A.
One dwelling unit serving as an accessory apartment
shall be permitted as an accessory use within a single-family dwelling
in any residential district subject to special use permit approval
by the Planning Board. The accessory apartment shall be located within
the principal building. Notwithstanding the foregoing, within the
Rural District, the Rural Riverfront District and the Rural Light
Industrial District, the accessory apartment may be located within
the principal building or within a detached or attached accessory
building on the same lot. The certificate of occupancy for the principal
use shall clearly identify such accessory dwelling unit and its floor
area.
[Amended 10-8-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008]
B.
In addition to the above, an accessory apartment shall
comply with the following provisions:
(1)
The apartment shall be clearly subordinate to the
single-family dwelling unit.
(2)
The number of bedrooms in the apartment shall be not
more than two.
(3)
The floor area of the apartment shall be greater than
400 square feet.
(4)
The floor area devoted to the apartment shall be less
than 40% of the entire floor area of the single-family dwelling or
1,000 square feet, whichever is less.
(5)
The apartment and single-family dwelling shall have
a safe and proper means of entrance, clearly marked for the purpose
of firesafety and mail service.
(6)
If the water supply is from a private source, the
applicant shall certify that the water supply is potable and of adequate
flow.
(7)
The applicant shall certify that the sewage disposal
system is adequate for the two units. Failure to correct promptly
any resulting sewage system problem shall result in revocation of
the special permit.
(8)
No special permit shall be granted in any case where
the County Department of Health has determined that the water or sewage
system serving the dwelling or dwellings in question is for any reason
not capable of handling the additional demand that would be imposed
upon it in the event the special permit were issued thereunder.
(9)
Stairways leading to any floor or story above the
first floor shall be located within the walls of the building wherever
practicable. Stairways and fire escapes shall be located on the rear
wall in preference to either side wall. In no instance shall a stairway
or fire escape be located on any wall fronting on a street.
(10)
The owner(s) of the single-family lot upon which
the accessory apartment is located shall occupy at least one of the
dwelling units on the premises.
(11)
Any apartment within a single-family dwelling
that is in existence at the time of the adoption of this subsection
shall be subject to the provisions outlined above.
(12)
Upon issuance of a special use permit, the owner shall refile the deed to the property in the County Clerk's Office incorporating the following notice in said deed: "The single family residence on the property includes an accessory apartment approved by the Town of Bethlehem Planning Board subject to the provisions of § 128-73 of the Town Code, which among other things requires that one of the dwelling units on the premises shall be occupied by the lot owner." A copy of the filed deed shall be provided to the Planning Board together with proof of filing.
[Added 12-14-2016 by L.L.
No. 5-2016]
C.
Special use permit and site plan review. For any accessory
apartment requiring a special use permit and site plan review, said
reviews shall be limited in scope to the physical improvements, impacts
and mitigation that are directly caused by and/or related to establishment
of the accessory apartment. In no instance shall the approval of a
special permit or site plan for an accessory apartment be construed
to prevent alterations to the premises that are unrelated to the accessory
apartment, or to require an amendment to the approved special permit
and site plan for such unrelated alterations.
[Added 10-8-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008]
A.
Statement of purpose. In the execution of these provisions,
the Town of Bethlehem recognizes that there are some adult business
uses which, due to their very nature, have serious objectionable operational
characteristics, particularly when located in close proximity to residential
neighborhoods and other sensitive land uses. The objectionable characteristics
of these uses are further heightened by their concentration within
an area, thereby having deleterious effects on adjacent areas. It
has been acknowledged by communities across the nation that state
and local governments have a special concern in regulating the operation
of such businesses under their jurisdiction to ensure that their objectionable
characteristics will not contribute to the degradation of adjacent
neighborhoods nor endanger the well-being of the youth in their communities.
The special regulations deemed necessary to control the undesirable
secondary effects arising from these enterprises are set forth below.
The primary purpose of these controls and regulations is to preserve
the integrity and character of residential neighborhoods and important
natural and human resources of the Town, to deter the spread of blight
and to protect minors from objectionable characteristics of these
adult business uses by restricting their proximity to places of worship,
schools, nursery schools, day-care centers, educational institutions,
parks, historic and scenic resources, civic and cultural facilities
and residential areas.
B.
Adult business uses, as defined in § 128-22 of this chapter, are to be restricted in the following manner, in addition to any other requirements of the Code:
(1)
Adult business uses are permitted only in the Heavy
Industrial District.
(2)
Adult business uses shall not be located within a
one-thousand-foot radius of any residential district or any property
used for residential purposes. For measurement purposes, the distance
shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening
structures or objects, from the closest structural wall of such adult
use to the boundary line of such residential district or residential
property.
(3)
Adult business uses shall not be located within a
one-thousand-five-hundred-foot radius of another adult use. For measurement
purposes, the distance between adult business uses shall be measured
in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects,
from the closest structural wall of any adult use to the closest structural
wall of any other adult use.
(4)
Adult business uses shall not be located within a
one-thousand-foot radius of any school, nursery school, day-care center,
educational institution, place of worship, park or playground, historic
or scenic resource and civic or cultural facility. For measurement
purposes, the distance between an adult business use and other such
named uses shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to
intervening structures or objects, from the closest structural wall
of such adult use to the closest property boundary of such school,
nursery school, day-care center, educational institution, house of
worship, park or playground, historic or scenic resource and civic
or cultural facility.
(5)
Not more than one adult business use shall be located
in the same building or upon the same lot or parcel of land.
(6)
No loudspeakers or sound equipment shall be used for
adult business uses that can be discerned by the public from public
or semipublic areas.
A.
The establishment of a new junkyard use, and the expansion or alteration of a junkyard in existence as of the effective date of this chapter, shall be subject to special use permit review and approval pursuant to § 128-69 of this chapter.
B.
Junkyards are permitted only in the Heavy Industrial
District. In addition, no display, storage, or collection of junk
or junk cars, and no more than one unregistered vehicle, shall be
permitted in a location visible from adjoining properties, or public
roads, in any district.
C.
A special use permit for a junkyard use shall be valid
for five years and may be renewed. It shall be the responsibility
of the owner/applicant to apply for a renewal of the special use permit
before the expiration date. The Town will not provide any notice to
the owner/applicant of the pending expiration of said permit.
D.
Standards. The Planning Board shall consider the character
of the neighborhood in which the proposed junkyard is located and
is expressly authorized to require vegetative and/or fence screening
as a visual buffer to adjacent and nearby properties. In addition,
the Planning Board is expressly authorized to require additional yard
setback(s) as may be required to screen stored and waste material
from adjacent and nearby properties. In this regard the Planning Board
may consider collectively the type of road servicing the junkyard
or from which the junkyard may be seen, the natural or artificial
barriers protecting the junkyard from view, the proximity of the proposed
junkyard to established residential and recreational areas or main
access routes thereto, as well as the reasonable availability of alternative
locations on the property for the storage of waste and stored materials.
E.
No junkyard hereafter established shall be licensed
to operate if such yard, or any part thereof, shall be within 500
feet of a church, school, hospital, public building or place of public
assembly.
A.
The establishment of a new kennel use, and the expansion
or alteration of a kennel in existence as of the effective date of
this chapter, shall be subject to special use permit review and approval.
B.
The minimum lot area is five acres. In addition, no
dog kennel, runway or exercise pen shall be located within 200 feet
of any lot line.
[Amended 10-8-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008]
A.
Purpose.
(1)
Mined materials such as clay, sand, silt, gravel,
and rock for construction purposes. Facilities to contribute to the
supply of these materials are necessary to support construction activity
in a cost-effective manner. Providing a reasonable supply of competitively
priced extractive materials is a goal of the Town.
(2)
While the Town of Bethlehem wishes to contribute to
the continued supply of mined materials, it believes that it must
protect the health and welfare of its residents by confining mining
and mineral extraction to certain specific zones where such activities
will be a specially permitted use along with the several other uses
permitted in those zones.
(3)
The health of the residential, agricultural, and business
community in the Town of Bethlehem is an essential goal of the Town.
This goal requires that adverse effects to the environment, such as
excessive noise and dust, degradation of water resources, and other
hazards to the public, be mitigated or avoided entirely. Accordingly,
the special use permit requirements will be used by the Town to determine
whether a mining or mineral extraction use is appropriate for the
neighborhood in which it is proposed and whether the use can be operated
in a manner that meets the criteria for approval of a special use
permit pursuant to this chapter. These standards are designed to work
in conjunction with Environmental Conservation Law § 23-2701
et seq.
B.
The Town recognizes that processing is an integral
part of mining and mineral extraction processes. However, the Town
is also mindful that processing is one of the more invasive of the
activities that is part of mining and mineral extraction activity
in terms of noise and other environmental hazards. If the processing
of mined products is permitted as a standalone use in the designated
zones it would give soil mines a potential for a life well beyond
the exhaustion of materials available from the site where the processing
machinery is located. It is the Town's intention not to permit this
to occur by providing that the permitted uses in the zones where mining
and mineral extraction are allowed do not include the processing of
materials not mined at the subject site. The Town considers the processing
of material taken from other sites to be an industrial activity and
not included within the uses permitted in the zones where mining and
mineral extraction are permitted uses.
C.
While state law has denied to the Town the power to
regulate the reclamation of land used for mining and mineral extraction,
it is the purpose and intention of the Town to make full use of special
permit powers granted to it by state law. To protect the health and
welfare of its residents and to achieve the goals of the Town as stated
above, it is the intention of the Town that the special permit powers
described herein be utilized to the full extent permitted by law.
D.
Exemptions. The following, to the extent specified
herein, are exempt from the permitted zone requirements of this section:
(1)
Excavation in conjunction with utility installation,
which is to be backfilled;
(2)
Excavation in conjunction with a development project
that has a special use permit approval, site plan approval or subdivision
approval and where the excavation is incidental to the development
project;
(3)
Excavation in conjunction with road construction within
the limits of the right-of-way or slope rights of any Town, county,
or state highway, or for the sole purpose of building roads and slopes
incidental thereto which lie within the area of a subdivision approved
by the Planning Board;
(4)
Excavation which by its nature lasts for a matter
of hours or days, e.g., graves, septic tanks, swimming pools, etc.,
and does not involve removal of material from the property;
(5)
Agricultural drainage work incidental to agricultural
operations, including farm ponds, if no material is removed from the
property;
(6)
Excavation for structures, parking areas, and rights-of-way;
(7)
Regrading of property for aesthetic purposes that
does not affect existing drainage, if no material is removed from
the property;
(8)
Dredging operations under the jurisdiction of the
United Stated Army Corps of Engineers and other governmental entities;
(9)
Excavation in conjunction with the drainage maintenance
or improvements under Town, county or state jurisdiction;
(10)
The improvement of a single lot or parcel of
land in connection with construction of a dwelling, multifamily dwelling,
building, or any other structure or structures for which a building
permit has been issued; and
(11)
The excavation, in any calendar year, of not
more than 200 cubic yards of material per acre within any parcel or
any contiguous parcels in any twelve-month period, provided that no
more than 750 cubic yards of material may be removed from any parcel
in any calendar year.
E.
Location. Mining and mineral extraction are allowed
in the districts as shown on the Schedule of Uses of this chapter,
subject to special use permit review and approval.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Uses is included at the end of this chapter.
F.
Special use permits.
(1)
No mining or mineral extraction activity shall be
conducted within the Town without the issuance of a special use permit.
(2)
An application for a special use permit shall not
be complete unless it is accompanied by the requisite filing fee,
a complete copy of the application to the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation for a mining permit, including all maps,
reports and documentation incidental thereto, and the mining permit
which has been issued by the Department in relation to the subject
operation. An application for a special use permit shall not be acted
upon by the Planning Board unless the location of the proposed activities
lies entirely within the boundaries of a zone where soil mining is
a permitted use or a variance has been obtained from the Zoning Board
of Appeals for any land not within said zones.
(3)
The Planning Board is authorized, pursuant to § 128-85 of this chapter, to retain the services of consultants having expertise in the field of mining and mineral extraction. The reasonable cost of any consultation and review shall be borne by the applicant.
(4)
The special use permit shall be subject to the following
conditions which shall be established by the Planning Board and shall
be set forth in the special use permit:
(b)
Any limitations or prohibitions on the use of
Town roads for the purpose of ingress and egress to and from the mining
site to and from public thoroughfares.
(c)
Any limitations or prohibitions on the routing
of mineral transport vehicles on Town roads.
(d)
All of the limitations, requirements and conditions
as specified in the applicant's mining permit issued by the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation concerning setback
from property boundaries and public thoroughfare rights-of-way, natural
or man-made barriers to restrict access, if required, dust control
and hours of operation.
(e)
The ability of the Town to enforce all of the
reclamation requirements contained in the applicant's mined land reclamation
permits issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
G.
It is the intention of this chapter to obtain and
this chapter does, therefore, include all power and authority granted
by New York State law to the Town to enforce all conditions of an
applicant's mining permit, any special use permits hereunder and the
conditions of the applicant's mined land reclamation permit.
A.
No public cemetery, or the expansion or extension
of a public cemetery in existence as of the date of adoption of this
section, shall hereafter be established without a special use permit
issued by the Planning Board.
B.
In the case of an existing public cemetery the Planning
Board may use its discretion to waive the requirement of site plan
review and approval.
C.
In addition to the standards of § 128-69 for issuance of a special use permit, public cemeteries shall comply with the following additional requirements:
(1)
The minimum lot size is 10 acres.
(2)
The establishment of a crematorium and the cremation
of human remains are prohibited.
(3)
No interment shall take place within 75 feet of any
street right-of-way, property line, wetland or stream. In addition,
such seventy-five-foot buffer area shall be suitably landscaped so
as to screen the cemetery from view insofar as is practicable as determined
by the Planning Board.
(4)
Caretakers' cottages, mausoleums, chapels, and columbarium,
which are incidental to the cemetery, shall be permitted as accessory
uses, provided that any such structure shall comply with the setback
and yard requirements for the district in which it is located.
The establishment of a family cemetery must
comply with the following criteria:
