[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Oyster Bay Cove 11-15-2005 by L.L. No. 10-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village
of Oyster Bay Cove hereby finds and declares it to be the continuing
public policy of the Village to preserve wetlands and steep slopes,
to protect both the Village's environment and its character.
A.
Wetlands.
(1)
Population growth has generated increasing demands
upon the Village's land and natural resources. Development of properties
in the Village sometimes has encroached upon, despoiled, polluted
and/or eliminated some of the Village's wetlands, water bodies, watercourses
and other natural resources, including the natural processes associated
therewith. The Board of Trustees finds and concludes that it is necessary
and appropriate to enact regulations which will preserve, protect
and conserve wetlands, including water bodies and watercourses, prevent
their despoliation and destruction, and to regulate the use and development
of properties which contain such features. The preservation and maintenance
of such natural features in an undisturbed condition is important
for physical, ecological, social, aesthetic, recreational and economic
reasons related to promoting the health, safety, comfort and general
welfare of present and future residents of the Village, as well as
residents of neighboring communities and downstream drainage areas.
(2)
In particular, wetlands serve multiple functions,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Protecting water resources by providing sources
of surface water, recharging groundwater and aquifers, serving as
chemical and biological oxidation basins and functioning as settling
basins for naturally occurring sedimentation.
(b)
Controlling flooding and stormwater runoff by
storing or regulating natural flows.
(c)
Providing nesting, migratory and wintering habitats
for diverse wildlife species, including many on the New York State
and Federal Endangered Species lists.
(d)
Supporting vegetative associations specifically
adapted for survival in low oxygen environments.
(e)
Providing areas of unusually high plant productivity
which support significant wildlife diversity and abundance.
(f)
Providing breeding and spawning grounds, nursery
habitat and food for various species of fish.
(g)
Serving as nutrient traps for nitrogen and phosphorus
and filters for surface water pollutants.
(h)
Helping to maintain biosphere stability by supporting
particularly efficient photosynthesizers capable of producing significant
amounts of oxygen and supporting bacteria that process excess nitrates
and nitrogenous pollutants and return them to the atmosphere as inert
nitrogen gas.
(i)
Providing open space and visual relief from
development.
(j)
Serving as outdoor laboratories and living classrooms
for the study and appreciation of natural history, ecology and biology.
(3)
Some of these important natural resources have been
lost, or their function impaired, by having been drained, dredged,
filled, excavated, built upon, polluted or by other actions which
are inconsistent with their proper protection. It is the intent of
this chapter to strengthen and enhance the Village's efforts to provide
for the protection, preservation, proper maintenance and use of wetlands,
water bodies and watercourses; to prevent or minimize erosion caused
by stormwater runoff and flooding; to maintain natural groundwater
supplies; to preserve and protect the purity, utility, water retention
capability, ecological functions, recreational usefulness and natural
beauty of all wetlands, water bodies, watercourses and other related
features of the terrain; and to provide and protect appropriate habitats
for natural wildlife. The avoidance or minimization of development
on wetlands or wetland buffers will be enhanced by appropriate adjustment
of development density.
B.
Steep slopes. Population growth and increased land
values have resulted in the development of some steep and very steep
slope areas which were once considered to be unbuildable or prohibitively
expensive to develop. Therefore, the Village hereby finds that it
is necessary to preserve, protect and conserve steep and very steep
slope areas, so as to prevent their unnecessary and improper disturbance
with the resultant impact which that may have. The preservation of
such areas in an undisturbed or minimally disturbed condition is important
for physical, ecological, social, aesthetic, recreational and economic
reasons related to promoting and protecting the health, safety and
general welfare of present and future residents of the Village and
neighboring areas. The Village finds that it is particularly important
to preserve steep and very steep slope areas for the specific reasons
stated herein, among others:
(1)
The disturbance of steep and very steep slope areas
can cause erosion and sedimentation to occur at rates in excess of
those experienced under more level topographic conditions. Erosion
and sedimentation often includes the loss of topsoil (a valuable natural
resource), and can result in the disturbance of natural habitats,
the degradation of the quality of surface water, the alteration of
drainage patterns, the gullying of land, the obstruction of drainage
structures and the intensification of flooding, both on and off the
directly affected site.
(2)
The inadequately or uncontrolled disturbance of steep
and very steep slope areas can lead to the failure of slopes and to
the mass movement of earth which could result in safety concerns for
persons, wildlife and man-made structures.
(3)
Steep and very steep slope areas, including any vegetation
and rock outcroppings which may be located thereon, contribute to
the attractive visual character of the Village and surrounding areas
since such slopes are more highly visible from roadways, water bodies
and neighboring properties than are more level lands.
(4)
Regulation of development which affects steep or very
steep slope lands can eliminate, or at least minimize, the degradation
of these important environmental features while still allowing the
reasonable use of private property. This can be done by requiring
development design which avoids the disturbance of steep and very
steep slope areas wherever practical. Where the disturbance of steep
or very steep slope areas may be impractical, any such disturbance
should be conducted in accordance with proper and acceptable engineering
practices which minimize the extent of such disturbance and properly
control how it is done. The avoidance or minimization of development
on steep or very steep slope areas will also require appropriate adjustment
of development density in order to achieve the Village's legislative
intent.
As used in this chapter, unless expressly otherwise
stated, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivatives
shall have the following meanings:
A required land area adjacent to wetlands, water bodies,
and watercourses which is located within 100 feet, measured horizontally,
from the edge of such environmental features and is intended to be
left undisturbed or minimally disturbed for the purpose of providing
additional environmental protection.
[Amended 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
To fill, grade, place, eject, emit, discharge or dump any
material.
A soil that is saturated, flooded or ponded long enough during
the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper portion
of the soil, as set forth in the Federal Manual for Identifying and
Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands, as updated from time to time.
Plant life growing in water or on a substrate that is at
least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water
content, as set forth in the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating
Jurisdictional Wetlands, as amended from time to time, and Wetlands
Plants of the State of New York, published by the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the National and Regional
Wetlands Plant List Review Panels, as updated from time to time.
Soil, silt, stones, sand, gravel, rock, clay, bog, peat,
mud, debris, water and refuse or any other organic or inorganic substance,
chemical agent or matter, sewage, sludge or effluent or municipal
or industrial solid waste, whether liquid, solid or gaseous, or any
combination thereof.
A geographical area, whether natural or man-made and whether
on one or more lots, which has a ratio of vertical distance to horizontal
distance of 15.0% or more but less than 25%, based on a topographical
map having a two-foot contour interval, over a horizontal area measuring
at least 25 feet in all directions.
[Amended 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
A geographical area, whether natural or man-made and whether
on one or more lots, which area has a ratio of vertical distance to
horizontal distance of 25% or more, based on a topographical map having
a two-foot contour interval, over a horizontal area measuring at least
25 feet in all directions.
[Amended 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
Any natural surface water segment of any size, including
ponds and lakes, which contains a discernible shoreline and may be
either seasonally or permanently covered by water.
Any brook, creek, stream, river, rivulet, floodway or other
such waterway flowing in a definite channel with a bed and banks.
Any drainage ditch, swale or surface feature that contains water only
during and/or immediately after (up to 48 hours) a rain storm or snow
melt shall not be considered a watercourse for purposes of this regulation.
A geographic area of any size that is covered with shallow
and sometimes temporary or intermittent water, which includes, but
is not limited to, areas that are commonly referred to as a swamp,
marsh, bog, vernal pool, or swales. This shall include all areas that
comprise hydric soils and/or are inundated or saturated by surface
water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support,
and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of hydrophytic
vegetation as defined herein.
A.
Regulated activities in wetlands. Except with the
prior written approval of the Planning Board, no person shall conduct,
or cause or permit any of the following activities to be conducted
within any wetland, water body or watercourse, or within a buffer
area:
[Amended 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
(1)
The placement or construction of any structure.
(2)
Any form of draining, dredging, excavation or removal
of material, either directly or indirectly, including regrading.
(3)
Any form of dumping, filling or depositing of material,
either directly or indirectly, including regrading.
(4)
The installation of any service lines or cable conduits.
(5)
The alteration or modification of natural drainage
patterns.
(6)
The construction of dams, docks or other water control
devices, pilings or bridges, whether or not they change the natural
drainage characteristics.
(7)
The installation of any pipes or wells.
(8)
The removal or cutting of any vegetation, except as
permitted herein.
(9)
The deposition or introduction of chemicals, including
herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
(10)
Decorative landscaping or planting.
(11)
Any other activity which may impair the natural
functions of a wetland, water body or watercourse, as described herein.
B.
Regulated activities on steep slopes. Except with
the prior written approval of the Planning Board:
(1)
No person shall conduct, or cause or permit, any disturbance
of the land or any vegetation thereon, within any steep or very steep
slope area.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(1), regarding
not including very steep slope areas in calculations of lot area,
was repealed 7-24-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008.
C.
Nonregulated activities. If otherwise authorized by
law, the following activities are permitted within any wetland, water
body or watercourse, and within a one-hundred-foot horizontal distance
from the buffer area therefrom, without any prior approval from the
Village Planning Board:
(1)
The removal of the natural products of wetlands by
recreational or commercial fishing, shellfishing or aquiculture, where
otherwise legally permitted.
(2)
Outdoor recreational activity that does not materially
impact the natural state of the land or require construction, including
nature study, hiking, swimming, and boating, where otherwise legally
permitted.
(3)
Normal ground maintenance, including mowing, trimming
of vegetation and removal of dead or diseased vegetation, except for
the use of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides in wetlands, water
bodies or watercourses.
(4)
The operation and maintenance of such dams, retaining
walls, terraces, sluices, culverts or other water control structures
or devices as are legally in existence on the effective date of these
regulations.
(5)
Selective trimming and pruning in previously landscaped
areas, as necessary to maintain the health or appearance of vegetation
within 50 feet of a residence in existence on the effective date of
these regulations.
(6)
Public health activities pursuant to any order of
the Nassau County Department of Health or the New York State Department
of Health.
(7)
Any emergency activity that is immediately necessary
for the protection and/or preservation of life or property.
The approving authority for all applications
for disturbance of any environmental feature regulated in this chapter
shall be the Village Planning Board.
All applications for disturbance of regulated
environmental features shall include the following information:
A.
The name, address and signature of the property owner
of record, and applicant, if different.
B.
The street address and Tax Map designation of the
subject property.
C.
A written statement describing the proposed work,
the purpose thereof, and why such work cannot be done so that it would
not impact, or would impact to a lesser extent, any of the environmental
features sought to be protected by these regulations.
D.
A site plan, drawn at a scale of one inch equals 20
feet, and prepared and sealed by a professional engineer, landscape
architect, architect or licensed surveyor, showing the following:
(1)
The location of all wetlands, watercourses, water
bodies and areas of special flood hazard, including wetland buffer
areas, in the vicinity of the proposed activity, as delineated by
a properly qualified wetland scientist no earlier than one year prior
to the date of filing of the application. The boundaries of any such
area shall be flagged in the field and surveyed by a licensed surveyor
in a manner acceptable to the Planning Board.
(2)
The delineation of all soil types in the vicinity
of the proposed activity.
(3)
The specific location of the proposed area of disturbance
and the specifications and quantities of all material proposed to
be added or removed from the site, as well as the procedures to be
used to undertake such work.
(4)
Existing and proposed contours at a maximum vertical
interval of two feet within the proposed disturbed area and extending
to a distance of at least 100 feet beyond such area, including proposed
surface materials and/or other treatment.
(5)
The details of any proposed surface or subsurface
drainage system to be installed, including any special measures designed
to provide for proper surface and/or subsurface drainage, both during
the performance of the work and after its completion.
(6)
Where creation of a water body is proposed, details
of the construction of any dams, embankments, outlets or other water
control devices and analysis of the wetlands hydrologic system, including
seasonal water fluctuation, inflow/outflow calculations and subsurface
soil, geology and groundwater conditions.
(7)
Where creation of a stormwater detention basin (sump)
or drainage reserve area is proposed, details of the construction
of any dam, berm, embankment, outlet or other water control devices
and an analysis of the wetland hydrologic system, including seasonal
water fluctuation, inflow/outflow calculations and subsurface soil,
geology and groundwater conditions.
(8)
An erosion and sedimentation control plan.
(9)
Copies of permits from all other involved jurisdictions.
[Added 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
(10)
All steep slope areas and very steep slope areas.
[Added 3-21-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]
(12)
Any other or additional information which the
Planning Board deems necessary to reasonably determine the application.
Upon a determination by the Planning Board that
an application for approval of a regulated activity related to a wetland,
watercourse or water body, or a slope or very steep slope, is complete,
and if the Planning Board determines that the scope of the activity
contemplated by the application warrants a public hearing, it shall
schedule such a hearing. Notice of such hearing shall be published
by the Village in the official newspaper not less than 10 days prior
to the hearing, and posted conspicuously by the Village in at least
one location in the Village. Notice of such hearing shall be given
by the applicant, in a form approved by the Village Attorney, by certified
mail, return receipt requested, to the record owners of all properties
adjacent to the property where the regulated activity is proposed
to be conducted, including lots located directly across any street
from the subject property and, if the subject property is adjacent
to a private road, all owners of other properties which adjoin such
private road. Such certified mail notice shall be sent at least 20
days prior to the date of the public hearing, and the applicant shall
file proof of such mailing, and all return receipts, no later than
one day prior to commencement of the public hearing.
Whether or not the Planning Board elects to
have a public hearing on such application, the Planning Board may
refer the application to any independent professional as said Board
may deem reasonably necessary to properly advise it on technical matters
relating to such application. The applicant shall be responsible for
depositing with the Village a sum sufficient for the cost of such
professional review in advance, in an amount determined by the Planning
Board. The payment of such fees shall be in addition to any and all
other fees otherwise required by law.
Within 60 days after the completion of both
any proceedings required pursuant to the State Environmental Quality
Review Act,[1] and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, and
any required public hearing, the Planning Board shall file its decision
on the application with the Village Clerk. Such time period may be
extended with the consent of the applicant, or may be extended by
the Planning Board for good cause. The decision of the Planning Board
shall be to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the
application. The Village Clerk shall mail a copy of the decision to
the applicant within five days after such filing.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Environmental Conservation
Law § 8-0101 et seq.
In determining an application, the Planning
Board shall consider the following:
A.
The extent to which the proposed action, including
any mitigation which is offered by the applicant, is consistent with
the legislative intent of the Village as set forth in this chapter
and is necessary in order to make a minimally reasonable use of the
property.
B.
The environmental impact of the proposed action.
C.
The appropriateness of the proposed action
D.
Alternatives to the proposed action which would eliminate
the need for the requested permit or would reduce the potential impact
of the requested action.
E.
The nature and extent of any mitigation proposed by
the applicant.
F.
Other mitigation which would serve to further reduce
any potential adverse environmental impacts, including a reduction
in the nature or scale of the proposed action.
G.
The extent to which any economic or social benefits
of the proposed action may outweigh any potential adverse visual or
environmental impacts.
H.
The impact of the proposed action on neighboring properties,
the community and the Village at large.
Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall
expire 18 months from the date of approval or upon completion of the
work specified therein, whichever first occurs. Upon application made
prior to the expiration of a permit issued hereunder, and upon payment
of the same fees as required for a new application, and upon a showing
of good cause, the Planning Board may extend the term of a permit
for a period not to exceed six months. No further extensions shall
be permitted.
By making application for a permit, an applicant
shall be deemed to have given consent to entry upon the subject property,
and inspection, by the Building Inspector and other Village officials
without prior notice, at any reasonable hour of the day, including
weekends and holidays, for the purposes of inspecting the property
or the work being done pursuant to any permit issued hereunder. Where
it appears that the applicant has not complied with any of the conditions
or limitations as set forth in the permit, or has exceeded the scope
of the approved activity, the Building Official or any other authorized
person may issue a notice of violation or stop-work order, and take
such other action as is deemed appropriate. The Building Official
shall issue such violation notice or stop-work order, or take other
action, as may be appropriate.
Continued conformance with all requirements
as shown on an approved plan for the disturbance of any wetland, watercourse,
water body or slope or bluff buffer area, or steep slope or very steep
slope area, shall be deemed to be a condition for the continued maintenance
of the certificate of occupancy for the affected property. Any violation
of a condition of such approval shall be subject to the imposition
of penalties as provided by law.
Each week that a violation of this chapter continues,
and each violation of a different provision of these regulations,
shall be considered a separate and distinct offense. In addition to
any other penalty provided by law, the court may direct any person
who commits a violation of this chapter to restore the subject premises
to its condition immediately prior to the issuance of the permit.
