Montgomery Town City Zoning Code
§ 235-7.14
Business Park Floating Zone.
[Added 3-5-2025 by L.L. No. 3-2025]
A.
Intent. It is the intent of this Business Park Floating Zone (BP) to encourage diversified business in industries such as commercial, technological, agricultural, athletic, office, manufacturing, and similar uses allowed in the BP zoning district. Additionally, it is the intent of the Business Park Floating Zone to encourage the efficient development of individual or groups of parcels dependent on parcel size and site constraints. To encourage diversified businesses, an increase in Building Lot Coverage is allowed per the Table of Dimensional Requirements, excluding Intensive warehouse uses.
B.
Procedure for designation of Business Park Zoning District. Petition for the BP overlay to be applied to a parcel or parcels shall be made to the Town Board in accordance with the following procedure.
(1)
Any person wishing to petition the Town for the creation of a Business Park Zoning District shall submit to the Town Clerk an original and 11 copies of a signed application on a form prescribed by the Town Board, which shall contain at least the following information and documents:
(a)
The name, address and telephone number of the applicant, together with the name of the person to contact for further information, if the applicant is not an individual.
(b)
The name, address and telephone number of the property owner.
(c)
A Master Development Plan (MDP) shall be submitted that meets the following criteria:
[1]
The MDP shall be prepared by a Professional engineer and land surveyor licensed in the State of New York.
[2]
The MDP shall be drawn to an engineering scale no less then 1"=500' and contain the date of last revision, north arrow and graphic scale.
[3]
The MDP shall contain the stamp or seal and be signed by the professional preparing the map.
[4]
The interior road system of all existing and proposed rights-of-way and easements shall be depicted and indicated as to whether public or private ownership is proposed.
[5]
Use areas shall be designated with conceptual footprints indicating the floor area, number of stories and building height of structures.
[6]
Any open spaces or conservation easements, if proposed, shall be outlined on the MDP and a narrative provided indicating how open spaces are to be preserved in perpetuity, owned and maintained.
[7]
Proposed bulk requirements applicable to designated use areas of the site, including building heights, building setbacks from proposed site roadways or external existing Town roadways, coverage restrictions, floor area restrictions, separation between buildings, and any other bulk constraints necessary to ensure site plans for component use areas are consistent with the plan portrayed in the MDP.
[9]
Where more than five acres of disturbance are proposed, a preliminary Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan shall be submitted.
[10]
A table listing the maximum square footage of non-intensive warehouse and any other uses proposed by the applicant or required by the Town Board to be restricted.
(d)
Conceptual elevations of proposed buildings and identification of general architectural or site design features.
(e)
The proposed water, storm and sanitary sewer systems shall be shown and how they are proposed to be connected to the system of adjoining areas shall be indicated.
(f)
Environmental characteristics of the project site shall be shown, including topography, areas of slope in excess of 25%, flood zones, rock outcrops, waterbodies, jurisdictional wetlands and all proposed alterations of said environmental characteristics.
(g)
A full traffic study where deemed warranted, but at a minimum, estimates of peak-hour traffic generation derived from the proposed development and its relation to surrounding development and its relation to surrounding roads and intersections, including design elements to mitigate traffic impacts shall be provided in an accompanying narrative.
(h)
If the development is to be phased, a clear indication of the phasing process shall be provided.
(i)
Narrative of how the proposal would be consistent with the Town Comprehensive Plan as well as the criteria listed in Subsection C.
(j)
Where proposed within 500 feet of a church, school or residential district, noise, lighting or such other studies as the Town Board feels are necessary to determine potential impacts of future operations on neighboring residences and other sensitive uses.
(2)
Every application for BP authorization shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth in the Town fee schedule. Additionally, the Town Board and/or Planning Board may charge such additional fees as are deemed necessary by those respective Boards to employ technical professionals in the review of the application.
(3)
State environmental quality review. The authorization of BP zoning to any parcel shall be a Type 1 action subject to SEQR pursuant to 6 NYCRR 617. Both the Town Board (District Designation) and Planning Board (Site Plan) shall be considered involved Agencies and shall coordinate SEQR review with any other identified involved Agencies pursuant to SEQR. An application shall not be considered complete until such time that the lead agency has adopted a Negative Declaration or Notice of Completion of Final Environmental Impact Statement.
(4)
Referral to Planning Board. After the Town Board has determined that the application is for a viable project that it wishes to consider for BP Floating Zone, it shall refer the application to the Planning Board. Such referral shall include the proposed petition and Master Development Plan. The Town Board may refer a complete application to the Planning Board or charge the Planning Board with determining that the MDP application is complete over the course of its review. The Planning Board shall submit its report on the proposed petition to the Town Board within 62 days of receipt of a complete application for a referred petition. The Planning Board shall review the petition and Master Development Plan against the criteria in Subsection C in recommending whether to authorize the BP floating zone. The Planning Board shall also review the layout of the Master Development Plan as well as the scale and Intensity of proposed development. The Planning Board shall recommend whether the MDP should be approved, approved with modifications or denied and is encouraged to provide recommendations for how the MDP could be improved in order to incorporate best practices of sustainable land development. No public hearing shall be held by the Planning Board in connection with this referral.
(5)
Referral to Orange County Planning. The Town Board shall refer the petition to Orange County Planning Department for comment pursuant to the applicable provisions of GML § 239 and receive their report prior to making a decision to land the BP floating zone district.
(6)
Public hearing required. Prior to designating or "landing" the BP floating zone district, the Town Board shall hold a public hearing for the purposes of soliciting public comment. This public hearing shall be held concurrently with any public hearing required under 6 NYCRR 617. The public hearing shall be advertised and noticed in accordance with the Town Board's policies and procedures.
(7)
Decision. The Town Board when deciding whether to disapprove, approve, or approve with conditions a petition for BP, the Town Board will consider:
(a)
The consistency of the proposed petition and MDP with the intent of the BP floating zone.
(b)
The consistency with the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.
(d)
The report of the Planning Board including any recommended modifications.
(f)
The suitability of the MDP to meet the purposes of this chapter as well as their incorporation of best management practices for stormwater management.
(8)
The Town Board, in its discretion, may impose reasonable conditions to an approved BP authorization as necessary to assure conformance of the project with the intent, objectives and requirements of these regulations.
(9)
The approved BP shall be designated on the Zoning Map of the Town of Montgomery, New York and the map shall reference the local law authorizing the designation.
(10)
Standard conditions regarding BP authorization. Unless otherwise overridden by the Town Board, authorization for BP shall be conditioned upon the following:
(a)
Securing of site plan approval issued by the Planning Board in accordance with Article VI of the Zoning Code of the Town of Montgomery prior to issuance of a building permit in connection with the construction of any element of an approved MDP.
(b)
If a valid and complete application for site plan approval is not presented to the Planning Board for approval within 12 months of the date of BP authorization or if no development is initiated on the site within 24 months of the date of approval of a site plan by the Planning Board, the zoning of said parcel shall revert back to the zoning of said parcel prior to its change to a BP district. The Town Board may upon application, extend either term for up to four six-month periods, where it finds that the development was delayed for cause reasonably beyond the control of the applicant.
(11)
Upon designation, the MDP and its accompanying narratives, design requirements, prescribed bulk standards and conditions of approval shall override any competing provisions of the Zoning Local Law.
(12)
Amendment of MDP. The procedures for amending an MDP shall be the same as those originally designating an MDP except that:
(a)
No additional referral back to the Planning Board shall be required where the amendment is referred by the Planning Board to the Town Board due to non-compliance with an adopted MDP.
(b)
No public hearing shall be required where the Town Board finds that the amendment is a de minimis change not likely to result in any additional impacts to nearby neighborhoods.
C.
Criteria for authorization of BP Zoning District. Authorization of the BP Zoning District is subject to the same discretion as any zoning map amendment. Compliance with criteria in no way compels the Town Board to designate the site for BP Floating Zone. The Town Board shall consider the following criteria among other relevant considerations in determining whether or not to authorize the "landing" or designation of the BP Floating Zone to a particular parcel or group of parcels in connection with a proposed petition and MDP.
(1)
The lots to which the BP Zoning District is proposed, are currently located in an Industrial District.
(2)
The proposal is conceptually sound in that it meets a demonstrated community or market need and the proposed roadway system, land use configuration, open space and drainage systems, and scale of project elements are laid out in a sustainable and orderly manner both overall and as they relate to one another.
(3)
The proposed Business Park shall have access from existing Town/County/State roads unless additional access points are required by the NYS Building/Fire Code.
(4)
Any proposed access roads shall be constructed to the Town Road Standards or a higher standard if deemed necessary by the Town Highway Superintendent and Town Engineer based on anticipated traffic for the proposed use(s). The access road shall be offered to the Town for dedication, however the Town has no obligation to accept the dedication, and it will be the responsibility of the business park to maintain the road if not accepted. Alternatively, the Town Board may authorize private commercial roads pursuant to § 235-7.8.
(5)
If the site is proposed to utilize a community water or sewer system, a water/sewer district shall be created and offered to the Town for dedication, however the Town has no obligation to accept the dedication, and it will be the responsibility of the business park to maintain the community water or sewer system if not accepted.
(6)
There are adequate public facilities, services, utilities and road access available to support the development or adequate facilities are proposed to be made available.
D.
Authorized principal uses. Uses authorized for the BP Zoning District are identified in the Table of Use Regulations. The Town Board may restrict one or more of these authorized uses on a site-specific basis upon designating a BP Zoning District. Unless otherwise authorized by the Town Board upon designating a BP Zoning District, no more than one out of every four principal structures, nor no more than one-quarter of the floor area of a concurrently designated BP Zoning District may be utilized for non-intensive warehousing. Intensive warehouses as a principal use shall not be permitted. The accessory interior storage of input components and finished product as an accessory to production, assembly or other Industrial uses, shall not be deemed to be warehousing, nor shall storage of parts and goods involved in a service.
E.
Dimensional standards.
(1)
The lot area requirement, lot coverage and lot width requirements listed in the Table of Dimensional Regulations shall apply to the totality of the MDP site. Lot coverage shall not include areas improved to Town road standards or that are authorized pursuant to § 235-7.8 towards the coverage standard (neither the impervious area nor total area of the calculation).
(2)
The height standard for all principal structures contained within the BP Zoning District shall be as listed in the Table of Dimensional Regulations.
(3)
The minimum yard standards listed in the Table of Dimensional Regulations shall apply to the exterior boundaries of the MDP site.
(4)
Performance buffers consistent with § 235-11.9 shall be provided along the exterior boundaries of the MDP site. Performance buffers shall not be required between individual parcels, structures or uses within the Business Park, except where required by the Town Board.
(6)
Off-street parking and loading. Off-street parking and loading shall be provided in accordance with the ratios established in § 235-12 of this chapter and may be provided in joint facilities throughout the MDP.
(7)
Special use permit requirements. Where a use is authorized as a Special Use Permit, any dimensional standards required as specific condition of the special permit use, as listed in 235-15.4C, shall be met by each component use separately and shall be measured from external MDP site boundaries and internal and external roads. Where a dimensional requirement is prescribed for a particular use, the area needed to meet the dimensional requirement shall not be used for any other use in the Business Park, nor count toward any special use dimensional requirement of any other use within the Business Park. For example, arenas and assembly halls have a special use requirement of 20% coverage, which must be met within a designated area devoted to the arena or assembly hall and which area cannot be used for or count toward special use permit dimensional requirements for other uses within the MDP.
(8)
The following dimensional standards shall be maintained within a BP Zoning District:
(a)
Distance between principal buildings. At a minimum, the distance between two principal buildings shall be not less than their average height and be in compliance with the NYS Building and Fire Code.
(b)
Separation from existing public street. No building shall be proposed within 50 feet of a public or private street.
(c)
The right-of-way and pavement widths for internal roads shall be determined from sound planning and engineering standards to be adequate and sufficient in size, location and design to accommodate the maximum traffic, parking and loading needs and the access of fire-fighting equipment and police or emergency vehicles. The construction of roads shall meet Town requirements for design and materials and be approved by the Town Highway Superintendent.
F.
Site plan approval required. Site plan approval by the Planning Board shall be required prior to issuance of a building permit for construction as part of an MDP. The Planning Board will utilize the MDP and any bulk standards or other conditions imposed by the Town Board as the authorized uses and bulk requirements relative to site plan approval. All other provisions of the Zoning local law including § 235-16.5 shall apply except to the extent that they are not consistent with the approved MDP and resolution of BP approval. Where the Planning Board finds that any proposed condition of a site plan submitted after the designation of the BP is not consistent with the MDP, attendant narratives, design requirements, indicated bulk standards and other conditions of approval, the Planning Board shall refer that application back to the Town Board for consideration of amendment of the MDP. The Planning Board shall include its report on the proposed amendment consistent with § 237-7.14B(4) at the time of such referral.