Town of Hyde Park, NY Article VI Improvements, Securities and Agreements

§ 96-16 Securities and improvements.

A. Letter of credit or other equivalent security. A letter of credit or equivalent security shall be delivered to guarantee to the Town that the subdivider will faithfully cause to be constructed and completed within a reasonable time the required public improvements and will convey the required lands and improvements to the Town, free and clear of all encumbrances. After the Planning Board has granted final approval of the subdivision plat, the subdivider shall follow the procedure set forth in either Subsection A(1) or (2) below:

(1) In an amount set by the Planning Board from an estimate prepared by the Town Engineer, the subdivider shall either file with the Town Clerk a certified check to cover the full cost of the required improvements or the subdivider shall file with the Town Clerk a letter of credit or other equivalent security to cover the full cost of the required improvements or any combination thereof. Any such security shall comply with the requirements of § 277 of the Town Law and, further, shall be satisfactory to the Town Board and Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution and surety. A period of one year shall be set forth in the security within which required improvements must be completed; however, the term of such letter of credit or other equivalent security may be extended by the Planning Board with the consent of the parties thereto.

(2) The subdivider shall complete, within one year after the initial date of title transfer with respect to any lot or dwelling fronting on any street shown on the final plat, all required improvements to the satisfaction of the Town Engineer, who shall file with the Planning Board a letter signifying the satisfactory completion of all improvements required by the Planning Board. For any required improvements not so completed, the subdivider shall file with the Town Clerk a letter of credit or other equivalent security covering the costs of such improvements and the cost of satisfactorily installing any improvements not approved by the Town Engineer. Any such security shall be satisfactory to the Town Board and Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution and surety. The Town may order such improvements to be installed and charge the expense to the subdivider. If such is not submitted, in the case of a large subdivision or where other circumstances require, the Planning Board may grant a reasonable extension of time beyond the one-year period. Any security shall be released only upon certification by the Planning Board or its representative that all the required improvements have been completed to its satisfaction.

B. Maintenance bond required. The subdivider shall file with the Town a maintenance bond in the amount determined by the Town Engineer to be adequate to assure the satisfactory condition of the initial public improvements for a period of one year following their completion and acceptance by the Town. Such bond shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney as to form, manner of execution and surety.

C. Utilities assurance. Where utilities required by the Planning Board are to be installed by a public utility company, the Planning Board may accept written assurance addressed to the Planning Board from the public utility company that such installations will be furnished by the company within a specified period of time and in accordance with the approved subdivision plat.

D. Waiver of required improvements. The Planning Board may waive, for such period as it may determine, the provision of any such improvements as, in its judgment, are not necessary to fulfill the express purposes of this chapter. In the case of each waiver granted, the Planning Board shall enter upon its records the reason or reasons why the particular improvement is not necessary, and it shall attach appropriate conditions or require such guaranties as may be necessary to protect the public interest.

E. Inspection of improvements.

(1) Inspection fee required. The subdivider shall pay to the Town an inspection fee in the amount of the actual costs incurred by the Town for inspection of the public improvements as determined by the fee schedule established by the Town. No building permits will be issued for the subdivision until such time as the inspection fee has been paid.

(2) Specifications. All required improvements shall be installed in accordance with specifications therefor established by the Town. Where no specific Town specification has been established for an individual item, the subdivider shall furnish to the Town Engineer copies of the specifications included in any contract entered into by the subdivider for such construction prior to the start of construction of any required improvements.

(3) Supervision by professional engineer required. The construction of all required improvements shall be supervised by a professional engineer employed by the subdivider, who, after completion of construction, shall certify in writing to the Planning Board that all required improvements have been constructed as required and approved by the Planning Board or as such requirements have been modified by the Town Engineer.

(4) Inspections by the Town Engineer. All improvements shall be subject to inspection and approval by the Town Engineer, who shall be notified by the subdivider at least 48 hours prior to the start of construction. The Town Engineer or other duly designated official may inspect required improvements during construction to assure their satisfactory completion prior to commencement of construction or development of the approved final plat.

(5) Subdivider responsible for compliance. Whether or not the Town Engineer or other duly designated official carries out inspection of required improvements during construction, the subdivider shall not in any way be relieved of his responsibilities to comply with this chapter.

F. Responsibility for proper installation of improvements.

(1) Noncompliance with approved plans. If the Town Engineer or other duly designated official shall find upon inspection that any of the required improvements have not been constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications filed by the subdivider, the subdivider and the surety company will be jointly and severally liable for the costs of completing said improvements according to specifications.

(2) Future plat approval. Unless covered by a letter of credit or other equivalent security, as specified in Subsection A(1), no plat which may be an extension of a previously recorded plat or no new plat, regardless of location, shall be approved by the Planning Board if the subdivider has not fully complied with the specifications of all of the required improvements in a previously recorded plat submitted by him for approval. As a condition for the approval of such plat, the Planning Board shall require that the conditions of the former agreement be met by the subdivider before the Planning Board shall take action on the plat.

(3) Deviation from approved plan caused by unforeseen field conditions. Whenever a developer, during the course of development and before acceptance of any construction under the subdivision regulations or road specifications of the Town of Hyde Park, encounters conditions such as flood areas, underground water, springs, intermittent wet areas or other unusual circumstances not foreseen in the general planning, such conditions shall be reported to the Planning Board, together with the developer's recommendations, if he so wishes, as to special treatment to secure adequate and permanent construction. The Planning Board shall, without unnecessary delay, investigate with the Town Engineer the condition, and either approve the developer's recommendations to correct same or a modification thereof or issue its own specifications for the correction of the condition. Unusual circumstances or detrimental conditions observed by the Planning Board or its agents shall be similarly treated.

(4) Monumentation. Permanent monuments shall be set at locations in accordance with Town specifications therefor or such points as the Town Engineer may designate. Each location must be indicated by a suitable symbol on the subdivision plat. The type of monument must be approved by the Town Engineer.

G. Required public improvements.

(1) Public improvements will be required except when, in the special or particular circumstances of a particular case, the Planning Board modifies or waives a requirement by resolution.

(2) In making such determination regarding streets, highways, parks and required improvements, the Planning Board shall take into consideration the development standards for the district set forth in Articles 4 and 5 of Chapter 108.

(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Planning Board may waive, subject to appropriate conditions, the provision of any or all of such improvements and design characteristics as in its judgment of the special circumstances of a particular plat or plats are not necessary to protect the public health, safety and general welfare or which in its judgment are inappropriate because of inadequacy or lack of connecting facilities adjacent or in proximity to the subdivision, as long as such waivers do not violate county, state or federal requirements.

§ 96-17 Agreements.

A. Public acceptance of streets and reservations. The approval by the Planning Board of a subdivision plat shall not be deemed to constitute or imply the acceptance by the Town of any street, utility easement, park, playground or other open space shown on said plat as offered for cession for public use. The Planning Board may require said plat to be endorsed with appropriate notes to this effect. Every street shown on a plat that is filed or recorded in the office of the County Clerk as provided in this chapter shall be deemed to be a private street until such time as it has been formally offered for cession to be public and formally accepted as a public street by resolution of the Town Board or, alternatively, until it has been condemned by the Town for use as a public street. The Planning Board may also require the filing of a written agreement between the applicant and the Town covering future title, dedication and provision for the costs for grading, development, equipment and maintenance of any park or playground area.

B. Responsibility for ownership of reservations. Ownership shall be clearly indicated on all reservations for park and playground purposes.

C. Offers of cession and releases. The plat shall be endorsed with the necessary agreements in connection with required easements or releases. Offers of easement or release shall be presented prior to plat approval. Formal offer of cession to the public shall be filed with the Planning Board prior to plat approval for all streets and parks, except for those streets and parks which are marked on the plat to indicate that such cession will not be offered.