[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Kings Point 11-23-2009 by L.L. No. 4-2009. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A professional engineer licensed to practice in the State
of New York.
A vibration that meets or exceeds the vibration perception
threshold at any point along any property line of the real property
whereat the vibration is being created.
The minimum ground- or structure-borne vibrational motion
necessary to cause a person of normal and reasonable sensitivity to
be aware of the vibration by such direct means as, but not limited
to, sensation by touch or visual observation of moving objects. It
shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution of a violation
of this chapter that the person aware of the vibration was not a person
of normal and reasonable sensitivity.
A.
Vibration permits shall be issued upon application to and in the
discretion of the Building Inspector. Such permit applications shall
contain the following information and shall be signed by both the
owner of the premises and the person who will be creating the regulated
vibrations and notarized:
(1)
The street address and tax lot designation of the property where
the regulated vibrations will be created.
(3)
The mechanism or other manner by which the regulated vibrations will
be created.
(4)
The reasons for the creation of the regulated vibrations.
(5)
The reasons why the goal or goals to be accomplished by the regulated
vibrations reasonably may not be accomplished without creating any
regulated vibrations or by creating lesser regulated vibrations.
(6)
A document signed and sealed by an engineer setting forth the manner
in which the regulated vibrations will be created and the precautions
that will be taken to eliminate or mitigate the adverse impacts, if
any, of such vibrations to neighboring residents and neighboring properties
and the structures thereon.
B.
The Building Inspector, in exercising his or her discretion as to
the granting of such permit, shall consider the difficulty in time
and expense, or otherwise, to the applicant if the application is
denied, against the reasonably foreseeable nuisance and damage that
may occur to neighboring residents and properties and the structures
thereon if the application is granted. In exercising such discretion,
it is noted that the Building Inspector, not being an engineer, not
having soil borings, not knowing the structural integrity and distance
of the structures on neighboring properties, and not having other
information that might be deemed relevant in determining the reasonably
foreseeable nuisance and damages that may occur from the regulated
vibrations, can do no more than use his or her discretion under the
circumstances and, as in all such similar exercises of discretion,
shall not be liable for any error in the exercise of such discretion.
In granting any such application, the Building Inspector may impose
conditions to mitigate the intensity or other adverse affects of the
regulated vibrations, including, but not limited to, providing more
stringent restrictions with regard to the time and dates of the creation
of the regulated vibrations. Any person denied a vibration permit
by the Building Inspector, or who seeks to challenge the conditions
imposed by the Building Inspector, in addition to such other remedies
such person may have, may appeal that determination to the Board of
Trustees. The foregoing shall not preclude or diminish such person's
statutory right to appeal to the Board of Appeals.
A.
The owner shall retain the services of an engineer and an independent
testing laboratory for the purpose of monitoring and recording vibrations
when the regulated vibrations are being created.
B.
All work shall be performed to ensure that the measured vibrations
do not exceed the threshold for damage prevention criteria developed
by the owner's engineer; however, in no event shall they exceed
the threshold for cosmetic crack damage criteria developed by the
U.S. Bureau of Mines and/or the U. S. Office of Surface Mining.
C.
In addition to the foregoing, regulated vibration shall also be controlled
and limited to the frequencies above the natural frequency of buildings
(range five to 11 hz) and below 0.5 inch per second peak particle
velocity.
D.
The owner's engineer shall be present on the subject premises
at all times during the creation of the regulated vibrations to monitor
the creation of the vibrations and to survey the existing ground surfaces
of the site in the vicinity of the creation of the regulated vibrations
for the purpose of monitoring ground movement and possible ground
displacement and to ensure that ground surface movement has not exceeded
0.50 inch.
Within 10 business days following the last date upon which the
regulated vibrations were permitted under the vibration permit, the
owner shall file with the Building Inspector a certification by the
owner's engineer certifying that such engineer was personally
present during the creation of all regulated vibrations and that at
no time did any of such regulated vibrations violate the conditions
of the vibration permit or any other provisions of this chapter, together
with the report and recording of the independent testing laboratory
that was monitoring the regulated vibrations.
A.
Every application for a vibration permit shall be accompanied by
a fee in an amount set from time to time by resolution of the Board
of Trustees.
B.
Every application for a vibration permit shall be accompanied by
a deposit to reimburse the Village for a review of the application
by the consulting engineers of the Village, if any, in an amount set
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
C.
No vibration permit shall be issued unless and until the applicant
provides such comprehensive general or other liability insurance for
damages caused by such regulated vibrations to neighboring properties
or the structures thereon in an amount set from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Trustees.
A violation of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties provided in Chapter 116.
