[Added 11-10-2005 by L.L. No. 8-2005]
A. Purpose. The purpose of the Critical Environmental Area Overlay District
is to provide an additional measure of review of development proposals
on those remaining undeveloped and underdeveloped lands with sensitive
environmental features, and to encourage flexibility in layout to
best protect sensitive environmental features and to minimize adverse
environmental impacts on neighboring properties or the Village as
a whole.
B. Objectives.
(1) To retain areas adjacent to locations subject to frequent flooding
and floodplains in their natural state to the maximum extent possible,
to preserve water quality, to protect water retention capabilities,
and to facilitate recharge of the water table.
(2) To protect areas generally recognized for vegetative features or
ecological communities, including natural vegetation along lakes,
rivers, floodplains, wetlands and streams, woodlands and stands of
trees.
(3) To protect and enhance scenic resources, including landscapes, woodlands,
meadows, and other environmental features that have a special scenic
character or an historic or aesthetic interest or value.
(4) To connect open spaces with each other to the greatest extent possible
to allow for the preservation of habitat and other environmental features.
(5) To help protect uses that may be dissimilar from one another by providing
wooded buffers to reduce visual and sound impacts and to allow for
increased levels of privacy, particularly for residences adjacent
to public or nonresidential uses.
C. Application to the Board of Trustees. All uses in the Critical Environmental Area Overlay District require the issuance of a special permit by the Board of Trustees pursuant to the requirements of Article
VI of this Zoning Law. The Board of Trustees shall consider the following standards in reviewing applications, but shall not be limited to these standards, and may consider any factor related to the health, safety or general welfare of the residents of the Village of Suffern and, if appropriate, neighboring communities.
(1) The cluster technique shall be considered for all properties shown
on the Critical Environmental Area Map adopted as part of the Zoning
Law.
(2) The Planning Board must obtain authorization from the Board of Trustees
for each application for development in the Critical Environmental
Area Overlay District if cluster zoning is to be employed.
(3) The Planning Board or Board of Trustees may require the use of the
cluster technique for a particular application based on a statement
of the objectives sought to be achieved.
(4) Areas of utility rights-of-way and designated streets, land under water, steep slopes, wetlands and any required control areas, streams, and rock outcrops shall be excluded from the land areas used for development in the calculation of permitted densities for construction notwithstanding the fifty-percent provision in §
266-15N of the Village Code.
D. Authorization to grant or deny special uses. The special permit uses
listed for this district may be permitted, enlarged or otherwise altered
upon authorization by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the
standards and protections set forth in this section and such additional
standards as may be set forth for such special uses elsewhere in this
Zoning Law. In permitting a special permit use or the modification
of a special use, the Board of Trustees may impose, in addition to
those standards and requirements expressly specified by the Zoning
Law, any additional conditions which the Board of Trustees considers
necessary to protect the best interests of the surrounding property,
the neighborhood and the Village as a whole. These conditions may
include, but are not limited to, controlling the location and number
of vehicle access points, limiting the amount of site disturbance,
the amount of impervious surface or other measures to protect adjacent
or nearby property. The Board of Trustees shall refer any application
for a special permit for development in the Critical Environmental
Area Overlay District to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation
prior to holding a public hearing on the application.
E. Bulk requirements. Except as herein noted, the bulk requirements
for the underlying district shall apply, but may be amended by the
Planning Board when the cluster provision is applied, in which case
the site plan or subdivision plat shall bear the conventional and
cluster bulk requirements.
The Board of Trustees, pursuant to § 7-738 of the
Village Law, hereby empowers the Planning Board, simultaneously with
the approval of a plat or plats to modify applicable provisions of
this Zoning Law, subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth and
such other reasonable conditions as the Board of Trustees may in its
discretion add thereto. The purposes of this authorization are to
enable and encourage flexibility of design and development of land
in such a manner as to promote the most appropriate use of land, to
facilitate the adequate and economical provisions of streets and utilities
and to preserve the natural and scenic qualities of open lands. The
conditions hereinabove referred to are as follows:
A. The Planning Board may require the submission of an application for
the use of this procedure if, in its judgment, the application would
benefit the Village and the public interest. If the owner makes written
application for the use of this procedure, it may be followed at the
discretion of the Planning Board, subject to the purposes noted above.
B. This procedure shall be applicable only to lands zoned for residential purposes, and its application shall result in a permitted number of building lots or dwelling units which shall in no case exceed the number which could be permitted, in the Planning Board's judgment, if the land were subdivided into lots conforming to the minimum lot size and density requirements of the Zoning Law applicable to the district or districts in which such land is situated and conforming to all other applicable requirements; provided, however, that where the plat falls within two or more districts with differing density requirements, the Planning Board may approve in any one such district a cluster development representing the cumulative density as derived from the summing of all units allowed in all such districts. The dwelling units shall not be located in areas with impediments listed in §
266-15N of this Zoning Law.
C. In the case of a residential plat or plats, the dwelling units may
be, at the discretion of the Planning Board and subject to the conditions
set forth by the Board of Trustees, in detached, semidetached, attached
or multistory structures.
D. In the event that the application of this procedure results in a
plat showing lands available for park, recreation, open space or other
municipal purposes directly related to the plat, then the Planning
Board, as a condition of plat approval, may establish such conditions
on the ownership, use and maintenance of such lands as it deems necessary
to assure the preservation of such lands for their intended purposes.
Any conditions relating to Village ownership of the lands shall be
approved by the Village Board prior to the Planning Board granting
final approval to the plat.
E. The proposed site plan or plat, including areas within which structures
may be located, the height and spacing of buildings, open spaces and
their landscaping, off-street open and enclosed parking spaces and
streets, driveways and all other physical features as shown on said
plan or otherwise described, accompanied by a statement setting forth
the nature of such modifications, changes or supplementations of existing
zoning provisions as are not shown on said site plan, shall be subject
to review and public hearing by the Planning Board in the same manner
as set forth on § 7-728 of the Village Law for the approval
of plats.
F. On the filing of the plat in the Office of the County Clerk or Register,
a copy shall be filed with the Village Clerk, who shall make appropriate
notations and references thereto on the Village Zoning Map.
G. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to authorize a
change in the permissible use of such lands as provided in the Zoning
Law applicable to such lands.
H. The authorization herein shall apply to all lands within the incorporated
Village of Suffern.
[Added 4-6-2009 by L.L.
No. 3-2009]
No subdivision of property, construction or material alteration
of any principal or accessory use within the Scenic Overlay District
is permitted unless said use shall have obtained approval as set forth
below. Exceptions to this are as-of-right accessory improvements such
as decks and pools.
A. If it is determined that the use is subject to site development plan approval, such use shall receive plan approval from the Planning Board together with the site development plan approval in conformity with the regulations set forth below in §
266-21.2C and
D.
B. All other uses shall be subject to review and approval by the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector shall issue a building permit upon a determination of compliance with the regulation set forth below in §
266-21.2C and
D and other applicable zoning and Building Code requirements.
C. Review standards. In order to grant approval, the Building Inspector
or Planning Board, whichever is applicable, must find that such structure
or alteration is architecturally compatible with surrounding structures
and that the important scenic and natural features of the site will
be substantially preserved. To the extent practicable, all structures
to be built on land within the Suffern Scenic Overlay District shall
be sited and clustered on the tract in such a way as to avoid or minimize
the obstructing of scenic overlays in this district.
D. Additional standards of review. The additional regulations set forth
below supplement, but do not replace, the use and bulk regulations
otherwise applicable to the underlying zoning districts.
(1)
The minimum front yard requirement, as set forth for the applicable
underlying zoning district, may be increased for all structures and
parking areas located within the Suffern Scenic Overlay District.
The side and rear yard may also be increased by the Planning Board
if there are historic or scenic resources which are to be protected.
The intent is to maintain the existing yards as to the maximum extent.
The Planning Board may require the applicant to document the yards
of all properties on the block in which the parcel is located to determine
the appropriate yard dimension.
(2)
The Planning Board may require that the front yard shall be
managed by the property owner in a way that preserves significant
existing vegetation, plant specimens, landforms and water features;
nurtures tree planting and other natural landscaping efforts; creates
dense landscaping buffers; preserves stone walls, existing fields
and similar features; and/or ensures both the protection of visual
buffers and the prominence of key scenic vistas, including views of
historic properties and landscapes.
(3)
Any necessary intrusions within the front yard area shall be
reduced to the extent practicable by such measures as common driveways
and shared utility services for building sites that may gain access
from the roadways in the Suffern Scenic Overlay District.
(4)
Cluster subdivisions, where appropriate, in accordance with
the Village Law of the State of New York, shall be the preferred residential
land development technique for lands within, adjacent to or affecting
the overall character of a Suffern Scenic Overlay District, provided
that:
(a)
All structures and/or parking areas are effectively screened
on a year-round basis by existing landform and/or vegetation or by
substantial new planting and berming as viewed from the public right-of-way,
provided that such treatment does not diminish the prominence of key
scenic vistas including views of historic properties and landscapes.
(b)
A conservation easement, satisfactory to the approving authority,
is granted by the landowner to the Village, a land trust or similarly
qualified entity to ensure that the screening will be properly maintained
and managed or a similarly binding mechanism as acceptable to the
Village Attorney shall be provided.
(5)
Existing vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent
possible. Every attempt shall be made to limit cutting so as to maintain
native vegetation as a screen for structures as seen from roads, parks
and other public overlays within the Suffern Scenic Overlay District.
(6)
No cutting of trees exceeding six inches in diameter (measured
at a height of four feet off the ground) except in accordance with
an approved building permit, site plan, subdivision or timber-harvesting
plan. Cutting of all trees in a single contiguous area exceeding 5,000
square feet shall be prohibited.
(7)
Throughout the Suffern Scenic Overlay District, telecommunications
towers shall be discouraged. In all cases, the Village shall encourage
shared use of towers rather than new construction and reduced tower
height to limit the need for external lighting.