No use shall be made of, and no building or
structure shall be constructed on, any property in the Town of Lockport
unless authorized by this chapter.
The restrictions and controls intended to regulate
development in each district, including permitted uses and dimensional
requirements, are set forth in the district regulations which are
supplemented by other sections of this chapter. Unless otherwise stated,
dimensional requirements are the minimum allowed distances, areas
or dimensions, and are shown for each district by chart.
At street intersections, no building, structure
or shrubbery more than three feet high, or other impediment to vision,
including trees, vehicles and movable objects, shall be allowed on
any corner lot encroaching upon a space to be determined by drawing
a line 16 feet along each street right-of-way line of such lot from
the intersection of the right-of-way lines of the two streets and
connecting the ends of such lines by a diagonal line enclosing a triangular
space. Existing trees within such space shall be kept so trimmed that
the lowest limbs and branches thereof shall be no less than eight
feet from the ground.
In addition to other restrictions relating to
structures, no fence shall be constructed or maintained in any road
or street right-of way, and no fence shall be constructed or maintained
which will obstruct sight lines from any vehicle using a driveway
or entrance to any vehicle, bicycle or pedestrian sidewalk, walkway
or trail, or which causes any safety hazard. Unless otherwise specifically
authorized or required by this chapter, no fence shall exceed six
feet in height. Any fence abutting a residential use shall be constructed
so that the decorative side faces out. No fence shall be utilized
for signage or shall be of any color except natural, neutral or white.
Fences may be constructed on lot lines.
No building or structure or other nonmovable
impediment shall be constructed, used or maintained on any area of
any lot designated as a drainage, sewer, water, public utility easement,
or other public easement pursuant to any recorded instrument or pursuant
to any subdivision map filed in the Niagara County Clerk's office
or pursuant to established usage. Any existing structure so located
shall be removed within six months of adoption of this chapter.
No building or structure or development shall
be constructed or maintained which encroaches on any road right-of-way
or planned road right-of-way depicted on the Town Master Plan, Town
Highway Map, Town Official Map or filed subdivision map.
No residential trailers, mobile homes, or manufactured
homes, house trailer camps, tourist camps or house trailers shall
be permitted in any district other than the Manufactured Home Park
Use District (MHP).
The following shall not be allowed in any district:
[Amended 7-7-2010 by L.L. No. 6-2010]
No person shall strip, excavate, or otherwise
remove, in any use district, topsoil, soil, gravel, fill, or other
material from land, for sale or for other use, or for any purpose.
The minimum amount necessary for the construction or alteration of
buildings, structures, roads or infrastructures on the premises, and
excavation and/or grading incidental thereto, may be removed, and
the minimum amount necessary for the development of an approved residential,
commercial or industrial development or subdivision may be removed
when such development requires soil be removed because it cannot be
utilized on the premises or subdivision in which it is located. No
such removal shall be allowed except upon compliance with the following
requirements:
A.
Whenever
such material is to be removed, a permit shall be obtained from the
Building Inspector.
B.
The application
for the permit shall contain all information required by the Building
Inspector, including, but not limited to:
(1)
A
site plan or subdivision plan, if not previously provided, except
in the case of a single-family or two-family residence.
(2)
Engineered
calculations sufficient to establish that not less than six inches
of topsoil (or all topsoil, if less topsoil is present on the premises
than is necessary to provide for six inches of topsoil) will remain
or be placed on all areas of the premises or subdivision not contained
within the footprint of a road, building, parking area or other area
where vegetation cannot be grown due to the development. If less than
six inches of topsoil covering will be present, no topsoil may be
removed; if more soil is removed than allowed, replacement topsoil
must be brought to the site by the developer. For one- and two-family
residences, the calculations may be calculated by the builder.
(3)
Except
in the case of a single-family or two-family residence, payment to
the Town of an application fee in the amount of $250 and a removal
fee of $0.50 per cubic yard of removed soil to offset the cost of
administering, inspecting and enforcing the provisions of this section.
Such fee may be changed from time to time by resolution of the Town
Board.
(4)
In
the case of commercial development and all subdivisions, such calculation
shall be made prior to final subdivision or site plan approval.
(5)
Ponds
or excavations, except ponds or depressions required for site plan
or subdivision drainage, shall not constitute improvements authorizing
removal of materials.
(6)
The
Town's Building Inspector, with the assistance of the Town's Engineer,
as needed, will review such calculations; if such calculations are
not verified by the Town's Building Inspector, additional information
may be required or the permit shall be issued incorporating the Town
Building Inspector's or Engineer's recommendations.
(7)
Upon
review of application and review and approval by the Town Engineer,
and payment of fees, a removal permit shall be issued by the Building
Inspector.
(8)
Failure
to comply with this section shall constitute grounds for revocation
of site plan approval, subdivision approval, special use permit and
revocation or nonissuance of building permit or certificate of occupancy.
Further, the Town Board may refuse to accept dedication of roads or
acceptance of infrastructure, if this section is not complied with.
(9)
A
violation of this section shall constitute a violation and shall be
punishable by a fine of not more than $250 or imprisonment not to
exceed 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(10)
In addition, this section may be enforced by a temporary restraining
order, preliminary and permanent injunction issued by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
Any allowed home occupation must conform to
the following conditions:
A.
The occupation or profession shall be carried on wholly
within the principal building or within a building or other structure
accessory thereto;
B.
No person outside the family unit residing in the
dwelling shall be employed on-site, and there shall be no stock in
trade, except for mail order or Internet sale;
C.
There shall be no exterior display, no exterior sign
(except as expressly permitted by the district regulations of this
chapter), no exterior storage of materials and no other exterior indication
of the home occupation or visible variation from the residential character
of the principal building;
D.
No nuisance, offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust,
odors, heat, glare, or electrical disturbance shall be generated;
E.
No traffic shall be generated by such home occupation
in greater volumes than would normally be expected in the neighborhood;
F.
In addition to the off-street parking provided to
meet the normal requirements of the dwelling, adequate off-street
parking shall be provided for the maximum number of users the home
occupation may attract during peak operating hours;
G.
The home occupation shall not utilize an area equal
to more than 25% of the total floor area of the dwelling unit;
H.
The home occupation shall not affect the residential
character of the neighborhood; and
I.
There shall be no more than one vehicle used in connection
with the home occupation.
J.
Home occupations shall include, but not be limited
to, the following: art studio, dressmaking shop, hairdressing shop,
one-on-one teaching or tutoring facilities, office of a physician,
dentist, optometrist, lawyer, engineer, architect, or accountant,
office of a real estate broker or agent of an insurance agent or broker.
A home occupation shall not be interpreted to include the following:
facilities for the repair of motor vehicles, day-care centers for
more than six children, retail sales other than arts and crafts made
on the premises or sold by mail, Internet or other means not requiring
customers to visit the premises, storage facilities, wholesale sales,
any occupation requiring more than one delivery by truck, UPS, etc.,
per day, any occupation using any vehicle larger than a 3/4 ton pickup
truck or 3/4 ton van, manufacturing or industrial uses.
Except for a lot size variance, any variance,
permit or approval of any kind issued under or pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter shall expire and cease to be in effect if the authorized
use or construction is not commenced within one year of the date of
the issuance, or if the authorized use or construction is commenced
but has been abandoned or discontinued for a period of six months.
The New York State Building Code, as amended
from time to time, is hereby adopted by the Town of Lockport.
All single-family and two-family residences
shall be a minimum of 1,000 square feet per unit, and all multiple-family
residences shall be a minimum of 850 square feet per unit. Garages,
basements and attics shall not be included for square footage calculations.
[Amended 5-5-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
No accessory use shall be closer to the street
than the rear facade of the principal use.
Except as provided for in cluster developments,
there shall be no more than one principal use on any lot in an AR,
R-1 or R-2 District or on residential lots in PUD Districts, or AG
Districts. This restriction shall not apply to permitted farming operations.
All setbacks from roads and streets shall be
measured from the road or street right-of-way line. Corner lot front
setbacks shall apply to setbacks from each road.
[Added 5-5-2010 by L.L. No. 2-2010]
No business shall be conducted in any district unless conducted
from a permanent building located on the same lot having a minimum
of 1,500 square feet. This provision shall not apply to home occupations.
