Mount Pleasant City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Site Plan Approval
§ 218-97 General provisions.
There is hereby granted and delegated to the Planning Board of the Town of Mount Pleasant the power to review and approve site plans and to condition building permits, use permits and certificates of occupancy on compliance with the site plan, as approved, and any restrictions set forth.
§ 218-98 Standards for site plan approval.
(Reserved)
§ 218-99 Supplemental regulations for site plans.
A.
Child day-care centers, subject to the following supplemental regulations:
(1)
Intent. It is the intent of this subsection to encourage the provision of child day-care centers in the Town of Mount Pleasant. The Town Board recognizes the importance of, and need for, child day-care centers within the Town. However, the need for child day care shall not supersede the requirements to provide such care in a manner that adequately protects the health, safety and welfare of the children to be serviced, the parents of those children and the residents of the area and that ensures compatibility with the neighborhood character in which such child day-care center will operate.
(2)
Permit requirements.
(a)
Child day-care centers shall be permitted pursuant to site plan approval by the Planning Board in accordance with Article VIII of these regulations and as further regulated by this subsection.
(b)
Frontage, area and bulk standards shall be in accordance with the requirements of the zoning district in which the facility is to be located, except as may be otherwise regulated by this subsection.
(c)
When child day-care centers are permitted as accessory uses, in OB-1, OB-2, OB-3 Districts, "accessory" shall refer to the size of the proposed child day-care center in proportion to the principal use. In this case, the gross area to be occupied by the child day-care center shall not be greater than 20% of the principal use and shall be located therein.
(d)
Signs related to a child day-care center shall be in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 176, Signs, of the Town of Mount Pleasant Town Code.
(e)
Prior to endorsement of the approved site plan, there shall be evidence of all required agency/department approvals, except as noted in Subsection A(2)(f) below.
(f)
Prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, licensing and/or registration as required by the New York State Department of Social Services shall be obtained. Full compliance with the requirements thereunder shall be maintained in good standing.
(g)
An interior floor plan, drawn to scale, shall be provided showing planned occupancy and use of all interior areas to be utilized by the child day-care center. Plans for child day-care centers located in a building with other uses shall also show, at the time of application, the interior floor plans for the floor on which the day-care center is proposed to be located and shall indicate all other uses in the entire building. The interior floor plan shall show and identify all access locations with respect to required dropoff/pickup areas and outdoor play areas for the child day-care center.
(h)
Interior floor areas for child day-care centers shall only be located within a ground floor with exterior at-grade access and shall not be located in basements or upper floors lacking at-grade access.
(i)
Child day-care centers shall only be established in fire-resistive buildings which conform with all provisions of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. An application for a child day-care center shall provide a narrative and/or interior floor plan which identifies and describes all necessary and required emergency evacuation routes and fire and safety features, such as but not limited to sprinklers, fire/smoke detectors, audio and visual alarm systems, exits, windows, doors, stairwells and interior and exterior safe-haven areas.
(j)
The grounds, outdoor play areas, parking areas, dropoff/pickup areas, related site improvements and the exterior of all buildings and structures shall be kept and maintained in conformity with the approved site plan.
(3)
Design standards.
(a)
Outdoor play area.
[1]
Each child day-care center shall contain a designated outdoor play area which shall be shown and detailed on the required site plan.
[2]
At the time of application for site plan approval, the percentage of the center's enrollment capacity permitted to use the outdoor play area at any given time shall be computed by multiplying the day-care center's enrollment capacity by 20%. To determine the size of the outdoor play area, the resultant capacity of the outdoor play area shall then be multiplied by 125 square feet per child for children up to six years of age; or by 250 square feet per child for children older than six years of age. In no case however, shall the size of the outdoor play area be greater than 5,000 square feet in size.
[3]
The location of the outdoor play area shall be separated from adjacent streets, driveways, off-street parking and loading areas and required dropoff/pickup areas to prevent potential adverse impacts and to ensure the safety of the children and staff, as follows:
[a]
The outdoor play area shall not be located in the front yard and shall be subject to setbacks equal to those for buildings in accordance with the requirements of the zoning district in which the facility is to be located.
[b]
If the outdoor play area is located in an area which is not directly adjacent to the access of the indoor portion of the center, a designated crosswalk or access path shall be provided between the two areas. Fencing along such path or crosswalk will be required to provide additional security protection. All-season landscaping may also be required to ensure an integrated landscape treatment with the surrounding site area.
[c]
The outdoor play area shall be enclosed by a chain-link fence, or fence of equivalent material. Such fence shall be six feet in height. Gates designed with appropriate locks shall be installed within the fencing to ensure safety for the staff and children using the area.
[d]
The outdoor play area may be screened on all sides which do not abut a building by an all-season six-foot-high landscaped buffer covering an area measuring a minimum of five feet in width, offset from the perimeter fence of the required outdoor play area to ensure the safety of the staff and children using the area, to restrict nonauthorized external access and to improve compatibility with adjacent uses and properties. Such landscape buffers may be located within required setback areas.
[4]
The surface material and construction components of the fencing and play apparatus shall be of a suitable type for recreational purposes and which ensure the safety of the staff and children of the child day-care center.
[5]
The ground surface of the outdoor play area shall be covered by a cellulose mulch or other suitable material type for recreational purposes.
[6]
The outdoor play area shall be free from any condition which is known to be hazardous and/or dangerous to the health and safety of the staff and children using the area.
[7]
The Planning Board may attach other conditions and safeguards as may be considered necessary to protect the health and safety of the staff and children of the child day-care center, to ensure compatibility with contiguous and adjacent uses and adjacent properties and which protect and enhance the existing character of the surrounding area.
(b)
Dropoff/pickup area.
[1]
Each child day-care center shall contain a designated dropoff/pickup area which shall be shown and detailed on the required site plan.
[2]
The dropoff/pickup area shall provide direct access to the child day-care center and all loading and unloading of children from vehicles shall only be permitted from this designated area.
[3]
The dropoff/pickup area shall be located so that children do not have to walk across the parking area or traffic areas to reach a vehicle or the related facilities of the center.
[4]
The dropoff/pickup area shall provide one-way traffic flow with a separate standing area consisting of a minimum of one dropoff/pickup space for each 15 children of the center's licensed capacity. A "dropoff/pickup space," for the purposes of this subsection, shall mean a temporary vehicle standing area, measuring 20 feet long by 12 feet wide for perpendicular parking or 22 feet long by 12 feet wide for parallel parking, which is not within any traffic aisle; such spaces shall not be counted as required off-street parking or loading spaces. Such areas shall be clearly identified by pavement markings and appropriate aboveground signage.
[5]
The dropoff/pickup area and vehicle standing area shall be paved.
(4)
Where an applicant cannot meet the requirements of any part or parts of this section, the Planning Board shall have the power to waive or modify such standards as contained herein pertaining to such as long as the objectives of this section can still be met.