by this chapter
shall be established by the time period and type of land use listed
below. Sound pressure levels shall be measured on a sound-level meter
at all major lot lines of the proposed site, at a height of at least
four feet above the ground surface. (Please see Appendix A at the
end of this chapter for an explanation of these noise levels.)
Sound Pressure Level Limit
| ||
---|---|---|
Time Period
|
dB(A)
| |
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
|
60
| |
10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
|
45
|
(1)
The levels specified may be exceeded by 10 dB(A) for a single period,
no longer than 15 minutes in any one day.
(2)
Noise shall be measured by a sound-level meter meeting the standards
of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI 4-1961), American
Standards Specification for General Purpose Sound Level Meters. The
instrument shall be set to the A-weighted response scale and the meter
to the slow response. Measurements shall be conducted in accordance
with the ANSI SI. 2-1962, American Standard Method for the Physical
Measurements of Sound.
B.
No person shall engage in, cause or permit any person to be engaged
in very loud construction activities on a site abutting any residential
use between the hours of 10:00 p.m. of one day and 7:00 a.m. of the
following day. Construction activities shall be subject to the maximum
permissible sound levels specified for industrial uses for the periods
within which construction is to be completed pursuant to any applicable
building permit. The following uses and activities shall be exempt
from the sound pressure level regulations:
(1)
Home maintenance activities, for example, mowing lawns, cutting one's
own firewood, etc.
(2)
Noises created by construction and maintenance activities between
7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
(3)
The noises of safety signals, warning devices and emergency pressure-relief
valves or any other emergency activity.
(4)
Traffic noise on existing public roads, railways or airports.
C.
In addition to the Code Enforcement Officer, the York County Sheriff's
Department shall be authorized to enforce these noise standards, because
many violations could occur after normal working hours.
Emission of dust, fly ash, fumes, vapors or gases which could
damage human health, animals, vegetation or property, or which could
soil or stain persons or property at any point beyond the lot line
of the commercial or industrial establishment creating that emission,
shall be prohibited. All such activities shall also comply with applicable
federal and state regulations.
No land use or establishment shall be permitted to produce offensive
or harmful odors perceptible beyond its lot lines, either at ground
or habitable elevation.
No land use or establishment shall be permitted to produce a
strong dazzling light or reflection of that light beyond its own lot
lines into neighboring properties, or onto any Town way so as to impair
the vision of the driver of any vehicle upon that Town way. All such
activities shall also comply with the applicable federal and state
regulations.
[Amended 6-30-2009 STM]
A.
Surface water runoff shall be minimized and shall be detained on-site
if possible and practicable. If it is not possible to detain water
on-site, downstream improvements to the channel may be required of
the developer to prevent flooding caused by this project. The natural
state of watercourses, swales, berms, terraces, wooded areas and floodways
or rights-of-way shall be maintained as nearly as possible. The design
period is the 100-year storm ( the largest storm which would be likely
to occur during a 100-year period).
[Amended 3-14-2020 ATM by Art. 8]
B.
Stormwater runoff control systems shall be maintained as necessary
to ensure proper functioning.
[Amended 3-13-2004 ATM]
Erosion of soil and sedimentation shall be minimized by employing
the following "best management" practices:
A.
Stripping of vegetation, soil removal and regrading or other development
shall be accomplished in such a way as to minimize erosion.
B.
The duration of exposure of the disturbed area shall be kept to a
practical minimum.
C.
Any exposed ground area shall be temporarily or permanently stabilized
within one week from the time it was last actively worked, by use
of riprap, sod, seed, and mulch, or other effective measures. In all
cases, permanent stabilization shall occur within nine months of the
initial date of exposure. In addition:
[Amended 6-30-2009 STM]
(1)
Where mulch hay is used, it shall be applied at a rate of at least
one bale per 500 square feet and shall be maintained until a catch
of vegetation is established.
(2)
Anchoring the mulch with netting, peg and twine or other suitable
method may be required to maintain the mulch cover.
(3)
Additional measures shall be taken where necessary in order to avoid
siltation into the water. Such measures may include the use of staked
hay bales and/or silt fences.
D.
Permanent (final) vegetation and mechanical erosion control measures
shall be installed as soon as practicable after construction ends.
E.
Until a disturbed area is stabilized, sediment in water runoff shall
be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps
or other acceptable methods as determined by the Planning Board.
F.
The top of a cut or the bottom of a fill section shall not be closer
than 10 feet to an adjoining property, unless otherwise specified
by the Planning Board. Extraction operations (sandpits, etc.) shall
not be permitted within 100 feet of any property line, except as provided
for in this chapter.
G.
During grading operations, methods of dust control shall be employed,
wherever practicable.
Exposed storage areas, exposed machinery installation, sand
and gravel extraction operations and areas used for storage or collection
of discarded automobiles, auto parts, metal or any other articles
of salvage or refuse shall have sufficient setbacks and screening
to provide a visual buffer sufficient to minimize their adverse impact
on other land uses within the development area and surrounding properties
(a dense evergreen hedge, six feet or more in height). All such plantings
shall be maintained as an effective visual screen; plants which die
shall be replaced within one growing season. Where a potential safety
hazard to children would be likely to arise, physical screening sufficient
to deter small children from entering the premises shall be provided
and be maintained in good condition.
[Amended 3-8-2003 ATM by Art. 14]
A.
All propane gas tanks shall comply with NFPA 58, Liquefied Petroleum
Gas Code, 2001 Edition.
B.
All other highly flammable or explosive liquids, solids or gases
shall be stored in bulk above ground, unless they are located in anchored
tanks at least 75 feet from any lot line, Town way or interior roadway,
or 40 feet from a lot line for underground tanks; plus all relevant
federal state regulations shall also be met.
All outdoor storage facilities for fuel, chemicals, chemical
or industrial wastes and potentially harmful raw materials shall be
completely enclosed by an impervious pavement and shall be completely
enclosed by an impervious dike which shall be high enough to contain
the total volume of liquid kept within the storage area, plus the
rain falling into this storage area during a fifty-year storm, so
that such liquid shall not be able to spill onto or seep into the
ground surrounding the paved storage area. Storage tanks for home
heating oil and vehicle fuel, not exceeding two five-hundred-fifty-gallon
vessels, may be exempted from this requirement, in situations where
neither a high seasonal water table (within 15 inches of the surface)
nor rapidly permeable sandy soils are involved.
[Amended 3-13-2015 ATM
by Art. 3]
A.
The landscape shall be preserved in its natural state, insofar as
practical as determined by the PB, by minimizing natural vegetation
removal, and any grade changes shall be in keeping with the general
appearance of neighboring developed areas. Parking lots shall be landscaped
to prevent erosion and stormwater runoff onto neighboring properties
and streets. An effective visual screen of native vegetation, including
evergreens, shall be established and maintained between the parking
or storage area and any abutting residential property. The PB may
require additional trees planted in and around large parking lots.
B.
All parking or outdoor storage areas shall be separated from any
public road by a landscaped buffer strip at least 15 feet wide. The
PB may require that within the buffer strip a visual screen of plantings
be established and maintained.
Proposed structures shall be related harmoniously to the terrain
and to existing buildings in the vicinity that have a visual relationship
to the proposed buildings. The achievement of such relationship may
include the enclosure of space in conjunction with other existing
buildings or other proposed buildings and the creation of focal points
with respect to avenues of approach, terrain features or other buildings.
In areas with high concentration of historic properties, the Board
may require new construction to utilize exterior building materials
which harmonize with surrounding properties, and to be designed so
as not to be architecturally incompatible in terms of scale, height,
window size and roof pitch.
The applicant shall provide for the disposal of all solid and
liquid wastes on a timely basis and in an environmentally safe manner.
The Board shall consider the impact of particular industrial or chemical
wastes or by-products upon the Town's disposal method and/or disposal
area (in terms of volume, flammability or toxicity) and may require
the applicant to dispose of such wastes elsewhere, in conformance
with all the applicable state and federal regulations. The Board may
require the applicant to specify the amount and exact nature of all
industrial or chemical wastes to be generated by the proposed operation.
A.
Land lying
on Routes 109 and 11 may be divided into lots, but all vehicular movements
to and from the highway shall be via a common driveway or entranceway
serving adjacent lots or premises. All lots of record existing at
the time of the ordinance amendment shall be allowed direct access
to Routes 109 and 11, provided that minimum safe sight-distance standards
can be met.
B.
All lots
accessing Routes 109 and 11 must obtain an MDOT entrance permit. For
all conditional use permits requiring access, the applicant shall
provide proof of an MDOT entrance permit prior to obtaining approval.
[Added 3-11-2022 ATM by Art. 73]