[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Woodbury 8-12-2008 by L.L. No. 6-2008. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.Â
The Village Board does find it necessary to provide
a method of administration for open space required as a condition
of subdivision, cluster or planned unit development approval whereby
such open space is maintained and administered in a fashion consistent
with its purpose: for the preservation in its natural state so as
to provide relief from a developed look and to buffer developments
from roads, buildings and other required infrastructures within a
development and for the general enhancement of the Village of Woodbury.
B.Â
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a procedure
whereby the residents of such subdivision, cluster or planned unit
development will contribute to the cost of the taxes, maintenance
and upkeep of the green area within the development.
For the purpose of this chapter, the terms used
herein are defined as follows:
A grouping of single-family detached, semidetached or attached residences on lot sizes less than required by Chapter 310, Zoning, of the Code of the Village of Woodbury as authorized by the Village Board pursuant to the Village Law § 7-738.
The owner or owners of real property comprising the entire
area of a subdivision, cluster or planned unit development which is
the subject of an open space requirement.
A secondary road to be used only by police, fire and ambulance
vehicles in an emergency situation where the road giving access to
the development has been blocked thus impeding vehicular traffic.
A not-for-profit or membership corporation formed under the
authority of the New York State Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, as
the same may be amended, for the purposes, among other things, of
maintaining and administering open space.
Any land required to be left undeveloped in its natural state
for residential purpose as a precondition of approval of a proposed
subdivision, cluster or a planned unit development.
Any person, firm, corporation, association or legal representative
acting individually or jointly, including any transportation corporation.
A grouping of residential dwelling units, combined with and
serviced by compatible commercial service establishments, constructed
as a unified project in accordance with an overall development plan
approved by the Village Board.
The Planning Board of the Village of Woodbury.
The duly elected Village Board of the Village of Woodbury.
If the Village Board or the Planning Board shall
require open space as a precondition of subdivision, cluster or planned
unit development approval, the developer shall, prior to final approval
of such development, petition the Village Board, pursuant to the applicable
provisions of the Village Law, to form a park area, the boundaries
of which shall be coterminous with the area of the entire subdivision,
cluster or planned unit development to be approved.
A.Â
Prior to final approval of any subdivision, cluster
or planned unit development which is the subject of an open space
requirement, the developer shall irrevocably offer to the Village
of Woodbury good and marketable fee title to the open space. Such
offer shall be in a form acceptable to the Village Attorney and Village
Board and shall be in a form sufficient for recording.
B.Â
Such offer shall contain a covenant that the developer,
his heirs, successors or assigns shall forever refrain from developing,
constructing upon or physically altering such open space which shall
be maintained forever in its natural state. The Village of Woodbury
shall be deemed the beneficiary of such covenant along with the residents
of the subdivision, cluster or planned unit development affected.
A.Â
Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent conveyance
of such open space by the developer, but all such conveyances, including
those to a homeowners' association, shall be subject to the offer
of dedication and restrictive covenants required hereby.
B.Â
The developer or his successor shall convey the open
space to the homeowners' association required to be established by
this chapter but not until 75% of the dwelling units proposed to be
built in said subdivision, cluster or planned unit development are
occupied or a period of five years has elapsed from the time the first
such dwelling unit was occupied, whichever event shall first occur.
Any such conveyance to the homeowners' association shall be at no
cost to the association.
A.Â
Prior to final approval of any subdivision, cluster
or planned unit development which is the subject of an open space
requirement, the developer shall form a homeowners' association. Such
corporation need not be designed exclusively to administer open space,
but its certificate of incorporation and/or bylaws shall contain at
least the following provisions:
(1)Â
All owners, unit owners, lessees or tenants of any
dwelling units in such subdivision, cluster or planned unit development
shall automatically become members of the homeowners' association
upon becoming vested with their legal interest in such units, notwithstanding
that such interest may be in common or jointly held with others.
(2)Â
The developer or his successor shall be a member until
the open space is conveyed to the homeowners' association as required
by this chapter.
(3)Â
The homeowners' association shall have the primary
duty of controlling and maintaining the open space and any emergency
right-of-way.
(4)Â
In voting for directors, each member shall have one
vote, except that, until the developer conveys the open space as required
by this chapter, he shall have 1Â 1/2 votes for every member's
vote in such election.
(5)Â
The Board of Directors shall consist of five directors,
the terms of which shall be three years.
(6)Â
The terms of the first-elected directors shall be
staggered so that one such director shall have a term of one year;
two for a term of two years; and two for a term of three years. All
subsequent elections for directors shall be for a term of three years.
(7)Â
The books and records of the homeowners' association
shall be subject to visitation without prior notice by the Village
Board or anyone designated by the Village Board for that purpose.
(8)Â
The directors shall render to every member and, if
requested, to the Village Board an annual accounting of receipts and
expenditures, prepared in accordance with generally acceptable accounting
principles.
(9)Â
The first election for directors shall take place
not earlier than nine months after the first dwelling unit in the
affected subdivision, cluster or planned unit development is occupied.
Until such election, the developer shall, upon formation of the corporation,
nominate three directors who shall act as a Board of Directors.
(10)Â
The primary, but not sole, function of the homeowners'
association will be the administration, maintenance and control of
the open space and any emergency right-of-way located thereon.
B.Â
The Village Attorney shall review and be satisfied
with the terms of all proposed certificates of incorporation and bylaws
for such homeowners' association prior to final approval of the affected
subdivision, cluster or planned unit development. Such review shall
be for the purpose of seeing that the certificate of incorporation
and the bylaws conform with the provisions of this chapter.
C.Â
Upon sale or lease of any dwelling or unit, the developer
shall inform the owner, unit owner, tenant or lessee of the existence
of such homeowners' association and shall provide him, without cost,
a copy of the certificate of incorporation, bylaws and the names and
addresses of the directors and officers of such association.
No structure or building shall be constructed,
stream or water body altered or other major physical or topographical
alteration undertaken within the green belt areas.
If, in the opinion of the Village Board, the
homeowners' association defaults under its contract with the Village
and does not control, maintain or administer the open space, the Village
shall adopt one or all of the following procedures:
A.Â
Accept the offer of dedication and go into actual
control and possession of the open space.
B.Â
Correct any specific defect or perform any specific
task necessary for proper maintenance and control of said open space
and charge the cost thereof to the park area as an area tax for the
next ensuing year.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a resident
of the park area in which such open space is located to use such open
space in any manner.
B.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person, whether a resident
or nonresident, to destroy foliage, to improperly cut trees or to
construct or locate any structure, including a deck, toolshed, etc.,
in the open space.
C.Â
Any violation of these restrictions shall be deemed
to be a trespass in the third degree and shall be punishable by a
fine not exceeding $250 or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 15
days, or both, for each such violation.
