The Planning Board, in considering an application for the subdivision of land, shall be guided by the policies specified in §
105-2 of this chapter and the following standards.
Land for parks and other open space purposes will be provided, in an adequate amount, in any subdivision of land or site plan application for residential purposes throughout the Town of Amenia as provided below. Where applicable, open space areas shall also be provided within commercial sites. In conservation subdivisions, land shall be preserved as perpetual open space as required in §
121-20 of Chapter
121, Zoning. Such preservation may satisfy some or all of the requirements of this §
105-23, as determined by the Planning Board, but such preservation of open space does not necessarily relieve that applicant of the need to comply with the requirement to provide land for park, playground, or other recreational purposes or to pay a recreation fee in lieu of providing such land, if a proper case exists for such land or fee and the subdivision does not contain recreational land that satisfies the documented need.
A. Amount of land reserved. In subdivisions or residential site plan
applications that are not conservation subdivisions or small-scale
subdivisions, the Planning Board shall require that 10% of the total
land area be set aside and shown on the plat or site plan for park,
playground and common open space purposes, including trails and other
linkages between neighborhoods. All lands designated on the plat or
site plan as park, playground or common open space must be deemed
suitable for this purpose by the Planning Board based upon overall
consistency with the Town Comprehensive Plan, the Town Recreation
Master Plan, and a site-specific analysis of the lands' topographic,
geologic, hydrological and locational characteristics. The Planning
Board may establish such conditions on the subdivision or site plan
concerning physical access, use and maintenance of such park and common
open space lands as deemed necessary to ensure the preservation of
the lands, in perpetuity, for their intended purposes. Such conditions
shall be clearly noted by the licensed land surveyor and/or professional
engineer on the plat or site plan prior to final approval and subsequent
filing of the plat or site plan in the office of the Dutchess County
Clerk.
B. The Planning Board may not require land to be set aside for park,
playground or other recreational purposes, or require the applicant
to pay a fee in lieu of providing such land, until the Planning Board
has made a finding that a proper case exists for requiring that a
park(s) be suitably located for these recreational purposes within
the Town. Such findings, as specified in §§ 274-a and
277 of New York State Town Law, shall include an evaluation of i)
the present and anticipated future needs for park and recreational
facilities in the Town of Amenia; ii) the demand for recreational
facilities generated by the proposed subdivision (or site plan); and
iii) the likely benefit inuring to the benefit of the residents of
the proposed subdivision (or site plan) if land is set aside for recreational
purposes or a fee is paid into a dedicated Town Recreation Fund for
the purpose of acquiring additional parkland and/or for the construction,
rehabilitation or expansion of existing park or recreational facilities.
In conducting this evaluation, the Planning Board shall consider the
Town of Amenia Recreation Master Plan.
C. Information to be submitted. In the event that an area to be used for park, playground or common open space is required to be shown, prior to final plat or site plan approval, and subject to the fee-in-lieu-of-land reservation provisions contained in §
105-23D of this chapter, the applicant shall submit drawings at a scale of not less than 20 feet to the inch of any portion of such area intended for active recreation or park development, including the following features thereof:
(1) The boundaries of said area, giving lengths and bearings of all straight
lines; and radii, lengths, central angles and tangent distances of
all curves.
(2) Existing features such as streams, ponds, clusters of trees, rock
outcrops and structures, existing and proposed.
(3) Existing and, if applicable, proposed changes in grade contours of
said area and of the area immediately adjacent, for a distance of
not less than 100 feet, with such contours to be at an interval of
not more than two feet.
(4) Plans for improvements of said area, not limited to grading, seeding,
fencing, landscaping, the provision of play and related equipment,
and the address of conditions relating to the protection of the public
health and safety.
(5) Plans for pedestrian access to/from parkland or open space areas,
including provisions for easements to cover pedestrian access and
ownership of easements.
D. Payment in lieu of land reservation. In the event the Planning Board finds that the proposed subdivision or site plan presents a proper case for requiring a park or parks suitably located for playgrounds or other recreational purposes, but that a suitable park or parks of adequate size to meet the requirement cannot be properly located on such subdivision plat, the Planning Board shall alternatively require, under §§ 274-a and 277 of the New York State Town Law, that a payment be made to the Town Recreation Fund, a special fund established for Town recreation site acquisition and/or improvement, in lieu of such land dedication or reservation within the subdivision or site plan. Such recreation payment shall be a condition of approval of the final plat or site plan and shall be assessed on a per-dwelling-unit basis. The recreation payment shall not apply to any existing dwelling unit presently existing on the land that is the subject of the subdivision or site plan application. No final plat or site plan shall be signed by the Chairperson of the Planning Board until the recreation payment has been received by the Planning Board. In a conservation subdivision, where the open space to be protected meets the recreational needs of the community as provided in Subsection
B above, such open space may be counted toward the requirements of this section. Where such open space does not meet all of the recreational needs of the residents of the subdivision or site plan, a proper case may be shown for requiring payment of a fee as provided in §§ Sections 274-a and 277 of the Town Law.
In making determinations regarding the necessity and extent
of the provision and installation of required subdivision improvements,
the Planning Board shall take into consideration the prospective character,
density and uses within the proposed subdivision, whether residential,
commercial or industrial uses, or a combination thereof.
A. Improvements. The Planning Board shall require the provision and installation of the following improvements in accordance with New York State Town Law, unless it shall specifically waive in writing any such improvements as the Planning Board considers are not requisite to the interest of public health, safety and general welfare, as provided in Article
IX, §
105-35, of this chapter. (The Planning Board's authority to waive certain public improvements does not include the option to waive any of the highway specifications for public roads.)
(1) Parks, playgrounds or other public open spaces of adequate size and
location for recreational purposes;
(2) Paved roads, roadways, common driveways and driveway aprons;
(6) Sidewalks or nonpaved walkways;
(7) Road trees and treatment of buffer areas and other required landscaping;
(8) Water supply and fire-protection facilities;
(9) Sanitary sewage disposal facilities;
(10)
Storm drainage facilities;
(12)
Seeding and other means of erosion control for all lands within
the subdivision tract, including all lots, common areas and rights-of-way;
and
(13)
Monuments or other acceptable markers suitably placed and installed.
B. Standards for installation. All improvements required by the Planning
Board shall be installed in accordance with standards, specifications
and procedures acceptable to the appropriate Town departments and
as provided in this chapter.
C. Modification of the design of improvements shown on the approved
plat. If at any time before or during construction of the required
improvements shown on the approved plat it is demonstrated to the
Planning Board Engineer that unforeseen conditions make it necessary
or preferable to modify the location or design of such required improvements,
the Planning Board Engineer may, upon concurrence of the Chairperson
of the Planning Board, authorize minor modifications which are within
the spirit and intent of the Planning Board's approval and do not
extend to constitute the waiver or substantial alteration of the function
of any of the improvements required by the Planning Board. The Planning
Board Engineer shall issue any such authorization under this provision
in writing and shall transmit a copy of such authorization to the
Planning Board for consideration at its next regular meeting.
D. Grading and improvements. Roads shall be graded and improved in accordance with Article
V, §
105-22, of this chapter for private rural lanes and specifications in the Town Highway Regulations for public roads. Grading and improvements of all roads except rural lanes shall be approved as to design and specifications by the Town Highway Superintendent and the Town Engineer. In the case of rural lanes, the Planning Board Engineer shall review plans and specifications to certify that the rural lanes meet the standards set forth in Article
V, §
105-22, of this chapter. Inspection and certification of rural lanes shall be performed by the Planning Board Engineer, or his/her designee, to verify that the road construction complies with the approved plans and specifications. The inspection and certification of all roads other than rural lanes shall be performed by the Town Highway Superintendent and the Town Engineer to verify that the road construction complies with the approved plans and specifications.
E. Inspection of improvements.
(1) Prior to final plat approval, the applicant shall pay to the Town
Clerk, for purposes of establishing an escrow account, the inspection
fee required by the Planning Board for the inspection of required
improvements and utilities. At least five days prior to the commencement
of the required improvements or utilities, the applicant shall notify
the Town Engineer in writing of the time when the applicant proposes
to commence construction of such improvements so that the Town may
cause such inspection to be made to assure that all Town specifications
and requirements shall be met during the construction of required
improvements and to assure the satisfactory completion of improvements
and utilities as required by the Planning Board. The inspection fee
shall provide reimbursement to the Town for actual direct cost incurred
for such inspection services, and any unexpended portion of the inspection
fee shall be returned upon completion of the project and dedication
of the required improvements and utilities to the Town (if applicable).
(2) In order to facilitate inspection of required improvements during
construction, the applicant shall notify the Town Engineer at least
three working days before reaching each of the following stages of
construction:
(b)
Drainage and other underground facilities installed, but prior
to backfilling;
(c)
After gravel base is spread and compacted;
(d)
When each pavement course is being applied; and
(e)
After completion of all improvements.
(3) The applicant shall not proceed to work on any stage subsequent to
the first stage until the work of the previous stage has been inspected
and approved by the Town Engineer or a representative who may be duly
authorized by the Town Board. In the case of any other improvements,
the Town Engineer shall inspect the work at such progressive stages
as specified. The Town Engineer shall certify in writing to the Planning
Board that the work was inspected and was found to be in accordance
with the approved plans and specifications.
F. Proper installation of improvements. If the Town Engineer shall find,
upon inspection of the improvements performed before the expiration
date of the performance guaranty, that any of the required improvements
have not been constructed in accordance with plans and specifications
filed by the applicant, he/she shall so report to the Town Board,
the Building Inspector and the Planning Board. The Town Board shall
then notify the applicant and, if necessary, the bonding company and
take all necessary steps to preserve the Town's rights under the performance
guaranty. No plat shall be approved by the Planning Board, nor shall
any building permit or certificate of occupancy be issued by the Building
Inspector, as long as the applicant is in performance default on any
previously approved plat within the Town of Amenia.