Alden Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
Industrial Performance Standards
§ 365-84 General provisions.
A.
Intent. The intent of industrial performance standards is to:
(1)
Classify industrial uses according to their environmental effects;
(2)
Permit possible industrial nuisances to be measured factually and objectively;
(3)
Protect industries from arbitrary exclusion based solely on characteristics of the past;
(4)
Establish standards with which industrial uses are compelled to conform; and
(5)
Establish districts which provide for various levels of industrial activity necessary to the economic base of the Town.
B.
Review. Review of the effects of industry on its environment is preferable during the planning stage in order to avoid remedial action after a facility is constructed and in operation.
C.
Districts. In accord with the above, the two districts, M-1 and M-2, correspond generally to the traditional light- and medium-industrial categories respectively. As neither district distinguishes between permitted industrial uses, their differences are defined primarily by the degree of performance required under the standards contained in § 365-86 below.
D.
General application.
(1)
The industrial performance standards contained herein shall be the minimum standards to be met and maintained by all industrial uses established after the effective date of this chapter. All existing industrial uses which do not comply with these performance standards may continue to operate but must not become more nonconforming. All additions, expansions or changes in process shall conform to the applicable performance standards in the respective districts.
(2)
Although these industrial performance standards relate more directly to industrial uses, it shall be understood that no nonindustrial use, in any district, shall exceed M-1 performance standards.
§ 365-85 Definitions; abbreviations.
A. AMBIENT STANDARD DECIBEL (dB) DETONABLE MATERIALS EMISSION RATE EQUIVALENT OPACITY FLAMMABLE OR EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL FLASH POINT FOOTCANDLE IMPACT NOISE ODOR THRESHOLD ODOR UNIT PARTICULATE MATTER RINGELMANN CHART SMOKE SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL SOUND-LEVEL METER STANDARD CUBIC FEET TOXIC OR NOXIOUS SUBSTANCE VIBRATION, IMPACT VIBRATIONS, STEADY-STATE WEIGHTED SOUND LEVEL
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A limit on the intensity of an environmental pollutant as measured at a receptor point rather than at the source.
A unit which describes the sound pressure level or intensity of sound. A sound-level meter is calibrated in decibels.
Materials which decompose by detonation. Such materials include explosives, unstable compounds and fissionable matter.
The release per unit time of air pollutants from a given source.
The density of light obscuration of any smoke or plume that most closely matches the smoke shade on the standard Ringelmann Chart.
A material which produces flammable or explosive gases or vapors under ordinary temperature conditions.
The lowest temperature at which a flammable liquid will momentarily burn under prescribed conditions.
A unit of illumination equal to the light flux which falls on a one square foot area one-foot distant from a light source of one candlepower.
A sound of short duration, such as that from a forging hammer or punch press.
The lowest concentration of odorous matter that produces an olfactory response in normal human beings.
A unit of odor strength. It is the amount of an odorous material in one cubic foot of clean air that is just detectable by 50% of a panel of human observers.
Material other than water which is suspended in or discharged into the atmosphere in a finely divided form, as a liquid or solid.
A chart originally published in United States Bureau of Mines Circular No. 7718 (August 1955) on which density of equivalent opacity of smoke is illustrated by increasingly dense shades of gray (zero equals clear; five equals opaque).
Small gasborne particles other than water that form a visible plume in air.
The intensity of a sound measured in decibels.
An electronic instrument, which includes a microphone, amplifier and output meter, which measures sound pressure levels in a specified manner.
The measure of the volume of a gas, reduced to 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute and 60° F.
Any solid, liquid or gaseous matter, including but not limited to gases, vapors, dusts, fumes and mists containing properties which by chemical means are:
Earthborne oscillations occurring in discrete pulses at less than 100 per minute.
Continuous earthborne oscillations. Discrete pulses occurring 100 or more times per minute are usually considered steady-state vibrations.
The sound pressure level in decibels read on a sound-level meter using the A filter. The A filter attenuates the incoming sound to approximate the sensitivity of the human ear.
B.
Abbreviations are as follows:
mg (milligram) | = | 1 ____ 1,000 | gram | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
μg (microgram) | = | 1 ____ 1,000,000 | gram |
ppm | = | parts per million | |
ppb | = | parts per billion | |
m3 | = | cubic meters | |
mo | = | month |
§ 365-86 Performance standards.
A.
Noise. "Noise" can be defined as unwanted or unpleasant sound. The following subsections deal with noises that occur over a general area (ambient) and noises which are short-term in nature (impact) such as would emanate from a punch press or drop forge hammer.
(2)
Ambient noise.
(a)
Such noise shall be measured with a sound-level meter having an A-weighted filter (see definitions in § 365-85A) constructed in accordance with specifications of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or equal.
(b)
The following table describes the maximum sound level permitted to emanate from within an M-1 or M-2 District (using the slow meter response). As noted, the standards are to be met at any point of measurement within an adjacent residential or commercial district or within any M-1 District lot adjacent to the noise source.
Maximum Permitted Sound Levels, dB(A) | ||
|---|---|---|
Continuous Slow Meter Response | ||
Sound Measured Within Adjacent | M-1 | M-2 |
Residential districts | 50 | 50 |
Commercial districts | 60 | 65 |
M-1 District lot adjacent to noise source | 70 | — |
(3)
Short-term (impact) noises. The following table describes the maximum impact sound level permitted to emanate from within an M-1 or M-2 District (using the fast meter response). As noted, the standards are to be met at any point of measurement within an adjacent residential or commercial district or within any M-1 District lot adjacent to the noise source.
Maximum Permitted Sound Levels, dB(A) (re: 0.002 Microbar) | ||
|---|---|---|
Impact Fast Meter Response | ||
Sound Measured Within Adjacent | M-1 | M-2 |
Residential districts | 60 | 60 |
Commercial districts | 70 | 75 |
M-1 District lot adjacent to noise source | 80 | — |
B.
Vibration. Vibration, as used in these performance standards, refers to ground-transmitted oscillations. They shall be measured with a seismograph or complement of instruments capable of recording vibration displacement and frequency particle velocity, or acceleration simultaneously in three mutually perpendicular directions.
(1)
Maximum permitted vibration levels. Table I designates the applicable columns of Table II that apply on or beyond adjacent lot lines within the zone and on or beyond appropriate district boundaries. Vibration shall not exceed the maximum permitted particle velocities of Table II. Readings may be made at points of maximum vibration intensity.
Table I | |||
|---|---|---|---|
District | Adjacent Lot Line (within zone) | District Boundaries (on or beyond) | Residential District Boundary |
M-1 | C | B1 | A |
M-2 | — | B2 | A |
NOTES: | ||
|---|---|---|
1 | Commercial only | |
2 | M-1 and commercial only | |
Table II Maximum Peak Particle Velocity (inches per second) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Vibration | A | B | C |
Steady state | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.10 |
Impact | 0.04 | 0.10 | 0.20 |
(2)
For purposes of these performance standards, steady-state vibrations are vibrations which are continuous, or vibrations in discrete impulses more frequent than 60 per minute. Discrete impulses which do not exceed 60 per minute shall be considered impact vibrations.
(3)
Between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., all of the permissible vibration levels indicated for residential district boundaries (Column A) shall be reduced to 1/2 of the indicated values.
C.
Dust and particulates. "Dust and particulate matter" is defined as fine particles, either solid or liquid, which are small enough to be dispersed and carried in the air. The following air quality standards shall apply in the M-1 and M-2 Industrial Districts:
District | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Standards | M-1 | M-2 | |
Particulates, settleable | |||
During any 12 consecutive months 50% of the values of the 30-day average concentrations shall not exceed | 0.30 mg/cm2/mo | Same as M-1 | |
During any 12 consecutive months, 84% of the values of the 30-day average concentrations shall not exceed | 0.45 mg/cm2/mo | Same as M-1 | |
Particulates, suspended | |||
During any 24-hour period average concentrations shall not exceed | 250 μg/m3 | Same as M-1 | |
During any 12 consecutive months, 50% of the values of the 24-hour average concentrations shall not exceed | 45 μg/m3 | 55 μg/m3 | |
During any 12 consecutive months, 84% of the values of the 24-hour average concentrations shall not exceed | 70 μg/m3 | 85 μg/m3 | |
NOTE: Source: New York State Ambient Air Quality Standards |
D.
Smoke. "Smoke" is defined as small gasborne particles other than water that form a visible plume in air. For the purpose of grading the density or equivalent opacity of smoke, the Ringelmann Chart as published by the United States Bureau of Mines shall be used. These provisions, applicable to gray smoke, shall also apply to visible smoke of a different color but with an equivalent apparent opacity.
(1)
M-1 District. In the M-1 District, the emission of smoke darker than Ringelmann No. 1 from any chimney, stack, vent, opening or combustion process is prohibited.
(2)
M-2 District. In the M-2 District, the emission of smoke darker than Ringelmann No. 1 from any chimney, stack, vent, opening or combustion process is prohibited. Smoke of a shade not to exceed Ringelmann No. 3 is permitted for up to three minutes total in any one eight-hour period, provided that there is no deposition of soot in a residential district.
E.
Odor. The variety of responses to a given odor makes it difficult to define an objectionable odor. Even those considered pleasant can become undesirable as a result of continuous exposure. Thus, odors, whether pleasant or objectionable, come under the following standards. The method of measurement is that developed by the American Society of Testing Materials (D1391)26 or its equivalent.
(1)
M-1 District. Odorous material released from any operation or activity shall not exceed the odor threshold concentration beyond the lot line, measured either at ground level or habitable elevation.
(2)
M-2 District. Odorous material released from any operation or activity shall not exceed the odor threshold concentration at or beyond the district boundary line measured either at ground level or habitable elevation.
F.
Airborne toxic matter.
(1)
The ambient air quality standards for the State of New York Level III shall be the guide to the release of airborne toxic materials across lot lines. Where toxic materials are not listed in the ambient air quality standards of the State of New York, the release of such materials shall be in accordance with the fractional quantities permitted below, of those toxic materials currently listed in the threshold limit values adopted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Unless otherwise stated, the measurement of toxic matter shall be at ground level or habitable elevation and shall be the average of any twenty-four-hour sampling period.
(2)
Light Industrial District M-1. In the M-1 District, the release of airborne toxic matter shall not exceed 1/30 of the threshold limit value across lot lines.
(3)
General Industrial District M-2. In the M-2 District, the release of airborne toxic matter shall not exceed 1/30 of the threshold limit value beyond the district boundary line.
G.
Detonable materials.
(1)
The storage, utilization or manufacture of materials or products which decompose by detonation shall conform to local, state and federal laws and licensing procedures.
(2)
Such materials shall include, but are not limited to:
(a)
All primary explosives such as lead azide, lead styphnate, fulminates and tetracene.
(b)
All high explosives such as TNT, RDX, HMX, PETN and picric acid.
(c)
Propellants and components thereof, such as dry nitrocellulose, black powder, boron hydrides, hydrides and hydrazine and its derivatives.
(d)
Pyrotechnics and fireworks such as metallic powder, potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate and ammonium nitrate and blasting explosives such as dynamite and nitroglycerin.
(e)
Unstable organic compounds such as acetylides, tetrazoles and ozonides.
(f)
Unstable oxidizing agents such as perchloric acid, perchlorates, organic peroxides and hydrogen peroxide in concentrations greater than 35%.
H.
Fire hazard liquids, gases and solids. The storage, utilization or manufacture of flammable liquids, gases or solids shall be in accordance with the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
I.
Glare. Illumination from industrial operations and activities can be disturbing to neighboring residential districts.
§ 365-87 Permit application and review; enforcement.
A.
Application. Data to be provided by the applicant for a building permit shall include but is not limited to:
(1)
Plans of the proposed construction, including site plan review procedures.
(2)
A description of the proposed machinery, processes and products.
(3)
Specifications for mechanisms and techniques proposed in restricting possible emissions of any of the dangerous or objectionable elements set forth above.
(4)
Measurements of the amount or rate of emission of said dangerous or objectionable elements.
B.
Review.
(1)
The Building Department and Planning Board shall review plans and other documentation in connection with all applications subject to industrial performance standards.
(3)
Additional data. The Building Department may require any person, firm or corporation to retain an expert consultant or consultants to study and report as to compliance or noncompliance with the performance standards and to advise how a proposed use can be brought into compliance. Such consultant shall be fully qualified to give the required information and shall be persons or firms mutually agreeable to the Building Department and to the owner or operator of the use in question. In the event of inability to select a mutually agreeable consultant, the Building Department shall make the selection. The cost of the consultant's services shall be borne by the applicant.
C.
Issuance of permits. Within 30 days following receipt of all required evidence, including receipt of the reports of expert consultants, the Building Department shall make a determination as to compliance or noncompliance with the performance standards. If the use is in compliance, he shall authorize the issuance of appropriate permits.
D.
Continued enforcement.
(1)
The Building Department shall investigate any purported violation of performance standards and, upon reasonable grounds for the same, shall notify the Town Board of the occurrence or existence of a probable violation thereof. The Town Board shall investigate the alleged violation and, for such investigation, may request the employment of qualified experts. If it is found that a violation occurred or exists, a copy of said findings shall be forwarded to the offender who shall, in turn, be given a reasonable length of time to bring the violation into compliance.
(2)
The services of any qualified experts, employed by the Town to advise in establishing a violation, shall be paid by the violator if said violation is established otherwise by the Town.
E.
Cancellation of permits. If, after the conclusion of the time granted for compliance with the performance standards, the Town Board finds the violation is still in existence, any permits previously issued shall be void and the operator shall be required to cease operation until the violation is remedied.