Haddam City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IV
Lots
§ 270-8 Exemptions from frontage requirements.
No building shall be used, built or placed on any lot unless such lot has the required minimum frontage for the underlying zoning district on a Town road or an approved subdivision street. Said frontage requirements shall not, however, apply to the following:
A.
Any existing lot having at least 25 feet frontage on such a street if such lot was not, on February 25, 1970, or at any time thereafter, contiguous to, or a part of, any tract or parcel of land under the same ownership which had, including such lot, at least 50 feet frontage on such street; or
B.
Any lot served by an access strip, and having no frontage, or only such frontage as is afforded by the entrance of said access strip into such lot, provided that:
(1)
Interior lots may be approved by the Commission, after site plan review, only if it finds that the land characteristics and physical conditions both on-site and in close proximity to the proposed lot(s) would not make the creation of such lot(s) impractical, unreasonable, or undesirable.
(2)
The minimum rectangle of an interior lot shall not lie more than one lot removed from a Town road as shown on the most current map entitled "Town Roads Haddam" prepared by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and designated as TR-60, or approved subdivision street, as measured along the access strip.
(3)
Access strips shall conform to the following:
(a)
The access strip shall provide unobstructed vehicular access for such lot to and from a Town road or street in an approved subdivision.
(b)
No portion of such access strip shall serve more than one lot, except when it crosses an inland wetlands; up to a maximum of three lots.
(c)
Such access strip shall be not less than 25 feet in width for residential uses and not less than 50 feet in width for commercial or industrial uses.
(d)
No portion of such access strip shall laterally adjoin more than one other access strip or driveway, with a minimum distance of 450 feet between nonadjoining access strips.
(e)
The length of the access strip, as measured along its center line, from the edge of the street right-of-way to the closest point of the minimum rectangle, shall not exceed 500 feet, except in the case of lots in excess of five acres. In such cases, the length of the access strip may be increased to a maximum of 1,000 feet.
(f)
Such access strip shall either form a part of such lot or be over a permanent and recorded vehicular and utility access easement in favor of such a lot, existing at the time of the adoption of this regulation, with rights to construct, install, and the obligation to maintain the necessary facilities.
(4)
The minimum area of such lot shall not be less than one acre more than that required for the zone in which such lot is located. In any case where a lot is located so as to include two different zones, the requirements of the zone with the greater area demands shall be met.
(5)
The deeded right-of-way of an interior lot shall not be included in the lot area computation of any lot.
(6)
Not more than one interior lot shall be allowed in a subdivision containing up to five lots. No more than two interior lots shall be allowed in a subdivision containing up to 11 lots, and one interior lot for each additional 11 lots, or fraction thereof.
§ 270-9 Minimum lot area; and minimum rectangle; driveways.
A.
The minimum lot area shall consist of one contiguous acre of land in which a proposed dwelling can be located (1/2 acre in the C-1 Zone). This minimum lot area shall be unencumbered by easements for vehicular access, or conservation purposes, private rights-of-way for vehicles, utility and drainage easements shall not exceed 15% of the area (a right-of-way or access with no defined dimensions shall be assumed to be 25 feet in width), wetlands, watercourse or flood hazard area.
B.
Said minimum lot area shall be capable of accommodating a rectangle, between the front, side and rear yard setback lines, and a fifty-foot setback from wetlands and watercourses with each of the four sides not less than 150 feet (100 feet in the C-1 Zone).
(1)
The minimum rectangle shall not include:
(a)
Land subject to easements for drainage facilities, utilities (except for utility service to one or two dwellings) and vehicular access;
(b)
Land classified as wetlands, swamp, watercourse or flood hazard area; or
(c)
Land with a slope in excess of 25% as measured over one-hundred-foot intervals perpendicular to the contour lines.
(2)
Proposed dwellings shall be located within the minimum rectangle.
(3)
The rectangle on a corner lot shall be placed behind both the front yard setback lines.
C.
All driveways shall have a maximum grade of 15% and be constructed of a minimum of eight inches of gravel. Driveways that exceed 10% shall be surfaced with a minimum of two inches of bituminous concrete.
§ 270-10 Existing lots.
Any plot of land which legally existed prior to March 17, 1956, the effective date of the initial enactment of the subdivision regulations by the Town of Haddam, shall be entitled to a lot division, into no more than two lots in the aggregate, which lots shall meet the requirements of the Town of Haddam current zoning regulations if the owner of said lot can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission or its agent the following:
A.
The lot, which is the subject of the application, preexisted the enactment of subdivision regulations by the Town of Haddam.
(1)
Proof of preexistence shall be by way of a certificate of title certified to the Haddam Planning and Zoning Commission or its agent issued by an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Connecticut and an opinion letter from said attorney that in his opinion the lot predated the enactment of subdivision regulations in the Town of Haddam, has since that date not been subsequently divided to create another lot and that this shall constitute a first division of the land; or
(2)
Proof of preexistence shall be by way of a chain of title certified to the Haddam Planning and Zoning Commission or its agent issued by a land surveyor licensed to practice land surveying in the State of Connecticut and an opinion letter from said surveyor that in his opinion the lot predated the enactment of subdivision regulations in the Town of Haddam, has since that date not been subsequently divided to create another lot and that this shall constitute a first division of the land. Such opinion letter shall be signed and contain the embossed seal of the land surveyor. The land surveyor shall supply certified copies of deeds relating the parcel from the Office of the Haddam Town Clerk.
B.
An A-2 survey shall be provided demonstrating compliance with the Haddam zoning regulations.
§ 270-11 Zoning permit applications for noncomplying parcels.
In the case of applications for zoning permits on parcels which do not meet the requirements of the current zoning regulations and which are claimed to have existed prior to October 10, 1958, the effective date of the initial enactment of zoning regulations by the Town of Haddam, the applicant shall provide the Zoning Enforcement Office with evidence in accordance with Subsection A above.