A use or structure, other than a riverside accessory use or structure or a business accessory use or structure, subordinate to a principal use or structure on the same lot and serving a purpose customarily incidental to the principal use or structure.

Whenever used in this Zoning Code, the words "adult use" or "adult uses" apply to the following types of establishments:

A permit issued in accordance with the provisions of § 407-144 of the Town Code.

–Animals normally found on farms including horses, cattle, poultry, swine, goats, sheep, mules and donkeys, but not including chickens or domestic animals such as dogs and cats.

The commercial cultivation of the soil for food products or other useful or valuable growths of the field, garden or tillage. It includes necessary structures appurtenant to such use. This definition shall not include dairying or raising of livestock, fowl or other animals, which is only allowed pursuant to the rules for agricultural animals.

A property owner or agent of a property owner who has filed an application for a land development activity.

The relationship of any two or more buildings or structures sharing a common wall or party wall, or joined by a covered porch, loggia or passageway.

An owner-occupied private single-family dwelling customarily used as a residence which regularly or seasonally offers overnight accommodations in not more than five bedrooms to not more than 10 tourists or transients, which includes one off-street parking space (not located in the required front yard) for each bedroom.

Strip of land used to separate one land use from another incompatible land use.

The area of a lot that is calculated by subtracting from the gross area of the parcel the following:

A structure, designed, used, or intended to be used as a shelter of humans, animals or objects, permanently fixed to a site or hauled to a site using an external source of propulsion. Mobile homes and towers shall be buildings for purposes of this code.

The vertical distance measured from the mean level of the ground surrounding the building or structure to the highest point of the roof, but not including chimneys, spires, towers, tanks and similar projections.

A structure in which is conducted the principal use of the site on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be a "principal building" on the lot on which the same is located.

Any building or structure not permitted in the district in which it is built. A legal nonconforming building or structure is a building or structure that was legally authorized by the codes as they existed at the time it was constructed.

Means one or more contiguous or non-contiguous lots, where separated by a public or private roadway, for one or more common business purposes. The lots, to be part of a business campus, do not need to be held in common ownership. Determining whether a lot is part of a business campus requires an evaluation of the proposed use and its relationship to the uses on the other lot(s) that make up the business campus. Such factors that are considered relevant include the nature of the uses, use of common driveways and parking, use of common utility and stormwater infrastructure, and site design, operations, and functionality.

A facility providing access, water, sanitary, and electrical services where persons are lodged in cabins, tents, or a lodge for a seasonal or temporary period of time (less than 90 days) for recreational purposes. Cabins and tents in campgrounds shall not exceed 500 square feet. Covered trash and garbage receptacles must be provided and the campground shall be kept free of litter, trash, and debris. No mobile home or trailer coaches designed for permanent habitation shall be allowed and use of the campground shall not include the storage of vacant recreational vehicles. The design and operation of the facilities shall not significantly decrease the quality of the environment of the surrounding area through the imposition of large volumes of traffic or produce levels of odor, noise, glare, light, or similar conditions which are incompatible with the character of the area. Any lighting fixtures used shall be so arranged as to reflect the light away from adjoining residential lots. Site plans shall be required showing the location of cabins or tents, and approvals may be conditioned to require exterior visual and/or noise barriers, including but not limited to berming, landscaping and/or fencing as may be required to protect the health, safety and welfare of neighboring properties.

A parcel of land upon which two or more travel trailers or camping vehicles are temporarily parked and occupied.

A graveyard or burial ground for the internment of dead persons. The term includes not only the lots for depositing the bodies of the dead, but also the avenues, walks, grounds for shrubbery and ornamental purposes and the structures appurtenant to such use.

In reference to a land use, means the replacement of an existing use with a new use, or a change in the nature of an existing use. A change of ownership, tenancy, name or management, or a change in product or service within the same use classification where the previous nature of the use, line of business, or other function is substantially unchanged is not a change of use.

A natural or artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks that conducts continuously or periodically flowing water.

Only female chickens; roosters are strictly prohibited.

A permit issued in accordance with the provisions of § 407-144.1 of the Town Code.

Buildings, structures and other uses owned and operated by the Town of Grand Island and regularly used for neighborhood meetings and other forms of public assembly.

Any activity that removes the vegetative surface cover.

A planned development of 10 or more acres in which lots are plotted which have less than the minimum lot size and setback requirements but which have access to common open space that is part of the overall development plan approved by the Town Board. Cluster developments may not have more than the maximum density of dwelling units permitted by the zoning district for the lot.

Any Town employee or agents, including Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector, Zoning Inspector, Town Engineer or Plumbing Inspector, or their deputies, designated by resolution of the Town Board to administer and enforce the various building and use codes adopted by the Town.

The area held, designed or designated for the common use of the owners or occupants of a townhouse project, planned development, apartment or condominium, mobile home park or subdivision.

Use of one or more contiguous lots for one common business purpose, where at least one lot has a lawful principal use or structure and the contiguous lot(s) are used to support the principal use or structure as part of the common business purpose. A common operational scheme requires common ownership or control of the contiguous lots and site plan approval of all such lots together. In addition, where the Town Board determines that the removal of one of the parcels from the common operational scheme presents a risk of an adverse impact to the Town, it may also require the filing of a restrictive covenant preventing the separate sale of the lots.

Any interior wall or portion thereof located between adjacent units or uses provided for the separation of the individual and separate living or use areas.

A plan as defined and adopted in accordance with § 272-a of Town Law of the State of New York, and any amendments or master plans attached thereto by resolution of the Town Board.

A building or group of buildings in which residential, business or industrial units are owned individually while the structure, common areas and facilities are owned jointly or by all the owners on a proportional basis.

Parcels of property that are located immediately next to each other, either side-by-side or back-to-back. This definition does not include parcels that are separated by a public road.

The County of Erie, New York.

That percentage of the plot or land area covered by the building area.

Public libraries, museums, art galleries and other similar community institutions.

A care facility which provides care, protection and supervision for a period of less than 24 hours a day on a regular basis, which supplements care, enrichment and health supervision for the participants, in accordance with their individual needs, and which for a payment, fee or grant is made for care. Such use shall conform to all requirements regulating day care of the New York State Department of Social Services. Where such centers are located in houses of worship, or New York State accredited schools or colleges, said houses of worship, schools or colleges shall be held liable for their operations and activities of the day-care centers.

The deliberate appropriation of property by its owner for general public use.

The number of individual residential units divided by the buildable land available for residential units in a particular parcel of land. Expressed as units per acre.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation), most recent version, or its successor, including applicable updates, which serves as the official guide for stormwater management principles, methods and practices.

A person who undertakes land development activities.

Means lands, buildings, or structures where the receipt, storage, transfer and dispatching of tangible personal property are processed for delivery to retail customers. The term does not include an establishment where retail sales of tangible personal property are made to retail customers on site more than 12 days a year.

A structure built on or near the shoreline that provides a stationary landing for a) fishing or swimming, or b) anchoring, mooring, or storing vessels, but in residential districts, for not more than three vessels. "Dock" includes a wharf, pier, float, floating dock, island, or other similar structure. Not more than one dock and boathouse or storage shed may be built on a lot, and boathouses and/or storage sheds shall comply with all rules for accessory structures.

A place for the keeping of more than three dogs that are more than six months old.

A house consisting of two dwelling units.

Any building or portion thereof designed or used exclusively as the residence or sleeping place of one or more persons, erected on a permanent foundation.

A residential unit other than a mobile home, with one or more rooms, including cooking facilities and sanitary facilities in a dwelling structure, designed as a unit for occupancy by not more than one family for living and sleeping purposes.

The New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control (Empire State Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, 2004), most current version, or its successor, commonly known as the "Blue Book."

The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities, including telecommunications facilities of federally licensed telecommunications companies (which shall obtain a tower permit under this chapter rather than a special use permit wherever a special use permit for a essential public service would otherwise be required), or Town or other governmental agencies of underground or overhead gas, electrical, or water transmission or distribution systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment, buildings and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or Town or other governmental agencies or for the public health or safety or general welfare. Essential public services do not include fire stations.

The total enclosed area of all floors in a building with a clear height of more than six feet, measured to the outside surface of the exterior walls. The term includes loading docks and excludes atria airspace, parking facilities, driveways, and enclosed loading berths and off-street maneuvering areas.

Excavation or fill of material, including the resulting conditions thereof.

Any historic building, structure, facility, site or prehistoric site that is listed on the State and/or National Registers of Historic Places. Any locally significant historic resource designated pursuant to Article 5-K of the New York State General Municipal Law is also included.

An institution that people regularly attend to participate in or hold religious services, meetings or other activities normally referred to as "churches," "synagogues," "monasteries" or "temples." No structure classified as a dwelling shall be considered a house of worship.

Those surfaces, improvements and structures that cannot effectively infiltrate rainfall, snowmelt and water (e.g., building rooftops, pavement, sidewalks, driveways, etc.).

A State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit issued to a commercial industry or group of industries which regulates the pollutant levels associated with industrial stormwater discharges or specifies on-site pollution control strategies.

The process of percolating stormwater into the subsoil.

An area that is inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions, commonly known as "hydrophytic vegetation."

Construction activity including clearing, grading, excavating, soil disturbance or placement of fill that results in land disturbance of equal to or greater than one acre, or activities disturbing less than one acre of total land area that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale disturbing one acre or more in the aggregate, even though multiple separate and distinct land development activities may take place at different times on different schedules.

The legal or beneficial owner of land, including those holding the right to purchase or lease the land, or any other person holding proprietary rights in the land.

A landscape architect or professional engineer licensed to practice his or her profession in New York State.

A parcel or piece of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a principal building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory or incidental to the operation thereof, together with such open spaces as required by this code, and having frontage on a public street.

An interior lot having frontage on two parallel or approximately parallel streets.

The distance between the two side lot lines measured as the length of a line setback from the front lot line by the minimum front yard permitted in the district.

Any lot which does not conform with the minimum width, depth and area dimensions specified for the district in which said lot is located, and the owner(s) of said lot do(es) not own any adjoining property. A legal nonconforming lot is one which complied with the requirements of the Zoning Code at the time it was created, or has a nonconforming use legally occurring upon it.

A legally recorded document that acts as a property deed restriction, and which provides for long-term maintenance of stormwater management practices.

The maximum percentage of a lot to be covered by the combined footprint of all buildings, structures, and uses.

A moving or storage office, or a warehouse establishment, for the purpose of storing personal property, where: (a) such facility is partitioned into individual, securely subdivided space for lease; (b) such facility consists of enclosed or unenclosed floor space which is subdivided by secured bins, boxes, containers, pods or other mobile or stationary storage devices; and (c) such floor space or storage devices less than 500 square feet in area are to be leased or rented to persons or businesses to access, store or remove property on a self-service basis.:

A vehicle or movable dwelling structure which is designed to be used for living or sleeping quarters and which stands on wheels or on rigid supports or on a foundation and which contains not more than one dwelling unit, but excluding prefabricated homes or sections thereof designed to be set on permanent foundations and also excluding recreational vehicles and camping trailers.

A unified development of mobile home spaces for rent or lease, including common areas and facilities for management, recreation, laundry and utility services, storage, and similar services for the convenience of residents.

A vehicle or trailer designed for temporary dwelling or recreational purposes, and includes travel trailers, pickup campers, camping trailers, motor coach homes, converted trucks and buses, boats, and boat trailers.

A building or place of business where automobile repair service is rendered, and automotive supplies such as oil and greases, batteries, tires and/or accessories are supplied and dispensed directly to the public, at retail, but which does not include the sale of motor fuel. A motor vehicle repair shop as part of a travel plaza/truck stop is not permitted.

A building or place of business where motor fuel, oil and greases, batteries, tires and/or automobile accessories are supplied and dispensed directly to the public, at retail, and where minor repair service may be rendered. The definition includes any convenience or other retail store selling motor fuel to the public, but does not include any truck stop/travel plaza, nor may any motor vehicle service station include either a) truckers lounge (for services such as television/exercise/internet access, etc.), b) motel/hotel, or c) laundry. No motor vehicle service station may exceed five acres in total size of the lot.

A dwelling used or designed for use as a "multiple dwelling" as defined in the New York State Multiple Residence Law.

Pollution from any source other than from any discernible, confined and discrete conveyances, and shall include, but not be limited to, pollutants from agricultural, silvicultural, mining, construction, subsurface disposal and urban runoff sources.

Any public or private land used for active or passive uses, which provides recreational uses, or cultural or aesthetic uses.

An area on a site for one or more off-street parking spaces together with driveways, maneuvering areas, and similar features, excluding commercial off-street parking lots and private garages.

An area designated for parking a motor vehicle, excluding an area in a public right-of-way.

A one or two story dwelling that is one of a planned complex of such, often contiguous dwellings that border on a patio or courtyard.

The portion of a street right-of-way not used for a roadway.

Clearing a parcel of land in distinct pieces or parts, with the stabilization of each piece completed before the clearing of the next.

A project comprising two or more buildings designed to be maintained and/or operated as a single unit in a single ownership or control by an individual, partnership, corporation or cooperative group, which has certain facilities in common, such as yards and open spaces, recreation areas, garage and parking areas. A planned development shall comprise a minimum of 25 acres.

The Town of Grand Island Planning Board.

Sediment or a water quality measurement that addresses sediment (such as total suspended solids, turbidity or siltation) and any other pollutant that has been identified as a cause of impairment of any water body that will receive a discharge from the land development activity.

The office of a doctor, lawyer, dentist, other medical professional, insurance agent, accountant or similar professional located in his or her personal residence, with a separate entrance for the office, with no extra parking provided in the front yard, and no more than one nonilluminated sign, not more than four square feet in total area.

Land development activity.

A Town hall, police stations, fire stations, library, schools, playgrounds, Town parks, water and sewer plants and other Town facilities.

The replenishment of underground water reserves.

An accessory use or structure located or occurring on a riverside lot and unique to that location, such as boathouses, docks and piers, excluding business accessory uses or structures.

A lot of which any portion borders the Niagara River. For purposes of setback and building coverage calculations, such lots will be deemed to end at the top of the bank of the river, or where a measurable bank is not present, at the normal high water mark. Under no circumstances shall land under water be included in the lot for purposes of calculating setbacks or lot coverage requirements. Where a riverside lot is in common ownership with an adjoining lot separated by a right-of-way (even if covered by more than one deed), and the riverside lot is too small to permit construction of a principal use without a variance, both such lots shall be considered as riverside lots for purposes of this code, except that the provisions of § 407-18C shall not apply to the nonshoreline lot portion of a riverside lot.

A facility, either public or private, that provides a curriculum of elementary and/or secondary academic instruction, including pre-K, kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools and/or high schools, but not including trade schools or colleges.

Measures that prevent eroded sediment from leaving the site.

Cold water fisheries, shellfish beds, swimming beaches, groundwater recharge areas, water supply reservoirs, or habitats for threatened, endangered or special concern species.

State Environmental Quality Review Act.[1]

The portion of a riverside lot actually adjoining the Niagara River.

An independent single-family dwelling unit with a common or party wall between adjacent units and each having a private outside entrance.

A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) issued to developers of construction activities to regulate disturbance of one or more acres of land.

A permit under the New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) issued to municipalities to regulate discharges from municipal separate storm sewers for compliance with EPA-established water quality standards and/or to specify stormwater control standards.

The use of practices that prevent exposed soil from eroding.

An order issued which requires that all construction activity on a site be stopped.

Rainwater, surface runoff, snowmelt and drainage.

A land use or activity that generates higher concentrations of hydrocarbons, trace metals or toxicants than are found in typical stormwater runoff, based on monitoring studies.

The use of structural or nonstructural practices that are designed to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate its adverse impacts on property, natural resources and the environment.

One or a series of stormwater management practices installed, stabilized and operating for the purpose of controlling stormwater runoff.

Town Engineer, Code Enforcement Officer, Building Inspector and their staffs, and any other employee, contractor, or officer designated by the Town Board to accept and review stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs), forward the plans to such agency, committee, employee, or board of the Town of Grand Island which may be reviewing any application for a construction activity requiring submission of a SWPPP, and inspect stormwater management practices.

Measures, either structural or nonstructural, that are determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing flood damage and preventing or reducing point source or nonpoint source pollution inputs to stormwater runoff and water bodies.

A plan for controlling stormwater runoff and pollutants from a site during and after construction activities.

Flow on the surface of the ground, resulting from precipitation.

Anything constructed, the use of which requires permanent or temporary location on the ground or attachment to something having permanent or temporary location on the ground, including stationary and portable carports, docks, sheds, boathouses, towers, and structures of a similar nature. Also including swimming pools, both in-ground and above ground, decks, flagpoles over 20 feet in height, antennas. Excludes patios, walkways and pavements at ground level.

Lakes, bays, sounds, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Atlantic ocean within the territorial seas of the state of New York and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, public or private (except those private waters that do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface or underground waters), which are wholly or partially within or bordering the state or within its jurisdiction. Storm sewers and waste treatment systems, including treatment ponds or lagoons which also meet the criteria of this definition, are not waters of the state. This exclusion applies only to man-made bodies of water which neither were originally created in waters of the state (such as a disposal area in wetlands) nor resulted from impoundment of waters of the state.

The Town of Grand Island, New York.

The Attorney hired by the Town Board as Town Attorney, or attorneys hired as the attorneys for the Town, or any attorneys hired by the Town Board to serve as outside counsel for any matter relevant to this code.

The Town Board of the Town of Grand Island.

A building or dwelling designed for or occupied by no more than one family and attached to other similar buildings or dwellings by party walls extending from the foundation to the roof thereof and providing direct access from the outside. A "townhouse" is individually owned, with an owner receiving a deed enabling him/her to sell, mortgage or exchange his/her dwelling unit independent of the owners of any other dwelling unit attached thereto by party wall.

Rental of any portion of a residential structure, including single-family and multifamily dwellings, for a period of less than 30 continuous days.

A development oriented to the service of trucks, including the sale of fuel to truck drivers, and provision for support facilities for truck drivers. They may also be utilized by nontruck traffic and the interstate traveler. Business activities which are customarily accessory and clearly incidental and subordinate to the truck stop or travel plaza may include but not be limited to: scales, truck wash, tire repair and sales, barber shop, restaurant with or without alcohol service, shower facility, convenience store, truckers lounge (for services such as television/exercise/internet access, etc.), motel/hotel, laundry, chain rental, vehicle fuel and consumer propane bottle dispensing. The facility may allow for the temporary, daily, or overnight parking (excluding for the loading and unloading of cargo) of commercial motor vehicles which are en route to or from a destination along an interstate freeway system, for free or for a fee that may be independent of any other use on the premises. The term "truck" shall mean a commercial vehicle driven by a truck driver who is required to have a Class "A" CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) or equivalent.

The conduct of an activity, or a performance of a function, on a site or in a building or structure.

Any use not permitted in the district in which it is occurring. A legal nonconforming use is a use that was legally authorized by the Zoning Code as it existed at the time the use commenced.

A use of property allowed by this code, after compliance with all relevant provisions of the code.

The primary function of a site, building or facility.

A use which, because of its unique characteristics, requires individual consideration in each case by the Town Board before it may be permitted in the district enumerated in this code.

Means lands, buildings, or structures used or designed for the storage of (a) raw materials used by a business in its manufacturing processes; and/or (b) goods which will be sold elsewhere or subsequently transported to another location for sale, including the storage of goods by a distributor or supplier who then markets goods for retail sale at other locations.

A permanent or intermittent stream or other body of water, either natural or man-made, which gathers or carries surface water.

A channel that directs surface runoff to a watercourse or to the public storm drain.

Any open space which lies between the principal building or group of buildings and the nearest lot line and is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as herein permitted.

The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Grand Island.