A.
Off-street parking, loading and unloading facilities shall be provided
as necessary in connection with every use. One-family and two-family
residential uses shall be provided with two off-street parking spaces
per dwelling unit. Parking needs with respect to all other uses shall
be determined in conjunction with special use and site plan review.
The amount of parking required shall be based on the following factors:
(1)
Industry studies of parking needs for the type of use proposed or
actual case-study comparisons for projects of similar character. The
Planning Board may require the developer or applicant to gather and
submit such data in support of its proposed parking provisions. The
National Parking Association and the Urban Land Institute are examples
of such industry sources.
(2)
The characteristics of the proposed customers, employees, residents,
occupants or visitors to a given facility and the availability of
municipal parking to satisfy the needs of the business. Housing for
the elderly would, for example, require fewer spaces per dwelling
unit than time-shared recreational units, though the number of dwelling
units might be the same.
(3)
The expected occupancy rates, traffic levels and numbers of employees
in connection with any enterprise and the degree to which these directly
relate to parking requirements.
(4)
Recommendations, if any, from other public agencies or information
sources which suggest, based on experience, the appropriate amount
of parking in connection with a given use.
(5)
The likelihood that parking will be shared with adjoining facilities,
the impact of daily peak visitation or use periods on demand and the
hours of operation as compared to other neighborhood activities.
(6)
Where industry standards are inadequate for the particular use or
site involved or such standards are unavailable, the following standards
shall be applied by the Planning Board or the Building Inspector III,
as the case may be:
(a)
Hotels/motels: one space per rental room.
(b)
Industrial uses: one space per 400 square feet floor area.
(c)
Commercial uses: one space per 250 square feet floor area.
(d)
Places of public assembly: one space per five seats.
(e)
Offices: one space per 300 square feet floor area.
(f)
Restaurants: one space per 50 square feet floor area.
(g)
Senior housing: one space per dwelling unit.
(h)
Vehicle service establishments: four spaces, plus one per employee.
B.
Each parking space shall consist of not less than an average of 300
square feet of usable area for each motor vehicle, including interior
driveways, driveways connecting the garage, or parking space, with
a street or alley. Garages, carports, and driveways not in the public
right-of-way may be considered parking spaces. The minimum parking
space size shall be 10 feet by 20 feet.
C.
Any lighting used to illuminate any off-street parking shall be so
arranged as to reflect the light away from adjoining premises and
public rights-of-way.
D.
All parking areas which are designed to accommodate 12 or more vehicles
shall be landscaped using materials of sufficient growth and height
to aesthetically balance the impact of the open paved area and provide
effective stormwater control. The following are guideline standards
the Planning Board may apply:
(1)
No more than 12 parking spaces should be allowed in a continuous
row uninterrupted by landscaping. This requirement may be waived at
the discretion of the Planning Board to achieve a superior design.
(2)
No parking areas should be designed such that a vehicle might directly
back out onto a public highway or through road within the development.
Traffic flows through a parking area should be minimized and limited
to connections from one lot to another and to the public highway or
through road.
(3)
Parking areas should generally be located in the rear or side yard
of any use, with the principal building situated near the front lot
line as permitted by Schedule of District Regulations.[1] This is for the purpose of maintaining the continuity
of the building line along any highway and avoiding the effective
merger of parking areas along a highway into one mass of pavement
where entrances and exits become difficult to identify.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of District Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
E.
Any building erected, converted or enlarged for commercial, office,
manufacturing, wholesale, institutional or similar use shall, in addition
to the off-street parking required above, provide adequate off-street
areas for loading and unloading of vehicles. The minimum size loading
space shall be 60 feet in depth and 12 feet in width, with an overhead
clearance of 14 feet.
F.
Access to and from all nonresidential off-street parking, loading
and vehicle service areas along public rights-of-way shall consist
of well defined separate or common entrances and exits and shall comply
with the following provisions:
(1)
Access drives shall not open upon any public right-of-way within
80 feet of the nearest right-of-way line of any intersecting public
street or highway or where the sight distance in either direction
would be less than 200 feet. Access drives onto state highways shall
be subject to New York Department of Transportation standards.
(2)
There shall be no more than one entrance and one exit to any business
or commercial use parking area on any one highway unless safety considerations
should demand it. Each entrance and exit shall be clearly defined
with curbing, fencing or vegetative screening so as to prevent access
to the area from other than the defined entrance and exits. In no
case shall one entrance and exit be located within 80 feet of any
other on the same property or adjoining property along the same public
right-of-way. Previously developed nonconforming lots, however, may
be exempted from this requirement.
(3)
All access drives shall be subject to the requirement of obtaining
a road occupancy or street encroachment permit from the Town of Montour,
the Schuyler County Department of Public Works or the New York State
Department of Transportation, as the case may be, and approval of
any permits hereunder may be conditioned upon the application for
and/or receipt of such permits from these authorities.
(4)
No use shall be permitted which requires year-round access from a
Town highway which has been designated by the Town of Montour Town
Board as a low-volume or minimum maintenance seasonal highway pursuant
to§ 205-a of the New York State Highway Law.
G.
All nonresidential parking and loading areas and parallel circulation
and service lanes shall be separated from the paving edge of a public
thoroughfare or adjoining property lines by a planting strip at least
20 feet in depth landscaped according to standards provided herein
for such landscaping.
There is hereby created a special zoning district, the boundaries of which shall be congruent with those areas identified as special flood hazard areas on the Flood Hazard Boundary Maps for the Town of Montour, as issued by the Federal Insurance Administration or its successor. This district shall be an overlay zone, within which the normal provisions of the zoning districts as mapped on the Official Zoning Map shall apply, except that no development shall be permitted which does not comply with the provisions of Chapter 100, Flood Damage Prevention, of the Code of the Town of Montour, as amended.
A.
Home occupations, as defined herein, shall be permitted in all zoning
districts as accessory uses, provided:
(1)
There are no employees working on the premises other than family
members;
(2)
There is no outside storage of equipment, vehicles or materials used
in the business other than an automobile for personal transportation;
and
(3)
There is no regular traffic to the site for other than mail service
and occasional (e.g., semi-weekly) deliveries and client/customer
visits.
B.
Home businesses shall be permitted as special uses within B-1 and
RD Districts, provided they do not detract from the residential character,
appearance, or make-up of the neighborhood in which the business is
located. The following review criteria shall be used to determine
if this standard is met:
(1)
Extent of the business. Whether or not the residential use will be
the primary use of the property. Factors that shall be used to determine
the primary use of the property shall include, but are not limited
to, the area of the home or property used for the business (limited
to a maximum of 35%), the number of nonresident employees (limited
to three) and the amount of time the business will be open to the
public on a daily basis (limited to 10 hours).
(2)
Appearance from an adjacent street. Whether or not the use of the
property as a business is distinguishable from an adjacent street.
In cases where the principle structure is obscured from the street,
or the structure is setback more than 50 feet from the property line,
a nonilluminated ground sign not to exceed four square feet may be
used. Factors for evaluating this standard shall be that the residential
dwelling not be altered to change its residential appearance. No activity
related to the conduct of the home-based business shall be permitted
to occur in such a manner as to be obtrusive to the neighborhood,
attract undue attention to the business or adversely impact the residential
character of the neighborhood.
(3)
Impact on the neighborhood. Whether or not the business activity
will cause a nuisance to surrounding property owners; adversely impact
the peace, health, or safety of neighborhood residents; and/or create
a deviation from the residential character of the neighborhood. Factors
for evaluating this standard shall be:
(a)
Traffic. Whether or not the business will generate traffic that
is excessive and/or detrimental to the neighborhood. A business will
be allowed to generate a maximum of 24 vehicle trips per average weekday,
Saturday and Sunday. However, based on the characteristics of a specific
neighborhood, these amounts may be lowered or raised. The factors
to be used for such a determination shall include, but are not limited
to, pertinent characteristics of the neighborhood, such as width of
properties, width of the streets, hills, curves, the number of children
present and existing traffic levels on the adjacent street.
(b)
Nuisance. Whether or not the business activity would cause a
nuisance to surrounding property owners. Existing property maintenance
codes, fire codes, building codes, environmental and safety codes
and other related local laws shall be the primary basis for evaluating
the potential for creating such a nuisance.
C.
No home business or occupation, having once been permitted or established,
shall be added to, expanded, enlarged or otherwise increased or changed
substantially in character without complying with this chapter, and
such permission or establishment shall not be a basis for a later
application to establish a principal commercial use. Moreover, the
conversion of a residence with a home business or occupation to a
commercial use by the abandonment of the residence or sale, rent or
transfer of the business to a party which does not reside on site
is strictly prohibited unless the business is then moved off site.
Wherever commercial, manufacturing or other nonresidential uses
or improvements and changes to such uses, with the exception of agricultural
activities and home occupations, are proposed, the following performance
standards shall apply. The Building Inspector III shall ensure these
standards are met prior to issuing certificates of occupancy for such
uses and may require the applicant(s) to provide documentation of
compliance.
A.
Where a commercial or manufacturing use is contiguous to an existing
residential use in any district (including those situated on the opposite
side of a highway) or any approved residential lot in a residential
district, the Planning Board may require that the minimum front, side
and rear yards be increased by up to 50%. The Board may also require,
for purposes of separating incompatible activities or shielding the
residence from negative impacts, that a buffer consisting of a solid
fence of wood and/or a twenty-foot wide dense evergreen planting not
less than six feet high be maintained, unless the properties are in
the same ownership or the full width of the yard is already wooded.
B.
All activities involving the manufacturing, production, storage,
transfer or disposal of inflammable and explosive materials shall
be provided with safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion.
Fire-fighting and fire-suppression equipment and devices shall be
provided pursuant to National Fire Protection Association guidelines.
Burning of waste materials in open fires is prohibited. Details of
the potential hazards and planned safety and accident response actions
shall be provided by the applicant, and the Planning Board may require
greater front, side and rear yards and/or fencing.
C.
No activities shall be permitted which emit dangerous radioactivity
or electrical disturbance adversely affecting the operation of any
equipment other than that of the creator of such disturbance.
D.
No vibration shall be permitted on a regular or continuing basis
which is detectable without instruments at the property line.
E.
Lighting.
(1)
All lighting and use of mirrors shall be designed so as to avoid
unnecessary or unsafe spillover of light and glare onto operators
of motor vehicles, pedestrians and land uses in proximity to the light
source. Light sources connected with any proposed new nonresidential
land use requiring a permit hereunder shall comply with the following
standards:
|
Type of Light Source
|
Maximum Illumination Permitted at Property Line
(footcandles)
|
Maximum Permitted Height of Light
(feet)
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Globe light
|
0.20
|
15
| |
|
>90% cutoff
|
0.75
|
25
| |
|
<90% cutoff
|
2.00
|
30
|
(2)
No direct or sky-reflected glare, whether from floodlights or from
high-temperature processes such as combustion or welding or other
sources, so as to be visible at the property line on a regular or
continuing basis, shall be permitted.
F.
No emission of fly ash, dust, fumes, vapors, gases and other forms
of air pollution shall be permitted on a regular or continuing basis
which can cause any damage to health, to animals, vegetation, or other
forms of property, or which can cause any excessive soiling.
G.
All activities involving the possible contamination of surface water
or groundwater shall be provided with adequate safety devices to prevent
such contamination. Details of the potential hazards (including the
groundwater characteristics of the area in which the use is proposed)
and planned safety devices and contamination response actions shall
be provided by the developer.
H.
Whenever a vehicle and equipment sales, mechanical and body repair
use is proposed as a special use, or as an expansion of an existing
nonconforming use, the following additional performance standards
shall apply:
(1)
All mechanical and body repair work shall be performed within buildings.
(2)
All automobile or vehicle parts, new or used, shall be stored within
buildings.
(3)
Vehicles which are temporarily on the property awaiting to be repaired
shall be stored in an area which meets the minimum yard and buffer
requirements applicable for the district and the use.
I.
All industrial uses, processing and storage shall be within fully
enclosed structures, and no tanks, cupolas, vents or other apparatus
peculiar to the processing shall be visible outside the approved buildings,
except as approved by the Planning Board. The facade of buildings
and structures in industrial uses shall be compatible with adjacent
development and shall be fully landscaped in accordance with the requirements
therefore that are contained herein.
The Planning Board may require a landscape plan be prepared
as part of any special use or site plan review application. Such a
plan may also be required whenever any nonresidential use is proposed
in any district so as to buffer parking areas and buildings from the
highway, each other and other uses. Where it is determined that a
proposed use would not have a significant impact on the natural environment,
adjoining landowners or the view from a public highway, these requirements
may be appropriately modified or waived by the Planning Board. The
landscape plan, if required, shall specify locations of all mature
shade trees or other species of six-inch caliper or greater and indicate
existing vegetation to be removed or preserved. It shall demonstrate
how building materials, colors, and textures will be blended with
the natural and man-made landscape. It shall also include visual depictions
of the proposed landscape from the perspective of persons who will
view the site from the highway or adjoining properties. Specific locations,
varieties, sizes, winter hardiness, and schedules for all proposed
plantings shall, too, be provided as part of the plan. The Planning
Board, in reviewing a landscape plan, may employ the assistance of
design professionals. The Planning Board shall also specifically consider
the following before approving, approving with modifications or disapproving
the special use:
A.
The plan should promote attractive development, preserve existing
vegetation to the maximum extent possible, enhance the appearance
of the property and complement the character of the surrounding area.
B.
The plant material selected should be of complementary character
to buildings, structures and native plant species and be of sufficient
size and quality to accomplish its intended purposes. Ornamental and
shade trees should have a caliper of no less than three inches, evergreen
trees should be a minimum of five feet in height and other shrubs
a minimum of 24 inches in height or two gallon size, when planted.
C.
The plan should effectively buffer the activity from adjoining land
uses as may be necessary and soften the impact of other site development
as contrasted with the natural environment.
D.
The plan should be realistic in terms of maintenance and use materials
which, as a minimum, are winter hardy to Zone 4.
