In considering applications for the subdivision of land, the Planning Board shall be guided by the standards set forth herein. Said standards shall be considered minimum requirements and shall be modified by the Board only under circumstances set forth in § 176-21 of this article.
A.
Land to be subdivided for building purposes shall
be of such a character that it can be used safely without danger to
the residents from any menace.
C.
All required improvements shall conform to the Town
specifications, which may be obtained from the Town Engineer and Town
Superintendent of Highways.
A.
The arrangement of streets in the subdivision shall
provide for a continuation of principal streets in any adjoining subdivision
or for their proper projection when adjoining property is not subdivided;
in order to create a logical system, the right-of-way shall be of
a width at least as great as that of such existing connecting streets,
and in no case shall streets be less than 50 feet of right-of-way
with 30 feet of pavement, excluding curbs, in order to accommodate
prospective traffic and afford access for fire fighting, snow removal
and road maintenance equipment.
B.
Where a subdivision borders an existing narrow road
(below standards set herein) or when the Master Plan indicates plans
for realignment or widening of a road that would require use of some
of the land in the subdivision, the subdivider may be required to
show areas for widening or realigning such roads on the plat, marked
"Reserved for Road Realignment (or Widening) Purposes." It shall be
mandatory to indicate such reservation on the plat when a proposed
widening or realignment is shown on the Town or County Official Maps.
Land reserved for such purposes may not be counted in satisfying setback
or yard or area requirements of the Zoning Ordinance.[1]
C.
Minor streets shall be so laid out that their use
by through traffic will be discouraged.
D.
Where a subdivision abuts or contains an existing
or proposed major street, the Board may require marginal access streets
(streets parallel to major streets providing access to adjacent lots),
reverse frontage (that is, frontage on a street other than the existing
or proposed major street) with screen planting contained in a nonaccess
reservation along the rear property line, or such other treatment
as may be necessary for adequate protection of residential properties
and to afford separation of through and local traffic.
E.
Where a tract is subdivided into lots substantially
larger than the minimum size required in the zoning district in which
a subdivision is located, the Board may require that streets and lots
be laid out so as to permit future resubdivision in accordance with
the requirements contained in these regulations.
F.
Dead ends; easements; street connections.
(1)
The creation of dead-end (cul-de-sac) or loop streets
may be encouraged wherever the Board finds that such type of development
will not interfere with normal traffic circulation in the area. Permanent
dead-end or cul-de-sac streets shall not in general exceed six times
the required minimum lot width or 900 feet in length, whichever is
shorter, and shall be equipped with a turnaround roadway with a minimum
outside diameter of traveled way of 120 feet unless the Board approves
an equally safe and convenient form of turning space. Temporary dead-end
streets shall not in general exceed 12 times the required minimum
lot width or 1,800 feet, whichever is shorter, and shall be equipped
with a turnaround which conforms to the standards for permanent dead-end
streets; a temporary turnaround shall be provided with a notation
on the plat that land outside the normal street right-of-way shall
revert to abutting property owners whenever the street is continued.
(2)
In the case of dead-end streets, where needed or desirable,
the Board may require the reservation of a twenty-foot-wide easement
to provide continuation of pedestrian traffic or utilities to the
next street.
(3)
Subdivisions containing 20 lots or more shall have
at least two street connections with existing public streets or streets
shown on the Official Map, if such exists, or streets on an approved
subdivision plat for which a bond has been filed.
(4)
In blocks exceeding 800 feet in length, the Planning
Board may require the reservation of a twenty-foot-wide easement through
the block to provide for the crossing of underground utilities and
pedestrian traffic, where needed or desirable, and may further specify,
at its discretion, that a four-foot-wide paved footpath be included.
The Planning Board shall ensure that adequate provisions are made
for the proper maintenance of any such easements.
G.
Intersections.
(1)
Intersections of streets shall be at angles as close
to 90° as possible, and in no case shall two streets intersect
at an angle less than 60°. To this end, where one street approaches
another between 60° and 90°, the former should be curved approaching
the intersection.
(2)
Intersections of major streets by other streets shall
be at least 800 feet apart, if possible. Cross-street (four-cornered)
intersections shall be avoided insofar as possible, except as shown
on the Comprehensive Development Plan or at other important traffic
intersections. A distance of at least 150 feet shall be maintained
between center lines of offset intersecting streets. Grades shall
be limited to no more than 3% within 50 feet of an intersection.
H.
The street plan of a proposed subdivision shall bear
a logical relationship to the topography of the property, and all
streets shall be arranged so as to obtain as many of the building
sites as possible at or above the grade of the streets. Grades of
streets shall conform as closely as possible to the original topography.
I.
Where a subdivision borders on or contains a railroad
right-of-way or limited-access highway right-of-way, the Planning
Board may require a street approximately parallel to and on each side
of such right-of-way, at a distance suitable for the appropriate use
of the intervening land (as for park purposes in residential districts,
or for commercial or industrial purposes in appropriate districts).
Such distances shall also be determined with due regard for the requirements
of approach grades and future grade separations.
A.
Streets shall be graded and improved with pavements,
curbs and gutters, sidewalks, drainage facilities, water mains, sewers,
streetlights and street signs, street trees and hydrants in accordance
with Town specification.
(1)
Fire hydrants. Installation of fire hydrants shall
be in conformity with all requirements of standard thread and nut
as specified by the regulations of the Water Boards of the Village
of Ossining and the Village of Briarcliff Manor.
(2)
Streetlighting facilities. Lighting facilities shall
be in conformance with the lighting system of the Town. Such lighting
standards and fixtures shall be installed after approval by the appropriate
power company and the authorized Town electrical inspector.
B.
The Planning Board may require that underground utilities
be placed in the street right-of-way between the paved roadway and
street line to simplify location and repair of lines when they require
attention. The subdivider shall install underground service connections
to the property line of each lot within the subdivision for such required
utilities before the street is paved.
C.
Where topography is such as to make impractical the
inclusion of utilities within the street rights-of-way, perpetual
unobstructed easements at least 20 feet in width shall be otherwise
provided with satisfactory access to the street. Wherever possible,
easements shall be continuous from block to block and shall present
as few irregularities as possible. Such easements shall be cleared,
graded and maintained where required in accordance with an arrangement
approved by the Planning Board.
D.
Grades of all streets shall conform in general to
the terrain and shall not be less than 1/2 of 1% nor more than 6%
for major or secondary (or collector) streets, or 10% for minor streets
in residential zones, but in no case more than 2% within 50 feet of
any intersection. All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical
curves of such length and radius as meet with the approval of the
Town Engineer and Town Superintendent of Highways so that clear visibility
shall be provided for a safe distance.
E.
All street right-of-way lines at intersections shall
be rounded by curves with a radius of at least 20 feet, and curbs
shall be adjusted accordingly.
F. 
A combination of steep grades and curves shall be
avoided. In order to provide visibility for traffic safety, that portion
of any corner lot which is shown shaded on Sketch A shall be cleared
of all growth (except isolated trees) and obstructions above the level
three feet higher than the center line of the street. If directed,
ground shall be excavated to achieve visibility.
G.
Watercourses.
(1)
Where a watercourse separates a proposed street from
abutting property, provision shall be made for access to all lots
by means of culverts or other structures of design approved by the
Town Engineer and Town Superintendent of Highways.
(2)
Where a subdivision is traversed by a watercourse,
drainage way, channel or stream, there shall be provided a stormwater
easement or drainage right-of-way as required by the Town Engineer,
and in no case less than 20 feet in width.
H.
In general, street lines within a block, deflecting
from each other at any one point by more than 10°, shall be connected
with a curve, the radius of which for the inner street lines shall
not be less than 350 feet on major streets, 250 feet on secondary
or collector streets and 100 feet on minor streets. The outer street
line in each case shall be parallel to such inner street line.
I.
Paved rear service streets of not less than 20 feet
in width, or in lieu thereof, adequate off-street loading space, suitably
surfaced, shall be provided in connection with lots designed for commercial
use.
J.
In front of areas zoned and designed for commercial
use or where a change of zoning to a zone which permits commercial
use is contemplated by the Town to permit such use, the street right-of-way
and/or pavement width shall be increased by such amount on each side
as may be deemed necessary by the Board to assure the free flow of
through traffic without interference by parked or parking vehicles
and to provide adequate and safe parking space for such commercial
or business district.
A.
All roads shall be named by the subdivider, and such
names must be approved by the Town Board.
B.
Names shall be sufficiently different in sound and
in spelling from other road names in the Town so as not to cause confusion.
C.
A road which is or is planned as a continuation of
an existing road shall bear the same name.
A.
The subdivider shall install sanitary sewer facilities
in compliance with the requirements of Town of Ossining Sewer Ordinance[1] and the Westchester County Department of Health and in
a manner satisfactory to the Town Superintendent of Highways and the
Town Engineer. Necessary action shall be taken by the developer to
enable the Town Board to extend or create a sanitary sewer district
for the purpose of providing sewers to the subdivision.
B.
The subdivider shall install water supply and/or distribution
facilities in compliance with the requirements of the Town Zoning
Ordinance[2] and the Westchester County Department of Health and the
Water Boards of the Village of Ossining and the Village of Briarcliff
Manor and in a manner satisfactory to the Town Superintendent of Highways
and Town Engineer. Necessary action shall be taken by the developer
to enable the Town Board to extend or create a water supply district
for the purpose of providing water and fire hydrants to the subdivision.
A.
The lot arrangement shall be such that in constructing
a building in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance,[1] there will be no foreseeable difficulties for reasons
of topography or other natural conditions. Lots shall not be of such
depth as to encourage the later creation of a second building lot
at the front or rear.
B.
All side lines of lots shall be at right angles to
straight street lines and radial to curved street lines, unless a
variance from this rule will give a better street or lot plan as determined
by the Planning Board.
C.
Corner lots shall be of sufficient dimensions so that
any structure placed thereon shall conform to the front building line
of each street.
D.
Where practicable, lots shall be so laid out that
the driveways have access to that street on which they abut which
carries or is intended to carry the lesser amount of traffic. Driveway
grades between the street and the setback line shall not exceed 10%.
E.
Permanent monuments meeting specifications approved
by the Town Engineer as to size, type and installation shall be set
at such block corners, angle points, points of curves in streets and
other points as the Town Engineer may require, and their location
shall be shown on the final subdivision plat.
F.
Every proposed lot shall contain a suitable site for a principal
building and associated improvements.
[Added 12-15-2015 by L.L.
No. 9-2015]
(1)
With respect to a conventional subdivision layout, at least 75% of the minimum lot area requirement of a proposed lot shall consist of neither "wetland" nor "extremely steep slope" as these terms are defined in Chapter 105, Freshwater Wetlands, Watercourses and Water Body Protection, and Chapter 167, Steep Slope Protection, respectively, of the Town Code. For example, in an R-40 Zoning District, at least 30,000 square feet (75% of 40,000 square feet) of the proposed lot shall consist of neither "wetland" nor "extremely steep slope."
(2)
With respect to a cluster development layout, the Planning Board shall strive to achieve the seventy-five-percent standard in Subsection F(1) immediately above, but the Board shall have latitude with respect to the degree to which building sites and lots may contain "wetland" and/or "extremely steep slope," in the furtherance of fulfilling one or more of the purposes of cluster development set forth in § 200-31A of this chapter, to wit to enable and encourage flexibility of design and development of land in such a manner as to promote the most appropriate use of land, to facilitate the adequate and economical provision of streets and utilities, to preserve the natural and scenic qualities of open lands, to protect areas of meaningful ecological value and to reserve suitable lands for park and recreation purposes, as well as to assist in the provision of below-market-rate housing pursuant to § 200-34C of the Town Code.
A.
The subdivider may be required by the Planning Board
to carry away by pipe or open ditch any spring- or surface water that
may exist either previous to, or as a result of the subdivision. Such
drainage facilities shall be located in the street right-of-way where
feasible, or in perpetual unobstructed easements of appropriate width.
B.
A culvert or other drainage facility shall, in each
case, be large enough to accommodate potential runoff from its entire
upstream drainage area, whether inside or outside the subdivision.
The Town Engineer shall approve the design and size of facility based
on anticipated runoff from a ten-year storm as defined by the United
States Geological Survey under conditions of total potential development
permitted by the Zoning Ordinance[1] in the watershed.
C.
The subdivider's engineer shall also study the effect
of each subdivision on existing downstream drainage facilities outside
the area of the subdivisions; this study shall be reviewed by the
Town Engineer. Where it is anticipated that the additional runoff
incident to the development of the subdivision will overload an existing
downstream drainage facility during a five-year storm (as defined
by United States Geological Survey), the Planning Board shall notify
the Town Board of such potential condition. In such case, the Planning
Board shall not approve the subdivision until provision has been made
for the improvement of said condition.
D.
Land subject to flooding or land deemed by the Planning
Board to be uninhabitable shall not be platted for residential occupancy,
nor for such other uses as may increase danger to health, life or
property, or aggravate the flood hazard, but such land within the
plat shall be set aside for such uses as shall not be endangered by
periodic or occasional inundation.
A.
Park and playground sites.
(1)
The Planning Board shall require that the plat of
a proposed major subdivision show sites of a character, size and location
suitable for the development of permanent parks. Where a proposed
park, playground or other permanent recreation area is shown on the
Comprehensive Development Plan to be located in whole or in part in
a proposed subdivision, the Planning Board shall require that such
area or areas be shown on said plat. The Planning Board shall require
that not more than 10% of the gross area of the proposed subdivision
be so shown. The minimum area of contiguous open space acceptable
in fulfillment of this requirement shall be generally one acre and
may be made up in connection with the subdivision of adjacent land.
(2)
The subdivider may submit a proposed subdivision of
said land shown for recreational purposes, if the Town does not either
accept the dedication or purchase of said land:
(3)
In the event that an area to be used for permanent
recreational facilities is required to be so shown, the subdivider
shall submit to the Planning Board a suitable tracing, at a scale
of not less than 30 feet to an inch, showing the following:
(4)
In cases where the Planning Board finds that due to
the size, topography or location of the subdivision, or for other
reasons, land for park, playground or other purposes cannot be properly
located therein, or, if in the opinion of the Board it is not desirable,
the Board may waive the requirement that the plat show land for such
purposes. The Board shall then require, as a condition to approval
of the plat, a payment of a recreation fee to the Town in an amount
set by resolution of the Town Board in the Fee Schedule,[1] which amount shall be deemed reasonably necessary for
the acquisition of permanent recreation land or for the construction
of capital recreation improvements and/or facilities for existing
recreation land. Such amount shall be paid to the Town at the time
of final plat approval, and no plat shall be signed by the authorized
officers of the Board until such payment is made. Such amount shall
be held by the Town in a special Town Recreation Site Acquisition
and Improvement Fund and applied to any one or more of the aforementioned
recreation purposes.
[Amended 9-11-2007 by L.L. No. 8-2007]
B.
Natural factors.
[Amended 12-15-2015 by L.L. No. 6-2015]
(1)
Trees.
(a)
In general, no living trees of six inches diameter or larger,
that are in areas not covered by pavement or buildings or utilities
or other structures, or in areas where the change from the original
ground elevation exceeds two feet, shall be removed by the developer.
(b)
Street trees shall be provided as part of the subdivision improvements.
Such trees shall be planted along both sides of the street, outside
of the street right-of-way, and spaced approximately 50 feet on center
with at least two trees per lot.
(c)
In the event certain lots are heavily wooded and do not require
these street trees, then said trees shall be planted on less wooded
lots, if any, in the confines of the plan in question. The final location
determination shall be the duty of the Town Engineer or his duly authorized
representative after site inspection.
(d)
Standards for street trees shall be in accordance with the recommendations
as set forth in the Horticultural Standards of the American Nurseryman
Association. All trees shall be bare-rooted or balled, first-line
nursery stock and not rejects. The caliper of each tree shall be a
minimum of four inches, as measured 12 inches above finished grade.
(e)
The planting of bare-rooted trees shall be permitted only during
the months of April, May, October and November. Balled trees may be
planted any time during the year, provided that ground is not frozen,
and shall have a minimum ball diameter of 20 inches.
(f)
Planting of all trees shall be in a properly prepared hole which
is twice the diameter of the root ball and no deeper than the height
of the root ball. There shall be three inches of topsoil below the
roots, and the remainder of the hole shall be filled with original
soil.
(g)
Guaranties shall be one year from the time of planting in the
case of bare-rooted trees and one growing season in the case of balled
trees. It shall be the duty of the land developer to provide certification
from a recognized landscape contractor, preferably a member in good
standing of any accredited Nurseryman Association, attesting to the
time and method of planting in accord with these specifications, and
providing the guaranties as set forth.
(h)
The following is a list of acceptable street trees. No variation
shall be allowed without written permission of the Planning Board:
|
Genus
|
Species
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Acer (maple trees)
|
Rubrum (red or scarlet)
| |
|
Saccharinum (sugar)
| ||
|
Platanus (plane trees)
|
Acerifolia orientalis (London)
| |
|
Acerifolia occidentalis (American)
| ||
|
Quercus (oak trees)
|
Borealis rubra (northern red oak)
| |
|
Coccinea (scarlet red oak)
| ||
|
Palustris (pin oak)
| ||
|
Tilia (linden trees)
|
Americana (American)
| |
|
Tomentosa (silver)
|
(i)
If any topsoil is removed from its natural position in the process
of grading the subdivision site, such topsoil shall be replaced in
compliance with the requirements of the applicable Town laws.
C.
Reserve strips. Reserve strips of land, which might
be used to control access from the proposed subdivision to any neighboring
property, or to any land within the subdivision itself, shall be prohibited.
Where the Planning Board finds that strict compliance
with the requirements of this article would cause unusual hardship
or extraordinary difficulties because of the special circumstances
of a particular situation, the Board may modify the requirements of
this article so long as the Board finds that the public interest will
be protected, and that any such modification will be consistent with
the spirit and intent of this chapter, all Town laws and ordinances,
the Comprehensive Development Plan and the Official Map. In permitting
any such modification, the Planning Board shall attach such conditions
as are, in its judgment, necessary to substantially secure the objectives
of the requirement so modified.
