[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southold 3-1-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005; amended in its entirety 9-25-2012 by L.L. No. 11-2012. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Transfer of Sanitary Flow
Credits."
A.
As set forth in numerous comprehensive planning documents, the Town's
goals include:
(1)
The preservation of open space, agricultural lands and recreational
landscapes;
(2)
Preservation of the rural, cultural, and historic character of the
hamlets and surrounding countryside;
(3)
Preservation of the natural environment and prevention of further
deterioration of resources;
(4)
Preservation and promotion of a broad range of housing and business
opportunities to support a socioeconomically diverse community; and
(5)
Increased transportation efficiency.
B.
To achieve these goals it is the intent and purpose of this chapter
to provide for the transfer of sanitary flow credits, if certain conditions
are present, and thereby transfer development potential from areas
designated for preservation to areas designated as more appropriate
for higher-density residential development.
C.
Unless expressly permitted herein, the transfer of sanitary flow
credits shall not occur in the Town of Southold.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall,
for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings as herein defined.
Any word or term not noted below shall be used with a meaning as defined
in Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language,
Unabridged (or the latest edition).
The following projects are eligible to receive sanitary flow
credits:
An area of the Town that is desirable to be developed more
intensively than areas outside the district.
Land within a receiving district to which sanitary flow generated
from one or more sending parcels is transferred.
A sanitary flow credit shall correspond to per 20,000 square
feet of lot area which is the equivalent of 300 gallons per day (gpd)
flow (e.g., a one-acre lot in an R-40 Zone could send two density
flow credits).
The right to discharge to the groundwater 300 gallons of
wastewater per day pursuant to the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.
An area of the Town that is desirable to be preserved as
open space.
Land from which sanitary flow credits are transferred for
use in one or more receiving districts in the Town of Southold.
The process by which sanitary flow credits are transferred
from one lot, parcel, or area of land to another lot, parcel, or area
of land in one or more receiving districts. Sanitary flow shall be
transferred from a lot, parcel or area of land to another area of
land in one or more receiving districts at rate of 300 gallons per
day (gpd) of flow
A.
Applicability. Any and all sanitary flow credit transfers within
the Town of Southold shall be in accordance with this chapter.
The Town hereby establishes a sanitary flow credit bank (SFC bank) in which sanitary flow credits may be received, retained and sold by the Town Board in the best interests of the Town. All sanitary flow credits transferred into the bank must first be accepted by Town Board resolution in accordance with the terms of this chapter. All receipts and proceeds from sales of sanitary flow credits sold from the Town bank shall be deposited into a special municipal account known as the "Community Preservation Fund," to be used in a manner specified in Chapter 17 of the Town Code.
A.
The only development right that may be transferred into and out of
the SFC bank is a sanitary flow credit.
B.
The lands from which sanitary flow credits are to be transferred into the bank shall remain preserved in perpetuity by a permanent conservation easement or other instrument that similarly preserves community character as defined and set forth in the definition of "community preservation" in Chapter 17 of the Town Code. The easement or other document shall be in a form approved by the Town Attorney.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
The sanitary flow credit transfer will allow the Town to bank
sanitary flow credits from preserved land in the SFC bank and later
sell those credits for use exclusively on parcels within a receiving
district. The sale price of the credits shall be determined by resolution
of the Town Board, and such factors as the appraised value of the
sanitary flow credit and the public benefit provided to the community
shall be considered. All transfers of sanitary flow credits within
the Town of Southold must pass through the SFC bank.
A.
Designation of sending and receiving districts.
(1)
The sending district shall be any zoning district in the Town of
Southold that is not defined as a receiving district.
(2)
The receiving district shall be any land designated as General Business
(B). Hamlet Business (HB) or Residential Office (RO), or land designated
as an Affordable Housing District (AHD) after March 1, 2005.
(3)
Sending and receiving areas shall be in the same groundwater management
zone.
(4)
Nothing herein shall prevent the transfer of sanitary flow credits
from a lot, parcel or area of land within a receiving district to
another lot, parcel or area of land within the same receiving district,
B.
Project criteria.
A.
Upon receipt of a contract (executed by the seller) for the Town's
acquisition of a parcel of property or the development rights thereon,
and prior to the public hearing on the purchase, the Land Preservation
Coordinator shall provide to the Town Board a calculation of the sanitary
flow credits available, subject to survey, for transfer from the parcel
of property upon the closing of the contract in accordance with its
terms.
B.
Following the closing on the parcel, the sanitary flow credits from
the property shall be placed into the Town SFC bank by resolution
of the Town Board, which resolution shall set forth the number of
sanitary flow credits and the source of the credits. The Town Clerk
shall maintain a log detailing the credits transferred into the bank,
as provided by the Land Preservation Coordinator in a form approved
by the Town Board.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
C.
The Town Clerk shall forward the resolution to the Tax Assessor's
office, the Land Preservation Department, the Special Projects Coordinator
and the Planning Department for inclusion in the Town database and
geographic information system (GIS).
No sanitary flow credits shall be transferred back to the sending
parcel once the development rights have been transferred. No sanitary
flow credits may be transferred out of a parcel which has previously
had all of its development rights extinguished under the Town of Southold,
Suffolk County, or New York State acquisition of development rights
program or other easement, transfer, restrictive covenant or otherwise.
Upon application by the owner of an individual parcel in a receiving
district, the Town Board may permit the transfer of a sanitary flow
credit to such parcel by proceeding in the manner set forth below:
A.
Notice to adjacent property owners shall be given by the applicant in the same manner as set forth in § 280-159 relating to change-of-zone applications.
C.
The Town Board, before publishing notice for a public hearing, shall, in a written request, instruct the Town Planning Board and the Building Inspector to prepare an official report regarding the proposed transfer, including the Planning Board recommendations. The Building Inspector report shall certify the use in the zone proposed and comment on the proposed project. The Planning Board shall consider the factors set forth in § 117-9E below in its report and recommendations.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
D.
The Town Board, by resolution adopted at a stated meeting, shall
fix the time and place of a public hearing on the proposed transfer
and cause at least 10 days' notice of such hearing to be published
in the official newspaper.
E.
Before the transfer of sanitary flow credits may be authorized to
any receiving district, the Town Board shall determine, after evaluating
the effects of potential increased development that would result from
the proposed transfer of sanitary credits, that the district contains
adequate resources, environmental quality and public facilities, including
adequate transportation, water supply, waste disposal and fire protection;
that there will be no significant environmentally damaging consequences;
and that such increased development is compatible with comprehensive
planning and the development otherwise permitted by the Town and by
the federal, state and county agencies having jurisdiction to approve
permissible development within the district.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
F.
The Town Board may condition the transfer of sanitary flow credits on the applicant filing covenant and restrictions against the receiving parcel imposing conditions on the receiving parcel that the Town Board deems appropriate and necessary to ensure that the criteria in Subsection E of this section are met. In projects involving affordable housing, the applicant shall be required to file covenants and restrictions stating that the affordable housing created shall remain affordable in perpetuity.
[Added 8-25-2020 by L.L.
No. 8-2020[2]]
G.
Sanitary flow credits shall not be transferred out of the school,
special assessment or tax districts unless the Town Board determines
that there is no other available lot within said districts to which
sanitary flow credit may reasonably be transferred and that the transfer
does not unreasonably transfer the tax burden between the taxpayers
of such districts.
H.
Following the public hearing, the Town Board may, by resolution, authorize the transfer of sanitary flow credits. The resolution shall state that the applicant shall receive a sanitary flow credit certificate, which shall not be signed by the Supervisor and released by the Town Clerk to the applicant until the covenants and restrictions as set forth at § 117-11 have been filed and such filing has been approved by the Town Attorney.
A.
An applicant must obtain and present a sanitary flow credit certificate
to the Building Department prior to receiving a building permit.
B.
The sanitary flow credit certificate shall state the specific use
for the transferred credit and may be used only for construction of
the project listed on the certificate.
C.
The Town Clerk shall maintain a log detailing the sanitary flow credit
certificates that have been issued by the Town Board, and such log
shall contain the source and location of the transferred credit.
D.
The Town Clerk shall provide notice of the issuance of a sanitary
flow credit certificate to the Town Attorney, the Tax Assessor's office,
the Land Preservation Department, the Special Projects Coordinator
and the Planning Department.
A.
Following the Town Board resolution granting a transfer of a sanitary flow credit to a recipient pursuant to the procedures set forth in this chapter, the applicant shall file in the office of the Suffolk County Clerk any required covenants and restrictions in a form approved by the Town Attorney. The covenants and restrictions shall contain terms and conditions as the Town Board and the Planning Board deem necessary to ensure that 1) the criteria for approving the transfer of sanitary flow credits contained in Subsection E of § 117-9 are met, 2) than any affordable dwelling unit created by the transferred credit remains affordable in perpetuity, 3) that the affordable dwelling unit shall be leased or sold only to eligible individuals registered with the Town of Southold Housing Registry, and 4) that the sale and/or lease of the dwelling unit that has been constructed with the transferred credit shall be administered through the Town of Southold pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 34, Housing Fund, and §§ 280-24 through 280- 33, Affordable Housing (AHD) District, and the sale and/or lease price shall be set by resolution of the Town Board.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
B.
A copy of the filed covenants and restrictions must be filed with
the Town Clerk within 30 days of the approving resolution. No sanitary
flow credit certificate shall be issued until the covenants and restrictions
have been filed and such filing has been approved by the Town Attorney.
C.
The Town Clerk shall forward the covenants and restrictions to the
Town Attorney, the Tax Assessor's office, the Land Preservation Department,
the Special Projects Coordinator and the Planning Department for inclusion
in the Town database.
Failure to comply with any of the requirements set forth in
this chapter may result in revocation of the transferred sanitary
flow credit. A sanitary flow credit may be revoked by Town Board resolution
following a public hearing after 10 days' written notice of the hearing,
by personal service or certified mail, has been given to the property
owner.
[Amended 8-25-2020 by L.L. No. 8-2020]
Any sanitary flow credit transferred to a recipient for construction of an affordable dwelling unit shall expire and be returned to the bank one year after transfer if the dwelling unit has not been issued a certificate of occupancy unless an extension of time has been requested by the property owner and granted by the Town Board. A request for an extension of time shall be made one month in advance of the expiration. A sanitary flow credit shall be returned to the bank by resolution of the Town Board, and notice thereof shall be given by the Town Clerk to those Town departments referenced in § 117-10D.
In the B, HB or RO Zoning Districts, a property owner may apply to the Town Board to return the transferred sanitary flow credit to the bank and extinguish the affordable housing covenants and restrictions applicable to the property. The Town Board shall hold a public hearing on the application, and notice shall be given in accordance with Chapter 55, Public Hearings, Notice of. A sanitary flow credit shall be returned to the bank by resolution of the Town Board, and notice thereof shall be given by the Town Clerk to those Town departments referenced in § 117-10D.
