The purpose of site plan approval is to determine compliance with the objectives of this chapter in those zoning districts where inappropriate development may cause a conflict between uses in the same or an adjoining zoning district by creating unhealthful or unsafe conditions and thereby adversely affecting the public health, safety and general welfare.
In the review and approval of site plan applications, the Planning Board shall have such authority as may be provided in § 274-a of the Town Law.
[Amended 3-13-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000; 2-11-2015 by L.L. No. 4-2015]
A. Site plan approval shall be required in accordance with the provisions of this article prior to the issuance of a building permit in any zoning district, the grant of a permit for a new use or change in use or approval of a special use or modification of a special use, including but not limited to new structures or uses, expansion, alteration or modification of existing structures or uses and legal conversion of an existing structure to another use. The requirement of site plan approval shall specifically include:
(1) Location and construction of any signs, except those
permitted in any zoning district pursuant to §
95-74, Subsection
E, of this chapter, and except where any such sign is otherwise included in an application for site plan approval for overall development of a lot.
(2) Location and construction of a single one- or two-family dwelling on a single lot not in an approved subdivision (sometimes known as a "one-lot subdivision").
(3) Location and construction of ponds, except where such pond is included in an application for subdivision of land or in an application for site plan approval for overall development of a lot, or where an excavation
permit has been obtained pursuant to Chapter
47 of this Code.
(4) Construction of a building or structure, customarily considered an accessory building or structure, including but not limited to a garage, shed or storage building, on a lot in an RA District which is vacant or on which there is not already existing a principal building or structure.
(5) Exterior alterations or additions to existing structures in any district other than an RA District.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following shall not require site plan approval pursuant to this article:
(1) Construction of a single one- or two-family dwelling on a single lot in an approved subdivision.
(2) In an RA District, other than a pond, the location and construction of permitted accessory structures to one- and two-family dwellings which are not in excess of 3,000 square feet.
(3) Ordinary repair or maintenance or interior alterations to existing structures or uses.
(4) In an RA District, exterior alterations or additions to one- and two-family dwellings.
(5) Excavation and
filling operations for which a
permit is obtained pursuant to Chapter
47 of the Code of the Town of Riga.
The Planning Board may conduct a public hearing on the site plan if a majority of the whole Board deems that such a hearing is in the public interest. The public hearing shall be conducted within 62 days of the date of application for site plan approval and shall be advertised in the official newspaper of the Town at least five days before the public hearing. The applicant shall provide evidence at the hearing that all landowners within a five-hundred-foot radius of the proposed project were notified by mail not less than 10 days before the public hearing.
No building permit or zoning permit shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of this Article until all expenses incurred by the Planning Board for consultation fees or other extraordinary expense in connection with the review of a site plan are reimbursed by the applicant to the Town.
Whenever the circumstances of proposed development require compliance with this Article and with any other local law, ordinance or requirement of the Town, the Planning Board shall attempt to integrate, as appropriate, site plan review as required by this Article with the procedural and submission requirements for such other compliance.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until all improvements shown on the site plan are installed or a sufficient performance guaranty has been posted for improvements not yet completed. The sufficiency of such performance guaranty shall be determined by the Town Board, after consultation with the Zoning Enforcement Officer, attorney for the Town, engineer for the Town or other appropriate parties.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for the overall inspection of site improvements, including coordination with the engineer for the Town and other officials and agencies, as appropriate.
[Amended 3-10-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003]
Site plan approval shall automatically terminate one year after the same is granted unless a building
permit has been issued and there is physical evidence that the project is in progress. The one-year time period shall start once all conditions imposed by the Planning Board have been met, and a copy of the plan has been filed with the Town Clerk in accordance with §
95-51A(1) or
(2). If a copy of the plan, endorsed with the approval of the Planning Board, has not been filed with the Town Clerk within 182 days of the date of the Planning Board meeting at which final approval, with or without modifications, was granted, such approval shall expire; provided, however, that the Planning Board may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, extend the time for filing of the endorsed plan for not to exceed two additional periods of 91 days each.