Airmont City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Site Development Plan Review
§ 210-72 Approval required; exceptions.
[Amended 2-5-2024 by L.L. No. 2-2024]
No site development plan approval shall be required for a one-family detached residence on a single lot for additions, alterations, or structures accessory thereto. All other principal uses and all special permit and accessory uses shall require site development plan approval prior to the issuance of a building permit, except that for residential places of worship and freestanding places of worship the streamlined site plan approval process in §§ 210-12.2 and 210-12.3 shall apply, and in case of a conflict with this § 210-72, § 210-12.2 shall control. A change of use shall require site plan approval where, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, there will be an increase in parking, traffic, water consumption, sewage effluent or other regulated activity. No certificate of occupancy or certificate of use shall be issued unless all requirements of the site development plan approval have been fully met. No lot or parcel of land shall be used except in conformity with an approved site development plan, when required. Where required, site development plans shall be referred to the Rockland County Department of Planning and other agencies.
§ 210-73 Objectives.
In considering and acting upon site development plans, the Planning Board shall take into consideration the public health, safety and welfare, the impact on the environment, the comfort and convenience of the public in general and of prospective occupants of the proposed development and of the immediate neighborhood in particular and may prescribe such appropriate conditions and safeguards as may be required in order to further the expressed intent of this chapter and accomplish the following objectives in particular:
A.
Traffic access. All proposed traffic access will be adequate but not excessive in number; adequate in width, grade, alignment and visibility; not located too near street corners or other major access points; and other similar safety considerations.
B.
Circulation and parking. Adequate off-street parking and loading spaces will be provided to prevent parking of vehicles on public streets. The interior circulation system will be adequate to provide safe accessibility to all required off-street parking.
C.
Landscaping and screening. All recreation areas, parking and service areas will be reasonably screened or landscaped from the view of adjacent residential lots and streets during all seasons of the year. In addition, the Planning Board shall require such other landscaping and screening as may be required to protect the aesthetic environment of the surrounding properties and neighborhood.
D.
Compatibility. Signs and lights will be compatible and in scale with building elements and will not dominate the overall visual impact of the project. Textures of buildings and paved areas will be sufficiently varied to prevent a massive or monolithic appearance, particularly areas of asphaltic paving for parking.
E.
Environment. The design, layout and operational characteristics of the proposed use will not represent significant impact on the environment or result in a waste of the land and other natural resources of the Village. To the greatest extent possible, development will be in harmony with the natural environment and adequate compensatory devices will be prescribed to offset potential significant deterioration resulting from the project.
F.
Architecture. The design, texture, facade, surface materials, colors, location and dimensions of all buildings and structures will be in harmony with and protect adjacent land uses.
G.
Drainage. The site development plan should include a stormwater management plan such that stormwater runoff will be controlled from causing a negative impact on other properties. The plan should include measures that produce zero net increase in peak discharges from the site or should demonstrate that the receiving drainage system has, or will have, adequate capacity to avoid drainage impacts off the site. The design should also control surface discharges onto the street or onto surrounding properties.
H.
Water quality. The site plan design should address the potential negative impact of the site development on the quality of surface and subsurface water discharges from the site. The design should incorporate measures to improve the quality of stormwater discharges from the site such that no degradation of the water quality will result in development of the site.
I.
Consistency with community character. Any application to the Village which exceeds more than 10% of the requirement or containing more than five variances shall be considered as potentially altering the character of the neighborhood and shall require the completion of a full Environmental Assessment Form and a traffic study if deemed necessary by the Planning Board prior to referral to the Zoning board for possible variances.
§ 210-74 Site plan procedure.
A.
Informal review.
(1)
The applicant shall submit an informal plan for discussion to the Community Design Review Committee (CDRC) prior to a formal application for site development plan review. Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, of the Code of the Village of Airmont provides detailed specifications as to application materials and requirements. For purposes of an informal submission, the applicant should provide as much information as possible, keeping in mind the specified criteria required in Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations. The informal submission shall not constitute a formal application, and no approval can be granted based on it. At this time, the applicant should outline any modifications or waivers he is requesting from the requirements specified in Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations. The informal plan shall be reviewed by the CDRC prior to the next available Planning Board meeting.
(a)
The CDRC may opine as to whether an application is sufficiently complete to go before the Planning Board for formal review.
(2)
Upon findings by the Planning Board that, due to special conditions peculiar to a site, certain of the information normally required as part of the site plan is inappropriate or unnecessary or that strict compliance with said requirements may cause extraordinary and/or unnecessary hardships, the Board may vary or waive the provision or such information, as outlined in Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, provided that such variance or waiver will not have a detrimental effect on the public health, safety or general welfare or have the effect of nullifying the intent and purpose of this chapter or the Official Map or Master Plan.
(3)
The Planning Board will review the proposed informal plan and may make such suggestions or such conditions as are necessary to ensure conformity of said plans with the general and specific criteria set forth in this chapter and other applicable rules and regulations of the Village of Airmont.
B.
Formal review.
(1)
Application for site development plan review shall be made on forms prescribed by the Planning Board and shall be accompanied by a fee in accordance with the Fee Schedule of the Village of Airmont. Such application shall be submitted to the Secretary to the Planning Board at least five weeks prior to the Planning Board meeting at which review is sought. The application will be scheduled for CDRC meeting preceding the Planning Board meeting for which the application was submitted. The CDRC shall determine if the application is complete and whether the site plan complies with all the specifications as set forth in § 164-7B of Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, of the Code of the Village of Airmont. In the event the application is not complete and/or fails to comply with the specifications of Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, it may be rejected by the CDRC, in writing, within five days after the CDRC meeting.
(2)
In the event the application is rejected by the CDRC pursuant to Subsection B(1) above, the applicant shall have the option to proceed with the meeting before the Planning Board to discuss the application informally and to request any waivers from Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, or to correct the deficiencies and resubmit the plan for the next available meeting of the Planning Board.
(3)
Upon submission of a completed application and site plan complying with Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, a public hearing on the site development plan shall be scheduled for the next available Planning Board meeting, but no later than 62 days following the submission of the completed application. The applicant shall notify all owners of real property within 500 feet of the perimeter of the site, in accordance with § 164-5 of Chapter 164, Site Development Plan Regulations, for the noticing of the public hearing.
(4)
Notice to County Planning Board. At least 10 days before such hearing, the authorized Board shall mail notices thereof to the County Planning Board as required by § 239-m of the General Municipal Law, which notice shall be accompanied by a full statement of such proposed action, as defined in § 239-m, Subdivision 1, of the General Municipal Law. In the event that a public hearing is not required, such proposed action shall be referred before final action is taken thereon.
(5)
In the event that special permit use approval is required, the Planning Board shall simultaneously consider both applications.
(6)
The Planning Board shall approve the site development plan application, approve it with modifications or deny the application within 62 days after the close of the public hearing. The time within which the Planning Board must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Board. The Planning Board may impose such conditions as are necessary to ensure conformity with the general and specific criteria set forth in this chapter and in other applicable laws, rules and regulations of the Village.
§ 210-75 Signing and filing.
The applicant shall submit six copies of the site development plan with all modifications required by the Planning Board in its approval for signature by the Chairman of the Planning Board within one year of the filing of the resolution approving the plan. Upon satisfaction of all conditions, if any, imposed in the approval, and after review and approval by the appropriate Village departments, agencies and consultants, and after submission of all legal documents necessary to effect the conveyances or restrictions as set forth on the site plan are delivered in a form satisfactory to the Village Attorney, the Chairman of the Planning Board shall sign the site development plan. One copy shall be filed with the Building Inspector and one copy shall be returned to the applicant. No site plan shall be signed, however, until all public hearing posters have been returned to the Planning Board Clerk and all applicable fees including, but not limited to, professional consultants, hearing notices and inspections have been paid by the applicant regarding the application and approval.
§ 210-76 Amendments to approved plans.
An application for an amendment or revision of any previously approved site development plan shall be processed in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 210-74B of this article except the public hearing may be waived in the event the amendments or revisions are minor in nature as determined by the CDRC. All applications shall include a copy of the previously approved site plan included in the submission. All applications shall be accompanied by fees as set forth in the Fee Schedule of the Village of Airmont.
§ 210-77 Site improvements.
A.
The Planning Board shall require that all off-site improvements, if any, required by the site plan approval be installed on property granted to the Village or appropriate public jurisdiction or on private property with appropriate maintenance agreements, in fee, easement or otherwise as determined by the Planning Board.
B.
No certificate of occupancy or use shall be issued for the site until all the improvements shown on the site development plan, including off-site improvements, have been duly installed and approved and all easements and property interests granted and/or offered for dedication.
C.
A partial and/or temporary certificate of occupancy or use for periods of 90 days, but not more than one year in the aggregate, for a building or structure or part thereof may be issued before all the off-site and/or on-site improvements are complete, provided, nonetheless, that such portion or portions of the site improvements as are necessary to permit the site to be occupied safely without endangering life or the public welfare have been completed. The applicant shall post security in a form acceptable to the Village Attorney for all on-site and off-site improvements as a condition to the issuance of said partial or temporary certificate of occupancy, in an amount to be determined by the Building Inspector upon advice from the Village Engineer.
D.
The site shall be developed in strict conformity with the approved site development plan except that a field change may be approved in writing by the Building Inspector or Village Engineer, upon request of the applicant in writing. If in the judgement of the above referenced officials the proposed field change is significant, he or she may request approval from the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.
§ 210-78 Site maintenance.
It shall be the duty of every property owner to maintain his/her property in conformity with the approved site development plan. Failure to do shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
§ 210-79 Expiration of site plan approval.
A.
A Site Plan approval shall be deemed to authorize only the particular use specified in the approval resolution of the Planning Board.
B.
A Planning Board resolution which grants final site plan approval shall expire 180 days after the date of the Planning Board resolution of approval, unless the site plan map has been signed by the Planning Board Chairperson. Said time period may be extended for two periods of not more than 90 days each upon application to the Planning Board for such extension(s).
C.
The tenure of maps with final approval is limited to a period of three years from the date of filing, within which time building permits shall be obtained in accordance with Zoning Ordinance provisions in effect at the time application for a building permit is made.
D.
Site maintenance. It shall be a continuing obligation and requirement to maintain a property in conformity with the approved site plan. Failure to do so shall constitute a violation of this Zoning Code.
E.
Reinstatement of a revoked or lapsed site plan. If a preliminary or final approval has lapsed, it may be reinstated, in the Planning Board's sole discretion, after payment of a new fee appropriate in amount to the additional review required. The Planning Board, in its discretion, may require a public hearing prior to rendering a decision on a revoked or lapsed site plan.