Babylon City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XL
Hot-Mix Asphalt Facilities
[Added 6-21-2005 by L.L. No. 16-2005]
§ 213-473 Legislative intent and purpose.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Babylon, after a review of the impacts of hot-mix asphalt plants and their regulation elsewhere, finds that:
(1)
Hot-mix asphalt plants constitute a small but thriving industry on Long Island, offering such community benefits as jobs in the manufacturing sector and a local source of materials for other industries that provide for area growth and for the development and maintenance of its infrastructure;
(2)
Local sourcing of hot-mix asphalt is advantageous because the product can deteriorate during transport over long distances, and because distance hauling contributes to higher costs;
(3)
Hot-mix asphalt facilities can entail adverse impacts on local air and water quality, traffic, and neighborhood character which may be mitigated by use-specific controls;
B.
It is therefore the purpose of this article to:
(1)
Support a local hot-mix asphalt industry by permitting facility location where compatible in all of the Town of Babylon's industrial districts;
(2)
Establish clear, adequate and consistently applied regulatory controls to limit the impact of any hot-mix asphalt facility on surrounding uses and the general public welfare.
§ 213-474 Definitions and word usage.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AGGREGATE
Any crushed rock, gravel, sand or other granular material suitable for the manufacture of hot-mix asphalt or concrete.
BITUMEN
Any of a class of black or dark-colored solid, semi-solid or viscous flammable mixtures of hydrocarbons and other substances, occurring naturally or obtained by distillation from coal or petroleum, that are a component of asphalt and tar and are used for surfacing roads and for waterproofing.
HOT-MIX ASPHALT (HMA)
A paving material comprised of a mixture of hot dry aggregate and bitumen.
HOT-MIX ASPHALT PLANT, HOT-MIX ASPHALT FACILITY
All the component structures, buildings and material storage areas of a site used for the production of hot-mix asphalt by mixing hot dry aggregate with bitumen or similar asphalt petroleum products. Neither the manufacture of aggregate (i.e. stone crushing) nor bitumen is considered part of the hot-mix asphalt production process for the purposes of this Code.
§ 213-475 Applicability.
A.
Facilities for the production of hot-mix asphalt shall be permitted only as a special exception use in all of the Town of Babylon's Industrial Districts; the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have original jurisdiction to hear and decide all such applications.
B.
All subsequent restrictions and requirements set forth in this article shall apply to any hot-mix asphalt facility regardless of underlying zoning district.
C.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall consider the factors set forth in Article XXXII of the Babylon Town Code as well as the requirements set forth below in §§ 213-476 through 213-485.
D.
Special exception use permits for hot-mix asphalt facilities will be valid for a period of five years. They may be renewed by application to the Zoning Board of Appeals upon demonstration of continued compliance with the requirements set forth below and all additional requirements previously imposed by the Zoning Board.
§ 213-476 Location restrictions
A.
No site containing an asphalt manufacturing plant shall be located within:
(1)
Two thousand feet from sensitive institutional, residential and/or public uses, including churches, schools, libraries, hospitals, assisted-living and long-term-care facilities, and park and recreation areas;
(2)
One thousand five hundred feet of residentially zoned property;
(3)
Seven hundred fifty feet of residential uses in a nonresidential zone.
B.
The location restrictions in this subsection may be reduced by 100 feet for every 10 feet of vegetative buffer planted along the entire length of the site boundary from which the restrictive distance is measured. The buffer shall be planted with a dense mix of deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs, with at least half the stock to be a minimum of five feet when planted.
C.
For the purpose of this subsection, cemeteries and Metropolitan Transportation Authority rights-of-way shall not be considered residentially zoned properties.
§ 213-477 Lot size.
The minimum lot size for any hot-mix asphalt facility shall be two acres, regardless of underlying district requirements.
§ 213-478 Height restrictions.
A.
The height of any office or other building present on the site of a hot-mix asphalt facility shall adhere to the maximum height restriction of 35 feet for the Town's Industrial districts, as established in §§ 213-167 and 213-214.
B.
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 213-167 and 213-214 to the contrary, the machinery of a hot-mix asphalt plant, including batch tower and storage silo with drag elevator, may be permitted to reach a maximum height of 55 feet, which shall be measured from the ground level elevation at the base of the machinery.
C.
Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 213-167 and 213-214 to the contrary, the emissions stack of a hot-mix asphalt facility must have a minimum height of 55 feet and may reach a maximum height equal to 2.5 times the height of the tallest building within a two-hundred-foot radius of the property line, measured from the ground level elevation at the base of the stack.
§ 213-479 Frontage and setbacks.
A.
For any hot-mix asphalt facility, the minimum requirements for road frontage, and front, side and rear yards set forth in §§ 213-215 through 213-219 shall apply, regardless of underlying district requirements.
B.
Setbacks shall apply to all components of the hot-mix asphalt facility, including buildings, structures, machinery, equipment and material storage.
C.
Any mobile or portable equipment shall be kept within the applicable setback distances and shall not encroach on the required yard areas.
§ 213-480 Building area.
The total building area shall not exceed 30% of the lot area, regardless of underlying district requirements.
§ 213-481 Number of buildings.
Any hot-mix asphalt facility site may contain more than one building and/or structure.
§ 213-482 Outdoor material storage.
A.
HMA facilities located in the Town's G Industrial Districts are required to store their aggregates in enclosed or semienclosed structures, either in silos or bunkers.
B.
Stockpiling of aggregates is permissible in the H District. However, such stockpiles must not exceed a height of 25 feet and must be covered to prevent materials from being dispersed by wind.
§ 213-483 Pollution controls.
HMA facilities must have the following pollution controls:
A.
Emissions control equipment for both primary and secondary collection of particulate material in compliance with federal and state requirements. The applicant is also required to obtain an Article 19 State DEC permit prior to renewing the special exception permit;
B.
A system for controlling "fugitive dust," i.e., particulate matter, that, if not confined, would be emitted directly to the atmosphere from points other than a stack, vent, chimney or other functionally equivalent opening.
C.
A smoke recovery system to capture emissions generated by the truck loadout process.
D.
A storage tank containment area in compliance with the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.
E.
A system for managing stormwater runoff on site, with zero discharge at the property line.
§ 213-484 Traffic.
As part of the special exception permitting process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate truck routes from the site to major connector roads and/or highways that avoid residential streets.
§ 213-485 Parking.
As part of the special exception permitting process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate sufficient on-site parking for all trucks that may be required when the facility is operating at maximum capacity.
§ 213-486 Landscaping.
Hot-mix asphalt facilities shall be either enclosed with opaque perimeter fencing between six and eight feet high, or with a landscaped buffer occupying a minimum of 20% of the setback area.
§ 213-487 Site planning.
As part of the special exception permitting process, hot-mix asphalt plants shall demonstrate the use of site planning to mitigate plant impacts, with such features as:
A.
The use of berms to mitigate noise and dust, and maintain runoff on site;
B.
The siting of the facility's offices as a screen to machinery and equipment.