Where a district boundary is shown following a street, highway, road, right-of-way, the New York State Thruway, any parkway, a public utility right-of-way, railroad, or a stream or watercourse, the boundary is respectively the center line of such street, highway, road, right-of-way, thruway, parkway, public utility right-of-way, railroad, main channel of a stream or watercourse.

Where a district boundary is shown as following a Village boundary line, a property line, a lot line or a projection of any one of the same, such boundary shall be such landmarked or monumented line or projection thereof. If such boundary is shown as separated from but approximately parallel to any such landmarked or monumented line or projection thereof, such boundary shall be deemed to be parallel to any landmarked or monumented line or projection thereof, as the case may be, at such distance therefrom as shown on the Zoning Map. If such boundary is shown as separated from but approximately parallel to any such landmarked or monumented line, such district boundary shall be deemed to be parallel to the aforesaid center line at such distance therefrom as shown on the Zoning Map.

In the absence of a specified distance being indicated on the Zoning Map, the distance shall be determined by using the map scale.

No building shall be erected, altered, constructed, reconstructed, enlarged, changed or otherwise utilized contrary to, in violation of or otherwise inconsistent with any federal, state, county, town or other authority’s rule, regulation, custom, law or practice. It is the intention of this provision to have any such federal, state, county, town or other authorities supersede this Code to the extent that such rule, regulation, custom, law or practice is more protective of the health, safety and welfare of all residents in the Village of Airmont.

No yard, setback or open space required in connection with any building or use shall be considered as providing a required yard, setback or open space for any other building or use on the same or any other lot.

No lot shall be formed from part of a lot already occupied by a building or use unless such building or use, all yards, setbacks and open spaces connected therewith and the remaining lot comply with all requirements prescribed by this chapter for the district in which said lot is located.

Any use not specifically permitted by this chapter shall be deemed to be prohibited. The list of prohibited uses contained in Article III, § 210-13, of this chapter shall not be deemed to be an exhaustive list but has been included for the purposes of clarity and emphasis and to illustrate, by example, some of the uses frequently proposed that are deemed undesirable and incompatible and are thus prohibited. Uses identified as special permit uses shall be deemed prohibited unless a valid special permit shall be issued by the Planning Board, as per the specific special permit requirements outlined in Article XII.

Preexisting uses identified as special permit uses in this chapter, for which there exists, on the effective date of this chapter or amendment thereof, a valid certificate of occupancy, shall be deemed conforming unless such uses are noncomplying as to the bulk or supplemental regulations of this chapter.

No building permit or certificate of occupancy or certificate of use shall be granted for any use unless the Building Inspector shall find that the use shall conform to the standards set forth in this chapter.

No land or buildings shall be used in any manner so as to create any hazard to the public health, safety, welfare, peace or comfort or to hinder the most appropriate use of land in the vicinity in that all such uses shall conform to the performance standards prescribed in Article X, § 210-86, for the control of noise; vibration; smoke, dust and other atmospheric pollutants; odor; radiation and electromagnetic interference; fire, explosive hazard and heat; liquid or solid wastes; and vehicular traffic emissions induced therefrom.

If a lot shall be in two or more zoning districts, the more restrictive use and bulk requirements shall apply. The Village Building Inspector shall make all such determinations regarding the district deemed more restrictive. The Village Building Inspector may seek an opinion from the Village Zoning Attorney, Village Engineer and Village Planner.

Nothing contained in this section or this chapter shall supersede or excuse compliance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or successor standards adopted by New York State.

Any time frame set forth in this chapter pertaining to the review and/or processing of any application before any Village board or official may be reasonably extended by either the applicant or the applicable Village board or official in the event of religious observance, or public health or weather emergency. Any such time frames may be extended in any event by mutual agreement of the applicant and the applicable Village board or official. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no such extensions shall be permitted where said time frame is otherwise mandated or superseded by any other applicable law, including, but not limited to, New York State Village Law.

Legislative intent. Structures are generally not permitted in the Village's rights-of-way. However, mailboxes must be placed therein in order to be close enough to the edge of the roadway to facilitate mail delivery according to postal regulations. This conundrum has been resolved by the Village not objecting to the installation of mailboxes with minimal supports of various kinds, such as metal or wooden posts, not considering such to be structures. With the escalating real estate values and the trend towards larger homes, and for the deterrence of vandalism, a number of residents seek to install, or have installed without approval, substantial mailbox support structures on footings, which structures become an aesthetic element or architectural feature of their property. This has led to the possibility of issuance of a substantial number of violation notices, which ultimately can lead to prosecution, removal orders and fining because said structures may unlawfully violate the Village's rights-of-way as well as due to the failure to follow the building permit procedure applicable to structures.

Purpose. The purpose of this section is to strike a fair balance, permitting, but regulating the size of, such structures, thus minimizing the proliferation of large structures that can represent more of a hazard close to Village roadways. This section places the obligation on the property owner to hold the Village harmless if said owner opts to erect such structure.

Permitted mailbox support structures and pillars. Subject to the conditions set forth herein, mailbox support structures not exceeding 27 inches in any horizontal dimension, inclusive of cap, and of a height not exceeding 54 inches, and not to exceed 66 inches in total height, including any vertical projection therefrom, shall be permitted in the Village's rights-of-way directly abutting the applicant's property. Said structures shall be constructed only after obtaining a building permit by application which shall include construction plans revealing a sound and secure structure in the judgment of the Building Inspector consistent with the state Building Code and a dimensioned sketch or marked survey locating said proposed structure. Any electrification or illumination shall be included in the plans and subject to UL or equivalent approval as required in the Building Code. A simplified application for this limited purpose shall be developed by the Building Inspector and the Village Attorney, but until such occurs, the standard application shall be used. The fee for such an application shall be based upon cost of construction as per the Building Permit Fee Schedule of the Village of Airmont. Said structure shall be placed in a way that, in the opinion of the Building Inspector, minimizes the obstruction of sight lines to and from the adjacent roadway.

License agreement. The issuance of a certificate of use by the Building Inspector shall be construed to be the grant of a license agreement to maintain said mailbox support structure in the Village's right-of-way, which grant shall be revocable by the Village at any time without compensation to the owner should the Village's use of its right-of-way require removal of said structure. The Village shall give the property owner 60 days' written notice prior to revocation, circumstances permitting.

Hold-harmless and indemnification protection. The grant of the aforesaid license agreement shall by operation of this section carry with it the owner's and any benefited subsequent owner's agreement to hold the Village harmless and indemnify the Village from any damages to the property or person of the owner, or to the property or person of any other person, claiming to have resulted directly or indirectly from the presence of said mailbox support structure. This includes damage to the support structure. The hold-harmless and indemnification protection shall also extend to whomever supplies snowplowing services to the Village, such as the Town of Ramapo and its Highway Department.

Time limit for compliance of existing support structures. Mailbox support structures existing as of the effective date of this section must be brought up to compliance on or before August 2008. After expiration of said grandfathering period, without compliance, the owner of said structure shall be subject to prosecution for maintaining an unlawful structure in a Village right-of-way.

Mailbox structures in state or county rights-of-way; applicability. The Village does not hereby purport to authorize the placement of mailbox support structures in state or county rights-of-way. However, upon the provision by the applicant of written permission from the state or county, the Building Inspector is authorized to issue a building permit, oversee construction, and issue a certificate of use for same. For the purposes of this section, simple mailbox support posts not exceeding eight inches in any horizontal dimension and not erected on a footing versus being held in position by cement or the equivalent shall not be considered mailbox support structures regulated hereby.