Liberty Town City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Special Uses and Site Plan Review
§ 147-26 Authority.
A.
The Town of Liberty Planning Board is, pursuant to §§ 274-a and 274-b of the Town Law, authorized to approve, disapprove, or approve with modification site plans and special uses.
[Amended 8-20-2018 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
B.
Site plan review by the Planning Board is also required for all special uses and such other uses as specified in the Supplementary Regulations. The Planning Board, in approving the establishment of special uses and/or site plans, shall first determine compliance with the standards and criteria set forth below and elsewhere within this chapter. No building permit will be issued for any structure covered by this article until an approved site plan or approved amendment of any such plan has been secured by the applicant and presented to the Code Enforcement Officer. No certificate of occupancy will be issued for any structure or use of land covered by this article unless the structure is completed or the land developed or used in accordance with an approved site plan or approved amendment of any such plan.
§ 147-27 Standards and criteria.
Uses specified as special uses under Article IV, District Regulations, of this chapter shall be permitted only after review and approval by the Town of Liberty Planning Board pursuant to the express standards and criteria set forth below:
A.
The proposed use shall be in harmony with purposes, goals, objectives and standards of the Town of Liberty Comprehensive Plan, this chapter and all other regulations of the Town of Liberty.
B.
[1]The proposed use at the proposed location shall not result in a substantial or undue adverse effect on adjacent property, the character of the neighborhood, traffic conditions, parking, public improvements, public sites or right-of-way, or other matters affecting the public health, safety and general welfare, either as they now exist or as they may in the future be developed as a result of the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, this chapter, or any other plan, program, map or ordinance of the Town of Liberty or other government agencies having jurisdiction to guide growth and development.
C.
The proposed use shall not impose an undue burden on any of the improvements, facilities, utilities and services of the Town, whether such services are provided by the Town or some other agency. The applicant shall be wholly responsible for providing such improvements, facilities, utilities or services as may be required to adequately serve the proposed use when the same are not available or adequate to service the proposed use in the proposed location. As part of the application and as a condition to approval of the proposed special use permit the applicant shall be responsible for establishing ability, willingness and binding commitment to provide such improvements, facilities, utilities and services in sufficient time and in a manner consistent with this and other regulations of the Town of Liberty. The permit approval shall be so conditioned.
D.
No application for issuance of a special use permit shall be approved unless the Planning Board shall find that, in addition to complying with each of the standards enumerated above, any of the applicable standards of the chapter shall be met. In instances where the standards contained herein do not adequately protect the general health, safety and welfare of parties affected, the Board shall be obligated to impose such conditions in issuance of a permit. Conditions which might be imposed shall include, but not be limited to, provisions for additional parking, traffic control, submission of landscaping plans, setbacks, special measures addressing sales period activities and other measures which can be effectuated to remove any potential adverse influence the use may have on adjoining uses. In reviewing a site plan and determining what conditions, if any, shall be attached for approval, the Planning Board shall consider:
(1)
Location, arrangement, size, design and general site compatibility of buildings, lighting and signs.
(2)
Adequacy and arrangement of vehicular traffic access and circulation, including intersections, road widths, pavement surfaces, dividers and traffic controls.
(3)
Location, arrangement, appearance and sufficiency of off-street parking and loading.
(4)
Adequacy and arrangement of pedestrian traffic access and circulation, walkway structures, control of intersections with vehicular traffic and overall pedestrian convenience.
(5)
Adequacy of stormwater and drainage facilities (stormwater leaving any site shall not exceed pre-development levels and facilities shall be designed to accommodate a ten-year storm).
(6)
Adequacy of water supply and sewage disposal facilities.
(7)
Adequacy, type and arrangement of trees, shrubs and other landscaping constituting a visual and/or noise buffer between the applicant's and adjoining lands, including the maximum retention of existing vegetation.
(8)
Adequacy of fire lanes and other emergency zones and the provision of fire hydrants.
(9)
Special attention to the adequacy and impact of structures, roadways and landscaping in areas with susceptibility to ponding, flooding and/or erosion.
E.
The burden of proof shall remain with the applicant to show compliance with all standards and the burden shall never shift to the Town.
§ 147-28 Procedure.
A.
Sketch plan. A sketch plan conference may be held between the Planning Board and the applicant prior to the preparation and submission of a formal site plan. The intent of such a conference is to enable the applicant to inform the Planning Board of his proposal prior to the preparation of a detailed site plan; and for the Planning Board to review the basic site design concept, advise the applicant as to potential problems and concern and to generally determine the information to be required on the site plan. In order to accomplish these objectives, the applicant should provide the following:
(1)
A statement and rough sketch showing the locations and dimensions of principal and accessory structures, proposed vegetation, and other planned features; anticipated changes in the existing topography and natural features; and, where applicable, measures and features to comply with flood hazard and flood insurance regulations;
(2)
A sketch or map of the area which clearly shows the location of the site with respect to nearby street rights-of-way, properties, easements and other pertinent features; and
(3)
A topographic or contour map of appropriate scale (one inch equals 200 feet or less) and detail to show site topography with contour intervals of no less than 20 feet each.
B.
Application for site plan approval. An application for site plan approval shall be made in writing to the Chairman of the Planning Board and shall be accompanied by information contained on the following checklist. Where the sketch plan conference was held, the accompanying information shall be drawn from the following checklist as determined necessary by the Planning Board at said sketch plan conference.
(1)
Site plan checklist:
(a)
Title of drawing, including name and address of applicant and person responsible for preparation of such drawing;
(b)
North arrow, graphic scale and date;
(c)
Boundaries of the property plotted to scale;
(d)
Existing watercourses;
(e)
Grading and drainage plan, showing existing and proposed contours;
(f)
Location, design, type of construction, proposed use and exterior dimensions of all buildings;
(g)
Location, design and type of construction of all parking and truck loading areas, showing access and egress;
(h)
Provision for pedestrian access;
(i)
Location of outdoor storage, if any;
(j)
Location, design and construction materials for all existing or proposed site improvements including drains, culverts, retaining walls and fences;
(k)
Description of the method of sewage disposal and location, design and construction materials of such facilities;
(l)
Description of method of securing public water and location, design and construction materials of such facilities;
(m)
Location of fire and other emergency zones, including the location of fire hydrants;
(n)
Location, design and construction of materials of all energy distribution facilities, including electrical, gas and solar energy;
(o)
Location, size, design and type of construction of all proposed signs;
(p)
Location and proposed development of all buffer areas, including existing vegetative cover;
(q)
Location and design of outdoor lighting facilities;
(r)
Identification of the location and amount of building area proposed for retail sales or similar commercial activity;
(s)
General landscaping plan and planting schedule;
(t)
An estimated project construction schedule;
(u)
Record of application for and approval status of all necessary permits from state and county officials;
(v)
Identification of any state or county permits required for the project's execution plus documentation sufficient to enable compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Regulations; and
(w)
Other elements integral to the proposed development as considered necessary by the Planning Board.
(2)
The site plan map shall be prepared by a licensed surveyor, professional engineer, architect, landscape architect, planner or other professional with competency in site design.
C.
Planning Board action of site plan. Within 62 days of the receipt of a complete application for site plan approval, the Planning Board shall conduct a public hearing on the proposal (with public notice as provided by § 274-a of the New York State Town Law). The Planning Board shall make a decision on the site plan application within 62 days of the close of the public hearing. The sixty-two-day time period to make a decision may be extended by mutual consent of the applicant and the Planning Board. The decision of the Planning Board shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk with a copy to the Code Enforcement Officer within five business days after such decision is rendered, and a copy thereof mailed to the applicant.
[Amended 8-20-2018 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
(1)
Upon approval of the site plan and payment by the applicant of all fees and reimbursable costs due to the Town, the Planning Board shall endorse its approval on a copy of the final site plan and shall forward a copy to the applicant and Code Enforcement Officer, and file same with the Town Clerk.
(2)
Upon disapproval of a site plan, the Planning Board shall so inform the Code Enforcement Officer and the Code Enforcement Officer shall deny a building permit to the applicant. The Planning Board shall also notify the applicant in writing of its decision and its reasons for disapproval. Such disapproval shall be filed with the Town Clerk.
D.
Miscellaneous.
(1)
Costs incurred by the Planning Board for consultation fees or other extraordinary expenses in connection with the review of a proposed site plan shall be charged to the applicant.
(2)
Performance guarantee. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until all improvements shown on the site plan are installed or a sufficient performance guarantee has been posted for improvements not yet completed. The sufficiency of such performance guarantee shall be determined by the Town Board after consultations with the Planning Board, Code Enforcement Officer, Town Attorney and other appropriate parties.
(3)
Inspection of improvements. The Code Enforcement Officer shall be responsible for the overall inspection of site improvements including coordination with the Planning Board and other officials and agencies, as appropriate.
E.
The Town of Liberty Planning Board shall, pursuant to § 274-a, Subdivision 5, of the Town Law, have the right to waive, when reasonable, any of the requirements of § 147-28 of this Article VIII. This waiver authority may be exercised upon the affirmative vote of a majority of members of the Planning Board in the event that any such requirements are found not to be essential for the public health, safety or general welfare or are found to be inappropriate to a particular site plan. Any such waiver shall be subject to the following conditions:
[Added 11-19-2012 by L.L. No. 3-2012; amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015; 8-20-2018 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
(1)
No waiver shall result in allowing a use not permitted as a principal use, special use, accessory use or an approved nonconforming use within the applicable zoning district.
(2)
Is there an acceptable site/sketch plan for the parcel subject to the application?
(3)
Waivers shall be limited to those situations where the full application of the requirements contained in the above-referenced sections would generate unnecessary data and create unnecessary costs with regard to deciding the matter.
(4)
An applicant for site plan approval who desires to seek a waiver of certain of the above-referenced requirements pertaining to such applications may submit a sketch plan of the proposed project to the Planning Board in lieu of a complete site plan. The Planning Board shall review the sketch plan, advise the applicant as to potential problems and concerns and determine if any additional site plan information is required. The Planning Board shall consider such a sketch plan as adequate when, in its judgment, the information submitted is sufficient to make a determination of compliance with the development standards in Articles VI and VII of this chapter.
(5)
Nothing herein shall authorize the Planning Board to waive state environmental quality review requirements.
(6)
The Planning Board must set forth in its record of proceedings the precise grounds upon which it has determined to exercise its waiver authority hereunder, which shall include a clear statement of what requirements of § 147-28 of this chapter have been waived and the reason for the waiver of each and every such requirement.
F.
Alterations to an approved or conditionally approved site plan during site development.
[Added 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 2-2015]
(1)
Applicability. This provision applies only to those situations where during the project development phase an unforeseen event requires the relocation of a structure, roadway, utility or screening under the following conditions:
(a)
The relocation of a structure cannot create a noncompliant condition with any setbacks from lot lines, other structures, roadways, walkways, easements, utilities, wetlands or conditions imposed by the Planning Board on the approved site plan.
(b)
The relocation of a roadway must comply with the roadway development standards as defined in Town of Liberty Code and the development standards in the applicable subdivision regulations. No changes to an approved exit or entrance to a public road may be altered without prior Planning Board approval.
(c)
Where public utilities are contained on the site any alteration to the approved site plan must not encroach on easements, setbacks or vertical separation distances. All utilities constructed as part of the site plan must comply with imposed setbacks, depths and separation distances.
(d)
Where screening conditions have been imposed by the Planning Board either by maintenance of existing screening or by the addition of new screening the alteration cannot reduce the intent of these conditions in height, density, depth or width.
(2)
The Code Enforcement Officer and the Planning Board Chairman (or his delegate) have the authority to determine whether any deviation from an approved site plan requires prior approval from the Planning Board or can be documented on an as-built plan.