[Added 6-21-2005 by L.L. No. 16-2005]
A.Â
The Town Board of the Town of Babylon, after a review
of the impacts of hot-mix asphalt plants and their regulation elsewhere,
finds that:
(1)Â
Hot-mix asphalt plants constitute a small but thriving
industry on Long Island, offering such community benefits as jobs
in the manufacturing sector and a local source of materials for other
industries that provide for area growth and for the development and
maintenance of its infrastructure;
(2)Â
Local sourcing of hot-mix asphalt is advantageous
because the product can deteriorate during transport over long distances,
and because distance hauling contributes to higher costs;
(3)Â
Hot-mix asphalt facilities can entail adverse impacts
on local air and water quality, traffic, and neighborhood character
which may be mitigated by use-specific controls;
B.Â
It is therefore the purpose of this article to:
(1)Â
Support a local hot-mix asphalt industry by permitting
facility location where compatible in all of the Town of Babylon's
industrial districts;
(2)Â
Establish clear, adequate and consistently applied
regulatory controls to limit the impact of any hot-mix asphalt facility
on surrounding uses and the general public welfare.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any crushed rock, gravel, sand or other granular material
suitable for the manufacture of hot-mix asphalt or concrete.
Any of a class of black or dark-colored solid, semi-solid
or viscous flammable mixtures of hydrocarbons and other substances,
occurring naturally or obtained by distillation from coal or petroleum,
that are a component of asphalt and tar and are used for surfacing
roads and for waterproofing.
A paving material comprised of a mixture of hot dry aggregate
and bitumen.
All the component structures, buildings and material storage
areas of a site used for the production of hot-mix asphalt by mixing
hot dry aggregate with bitumen or similar asphalt petroleum products.
Neither the manufacture of aggregate (i.e. stone crushing) nor bitumen
is considered part of the hot-mix asphalt production process for the
purposes of this Code.
A.Â
Facilities for the production of hot-mix asphalt shall
be permitted only as a special exception use in all of the Town of
Babylon's Industrial Districts; the Zoning Board of Appeals shall
have original jurisdiction to hear and decide all such applications.
B.Â
All subsequent restrictions and requirements set forth
in this article shall apply to any hot-mix asphalt facility regardless
of underlying zoning district.
D.Â
Special exception use permits for hot-mix asphalt
facilities will be valid for a period of five years. They may be renewed
by application to the Zoning Board of Appeals upon demonstration of
continued compliance with the requirements set forth below and all
additional requirements previously imposed by the Zoning Board.
A.Â
No site containing an asphalt manufacturing plant
shall be located within:
(1)Â
Two thousand feet from sensitive institutional, residential
and/or public uses, including churches, schools, libraries, hospitals,
assisted-living and long-term-care facilities, and park and recreation
areas;
(2)Â
One thousand five hundred feet of residentially zoned
property;
(3)Â
Seven hundred fifty feet of residential uses in a
nonresidential zone.
B.Â
The location restrictions in this subsection may be
reduced by 100 feet for every 10 feet of vegetative buffer planted
along the entire length of the site boundary from which the restrictive
distance is measured. The buffer shall be planted with a dense mix
of deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs, with at least half the
stock to be a minimum of five feet when planted.
C.Â
For the purpose of this subsection, cemeteries and
Metropolitan Transportation Authority rights-of-way shall not be considered
residentially zoned properties.
The minimum lot size for any hot-mix asphalt
facility shall be two acres, regardless of underlying district requirements.
B.Â
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 213-167 and 213-214 to the contrary, the machinery of a hot-mix asphalt plant, including batch tower and storage silo with drag elevator, may be permitted to reach a maximum height of 55 feet, which shall be measured from the ground level elevation at the base of the machinery.
C.Â
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 213-167 and 213-214 to the contrary, the emissions stack of a hot-mix asphalt facility must have a minimum height of 55 feet and may reach a maximum height equal to 2.5 times the height of the tallest building within a two-hundred-foot radius of the property line, measured from the ground level elevation at the base of the stack.
The total building area shall not exceed 30%
of the lot area, regardless of underlying district requirements.
Any hot-mix asphalt facility site may contain
more than one building and/or structure.
A.Â
HMA facilities located in the Town's G Industrial
Districts are required to store their aggregates in enclosed or semienclosed
structures, either in silos or bunkers.
B.Â
Stockpiling of aggregates is permissible in the H
District. However, such stockpiles must not exceed a height of 25
feet and must be covered to prevent materials from being dispersed
by wind.
HMA facilities must have the following pollution
controls:
A.Â
Emissions control equipment for both primary and secondary
collection of particulate material in compliance with federal and
state requirements. The applicant is also required to obtain an Article
19 State DEC permit prior to renewing the special exception permit;
B.Â
A system for controlling "fugitive dust," i.e., particulate
matter, that, if not confined, would be emitted directly to the atmosphere
from points other than a stack, vent, chimney or other functionally
equivalent opening.
C.Â
A smoke recovery system to capture emissions generated
by the truck loadout process.
D.Â
A storage tank containment area in compliance with
the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.
E.Â
A system for managing stormwater runoff on site, with
zero discharge at the property line.
As part of the special exception permitting
process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate truck routes from
the site to major connector roads and/or highways that avoid residential
streets.
As part of the special exception permitting
process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate sufficient on-site
parking for all trucks that may be required when the facility is operating
at maximum capacity.
Hot-mix asphalt facilities shall be either enclosed
with opaque perimeter fencing between six and eight feet high, or
with a landscaped buffer occupying a minimum of 20% of the setback
area.
As part of the special exception permitting
process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate the use of site
planning to mitigate plant impacts, with such features as: