Town of Babylon, NY
Suffolk County
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Chapter 213: ZONING
Article XII: E Business Districts

§ 213-129 Permitted uses.

[Amended 7-7-1970; 6-7-1977]
In an E Business District, no building or premises shall be used and no building shall be hereafter erected or altered unless otherwise provided in this chapter, except for one or more of the following uses:
A. Shops and stores for the sale of retail or consumer merchandise and services.
B. Personal service shops such as barbershops, beauty parlors and like services.
C. Banks, theaters and offices.
[Amended 10-7-1980]
D. Undertaking establishments.
E. Minor garages.
F. The following uses, when allowed as special exceptions by the Board of Appeals, subject to conditions, restrictions and safeguards as may be imposed by the Board of Appeals:
[Amended 5-3-1983]
(1) Hospitals and clinics, convalescent homes and nursing homes and day nurseries.
(2) Veterinarians, kennels and pet shops, animal hospitals and cemeteries.
(3) Broadcasting stations, golf courses, private, country and yacht clubs and marinas.
(4) Shops and stores for the sale of merchandise and services at wholesale.
(5) Public garages.
(6) Places of amusement, recreation and assembly halls.
(7) Sales, storage, display and service of new and used automotive equipment, including automobiles and gasoline-driven cycles and carts, trucks and agricultural and garden equipment.
(8) Commercial video game centers.
[Added 9-7-1983]
(9) Car washes.
[Added 3-6-2007 by L.L. No. 1-2007]
G. On-premises food and beverage consumption establishments, when permitted by special exception by the Planning Board pursuant to Article XXVI of this chapter, subject to such conditions, restrictions and safeguards as may be imposed by the Planning Board.
[Amended 10-7-1980; 8-11-2000 by L.L. No. 17-2000]

§ 213-129.1 Puppy stores.

[Added 11-17-2011 by L.L. No. 21-2011]
A. Definitions and word usage. Whenever used in this section, words in the singular include the plural and vice versa. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION
Any not-for-profit organization which is dedicated to pet adoption and takes unwanted, abandoned, abused or stray animals with the intent to find the animal a suitable new permanent home. Animal rescue organizations are not required to have a dedicated shelter for rescued animals, but may have volunteers which take animals in the care of the organization into their residences temporarily.
ANIMAL SHELTER
Any public or privately owned organization in Suffolk County which maintains property, buildings or structures for the purpose of harboring animals which may be stray, unwanted, lost, abandoned or abused and seeks to find appropriate permanent homes for such animals. For the purpose of this law, the term "animal shelter" shall not apply to a facility commonly known as a "boarding kennel," where the ownership of the animal is not transferred; a facility commonly known as a "pet store," where animals are offered for sale as all or part of a business; an animal hospital owned, operated or supervised by a licensed veterinarian; or a facility where the owner or operator is licensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a nuisance wildlife control agent or wildlife rehabilitator.
BREEDER
Any person who breeds nine or more dogs per year.
DOG
An animal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora.
PUPPY
Any dog that is less than one year old.
PUPPY STORE
A business establishment or individual(s) who obtain puppies with the intent to sell the animals in the retail market, but shall not include animal shelters or other animal rescue organizations and which have on premises more than six (6) puppies at any one time.
PUPPY STORE OPERATOR
A person who owns, operates, manages or is in control of or is working in a puppy store, or both.
B. Nonpermitted use. In an E Business District, no building or premises shall be used and no building shall be hereafter erected or altered unless otherwise provided in this chapter for use as a puppy store, except by special exception by the Zoning Board of Appeals subject to the following conditions, restrictions and safeguards:
(1) There is a minimum of 25 square feet per puppy of space where the puppies are kept on display, bedded, fed or maintained.
(2) There shall be one puppy permitted to be kept, housed, maintained, stored or offered for sale on the premises for every 100 square feet of retail puppy store space.
(3) There is a valid certificate of occupancy for said premises.
(4) The owner/operator of the puppy store shall provide a certified list of breeders from whom said puppies shall be obtained. Said list shall be updated if the owner/operator desires to purchase puppies from any additional breeders not on the original list.
(5) All breeders shall be properly licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture.
(6) The owner/operator of the puppy store shall provide an affidavit that they have investigated each breeder on said list and that none of the breeders, the breeders' employees, agents or owners or the owner, employee of agent of the applicant puppy store have been ever convicted of animal cruelty or under investigation for animal cruelty.
(7) The premises shall comply with the current New York State Fire Prevention Code and shall have sprinklers and be alarmed as if said premises was a public assembly.
(8) A $500,000.00 bond is posted and maintained during the operation of said puppy store. Said bond shall be forfeited for any violation of this section.
C. Penalties for offenses. Any person who shall violate this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or both. In addition to the aforementioned criminal penalties, any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 per puppy on said premises, per day.
D. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this section or the application thereof to any person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this section, or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.

§ 213-130 Residential uses prohibited.

[Amended 9-12-1989]
A. In an E Business District, buildings used for residential purposes, in whole or in part, shall be strictly prohibited. Any building used for residential purposes in an E Business District, prior to the effective date of this section, shall be a nonconforming use and shall conform to the lot area, width and all yard requirements at least equal to those in a C Residence District.
B. Notwithstanding any of the above, a nonconforming use which shall be discontinued for more than six months shall thereafter be determined to be illegal and in violation of this section.

§ 213-131 Building height.

[Amended 11-8-1975; 5-15-1990]
In a E Business District, no building or structure hereafter erected or altered shall exceed 35 feet or three stories.

§ 213-132 Lot area.

In an E Business District, no building shall be erected or altered on a lot having an area of less than 10,000 square feet or upon a lot having a frontage of less than 50 feet.

§ 213-133 Front yards.

A. In an E Business District, the required front yard shall be not less than 25 feet. If the street frontage on the same side of the street between the two nearest intersecting streets shall have been improved with two or more business buildings or in the event that building permits shall have been issued therefor and work commenced thereon, not less than the average front yard depth as so established by such existing or permitted buildings shall be maintained; provided, however, that any such front yard depth shall not be required to be more than 35 feet.
B. In a case where a new street line with respect to a lot has been created by the acceptance by the Town or the County of Suffolk of the dedication of an area designed for public off-street parking, the required depth of front yard along such new street line shall be not less than 10 feet; provided, however, that such dedicated area shall be not less than 50 feet in depth for a distance of at least 80% of the width of the lot.
C. In the case of facade or facade-related improvements in Town Board designated commercial facade improvement areas, there shall be no minimum front yard setback requirements.
[Added 5-15-1984]

§ 213-134 Double front lots.

In an E Business District, the required front yard for a double frontage lot shall be provided for on both streets.

§ 213-135 Corner lots.

In an E Business District, corner lots shall have a front yard on each street as is provided for in § 213-133, and notwithstanding anything to the contrary therein contained, each such front yard shall be not less than 10 feet.

§ 213-136 Side yards.

In an E Business District, there shall be two side yards, one on each side of the building, the total width of both to be 15 feet, and no one side shall be less than three feet wide.

§ 213-137 Rear yards.

In an E Business District, there shall be a rear yard having a minimum depth of 50 feet; provided, however, that in the case of a lot held in single and separate ownership on July 25, 1954, having an average lot depth of less than 100 feet, a business building may be built thereon with a rear yard of not less than 10 feet. The rear yard may be used for the purpose of off-street parking and loading space.

§ 213-138 Building area.

In an E Business District, the total building area shall not exceed 60% of the total lot area.

§ 213-139 Accessory buildings.

In an E Business District, accessory buildings may occupy 25% of the required rear yard up to an average height of 18 feet. The yard area allowed for such accessory buildings shall be included in computing the percentage of lot area to be built upon; provided, however, that no building of any kind or nature shall be built within three feet of any lot line.

§ 213-140 Security gates; restrictions; phaseout.

Editor's Note: Former § 213-140, Signs, as amended 12-21-1976, was repealed 9-25-1990.
[Added 8-10-2004 by L.L. No. 23-2004]
A. No solid metal barrier, screen or cover shall be erected or maintained in front of or behind doors, windows or other openings of any building located within a business district.
B. All security gates shall be of a mesh-type as will not prevent the viewing of the interior of the premises from outside the premises.
C. When a security gate is not in use, it shall be removed or stored in such a manner so as not to be visible from the exterior of the premises.
D. No security gate shall be placed in such a manner that it blocks any active emergency exit at any time during which the business is open to the public or to any employees.
E. All installations of any security gate must be preceded by the issuance of a building permit from the Building Department and must be in accordance with the standards set forth by the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and this Code.
F. All security gates which have been installed in accordance with a duly issued building permit and which are in existence prior to August 10, 2004, and which do not comply with the provisions of this section shall be made to comply with the provisions of this Code on or before August 10, 2009, or they shall be removed. All security gates installed without a building permit shall be removed immediately.

§ 213-141 Applicability to Ea District.

In an Ea Business District, all of the uses and other regulations applicable to an E Business District shall apply, except that the front setback shall be 60 feet.

§ 213-142 Applicability to Eb District.

In an Eb Business District, all of the uses and other regulations applicable to an E Business District and to an Ea Business District shall apply, except that the front setback shall be 45 feet.

§ 213-143 Outdoor storage and display; permit required.

[Added 1-18-1977; amended 1-17-1978; 6-21-2005 by L.L. No. 12-2005]
A. In an E Business District, there shall be no outdoor storage and/or display of merchandise intended for sale, marked for sale, or having the appearance of being for sale; however, a forty-five-day temporary permit may be issued in the discretion of the Chief Building Inspector for such purpose.
B. In an E Business District, there shall be no outdoor storage as it is defined in this chapter.
C. Any person or entity, as owner, occupant, lessee, agent, or in any other capacity, may be guilty of a violation of this section.

§ 213-144 Buffer strips.

[Added 9-15-1981 by Res. No. 9]
Wherever an E Business zoned parcel shall abut upon a residential zoned parcel or any parcel used for residential purposes (except for cemeteries), there shall be a buffer strip five feet wide erected, planted and thereafter maintained on the plot pursuant to Planning Board requirements, unless the Planning Board shall require a greater or larger buffer strip.