Babylon City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXII
Special Exception Use Permits
§ 213-382 Legislative findings.
A.
It has come to the attention of the Town Board of the Town of Babylon that there are certain uses of land which, by their very nature, can disrupt the peaceful, quiet enjoyment of nearby land use. The Town Board has deemed it necessary to exercise its authority to minimize and soften the impact of certain uses upon areas where they will be incompatible unless conditioned in a manner suitable to a particular location.
B.
The Town Board has articulated the standards it will duly consider in determining the imposition of conditions it may place upon particular uses of land in order to protect abutting landowners and preserve the character of the neighborhood within the Town of Babylon.
C.
It is the opinion of the Town Board of the Town of Babylon, after carefully considering the facts and information supplied to it, that it would be in the best interest of the residents of the Town of Babylon and for the municipality as a whole to set forth the standards which will be considered for the issuance of special exception use permits.
§ 213-383 General standards for issuance.
A.
The conditional uses or special exception uses in this article possess characteristics of a nature such as to require special review and an application of special standards and conditions before locating in districts where they are not permitted by right, in order to assure an orderly and harmonious arrangement of land uses in the district and in the community. Such uses may be permitted conditionally by the Town Board, as specified, after public hearing. A conditional use shall be authorized by a special use permit, and before such permit is issued, the Town Board shall find that:
(1)
Such use is reasonable, necessary and will be in harmony with and promote the general interests and welfare of the surrounding community;
(2)
The neighborhood character and surrounding property values are reasonably safeguarded;
(3)
The proposed use will not prevent the orderly and reasonable use of adjacent property;
(4)
The site is particularly suitable for the location of such use in the community;
(5)
The access facilities are adequate for the estimated traffic from public streets, so as to ensure the public safety and to avoid traffic congestion;
(6)
There is room for creation of off-street parking and truck-loading spaces at least in the number required by the applicable provisions of this chapter, but in any case, adequate for the actual anticipated number of occupants of the proposed use, whether employees, patrons or visitors, and, further, that the layout of the spaces and related facilities can be made convenient and conducive to safe operation;
(7)
The proposed use will not pose risks to the public health or safety;
(8)
The characteristics of the proposed use are not such that its proposed location would be unsuitably near to a church, school, theater, senior citizens' residence, recreational area or other place of public assembly;
(9)
Adequate buffer yards and screening can be provided to protect adjacent properties and land uses from possible detrimental impacts of the proposed use;
(10)
Adequate provision can and will be made for the collection and disposal of stormwater runoff, sewage, refuse and other liquid, solid or gaseous waste which the proposed use will generate;
(11)
The natural characteristics of the site are such that the proposed use may be introduced there without undue disturbance or destruction of important natural features, systems or processes and without significant negative impact to groundwater and surface water on and off the site;
(12)
The lot area is sufficient, appropriate and adequate for the use, as well as reasonably anticipated operation expansion thereof;
(13)
The proposed use can and will comply with all provisions of this chapter and of the code which are applicable to it and can meet every other applicable federal, state, county and local law, ordinance, rule or regulation; and
(14)
The proposed use will not result in unacceptable levels of noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, fumes or noxious gases, nor negatively impact upon air quality.
B.
Before any special exception use permit is issued, the Town Board shall determine that all applicable requirements of this chapter have been met and may impose any additional requirements to assure that the standards stated in Subsection A will be met. The Town Board may impose such additional conditions as it deems appropriate to ensure the purposes set forth in Subsection A, including but not limited to:
(1)
A limit on hours of operation upon a finding that such a limit is necessary to the conditions set forth in this section.
(2)
A requirement that the applicant post a bond with sufficient surety upon a finding that such a bond is necessary to protect the value of the property, character of the neighborhood and the public health and safety.
§ 213-384 Specific standards and safeguards.
No special exception use permit shall be granted unless the Town Board shall specifically find and determine that, in addition to meeting all the general standards for special exception permit uses included in § 213-383 hereof, that the particular proposed special exception use also can and will meet the specific standards and safeguards set forth in this section. Wherever any of the following uses are permitted in any zone under the provisions of this chapter, they shall be deemed special exception uses subject to the provisions of Article XXXII. If any other provision of this chapter requires approval by the Planning Board or the Board of Appeals, such approvals shall be in addition to the special exception use permit to be secured from the Town Board under this article.
A.
Industrial uses.
(1)
Industrial uses include, but are not limited to:
Acetylene, natural or any type of gas manufacturing or storage |
Acid manufacture |
Arsenal |
Auto shredder |
Blast furnace |
Boiler works |
Cement, lime, typsum or plaster of paris manufacture chemical works and manufacture |
Coal tar products manufacture |
Coke ovens |
Distillation of bones |
Explosives, manufacture or storage |
Fat rendering |
Fertilizer manufacture |
Fireworks or explosive manufacture or storage |
Fuel tanks |
Garbage, offal or dead animal reduction, dumping or incineration |
Gas manufacture (all types) |
Glue manufacture |
Gunpowder manufacture or storage |
Ink manufacture |
Paint, oil, shellac, turpentine or varnish manufacture |
Petroleum products, refining or wholesale storage of petroleum |
Plastic compounds manufacture |
Public utility buildings or structures |
(2)
No special exception permit for such industrial uses shall be issued unless the Town Board shall find the following:
B.
Structures over water. When tidal lands are not shown as zoned on the Zoning Map,[1] they shall be considered to lie within the residential use district to which they are contiguous. No structure shall be erected over water or upon tidal lands unless the Town Board shall find that and provision shall be made such that:
(1)
No discharges of pollutants or other activities of any kind deleterious to surrounding wetland and surface water shall be permitted to occur on the site; and
(2)
There shall be provision made for the safe collection and disposal of waste.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
C.
Summer and day camps. Summer and day camps may be established and operated in a residence district, provided that the Planning Board shall find that the following conditions are met and that the proposed use will not adversely affect property values in the neighborhood:
(1)
The plot shall comprise at least 10 acres;
(3)
Camp buildings, other than the dwelling for the caretaker, shall comply with the minimum requirements of the Building Code for accessory buildings in residence districts; and
(4)
No building shall be located nearer than 100 feet from any front, rear or side lot line.
§ 213-385 Public hearing.
The public hearing required pursuant to this article shall be on 10 days' notice to the public. In the event that a public hearing has been held before the Town Board prior to the effective date of this article, pursuant to §§ 213-212, 213-245, 213-247 and 213-249, such a public hearing shall be deemed sufficient to comply with the public hearing requirement of this article.