Irondequoit City Zoning Code
ARTICLE IX
Waterfront Development WD District
[Amended 5-1-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986]
§ 235-31 Purpose; goals.
The Waterfront Development (WD) District is designed to provide a suitable character and stable environment for the establishment and maintenance of water-dependent and/or water-enhanced uses and activities along the shorelines of Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay. The district is also designed to protect the unique and sensitive environmental features that exist along the lake and bay shorelines and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare. The district is also designed to promote and encourage public access to the shoreline appropriate water-oriented recreational uses within the shore zone and other appropriate water-oriented development within the shore zone.
The Waterfront Development (WD) District permits low- to moderate-density residential development, as well as certain commercial, recreational and open space uses that serve the residents of and visitors to this district, as well as of the Town and that generally benefit from and enhance the unique aesthetic and environmental qualities of the Town's waterfront areas. The purpose of this district includes the following specified goals:
To ensure that development and land-use activity along the shorelines of Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay is consistent with the policies and objectives of the Town of Irondequoit's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP).
To provide sufficient space in appropriate waterfront locations for residential development, recreational activities, certain commercial activities and other water-dependent and/or water-enhanced uses, in order to meet the various housing and recreational needs of the Town of Irondequoit's present and future populations.
To recognize the sensitivity of waterfront areas as unique environmental and recreational resources and to protect these areas from environmentally destructive uses and activities.
To provide for a desirable mix of water-oriented commercial uses and active and passive recreational opportunities that take advantage of the unique locations and characteristics of the Town's waterfront areas.
To encourage development that is appropriately designed and in harmony with its environment and that does not conflict with the preservation of the natural beauty of the Town's waterfront areas.
To promote the most desirable and appropriate use of land and direction of building development based upon land and soil types and other natural features, environmental constraints, neighborhood characteristics and overall community needs; to protect the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses; to conserve the value of land and buildings and to protect the Town's tax revenue base.
To permit development in areas which, by virtue of their location, topography, accessibility, relationship to surrounding land uses, zoning patterns and natural utilities, are best suited for a particular purpose and to preserve areas that are naturally unsuited for development or that have unique historical, aesthetic or environmental significance.
To encourage a flexibility of design, preservation of unique environmental features and maintenance of the aesthetic quality of waterfront areas by permitting the Town Planning Board to establish minimum dimensional requirements for permitted principal uses and to review other pertinent design aspects of such proposed projects.
To preserve, wherever feasible, the existing vegetation and natural features of waterfront areas and to prevent, as much as possible, significant problems of erosion, sedimentation and drainage both during and after construction.
To encourage and facilitate water-dependent and water-enhanced recreational development within the shore zone as permitted principle uses or as accessory uses where compatible with the primary purpose of the proposed development.
To protect waterfront areas as much as possible against excessive volumes of vehicular traffic flow and safety problems related to such vehicular traffic flow.
To protect waterfront areas against congestion as much as possible by regulating the density of population and intensity of land use and by requiring the provision of open areas for rest and recreation wherever practicable.
To promote the maintenance and/or extension of public access to the shore zone where practical and feasible and where such access relates to and is compatible with the primary purpose of the proposed development or activity.
§ 235-32 Permitted uses.
No structure shall be erected, structurally altered, reconstructed or moved, and no structure, land or premises shall be used in any district designated on the Official Zoning Map of the Town of Irondequoit as a Waterfront Development (WD) District, except for the following principal and customarily incidental accessory uses:
Principal uses.
Single-family dwellings.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
Public parks, playgrounds or similar public recreational uses authorized or operated by a public agency and not operated for gain, subject to site plan review and approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Buildings or structures erected or used in connection with, but not directly associated with, a governmental function, agency or activity and not operated for gain, including, but not limited to, such things as a community bandstand, Town volunteer Fire Department and recreational facilities, historic sites, etc., subject to site plan review and approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Multifamily dwellings, apartment buildings or other similar uses, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Commercial parks, playgrounds or beaches, amusement parks, golf courses, tennis/racquetball clubs or other similar uses operated for gain, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Private clubs or camps, private membership clubs, lodges or fraternal organizations, neighborhood or community centers, YMCA or YWCA or other similar uses, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Sit-down restaurants, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Motels, hotels or boatels subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Yacht clubs or other similar uses subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Marinas, boat docks, docking basins, boat launching ramps, including related retail sales of pleasure boats, marine and fishing supplies, and other similar uses, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Boat building and boat construction facilities, boat service, repair, rental and storage facilities or other similar uses, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Stores, shops and boutiques designated for festive retail uses and activities, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Public utility buildings or structures, including, but not limited to, electrical substations, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Combinations of permitted principal uses based on a determination by the Town Planning Board that such combinations are appropriate for the proposed waterfront area and are compatible with the purpose and intent of this district as well as the goals and policies of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP), subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Principle use restrictions and/or additional requirements. All principle uses permitted within a Waterfront Development (WD) District shall be subject to the following restrictions and/or additional requirements:
Any of the uses permitted in this section that require the use of an area other than within an enclosed building may be conducted in whole or in part outside of such building or absent such building, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Floating piers or piers on piling shall be used to provide access to boats, rather than dredging, whenever possible.
Where a barrier wall is required in connection with a marina or boat basin, it shall be carried deep enough below the bottom of the bay or lake to prevent movement of backfill materials into the water.
Accessory uses (located on the same lot with a permitted principal use):
Private garages and carports subject to the applicable provisions of Article IV of this chapter.
Sheds, cabanas or similar accessory structures subject to those dimensional and setback requirements applicable to private garages and carports as noted above.
Radio, TV or CB antennas subject to the provisions of § 235-72 of this chapter. Those structures that require a permit from the Town Zoning Board of Appeals shall also be subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board, in accordance with provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Parking of trucks, vans and other similar vehicles, subject to the applicable provisions of Article IV of this chapter.
Storage of mobile homes, motor homes, house trailers, campers, camping trailers, truck campers, utility campers, boats and boat trailers, subject to the applicable provisions of Article IV of this chapter.
Tennis courts and other similar outdoor recreational facilities as determined by the Town Building Inspector, provided that such uses are clearly incidental to the primary residential or principal use on the property, and provided that such uses are located at least four feet from any lot line.
Dumpsters and other similar outdoor refuse containers or enclosures, provided that such uses are located at least four feet from any lot line and subject to site plan review and approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Outdoor storage of boats, subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
Waterfront structures and facilities.
Fishing piers, docks, wharves, boat launching ramps and similar waterfront structures and facilities, when such uses are clearly accessory or incidental to the primary, principal use on the property, subject to all applicable state regulations and approvals and subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter. Similar waterfront structures and facilities shall include:
Facilities for the pumping out of marine holding tanks;
Facilities for waste oil collection;
Facilities for the sale and dispensing of fuel and lubricants for boats and boatyard equipment;
Facilities for the storage of fuel; and
Facilities for the sale of food and beverages for off-premises consumption and the sale of fishing and boating supplies.
Such facilities and structures shall be limited to the Waterfront Development District and shall be prohibited within any residential district. Such facilities and structures shall also be clearly incidental to the primary or principal use on the property.
The following additional requirements shall apply to all such structures and facilities:
The construction of such structures and facilities shall be undertaken in such a way so as not to impair water quality, cause harm to fish spawning grounds, destroy the natural beauty of the shoreline, reduce the stability of steep slope areas, cause erosion or sedimentation problems along the shoreline, create hazards for navigation, interfere with the public use and enjoyment of the water surface or shoreline or otherwise threaten the public health and safety.
Design standards for piers, docks and wharves shall be determined based on the information contained in Table 2 at the end of this section.
Such structures and facilities shall only be constructed of materials which are stable, chemically inert and insoluble and which will have no adverse effects on water quality. Such materials shall also be Coast Guard approved.
The amount of grading, dredging, earthmoving and disturbance of land above and below water during the construction of such structures and facilities shall be minimized as much as possible and shall be consistent with the permit requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
To permit the free circulation of water, reduce the effects of fluctuating water levels and prevent adverse modifications of the shoreline, piers, docks and wharves shall be of floating construction wherever feasible and shall not be of rock-filled cribbing, sheet piling, closely spaced piling or such other construction which would significantly impair water circulation.
There shall be no superstructure permitted above the decks of piers, docks or wharves except those structures that are accessory to marinas.
No pier, dock or wharf shall be constructed in a configuration other than straight or T-, L-, U- or F-shaped.
No pier, dock or wharf shall be constructed so as to extend offshore for more than 50 feet from the mean low-water line, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that additional length is necessary in order to reach adequate water depth for proposed boat docking.
The width of any pier, dock or wharf shall not exceed eight feet.
The maximum surface area of any pier, dock or wharf shall not exceed 700 square feet.
The number of private piers, docks or wharves permitted per each waterfront lot used for single-family residential purposes shall not exceed the following:
One hundred feet or less of water frontage: a total of one such structure.
One-hundred one to two hundred fifty (101 to 250) feet of water frontage: a total of two such structures.
Two hundred fifty-one to five hundred (251 to 500) feet of water frontage: a total of three such structures.
Each 150 feet of water frontage in excess of 500 feet: one additional structure shall be allowed.
The number of piers, docks or wharves permitted per each waterfront lot used for multifamily, townhouse or condominium purposes shall not exceed one such structure per residential unit built.
The number of piers, docks or wharves permitted per each waterfront lot used for commercial purposes shall not exceed three such structures per lot. The construction of more than three such structures per commercially used lot shall be subject to a determination by the Town Planning Board that such additional structures are needed to accommodate anticipated boat traffic and can be developed on the site without adversely affecting existing environmental conditions or natural features.
Every pier, dock or wharf that is constructed shall have a minimum clearance or setback of 10 feet from adjacent property lines, as extended at a ninety-degree angle from the shoreline, to allow adequate vessel access to neighboring waterfront parcels.
[Amended 4-21-1988 by L.L. No. 4-1988]
Piers, docks or wharves that are 100 feet or longer shall, during the hours of darkness, be required to be lighted in such a manner so as to not constitute a hazard to navigation.
Lighting of the surface of any pier, dock or wharf shall be provided in such a manner so as not to produce any offensive glare when viewed from the water or the land. The use of lowmast lighting fixtures and deflector shields to direct the light downward shall be required to reduce or eliminate glare.
Mooring buoys or facilities, subject to the following restrictions:
Mooring buoys shall only be placed in connection with littoral parcels. On such parcels, such buoys shall be placed only within an area parallel to and 20 feet inward of the parcel lines extended bayward at right angles from the shoreline and to a depth necessary for the safe mooring of a boat, not to exceed 100 feet from the shoreline.
Moorings shall be placed so that objects moored to them, at full swing of their mooring or anchor line, will be no closer than 10 feet to the projection of this adjacent property lines from the shoreline and no more than 100 feet from the shoreline itself.
The number of private moorings permitted per each waterfront lot used for single-family residential purposes shall not exceed the following:
One hundred feet or less of water frontage: a total of one such mooring.
One-hundred one to two hundred fifty (101 to 250) feet of water frontage: a total of two such moorings.
Two hundred fifty-one to five hundred (251 to 500) feet of water frontage: a total of three such moorings.
Each 150 feet of water frontage in excess of 500 feet: one additional mooring shall be allowed.
A maximum of four moorings shall be permitted per commercially used lot, provided that such lot has less than 500 feet of shoreline frontage. A maximum of one mooring per 100 feet of shoreline frontage shall be permitted per commercially used lot if such lot has more than 500 feet of shoreline frontage.
Accessory dredging and filling, when clearly incidental to the principle use permitted on the parcel, subject to all applicable state regulations and approvals and subject to special use permit approval issued by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the provisions of Article XV of this chapter.
§ 235-33 Lot and bulk requirements.
Required minimum lot size.
No new principal building or structure to be used as a single-family dwelling shall hereafter be erected on any lot in any Waterfront Development (WD) District unless such lot shall have a minimum area of 20,000 square feet.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
No new principal building or structure to be used as a multifamily dwelling, apartment building or other similar use shall hereafter be erected on any lot in any Waterfront Development (WD) District unless such lot shall have a minimum area of 4,000 square feet per dwelling unit.
No new principal building or structure to be used as a townhouse, row house or other similar use shall hereafter be erected on any lot in any Waterfront Development (WD) District unless such lot shall have a minimum area of 6,000 square feet per dwelling unit.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
The required minimum lot sized for all other principal uses permitted in the Waterfront Development (WD) District shall be established by the Town Planning Board during the site plan review and approval process or the special use permit approval process. The required minimum lot size shall be based on the amount of land area necessary to adequately accommodate the proposed principal use, as well as all parking, loading, landscaping, open space, setback and access areas and fire lanes for such use. The required minimum lot size shall also be based on the relative intensity of the proposed land use and the need to protect or buffer the proposed land use from sensitive environmental areas, significant historic or archaeological areas or scenic views or vistas.
Required minimum building setbacks (required front, side and rear yards).
In order to establish suitable front, side and rear yards, principal buildings and accessory structures for single-family dwellings hereafter erected, structurally altered, reconstructed or moved in any Waterfront Development (WD) District shall be subject to the applicable setback provisions of Article IV of this chapter. Notwithstanding this requirement, the Town Planning Board, in accordance with the provisions of § 278 of New York State Town Law, as amended or changed, shall be empowered to modify the setback requirements and other applicable provisions of this chapter with respect to the approval of a plat or plats. The purpose of this authorization is to enable and encourage a flexibility of design and development of land in such a manner so as to promote the most appropriate use of land, to facilitate the adequate and economical provisions of streets and utilities, to encourage and maintain adequate public access to the shoreline and to preserve and protect the natural and scenic qualities of the Town's open lands and shore zone.
Setbacks of buildings and structures from all other buildings and structures on the lot and from property lines for all other permitted principal and accessory uses and not already identified in this section shall be determined by the Town Planning Board during the site plan review and approval process or the special use permit process and shall be based on the following guidelines:
Principal buildings, parking areas and accessory structures, excluding such facilities as docks, piers, wharves and boat ramps, should be set back a minimum of 25 feet inlaid from the high water's edge, in order to maintain adequate access to the shore zone.
Principal buildings, parking areas and accessory structures should be set back a minimum of 25 feet from any road right-of-way and a minimum of 15 feet from any property line.
Principal building and accessory structure setbacks should be established with due consideration to provisions for fire protection services and adequate access for fire and emergency equipment within and around the site.
Principal building and accessory structure setbacks should be established with due consideration to the protection and preservation of unique and sensitive environmental features, maintenance of the generally wooded character of the shore zone area, scenic views and vistas, the specific goals established for this district and the use of clustering as a site design technique.
Maximum building heights.
Maximum building heights for single-family dwellings shall not exceed 25 feet as measured from ground level to the ceiling of the second floor.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
Maximum building heights for multifamily dwellings, apartment buildings or other similar uses shall be determined by the Town Planning Board during the special use permit review and approval process and shall be based on a visual analysis of the site prepared and submitted by the applicant as a part of that review. The Town Planning Board shall be empowered to establish maximum principal building heights and locations in order to preserve the aesthetic integrity of waterfront areas and protect any scenic views or vistas identified in the visual analysis.
Maximum building heights for townhouses, row houses or other similar uses shall not exceed 35 feet.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
Maximum building heights for all other permitted principal uses specified in this section shall not exceed 45 feet, except where it has been determined by the Town Planning Board during the special use permit review and approval process that, based on a visual analysis of the site prepared and submitted by the applicant and reviewed by the Board, such building heights would interfere with identified scenic views or vistas or destroy the aesthetic integrity of the waterfront area. In such cases, the Town Planning Board shall be empowered to establish maximum principal building heights in order to protect the scenic views and vistas and the aesthetic character of waterfront areas in general.
Accessory structures shall not exceed a maximum height of 15 feet unless otherwise specified or regulated in this chapter.
Maximum density/maximum percentage of lot occupancy.
The total overall ground coverage of all principal and accessory buildings, parking areas and other impervious surfaces on any lot in any Waterfront Development (WD) District shall not exceed 75% of the total lot area. The remainder of the lot shall be for open space and/or landscaped areas.
Ground coverage for principal buildings for garden-type apartments shall not exceed 25% of any site.
Ground coverage for impervious surfaces for single-family homes shall not exceed 33%.
[Amended 3-19-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
§ 235-34 Off-street parking and loading.
Off-street parking spaces and loading facilities must be provided for all uses specified in this article, in accordance with the provisions of Article XIV of this chapter and the following additional requirements:
All parking spaces shall be set back a minimum of 15 feet from any street line or property line to provide for proper landscaping and buffering.
Parking for shore zone uses shall be provided according to the following minimum standards:
Marinas/boat launching ramps. Single spaces shall be as shown on the following diagram. Dimensions for double spaces shall be 9 feet by 36 feet. All parking spaces should be located within 600 feet of berths or ramps. Overflow parking should be placed at the ends of the parking areas in any unusually shaped parcels. The required spaces shall be as shown on following table:
[Amended 2-4-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 6-17-1997 by L.L. No. 4-1997]
(a).tif.png)
Use | Number of Spaces | |
|---|---|---|
Boat slips [Amended 4-21-1988 by L.L. No. 4-1988] | 0.6 | |
Boat slips including charter fishing | 2 | |
Boat ramps | 30 car trailer spaces, plus 10 single spaces | |
Retail floor area [Amended 4-21-1988 by L.L. No. 4-1988] | 5.5 per 1,000 square feet of floor area |
Hotels, motels and boatels: one space per room or suite; plus one space per three employees on maximum shift; plus one space per three persons to maximum capacity of public meeting rooms; plus 50% of the spaces otherwise required for restaurants, accessory uses, etc.
Yacht clubs: one space per three persons to maximum capacity of meeting rooms, plus 1.56 spaces per boat berth.
Boat rentals: one space per boat under 16 feet and 1.5 spaces per boat over 16 feet.
A reasonable reduction in the size and number of parking spaces required for a given project may be permitted by the Town Planning Board during the site plan review process where it can be demonstrated that such a reduction will not create overflow parking problems or traffic congestion and that the additional space will be used for landscaping or open space within the site. Such a reduction shall be permitted by the Town Planning Board on a case-by-case basis.
§ 235-35 Landscaping; buffering; trails and paths.
When a use is the first to develop on two adjacent vacant parcels, this first use shall be required to meet minimum setbacks, but shall not be required to provide a buffer yard. The second use to develop shall, at the time it is constructed, provide all additional plant material and/or land necessary to provide the total buffer yard required between the two uses. Existing plant materials and/or land located on the preexisting (first developed) land use which meets the requirements of this section may be counted as contributing to the total buffer yard required between it and the second (adjacent) land use to be developed.
[Amended 2-4-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
Parking areas shall be landscaped and buffered as much as possible. A reasonable reduction in the size and number of parking spaces required for a project shall be permitted by the Town Planning Board where it can be demonstrated by the applicant that such a reduction will not create overflow parking problems and that the additional space will be used for landscaping or open space within the site.
Outdoor storage of boats, equipment, etc., shall be buffered using trees, berms, etc.
Where practical, trees with a diameter or caliper of three inches or greater shall be retained on the site.
The Town of Irondequoit Planning Board, as part of the site plan and/or special permit review and approval process, may require public access in the form of walkways, pedestrian trails or paths or bikeways to the shoreline for those development projects or proposed uses adjacent to the shoreline where such access is appropriate and desirable and does not conflict with existing natural features or the public health, safety or general welfare. In requiring such public access, the Planning Board shall consider the nature of the access to and from surrounding properties and uses, as well as the relationship of the access and proposed use to the water.
Maximum impervious area ratio shall not exceed 80% of the total of any lot measured horizontally.
[Added 2-4-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997[1]]
DOCK, SLIP AND BOAT BASIN STANDARDS [Amended 2-4-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 6-17-1997 by L.L. No. 4-1997] |
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TABLE 1 DIMENSIONS FOR SLIPS AND CATWALKS NOTE: Use this tabulation in conjunction with Plate No. 1 to obtain widths of slips, lengths of Catwalks and locations of stern anchor piles. This Tabulation is based upon the use of Traveler Irons. |
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[1]
Editor's Note: Former Table 1, Sign Dimensions, and Table 3, Landscaping and Buffering Standards, which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted 2-4-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997.