Whenever any subdivision of land, and before any contract for the
sale of or any offer to sell any lots in such subdivision or any part
thereof is made, and before any permit for the erection of a structure
in such proposed subdivision shall be granted, the applicant or his/her
duly authorized agent shall apply for the approval of such subdivision
in accordance with this article.
Applications under this chapter must be submitted in such form and
numbers as outlined herein. The Village Clerk shall provide checklists
of application submittal requirements and make those checklists available
to the public. Application forms and checklists of required information
are available in the Village Office.
Applications for minor subdivisions, as defined in Article 5, are subject to a single-phase review and approval process. Approval of a minor subdivision is required for development to occur.
Applications for major subdivisions, as defined in Article 6, are subject to a two-phase review and approval process. The applicant shall first submit a preliminary plat application for review and approval. Within one year of preliminary plat approval, the applicant shall submit a final plat application for review. Final plat approval is required for development to occur.
It is recommended that applicants request a pre-application conference
prior to entering the formal application review process to discuss
the nature of the proposed application and to determine the best course
of action for submittal.
The purpose of the pre-application conference is to provide an opportunity
for a potential applicant to consult early and informally with the
Village. A pre-application conference will help to build a better
understanding of the proposal and property in question and establish
an overall design approach that respects important features to the
Village while maximizing the potential of the property.
In no way shall any comments or feedback provided by the Village
during pre-application review be construed as an indication of decision
or be legally binding in any way.
Materials presented during the pre-application conference may be
incomplete and/or conceptual in design; however, a formal application
is required to be considered for approval.
Only the property owner or their agent, with legally binding
and written permission of the owner, may file for subdivision. Where
there are multiple land owners, a written consent agreement among
all land owners must be included within the application.
Applications must be submitted to the Village Clerk at least
two weeks prior to the Planning Board meeting at which the applicant
wishes to be considered.
The Village Clerk shall indicate that an application is considered
accepted and ready for processing only if it is submitted in the required
number and form, includes all required materials, and is accompanied
by the required application fee.
The acceptance of an application by the Village Clerk shall
in no way be interpreted as a determination of the completeness, adequacy,
or accuracy of application materials, but rather serve as an acknowledgement
to the receipt of required application materials. The Village Clerk
may consult with other Village departments or divisions, the Code
Enforcement Officer, the Planning Board, the Village Board, or professional
consultants in making such a determination.
If an application is determined to be inadequate, within 30
days of submittal the Village Clerk must provide paper or electronic
written notice to the applicant along with an explanation of all known
deficiencies that will prevent competent review. No further processing
will occur until the deficiencies are corrected. If the deficiencies
are not corrected within 62 days of the notice of the deficiency,
the application will be considered withdrawn.
No further processing of inadequate applications will occur;
applications will be pulled from the processing cycle. When the deficiencies
are corrected, the application will be placed in the next available
processing cycle.
Application fee. All applications shall be accompanied by the fee established by the Village Board. Failure to submit said fee shall deem an application unacceptable, regardless of the status of submittal on all other required materials. This shall also include application consultant fees as established by Chapter 210, § 210-19.5, Consultant fees.
No subdivision application shall be considered complete until
all required application materials are submitted with accompanying
fee in the required number and form, and the lead agency has filed
a negative declaration, conditioned negative declaration, or notice
of completion of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in
accordance with the provisions of SEQRA.
The required time periods for public hearing and review of a
minor, preliminary, or final plat set by New York State Village Law
§ 7-728 shall only begin upon receipt of a complete application
as defined herein.
Applicant responsibilities. The applicant and/or their agent is expected
to attend all meetings at which the application is to be discussed.
In all cases, the burden is on the applicant to show that their application
complies with the Pittsford Village Code and any other applicable
local laws and New York State laws, rules, and regulations.
Any application for a property that is within an agricultural
district containing a farm operation or property within 500 feet of
a farm operation located in an agricultural district shall include
an agricultural data statement.
Upon receipt of a subdivision application containing an agricultural
data statement, the Village Clerk shall mail a copy of the agricultural
data statement to the owners of the land identified by the applicant
in the agricultural data statement.
For the purposes of this section, an "agricultural district"
shall be defined as an agricultural district recognized by the New
York State Agriculture and Markets agricultural district program.
Within 62 days following the close of public hearing, the Planning
Board must issue a decision by majority vote. The Planning Board shall
vote to approve or conditionally approve, approve or conditionally
approve with modifications, or deny the proposed subdivision application.
Prior to issuing a decision on an accepted application, the
Planning Board shall by resolution determine the application to be
complete, noting any waived requirements therein.
Written findings. Decisions shall contain written findings explaining
the rationale for the decisions considering the standards contained
in this chapter. Such decision may be amended from time to time to
add additional findings of fact. A copy of the decision shall be promptly
filed in the Village Clerk's Office and mailed to the applicant.
Conditional approval. The Planning Board may grant conditional approval with or without modification to the plat. A conditional decision shall be filed in the same manner as outlined in Article 4. The copy mailed to the applicant shall include a statement of such conditions. The Planning Board Chair shall not sign the plat until it is certified by the Code Enforcement Officer that the applicant has complied with all conditions.
Default approval. In the event the Planning Board fails to act on
a subdivision application within the time prescribed herein, or such
extended period established by the mutual consent of the applicant
and the Planning Board, the subdivision application shall be deemed
approved, and a certificate of approval shall be issued by the Village
Clerk on demand and shall be sufficient in lieu of written endorsement
of other evidence of approval herein required.
Waiving application requirements. The Planning Board is authorized
to waive, in whole or in part, any of the application requirements
if one or more of the following is determined by the Planning Board
Chairperson:
Additional application requirements. The Planning Board may require
additional information not listed herein be submitted as part of an
application if such additional material is deemed necessary for a
complete and adequate review. Upon request, these materials shall
be presented in graphic form accompanied by a written text and/or
prepared by a licensed professional.
Internal Referral. The reviewing board may refer any application
to another Village board, committee, department, or official for review
and comment. Within 30 days of referral, the receiving board or official
shall submit its recommendation in writing with a summary of findings
to the reviewing board.
Professional referral. The Planning Board may seek the opinion of any legal, engineering, design, or other professional to aid in the review of an application at the expense of the applicant. The fees shall be determined as outlined in Chapter 210, § 210-18.5 of the Village Code.
County referral. The Village shall refer all materials to the Monroe
County Planning and Development Department pursuant to New York State
General Municipal Law § 239-n, as amended, and in accordance
with planning referral agreements between the Village and Monroe County.
Extensions. The Planning Board may grant an extension for any condition in Subsection A upon written request by the applicant. The applicant shall include in such request the desired time period for the extension, not to exceed one year, and the reasoning for requesting the extension.
Revocation. The Planning Board may revoke approval if it is found
that the applicant violates the conditions of the approval or engages
in any construction or alteration not authorized by the approval.
Enforcement. Any violation of the conditions of subdivision approval
shall be deemed a violation of this chapter, and shall be subject
to enforcement action as provided herein.
All subdivision applications considered in the LWO District shall also be subject to local waterfront consistency review as required by Chapter 121 of the Village of Pittsford Code.
The review and approval of all applications shall comply with the provisions of SEQRA under Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations. Where requirements of this chapter may come in conflict with SEQRA law, the state regulations shall supersede.
If the lead agency on a subdivision application, through the completion
of an environmental assessment form (EAF), determines an action not
to have a significant adverse environmental impact, a negative declaration
is filed. If an action is determined to potentially have significant
adverse environmental impacts, a draft and final environmental impact
statement (EIS) is required.
Applicants are responsible for preparing the draft and final EIS,
if required. Should the applicant defer to the Planning Board for
the preparation of a draft and/or final EIS, a written agreement for
reimbursement to the Village for such expense shall be required.
When required, the public hearing for an EIS may be held jointly
with the subdivision application public hearing. However, public notice
in this case must increase to at least 14 days prior to the date of
the scheduled hearing.
When actions consist of several steps or phases of activities, the
entire set must be considered the action, even if several separate
agencies are involved.