Gardiner City Zoning Code

The purpose of this Article V is to preserve large tracts of open space land in order to maintain the rural appearance and environmental resources of the Town of Gardiner. Article V offers development alternatives to landowners that avoid the land-consumptive pattern of conventional subdivision (see definition in § 220-74). To avoid this pattern, which conflicts with the goals of the Gardiner Comprehensive Plan, the Town of Gardiner encourages three preferred development options: open space development, transfer of development rights, and flag lots. The Town discourages conventional subdivisions that would detract from the Town's rural landscape and natural resources.

Any applicant for a major subdivision in the RA District or for a major or minor subdivision in the SP District shall first submit to the Planning Board a conservation analysis as described in § 220-20A below. The Planning Board may also, in its discretion, require a conservation analysis for a minor subdivision in the RA District.

As part of any sketch plan submission for an open space development, an applicant shall prepare a conservation analysis, consisting of inventory maps, survey and topographic maps, description of the land, and an analysis of the conservation value of various site features.

The conservation analysis shall be prepared by a qualified land planning professional and shall be reviewed on behalf of the Planning Board by a qualified land planning professional as provided in Subsection J below. The qualifications of the land planning professional shall be commensurate with the scale and impact of the proposed development and the characteristics of the site. For properties of less than 30 acres, the applicant's surveyor or engineer may prepare the conservation analysis.

Minor subdivisions (as defined in the Land Subdivision Regulations[1]) shall not require a conservation analysis, except within the SP-2 and SP-3 Subdistricts of the SP District.

The conservation analysis shall identify lands with conservation value on the parcel and within 100 feet of the boundaries of the parcel, including but not limited to the following:

The conservation analysis shall also identify areas that are potentially suitable for development, especially those that have been previously disturbed (e.g., by mining, prior development, or clear-cutting) and their present condition. Such locations, depending on their condition and location, might be preferred locations for development or they may be more appropriate for environmental restoration as part of a mitigation plan.

For areas that are proposed to be preserved as permanent open space (and land on adjacent parcels abutting such open space land) pursuant to § 220-21, the conservation analysis may consist of a general description of the land in sufficient detail to make the required conservation findings, but need not provide the level of detail required in Subsection A(4) above.

The conservation analysis shall describe the importance and the current and potential conservation value of all land on the site identified in Subsection A(4) and (5) above.

The Planning Board shall make a final determination as to which land has the most conservation value and should be protected from development by conservation easement. This determination shall be based upon an analysis that weighs the relative importance of the environmental resources on the site and shall be expressed in a written report supporting its decision (the "conservation findings"). The Planning Board may incorporate information provided by its own research, as a result of site visits, or provided by its own consultants, the Environmental Conservation Commission, or other qualified experts or agencies. The Planning Board shall deny tentative approval to an application that does not include a complete conservation analysis sufficient for the Board to make its conservation findings.

The outcome of the conservation analysis and the Planning Board's conservation findings shall be incorporated into the Planning Board's tentative approval of the sketch plan, pursuant to § 188-12A of the Town Code.

The sketch plan, as tentatively approved, shall show the following:

At least 50% of the total acreage shall be preserved by conservation easement and shown as such on the sketch plan, based upon the conservation findings. In the SP District, at least 80% of the land shall be preserved by conservation easement. The preserved land shall meet the requirements of § 220-21, and shall generally form unfragmented contiguous blocks of land.

To calculate the permitted number of dwelling units, the following steps shall be followed:

An applicant may increase the permitted number of dwelling units in one of the following two ways:

Within the RA District, the number of permitted dwelling units, with the bonuses permitted by Subsection B(2) above, shall not exceed one unit per 1.5 "net" acres. "Net acres" shall mean the unconstrained acreage multiplied by the development loss factor as provided in Subsection B(1)(a) and (b) above.

The maximum number of units allowed by this Subsection B shall not be considered an entitlement. The applicant must also demonstrate compliance with all applicable criteria and standards of the Zoning Law, Subdivision Regulations,[3] Ulster County Health Department, and other applicable laws and regulations. These requirements may result in an actual approvable unit count that is less than the maximum allowed above.

For purposes of density calculations in this section, a studio dwelling unit shall be counted as 0.5 dwelling unit, a one-bedroom dwelling unit shall be counted as 0.67 dwelling unit,, a two-bedroom unit shall be counted as 0.75 dwelling unit, and a three-bedroom or larger dwelling unit shall be counted as one dwelling unit. All dwelling units which are treated as less than one full dwelling unit under this section shall be required to have permanent deed restrictions, in a form acceptable to the Planning Board, limiting them to the approved number of bedrooms. This shall not prevent an applicant from building a dwelling unit of less than three bedrooms and counting it as a full dwelling unit for density purposes, in which case no deed restriction shall be required and future expansion of the dwelling or dwelling unit shall be permitted.

Roads shall be designed based upon the conservation analysis to maximize preservation of important natural features on the property, including but not limited to watercourses, wetlands, steep slopes, large trees, scenic views, agricultural fields, unfragmented forest land, and stone walls.

Roads shall follow the contour of the land insofar as practical and minimize cutting and filling.

Road access to lots shall be from interior roads rather than existing public roads to the extent practical.

There shall be no minimum road frontage requirement for lots fronting on newly constructed interior roads, provided that the Fire Department determines that adequate access will be provided to the building site on the lot. To the extent that this subsection may be inconsistent with Town Law § 280-a, the Town Board hereby declares its intention to supersede § 280-a pursuant to § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.

The minimum road frontage for lots fronting on existing roads shall be 300 feet, unless the Planning Board determines after review of the conservation analysis, and based upon the conservation findings, that a lesser road frontage would be consistent with the purpose of open space development as stated in § 220-20. In no case shall the minimum road frontage be less than 150 feet. These minimum road frontage requirements shall apply only to lots obtaining access from their frontage on an existing road.

Lots shall be arranged in a manner that protects land of conservation value, as determined by the conservation findings, and that facilitates pedestrian and bicycle circulation both internally and through interconnections with adjoining land. The lot layout shall be designed with consideration of the Rural Design Guidelines and Hamlet Design Guidelines published by the New York Planning Federation in 1994, adapted as necessary to conform to the requirements of this chapter. Requirements of the Subdivision Regulations[4] concerning the shape or geometry of lots may be waived by the Planning Board as necessary to comply with this subsection.

To the extent practical, roads shall be laid out in manner that facilitates interconnection with adjoining parcels, consistent with the policies in the Town of Gardiner's Comprehensive Plan.

The allowable residential units may be developed as single-family or two-family dwellings.

Multifamily dwellings shall be permitted if allowed in the zoning district in which the land is located, provided that applicable special permit requirements, if any, are satisfied. Multifamily dwellings shall be designed taking into consideration the Building Form Guidelines published by the New York Planning Federation in 1994, adapted as necessary to conform to the requirements of this chapter.

If multifamily dwellings are not permitted in the zoning district, such dwellings may be allowed by special permit granted by the Town Board, provided that they are designed in the form of traditional rural clustered farmsteads, composed of extended farmhouses, barns or barn-like structures, garage apartments, and accessory structures that are designed using traditional architectural forms historically found in Gardiner before 1900.

The subdivision and special permit/site plan reviews shall occur concurrently in one proceeding to the extent practical.

Minimum lot area: The minimum lot area shall be as provided in § 220-11D. A lot with all or a portion of its septic system or well located within a preserved open space area shall not be considered a lot with an individual well or septic system for purposes of this subsection.

Constrained land may be included in individual lots and counted toward lot area, provided that it is protected from development.

For lots that have either central water systems or central sewer systems (but not both), or that have their septic system and/or well located within a preserved open space area, the minimum lot size shall be established by the Planning Board based upon site-specific soil and hydrological conditions and the approval of the Ulster County Board of Health.

Setbacks. Appropriate minimum setbacks in an open space development depend upon the lot sizes, the type of road frontage (state, county, Town, or private) and the character of the subdivision (hamlet, suburban, or rural). Accordingly, the applicant shall propose, and the Planning Board shall approve, setback (or build-to line) requirements at the time of plat approval. These setback requirements shall be shown in a chart on the plat. New structures in an open space development shall be set back a minimum of 300 feet from existing dwellings on lots that are not part of the open space development, unless the Planning Board finds that site conditions, lot configurations, or the conservation analysis make this requirement infeasible or inconsistent with the purposes of open space development.

The maximum impervious surface coverage in an open space development shall be 12%, except in the SP District, where it shall be 6%. This applies to the entire area to be developed, including open space areas.

Individual lots may have higher impervious surface coverage, as long as the total impervious surface coverage for the development is within the limits prescribed in Subsection F(1) above.

Open space subdivision plats shall show the impervious surface coverage limit for each building lot on a table in order to establish compliance with this Subsection F. Such plats may limit impervious surfaces, other than driveways, to specified building envelopes shown on the plat.

All open space development shall preserve at least 50% of the land, based upon the conservation findings, unless a density bonus has been granted as provided in Subsection B(3) above, in which case additional open space shall be preserved as required to achieve the density bonus.

In the SP District, at least 80% of the land shall be preserved as open space.

All open space shall be preserved following the requirements described in § 220-21 below.

Preserved open space may include constrained land. It may be contained in a separate open space lot or be included as a portion of one or more lots, provided that its ownership is not fragmented in a manner that compromises its conservation value.

The required open space land to be preserved may not include private yards within 50 feet of a principal structure.

Preserved open space land may be owned by any one of the following, as long as it is protected from development by a conservation easement:

Common buildings for dining, recreation, and for entertaining and lodging guests of the residents.

Child-care facilities for residents of the development as well as those outside the development.

Office space for use by administrators of the development as well as for use by residents of the development in the conduct of their own businesses, provided that such offices do not occupy more than 10% of the total floor area of the development.

Storage facilities, which may be used for the needs of the development and the personal needs of its residents.

Recreational facilities for use by residents and their guests.

Preserved open space land shall be clearly delineated and labeled on the final subdivision plat or site plan as to its use, ownership, management, method of preservation and the rights, if any, of the owners of other lots in the subdivision to such land.

The plat or site plan shall clearly show that the open space land is permanently reserved for open space purposes and shall contain a note referencing deed recording information of any conservation easements or other title restrictions required to be filed to implement such restrictions.

A perpetual conservation easement restricting development of the open space land and allowing use only for agriculture, forestry, recreation, protection of natural resources, or similar conservation purposes, pursuant to § 247 of the General Municipal Law and/or §§ 49-0301 through 49-0311 of the Environmental Conservation Law, shall be granted to the Town, with the approval of the Town Board, or to a qualified not-for-profit conservation organization acceptable to the Planning Board.

Such conservation easement shall be approved by the Planning Board and shall be required as a condition of subdivision plat approval.

The Planning Board shall require that the conservation easement be enforceable by the Town of Gardiner if the Town is not the holder of the conservation easement.

The conservation easement shall be recorded in the County Clerk's office prior to or simultaneously with the filing of the final subdivision plat in the County Clerk's office.

The conservation easement shall prohibit residential, industrial, or commercial use of preserved open space land (except in connection with agriculture, forestry, and recreation) and shall not be amendable to permit such use.

Access roads, driveways, local utility distribution lines, low-impact recreation (as defined herein), wells, septic systems and other subsurface sewage treatment facilities, and agricultural structures shall be permitted on preserved open space land, provided that the Planning Board determines that they do not impair the conservation value of the land.

Forestry shall be permitted on preserved open space land only if conducted under a plan prepared by a certified professional forester and approved by the Planning Board.

Dwellings and other allowable structures may be constructed on portions of parcels that include preserved open space land, but not within the area protected by the conservation easement.

Open space land may be owned in common by a homeowners' association (HOA), dedicated to the Town, county, or state government, transferred to a nonprofit organization acceptable to the Planning Board, held in private ownership, or held in such other form of ownership as the Planning Board finds adequate to properly manage the open space land and to protect its conservation value. The ownership entity and structure shall be selected based upon the conservation analysis and management objectives established by the Planning Board for the protected open space.

If the land is owned in common by an HOA, such HOA shall be established in accordance with the following:

Ongoing maintenance standards shall be established, enforceable by the Town against an owner of open space land as a condition of subdivision approval, to ensure that the open space land is not used for any purpose or structure prohibited by the conservation easement or for the storage or dumping of refuse, junk, or other offensive or hazardous materials.

If the Town Board finds that the provisions of Subsection E(1) above are being violated, it may, upon 30 days' written notice to the owner, enter the premises for necessary maintenance, and the cost of such maintenance by the Town shall be assessed ratably against the landowner or, in the case of an HOA, the owners of properties within the development and shall, if unpaid, become a tax lien on such property or properties.

The applicant submits a conservation analysis demonstrating to the Planning Board that the land preserved by conservation easement has conservation value, and the Planning Board makes conservation findings to that effect.

The conservation easement satisfies all of the criteria for conservation easements contained in Subsection C.

The conservation easement explicitly provides that the protected land may be counted for purposes of calculating the allowable number of dwelling units on land not covered by the conservation easement.

All density transfers require a special permit from the Planning Board.

The special permit application for a density transfer shall be signed by the owners (or their authorized representatives) of both the sending and receiving parcels.

The special permit application shall show a proposed development plan for the receiving parcel (subdivision and/or site plan) as well as calculations of the permitted number of dwelling units for both the sending and receiving parcels, prepared according to the provisions of § 220-20B. The density calculation for the sending parcel shall be based upon only the base maximum density allowed for open space developments and shall not include any of the density bonuses available under § 220-20C.

In reviewing an application for density transfer, the Planning Board shall first determine the number of allowable dwelling units permitted on the receiving parcel using all of the relevant standards in § 220-20B (or the lot size and dimensional standards for the HM or HR District if the receiving parcel is located in one of those districts.) The Planning Board shall then determine the number of dwelling units available to transfer from the sending parcel(s) pursuant to § 220-20B.

The Planning Board may then grant a special permit allowing the transfer to the receiving parcel of some or all of the allowable dwelling units from the sending parcel(s). In order to accommodate the additional number of units on the receiving parcel, the Planning Board may waive one or more of the dimensional requirements applicable in the zoning district of the receiving parcel and may allow smaller lot sizes in the HM or HR District as provided in § 220-11D.

As a condition of approval of the density transfer, a conservation easement on the sending parcel(s) satisfying the requirements of § 220-21 shall be executed and recorded in the County Clerk's office, reducing the number of dwelling units allowed to be constructed on the sending parcel(s) by the number of dwelling units transferred. In addition, the conservation easement shall require that an area of land of conservation value be permanently restricted which is equal to the number of units transferred times the maximum density for open space developments in the zoning district. (For example, if five units are transferred and the maximum density for an open space development in the sending district is one unit per four acres, at least 20 acres of the sending parcel would have to be permanently restricted.) The owner of a sending parcel may retain the right to construct one or more dwelling units on the sending parcel, provided that the owner has not transferred all development rights on the sending parcel and that the dwelling units are not built on the portion of the parcel protected by the conservation easement.

All requirements for the granting of a special permit have been satisfied.

If the receiving parcel is in the RA District, the addition of the transfer units to the receiving parcel will not increase the maximum allowable dwelling units under § 220-20B by more than 50%, and will not adversely affect the area surrounding the receiving parcel.

The density transfer will benefit the Town by protecting developable land with conservation value on the sending parcel(s).

The density transfer will be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

For parcels that are greater than 15 acres, the two new lots shall consume no more than 25% of the land area of a parcel.

For parcels of 15 acres or less, the two new lots may consume more than 25% of the land area of a parcel. However, the parcel may not be further subdivided beyond the total of three lots created through this process. This restriction on future subdivision shall be noted on the approved subdivision plat.

Any approved small-scale subdivision plat on a parcel greater than 15 acres shall contain a note stating that no more than two new lots may be created by small-scale development and that future subdivision beyond these two lots will be subject to the requirements in Subsection D below.

All new lots created under this § 220-24 shall comply with Subsection C below.

For purposes of this § 220-24, the determination of parcel size shall be based on the parcel as it existed on January 1, 2008.