Bedford City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
Special Environmental Regulations
§ 125-30 Conformance with performance standards required.
No nonresidential use shall hereafter be established, altered, moved or expanded unless it complies with the performance standards set forth in this Article. Continued conformance with such standards, once applicable, shall be a requirement for the continuance of any certificate of occupancy. Central utility systems serving three or more dwelling units, including but not limited to systems providing heat, water, air conditioning or electrical power shall be deemed to be nonresidential uses for the purposes of this Article.
§ 125-31 Purpose of performance standards.
Consistent with the general purposes of this chapter, performance standards shall set specific controls on potentially objectionable external aspects of such nonresidential uses so as to:
A.
Reduce to a reasonable minimum the dissemination of smoke, gas, dust, odor or other atmospheric pollutant outside the building in which the use is conducted.
B.
Control noise and light perceptible beyond the boundaries of the site of the use.
C.
Prevent the discharge of untreated wastes into any watercourse.
D.
Prevent the dissemination of vibration, heat or electromagnetic interference beyond the immediate site on which the use is located.
E.
Prevent physical hazard by reason of fire, explosion, radiation or any similar cause.
F.
Regulate and control the generation and flow of vehicular traffic so as to prevent hazardous conditions, traffic congestion and excessive noise in the streets.
§ 125-32 (Reserved) [1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 125-32, Noise, was repealed 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 6-2019.
§ 125-33 Vibrations.
A.
Method of measurement. For the purpose of measuring vibration, a three-component measuring system approved by the Town Engineer shall be employed.
B.
Maximum permitted steady-state and impact vibration displacement. No activity shall cause or create a steady-state or impact vibration displacement by frequency bands in excess of that indicated in the following table:
Frequency (cycles per second) | Vibration Displacement Steady-State (inches) | Impact (inches) |
|---|---|---|
Under 10 | 0.0005 | 0.0010 |
10 -- 19 | .0004 | .0008 |
20 -- 29 | .0003 | .0006 |
30 -- 39 | .0002 | .0004 |
40 and over | .0001 | .0002 |
§ 125-34 Smoke, dust and other atmospheric pollutants.
A.
General control. The emission of smoke and other particulate matter shall not be permitted, regardless of quantity, if it will be in any way detrimental to the public health, safety, welfare or comfort or a source of damage to property.
B.
Method of measurement of smoke. For the purpose of grading the density of smoke, the Ringelmann Smoke Chart shall be used to determine the total smoke emitted. A reading shall be taken every minute for an hour or, if less than an hour, until the total smoke emitted exceeds that allowed by these regulations. Each reading shall be multiplied by the number of minutes during which it was observed and the product added.
C.
Maximum permitted emission of smoke. There shall be no measurable emission of smoke, gas or other atmospheric pollutant. The emission of one smoke unit per hour and smoke with discernible density of No. 1 on the Ringelmann Smoke Chart shall be prohibited.
D.
Maximum permitted emission of dust.
(1)
The emission of dust related to combustion for indirect heating from any course shall not exceed 0.30 pounds of dust per thousand pounds of flue gas adjusted to fifty-percent excess air for combustion.
(2)
There shall be no measurable emission of dust or other particulate matter not related to combustion for indirect heating.
(3)
All properties shall be suitably improved and maintained with appropriate landscaping and paving or other type of improvement, so that there will be no measurable windblown dust or other similar types of air pollution created.
§ 125-35 Odorous matter.
No land use shall be permitted which emits any discernible obnoxious odor outside the lot on which the use is conducted.
§ 125-36 Toxic or noxious matter.
No use shall be permitted which will cause any dissemination whatsoever of toxic or noxious matter outside the building in which the use is conducted.
§ 125-37 Radiation.
The handling, storage or disposal of radioactive materials or waste by-products, whether or not licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission, shall be conducted only in accordance with the standards established in Title 10, Chapter 1, Part 20, Code of Federal Regulations, Standards for Protection Against Radiation, as amended, and in accordance with any other applicable laws or regulations.
§ 125-38 Electromagnetic interference.
No operation shall be permitted which produces any perceptible electromagnetic interference with normal radio or television reception in any area within or without the Town.
§ 125-39 Fire and explosive hazard.
No storage, utilization or manufacture of solid materials or solid products which burn actively and support combustion easily or which have a low ignition temperature, a high rate of burning or create great heat under ordinary temperature conditions shall be permitted.
§ 125-40 Heat.
There shall be no emission of heat which would cause a temperature increase in excess of one degree Fahrenheit along any adjoining lot line, whether such change be in the air, in the ground or in any watercourse or water body.
§ 125-41 Exterior illumination and glare.
[Amended 5-17-2011 by L.L. No. 4-2011; 9-16-2025 by L.L. No. 5-2025]
A.
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish provisions for exterior lighting in order to:
(1)
Minimize the impact of stray lighting on human health, habitats and the environment.
(2)
Provide safe roadways for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
(3)
Protect against direct glare and excessive lighting.
(4)
Prevent light trespass in all areas of the Town of Bedford.
(5)
Minimize skyglow and reclaim the ability to view the wonder of the night sky.
(6)
Provide lighting guidelines.
(7)
Discourage the waste of energy caused by excessive lighting.
(8)
Provide assistance to businesses in bringing nonconforming lighting into conformance with this chapter.
(9)
Allow for flexibility in the style of lighting fixtures.
(10)
Provide clear guidelines for the Boards and enforcement staff of the Town to use in administering this section.
(11)
Help the Town to achieve its goal of a twenty-percent reduction of its energy use by 2020.
B.
No use shall produce illumination beyond the boundaries of the property on which it is located in excess of 0.5 footcandle, measured vertically at five feet above the ground, at the property line. Notwithstanding the above, where two commercial properties abut each other, a maximum vertical illumination at five feet above the ground, at the property line, of 1.0 footcandle is permitted.
C.
Flashing sources of illumination are prohibited.
D.
Existing exterior lighting that is determined by municipal law enforcement to contribute to a condition of disabling or distracting glare onto a public roadway may be ordered to be changed or removed at any time.
E.
All residential and commercial uses shall limit light sources and illuminated surfaces to the illumination levels indicated below:
Source | Maximum Illumination Level | |
|---|---|---|
Residential Districts or RO, PB-O or PB-OK District | PBR, NB, CB, RB or LI District | |
Bare or neon-type bulbs or lamps | Not permitted | Not permitted |
Illumination of any vertical building surface(measured vertically on the side of the building) | Not permitted | 30 footcandles |
Back-lighted or luminous background signs (measured in front of the sign) | Not permitted | 250 footlamberts |
Outdoor illuminated signs (measured vertically on the sign's surface) | 25 footcandles | 50 footcandles |
F.
Building- or pole-mounted, shielded floodlights and/or shielded spotlights meeting the requirements of the above chart are permitted in all districts. Such lights must be angled downward so as not to create glare as seen from above and shall meet any one of the following criteria:
G.
Illumination levels shall be measured with a photoelectric photo meter in accordance with the standards published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.
H.
The mounting height for any lighting fixture in a PB-O, PB-OK, PBR, NB, CB, RB or LI District shall not be greater than 25 feet.
I.
Flags of the national, state, county or Town government, that are not illuminated with downward lighting, may be illuminated only with a single ground-mounted narrow cone spotlight that confines the illumination to the flag, provided the lumen output is no greater than 1,800 lumens, regardless of the number of lamps. No other flags may be illuminated.
J.
Lighting of radio, communication and navigation towers shall not be permitted unless required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, in which case required lighting shall be of the lowest permitted intensity and red, unless otherwise required by FAA regulations.
K.
Temporary exterior holiday lighting shall be exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
L.
An applicant may apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a special permit under § 125-81 for the temporary use of lighting not in accordance with the standards listed above.
M.
In the case of applications requiring site plan review, the Planning Board may impose standards more or less stringent than those listed in this section in order to meet the general purpose and intent of Article IX, Site Plan Approval, of this Code.
N.
In any case where national and New York State building code requirements exceed the requirements of this section, the national and state requirements shall apply.
§ 125-42 Liquid or solid wastes.
The discharge of any or all wastes shall be permitted only if in complete accordance with all standards, laws and regulations of the Westchester County Health Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or any other regulatory agency having jurisdiction. Facilities for the storage of solid waste shall be so located and designed as to be screened from the street or from any adjoining property and so as to discourage the breeding of rodents or insects.
§ 125-43 Traffic.
[Added 7-11-1983]
For the purpose of preventing congestion in the streets: promoting the safe and efficient utilization of public transportation facilities; protecting air quality; promoting fuel conservation; and otherwise protecting the public health, safety and welfare, the following specific traffic standards are hereby established to serve as a guide for Town officials and agencies in the review of applications for development approvals:
A.
No decision shall be made to approve the construction of any development which would contain in excess of 20,000 gross square feet of new nonresidential floor space or 50 or more new residential dwelling units if the approving agency, acting on the advice of a qualified traffic engineer, determines that the result of such development will be to create one or more of the following peak-hour traffic impacts within two miles of any vehicular access point to the subject site during the first year of operation of the proposed project or, in the case of phased construction, during the first year of operation of any phase for which approval is sought:
(1)
A reduction in level of service to less than Level D at any street intersection.
(2)
A significant adverse impact on the operation of streets or intersections projected to be operating during the target year, at Level of Service E or below.
(3)
Traffic volumes significantly over the capacity of the mainline (nonintersection) highway sections.
B.
In projecting future levels of service and the capacity of mainline highway sections, accepted traffic engineering procedures, as determined satisfactory by the approving agency, shall be utilized, using the following requirements as a guide:
(1)
Base-year traffic conditions, including peak-hour traffic volumes and turning movements, must be documented either through direct field surveys or from other available current data sources.
(2)
Projected volumes must include estimated traffic generation from the proposed development during peak hours of on-site traffic activity as well as peak hours of street system activity.
(3)
Daily trip generation estimates must be provided. Information published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) will generally be relied upon as a basis for estimating trip generation, although the approving agency may allow or require a departure from the use of specific ITE averages where said agency determines that such departure is warranted by unique characteristics which may be present in the proposed project.
(4)
Allowance must also be made for traffic which is expected to be generated by other projects already approved or under construction within the Town or within neighboring communities, as well as an additional allowance for general regional traffic volume changes.
(5)
Estimated traffic generation must be distributed throughout the access network in accordance with clearly stated distribution assumptions determined acceptable by the approving agency.
(6)
The capacity analysis of the intersections or mainline-highway-section roadway system shall be calculated both with and without site-generated traffic. In analyzing such capacity, the applicant shall use methods generally recognized by national authorities, such as the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and/or methods accepted by the New York State Department of Transportation. Traffic capacity estimates may take into account improvements planned by the applicant or by others, provided that, in either case, a specific commitment to construct such improvements has been made.
(7)
In determining overall intersection level of service at signalized intersections, optimum practical signal timing may be assumed. Overall intersection level of service shall be determined, for both signalized and unsignalized intersections, based upon a volume weighted average of each intersection-approach level of service.
§ 125-44 Review procedures.
As a part of site plan review of an application for the establishment of a use which, in the Planning Board's judgment, could have potentially objectionable external aspects and therefore be subject to these performance standards, the Planning Board may require the applicant, at his own expense, to provide such evidence as it deems necessary to determine whether the proposed use will conform to said standards.
§ 125-45 Enforcement of performance standards.
If, in the judgment of the Building Inspector, there is a violation of the performance standards:
A.
The Building Inspector shall give written notice, by registered or certified mail, to the owner and tenants of the property upon which the alleged violation occurs, describing the particulars of the alleged violation and the reasons why it is believed that there is a violation in fact, and shall require an answer or correction of the alleged violation to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector within a reasonable time limit set by said Inspector. The notice shall state, and it is hereby declared, that failure to reply or to correct the alleged violation to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector within the time limit constitutes admission of a violation of this chapter. The notice shall further state that, upon request of those to whom it is directed, technical determinations of the nature and extent of the violation as alleged will be made, and that, if a violation as alleged is found, costs of the determinations will be charged against those responsible, in addition to such other penalties as may be appropriate, and that, if it is determined that no violation exists, costs of determination will be borne by the Town.
B.
If, within the time limit set, there is no reply, but the alleged violation is corrected to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector, he shall note "Violation Corrected" on his copy of the notice and shall retain it among his records.
C.
If there is no reply within the time limit set (thus establishing admission of a violation of this chapter) and the alleged violation is not corrected to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector within the time limit set, he shall proceed to take action in accordance with § 125-128 of this chapter.
§ 125-46 Development in flood-prone areas.
§ 125-47 Development in wetlands areas.
§ 125-48 State Environmental Quality Review Act.
The provisions of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) apply to all actions undertaken by the Town under this Zoning Ordinance. The requirements of this chapter shall be coordinated, as much as possible, with the procedural requirements of SEQR.