Hudson Falls City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Special Use Permits
§ 215-24 Intent.
A.
The intent of this article is to set forth requirements which shall apply to certain land uses and activities which, due to their characteristics or the special characteristics of the area in which they are to be located, require special consideration so that they may be properly located and planned with respect to the objectives of this chapter, their effect on the surrounding properties and community character. The primary purpose of special use permit review is to ensure compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood and to ensure the long-term benefit of the use to the Village.
B.
While recognizing that certain types of uses may be desirable or necessary in the Village, their nature can cause certain problems or difficulties. Consequently, particular uses are controlled by a special use permit procedure which requires additional regulations designed for each use in order to mitigate such problems or difficulties and to minimize the impact of these upon the zoning district in which such use is located.
§ 215-25 Responsibility of Planning Board.
A.
The Planning Board is hereby authorized to administer and carry out the intent established in this article. The Planning Board shall conduct special use permit review in accordance with the procedures of this article for any use identified as requiring such review in Article III.
B.
Site plan review in accordance with the requirements and procedures of Article IV is required for all uses that receive a special use permit. Such review may occur concurrent with or subsequent to special use permit review, at the applicant's discretion. Regardless of whether the reviews occur separately or at the same meeting, separate applications and application fees are required for each review.
§ 215-26 Special permit uses established.
Special permit uses are established in § 215-13, Schedule of Uses.
§ 215-27 Application procedure.
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a special use permit, the Planning Board shall initiate an environmental review pursuant to the applicable provisions of SEQRA, 6 NYCRR Part 617.
B.
The Planning Board shall determine what items from the site plan submittal requirements in § 215-17 shall be submitted for the special use permit application. The Planning Board may empower the Code Enforcement Officer to make a preliminary determination of submittal requirements in order to place the matter on the Board's agenda.
C.
The official time of submission of the special use permit application shall be considered to be the date of the first meeting of the Board for which the application is scheduled for discussion.
D.
Not later than 10 days following receipt of a complete application for a project within 500 feet of the Village boundary or a proposed or existing state or county park or recreation area, right-of-way, parkway, throughway, road or highway, stream drainage channel or easement, public building or institution, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify and furnish the Washington County Planning Board, in accordance with General Municipal Law §§ 239-l and 239-m, with such pertinent information as the Washington County Planning Board may deem necessary for review and comment.
E.
The Planning Board shall fix a time, within 31 days from the day an application for special use permit approval is made, for the hearing of any matter referred to under this section. The Planning Board shall give public notice thereof by the publication in the official newspaper of such hearing at least five days prior to the date thereof.
F.
The Planning Board shall decide on the application within 31 days after such a hearing; however, the time within which the Planning Board must render its decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Planning Board.
G.
The decision of the Planning Board shall promptly be filed in the office of the Village Clerk and a copy thereof mailed to the applicant. The decision shall contain such findings of fact as are required by §§ 215-28 and 215-29. The Planning Board, in conjunction with its approval of any special use permit, may impose such requirements and conditions as are allowable within the proper exercise of the police power, including limitations on the hours of use, the intensity of the use, the number of employees or vehicles, the number of structures, the use of structures and land, and any other condition it deems necessary to further the interest of this chapter. In addition, the Planning Board may require that the Code Enforcement Officer incorporate any such requirements and conditions in any permit issued with regard to such site plan review project.
§ 215-28 Review criteria and standards.
A.
Before granting approval to any special use, the Planning Board shall consider the positive and negative impact of the use on the following characteristics:
(1)
The extent to which the use is in harmony with and promotes the general purposes and intent of the Comprehensive Plan and this chapter and its effect on the health, welfare and safety of the Village and its residents.
(2)
The overall compatibility of the use with the neighborhood and the positive and negative impacts on community character, including the character of adjoining properties, districts and uses, and the positive and negative impacts on density, including the density of adjoining properties, districts and uses.
(3)
The positive and negative impacts of the use on vehicular congestion and parking, including the provision of adequate parking and the absence of hazardous parking or traffic conditions, including ingress and egress.
(4)
The positive and negative impacts on infrastructure and services, including utilities, public facilities and services, including the extent to which the project extends or provides infrastructure and services to areas in need of such infrastructure and services.
(5)
The positive and negative impacts on environmental and natural resources, including the environmental and physical suitability of the site for development, the risk of fire, flood or erosion and impacts such as emissions of electrical charges, dust, light, vibration or noise detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare.
(6)
The extent to which the use provides positive or negative effects on the long-term economic stability and community character of the Village and surrounding properties, districts and uses.
B.
Prior to granting a permit for a special use the Planning Board shall find that:
(1)
The use shall be in such location and of such size and character that it will be in harmony with the appropriate and orderly development of the district in which it is situated and will not be detrimental to the orderly development of adjacent districts or properties.
(2)
It is appropriately located with respect to fire and police protection and appropriate water supply and waste disposal facilities.
(3)
The location and size of the use, the nature and intensity of the operation involved in or conducted in connection therewith, its size, layout and its relation to streets giving access to it shall be such that traffic to and from the use and the assembly of persons in connection with it will not be hazardous or inconvenient to the neighborhood or conflict with the normal traffic of the neighborhood. In applying this standard, the Board shall consider, among other things, appropriate off-street parking, convenient routes of pedestrian traffic, particularly of children, and the relation to main traffic, to thoroughfares and to street and road intersections and the general character and intensity of development in the neighborhood.
(4)
The location and height of buildings, the location, nature and height of walls and fences and the nature and extent of landscaping on the site shall be such that the use will not hinder or discourage the proper development and use of adjacent land and buildings or impair the value thereof.
(5)
All governmental agencies having jurisdiction have given necessary approval.
(6)
Any other conditions or standards specified in this chapter have been fulfilled.
§ 215-29 Permit terms.
A.
The Planning Board, as a condition of granting any special permit, may specify its term of validity.
B.
There are three types of permits which may be granted by the Planning Board, described as follows:
(1)
Permanent: permits a specific use to continue indefinitely until the specific use ceases for any reason for a period of 12 consecutive months.
(2)
Temporary: permits a specific use to continue until a specific date, at which time the special use permit shall automatically terminate and the use shall be permanently discontinued. This type shall not be extendable.
(3)
Renewable: permits a specific use to continue until a specific date, unless renewed or extended by the Planning Board for an additional period of time. If not extended, the use shall be permanently discontinued. It is the responsibility of the applicant, and not the Village of Hudson Falls or any board, officer or employee thereof, to initiate the request for the renewal or extension prior to the expiration of the original term of such renewable special use permit. If not extended or renewed prior to the date set for expiration, the right to continue such special use shall terminate on such expiration date, subject to the right of the applicant to seek an extension or renewal. Applications for permit extensions or renewals shall follow the same process as for new permits.
C.
Any applicant who receives a temporary or renewable special use permit and who decides to proceed with the special use does so realizing that the temporary special use permit has a fixed duration, and that all rights to continue that use terminate upon the expiration of the specified time, and that the renewable special use permit may not be extended beyond its original term without approval pursuant to this section. The applicant, in accepting a temporary or renewable special use permit, acknowledges and agrees that such special use permit confers no rights or privileges other than those specifically contained therein.
§ 215-30 Permit fees; performance guarantee.
A.
There shall be a fee for a special use permit, as determined from time to time by the Village Board of Trustees. (See § 215-118.)
B.
As a condition of approval of a special use permit, the Planning Board may require a performance bond or letter of credit to guarantee satisfactory performance of the required improvements. Such performance bond or letter of credit shall be part of or in addition to any required by the Planning Board as part of a site plan review application.
§ 215-31 Specific standards for selected special use permits.
A.
Junkyards.
(1)
Intent. The Village Board hereby declares that junkyards, by their very nature, constitute a hazard to property and persons and are a public nuisance. Materials in junkyards may be highly flammable and sometimes explosive. Junkyards can constitute attractive nuisances to children and certain adults. The presence of junkyards is unsightly and tends to detract from the value of surrounding land and property unless such areas are properly maintained and operated.
(2)
Standards and requirements.
(a)
The person requesting the special use permit to operate the junkyard must personally manage or be responsible for the activity or business for which the permit is issued.
(b)
A junkyard shall be enclosed by a six-foot-tall opaque fence of wood or other material adequate to prohibit the entrance of children and others into the area of activity or business and to contain within such fence the materials dealt in by the business. If the property abuts a residential use or district, or a public street or highway, the fence shall be at least 25 feet from the boundary line of the property or street. All materials dealt in by the business shall be kept within the area enclosed by the fence at all times.
(c)
Where topography, natural growth of timber or other considerations accomplish the purposes of this chapter in whole or in part, the fencing requirements hereunder may be reduced by the Planning Board, provided that such natural barrier conforms with the purposes hereof.
(d)
When the area is not supervised, the fence shall be locked at a secure gate in a secure manner.
(e)
In considering the application, the Planning Board shall take into account the nature and development of the property surrounding the land described in the application, such as the proximity of places of worship, schools, public buildings or other places of public gathering, and whether or not the proposed location can be reasonably protected from affecting the public health and safety by reason of odors, smoke or other causes. The Planning Board may also consider the type of road servicing the proposed location, the natural or artificial barriers protecting it from view, and its proximity to established residential and recreational areas.
(f)
Special use permits for junkyards are issued for a one-year period and must be renewed annually. Junkyards in existence at the date of enactment of this chapter shall apply for a special use permit within six months of enactment of this chapter. Junkyards which are nonconforming with respect to location at the time of enactment of this chapter may be considered as nonconforming uses pursuant to Article XIII of this chapter; however, such nonconforming junkyards shall also be required to obtain a special use permit pursuant to this section.
B.
Gasoline stations, automobile service stations, used car lots and garages.
(1)
Intent. The Village of Hudson Falls finds that although vehicle refueling stations are a necessary part of everyday life in this day of the internal combustion engine, they also present a considerable potential for risk to the public health, welfare and safety of the Village and the inhabitants thereof.
(2)
Accordingly, in order to provide for the safe and proper coexistence of vehicle refueling stations and other land uses permitted within the Village, the following additional regulations are adopted which all vehicle refueling stations are hereby made subject to:
(a)
The area for use by motor vehicles, except access drives thereto, as well as any structures, shall not encroach on any applicable required yard area requirements contained in this chapter.
(b)
No fuel pump shall be located closer than 15 feet from any street line, measured from the outside edge of the fuel island and the closest edge of the public right-of-way.
(c)
No vehicle refueling station property line shall be within 500 feet of a school, public library, theater, place of worship or other place of public assembly, as defined by the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, park, playground or fire station, nor within 250 feet of ingress or egress ramps to limited-access highways, nor within 250 feet of an abutting residential zone as measured linearly along the fronting street or streets.
(d)
All major repair work and servicing shall be done within a completely enclosed building. Such repair work shall not include body repair work nor spray painting, which shall only be allowed within an auto body repair shop, as that term is defined by this chapter.
(e)
No new or used cars, travel trailers or other trailers, or motorized mobile homes shall be sold or rented at a vehicle refueling station.
(f)
A copy of all other permits pertaining to the project, including tank permits, and inspection reports shall be submitted to the Code Enforcement Officer on an annual basis.
C.
Industrial uses. The following shall apply in the Industrial District:
(1)
In this district, no premises shall be used and no structure shall be erected or used in whole or in part for any of the following specified uses:
(a)
Distillation, reduction and conversion of coal, petroleum, refuse, garbage, offal, grain, wood and bones, except in the reduction thereof or the manufacture of gas by the municipality.
(b)
Slaughtering of animals; stockyards; storage and curing of rawhides and skins; and manufacture of glue, size and gelatin.
(c)
Any trade, industry or use that is noxious by reason of emission of odor.
D.
Kennels. Kennels shall be located on parcels of at least 10 acres. All dog runs or other areas in which dogs are kept must be located at least 200 feet from any property line.
§ 215-32 Expiration of decision and permits.
A.
Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Planning Board, decision on any request for a special use permit granted after the effective date of this chapter shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain the necessary building permit to construct any existing building(s) and begin actual construction or to comply with the conditions of said authorization within one year from the filing date of such decision thereof.
B.
Unless otherwise specified or extended by the Planning Board, all special use permits granted prior to the effective date of this chapter shall expire if the applicant fails to obtain the necessary building permit and begin actual construction or comply with the conditions of said authorization within one year from the effective date of this chapter.
§ 215-33 Revocation of permit.
A use authorized by special permit may be revoked by the Planning Board if it is found and determined that there has been a material failure of compliance with any one of the terms, conditions, limitations or requirements imposed by said permit.
§ 215-34 Enforcement.
All special use permits shall be subject to the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.