Purpose. The use regulations in this article are intended to allow flexibility of land use to encourage business development that is consistent with the character and scale of Dover's hamlets, neighborhoods, and rural areas. In reviewing applications for special permits and site plan approval, the Planning Board shall impose any conditions that may be necessary to ensure that a proposed use will be compatible with its surroundings. The Planning Board shall deny any proposed use which does not satisfy the criteria in this chapter.

Use restrictions and Use Table. No structure or land shall be used except as provided in the Use Table below. See § 145-74 for definitions of the use categories. In the event that a particular proposed use does not fit into one of the categories shown on the Use Table and is not prohibited by § 145-10C, it may be allowed by special permit issued by the Town Board.

Prohibited uses. Any use, whether or not listed in the Use Table, is prohibited if it does not satisfy the standards and criteria in §§ 145-40 and 145-63. The following uses are prohibited under all circumstances (existing uses may be continued pursuant to the nonconforming use provisions of Article VI): heavy industry, asphalt plants, new mobile home courts, facilities for the disposal of hazardous or radioactive material, and, except as provided in § 145-50, solid waste management facilities as defined in Article XII, including but not limited to the use of solid waste or material that has previously been part of the solid waste stream (whether or not it has a beneficial use designation from the Department of Environmental Conservation) as fill. Any such specifically prohibited use which when commenced was not listed as a permitted or special permit use in the Town of Dover Zoning Law (and was therefore commenced in violation of the Zoning Law) shall not be protected as a nonconforming use by the provisions of Article VI.

Accessory uses. Uses customarily incidental and subordinate to principal uses shown on the Use Table shall be allowed on the same terms as the principal uses, whether or not on the same lot, unless otherwise indicated on the Use Table. Noncommercial recreational use shall be permitted as an accessory use in all districts.

Mixed use. The Town of Dover encourages the mixing of uses where such mixing does not create land use conflicts. Accordingly, all special permit and/or site plan reviews for the same project shall be consolidated into one proceeding before the Planning Board (unless the Town Board has jurisdiction over a special permit).

Change of use or structure. A change of use is the initiation of a use that is in a different use category, as listed on the Use Table, from the existing use of the site or structure. A change of ownership, tenancy, or occupancy, or a change from one use to another within the same category, shall not be considered a change of use, unless the change would result in the enlargement or addition of a sign or an increase of more than 10% in vehicle trip generation as indicated in current trip generation rates published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Rebuilding, replacement and expansion of structures. The rebuilding or replacement on the same footprint of any structure for a use which requires site plan review and/or a special permit shall require site plan review, even if it is a continuation of the same use.

Special site design and operational considerations in the CO District. The purpose of the CO District is to allow larger-scale nonresidential uses that contribute to the town's tax base and provide jobs for local residents, while protecting the town's treasured scenic and rural qualities using open space buffers. Impervious surfaces are limited to 40% of the total project area, requiring 60% to be maintained as open or undeveloped green space. This green space shall be arranged in a manner that adequately buffers buildings and parking areas from public roads and neighboring properties, while protecting wetlands, watercourses, and scenic views.

Purpose. The regulations in this section are intended to encourage the preservation of Dover's open space, while providing opportunities for needed housing and business uses. This is accomplished by clustering development in nodes surrounded by open space and, where practical, in the traditional compact pattern found in the town's hamlets. This chapter contains flexible regulations for density and lot dimensions and encourages the use of open space development (including flexible subdivision) as an alternative to conventional subdivision to preserve significant amounts of open space. See Article V for standards for open space development.

Dimensional Table. The following table is hereby adopted and will be referred to as the "Dimensional Table."

Minimum floor area. The minimum floor area of a dwelling unit shall be 800 square feet, and the minimum for an accessory apartment shall be 500 square feet.

Minimum lot sizes in the HM and HR Districts. Minimum lot sizes in the HM and HR Districts shall be as shown below, provided that such lots comply with all applicable public health requirements and that all common water and sewage disposal facilities are managed by entities which the Planning Board deems adequate to protect public health on a long-term basis. Minimum lot sizes for such lots shall be:

Two-family dwellings.

Multifamily and senior citizen dwellings.

Accessory apartments and accessory residential structures. One accessory apartment per single-family dwelling may be located in an accessory structure or a principal building as provided in the Use Table. The lot containing the accessory apartment must contain the minimum acreage required by the Dimensional Table, unless it is located in an approved flexible subdivision. The accessory apartment shall not be counted as a residential unit for purposes of determining density. No special permit shall be granted for an accessory apartment without approval or certification from the Dutchess County Department of Health of the adequacy of the septic system.

Multiple residences on a lot. A lot may contain more than one principal residential structure and accessory apartment, provided that the lot has sufficient acreage to comply with applicable density requirements. Such a lot may not be later subdivided unless the subdivided lots conform to the dimensional regulations in effect when the subdivision is proposed.