North Greenbush City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Regulations Applicable in all Districts
§ 197-11 Primary uses.
A.
General. Within any district, certain primary uses are permitted by right or by special permit as illustrated in Columns 2 and 3 of Table 1.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
§ 197-12 Permitted accessory uses.
A.
General. Within any district, certain permitted accessory uses are permitted by right as illustrated in Column 4 of Table 1.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1 is included as an attachment to this chapter. All other accessory uses shall be by special permit only.
B.
Swimming pools.
(1)
Location. A swimming pool 24 inches or more in depth at any point shall be located no closer than 20 feet to any lot line.
(2)
Enclosure or fence. Any deck or similar structure attached to or part of an aboveground pool shall be constructed in such a manner that will maintain the pool's inaccessibility or a separate enclosure or fence shall be provided. Any deck attached to a pool and not attached to the primary residence shall meet the setback requirements for the pool as stated in § 197-12B(1).
C.
Carriage houses.
(1)
A carriage house may be permitted in an R1 or AR District by the granting of a special permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals or be approved by the Planning Board as part of a subdivision application, provided that the carriage house complies with the following regulations:
(a)
The lot size must be a minimum of five acres.
(b)
The primary residence must be greater than 4,000 square feet (exclusive of porches, decks, terraces, patios, breezeways, basements, and garages).
(c)
Only one carriage house is permitted on a given parcel.
(d)
The carriage house may not be subdivided from the primary residence or vice versa.
(e)
The carriage house and the primary residence must share a common driveway.
(f)
The carriage house shall be consistent with the building type, architectural style, and color of the primary dwelling unit.
(g)
The carriage house shall be limited to an average roof height of 28 feet and in no event exceeding the height of the main dwelling.
(h)
The allowed living area of the carriage house shall be a minimum of 750 square feet and shall not exceed 25% of the living area of the primary dwelling unit.
(i)
The construction of the carriage house shall conform to all property development regulations of the zone in which the property is located as well as all fire, health, safety and building provisions of this title.
(j)
All property development regulations applicable to the principal residence shall also be applicable to the carriage house, including setbacks and height limitations.
(k)
The location of both the sanitary sewage disposal system and the potable water supply system for each residence, whether they are together or separate, shall be approved by the Rensselaer County Health Department and the Town of North Greenbush Utilities Department.
(2)
Subdivision plat and site plan.
(a)
Prior to the subdivision plat being signed by the Planning Board Chairman for locations where carriage house locations are shown on a subdivision plat and site plan, in substantial compliance with this subsection, a public hearing shall be held by the Town of North Greenbush Planning Board.
(b)
Prior to issuance of a work permit by the Town of North Greenbush Building Department, the following conditions shall be complied with:
[1]
All final Planning Board and engineering comments shall be addressed on the site plan.
[2]
All necessary approvals for the potable water and sanitary sewage disposal systems shall be obtained.
[3]
All necessary agreements shall be executed with the Town of North Greenbush as required.
[4]
All necessary performance bonds and security agreements shall be filed with the Town of North Greenbush as required.
[5]
Funding of the appropriate engineering review, observation and oversight account be established with the Town of North Greenbush Comptroller.
[6]
Payment of all municipal review fees.
[7]
The approved subdivision plat shall be signed by the Planning Board Chairman and filed in the Rensselaer County Clerk's office.
§ 197-13 Principal buildings and uses per lot.
There shall be only one principal building and principal use per lot in R1 Districts.
§ 197-14 Existing undersized lots.
A.
Any lot in a subdivision whose plat has been approved by the Planning Board and/or properly filed prior to the adoption of this chapter shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter as provided by § 265-a of the New York Town Law.
B.
The provisions of § 265-a of the New York Town Law shall apply only if such lot does not adjoin a lot or lots held by the same owner whose aggregate area is equal to or greater than the minimum lot area required for that district, and all other bulk requirements for that district are to be complied with.
§ 197-15 Required yards.
A.
Comer lots. On a corner lot, each side which abuts a street shall be deemed a front lot line, and the required yard along each such lot line shall be a required front yard. The owner shall decide which of the remaining yards shall be the required side yard and the required rear yard.
B.
Double frontage. For any through lot fronting on parallel or abutting streets, both frontages shall comply with the front yard requirements of the district in which it is located.
C.
Side yards for attached buildings. Side yards for semidetached houses or row houses shall be required at the ends of the total structure.
D.
Distance between principal buildings. If two or more principal buildings are located on the same lot, one building's exterior walls containing windows shall be separated from the nearest point on any adjacent building by a horizontal distance, perpendicular to the wall with windows, equal to at least twice the width of the required side yard for the particular district in which the buildings are located.
§ 197-16 Encroachments.
A.
Accessory buildings.
(1)
No accessory buildings shall be constructed in front yards.
(2)
The aggregate ground area covered by accessory buildings, including that covered by any encroachments other than cornices and eaves, shall not exceed 15% of the rear yard area on any residential lot or 50% of the rear yard area on any nonresidential lot.
(3)
Accessory buildings unattached to principal buildings shall be located no closer to the principal buildings than 12 feet or a distance equal to the height of each accessory, whichever is the greater.
(4)
Setbacks for accessory buildings shall meet the following requirements for both minimum lot size and for the accessory building footprint.
(a)
As determined by the lot size, all accessory buildings shall have the following minimum setbacks.
[1]
Lot size of less than 20,000 square feet: shall be no closer than three feet to a side or rear property line.
[2]
Lot size of 20,000 to 40,000 square feet: shall be no closer than seven feet to a side or rear property line.
[3]
Lot size of over 40,000 square feet: shall be no closer than 10 feet to a side or rear property line.
(b)
All accessory buildings shall also meet the following setback requirements based upon the size of the accessory building footprint:[1]
[1]
Accessory building footprint of less than 200 square feet shall be no closer than three feet to a side or rear property line.
[2]
Accessory building footprint of 200 to 499 square feet, no closer than seven feet to a side or rear property line.
[3]
Accessory building footprint of 500 to 999 square feet, no closer than 10 feet to a side or rear property line.
[4]
Accessory building footprint of greater than 1,000 square feet, no closer than 20 feet to a side or rear property line.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Schedule of Area and Bulk Regulations is included as an attachment to this chapter.
(5)
Two accessory buildings with the ground area covered by any one accessory building not exceeding 1,200 square feet and the ground area covered by both accessory buildings not exceeding 1,600 square feet may be permitted in a required rear or side yard, provided that the standards in Subsection A(2) are not exceeded. The average roof height of accessory buildings shall not exceed 16 feet in R1, R2, R3 and R4 Zones or 20 feet in all other zones.
(6)
Any accessory building physically attached to a principal building is deemed to be part of such principal building in applying bulk and setback regulations.
B.
Projections.
(1)
Windowsills, bay windows, cornices, eaves and other similar architectural features shall be permitted to project no more than three feet.
(2)
Awnings and canopies shall be permitted to project no more than six feet.
(3)
Open fire escapes shall be permitted to project a maximum of six feet into required side yards, rear yards or courts, but shall not project into required front yards or required open areas and shall not be placed on walls facing toward a street.
C.
Obstructions at street intersections. On a corner lot in any residence district, no fence, wall, hedge, structure or planting over 2 1/2 feet in height or closer than five feet to the ground shall be erected, placed or maintained within the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines or their projections, where corners are rounded, and a straight line joining said street lines at points which are 50 feet distant from the point of intersection, measured along said street lines and/or projections.
D.
Fences and walls.
(1)
Fences and walls shall not exceed six feet in height when erected in side and/or rear yards.
(2)
Fences and walls shall not exceed four feet in height when erected along a front property line, along a side property line within the minimum front yard setback and within the front yard setback itself, except agricultural fencing, which may be five feet.
(3)
All fences and walls shall conform to the requirements of § 197-16C as it pertains to obstructions at street intersections.
(4)
All fences and walls shall be measured from the ground level at the base of the fence or wall, except that with a retaining wall, the height shall be measured from the average of the ground levels at each end of said retaining wall.
(5)
Fences and walls may be constructed of both man-made and natural materials; however, with the exception of agricultural fencing, no fencing or walls shall be made of or incorporate barbed wire, electrified wire or similar types.
(6)
"Razor ribbon" or other similar wire used for security purposes shall be allowed only by special permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(7)
The ornamental side of any fence, if there is an ornamental side, shall face away from the lot in which it is located.
(8)
A fence or wall associated with a swimming pool shall be considered an integral part of the swimming pool if it is part of the pool construction or within the immediate area of the pool. Fences or walls associated with swimming pools shall be subject to height requirements of § 197-12B, Swimming pools.
§ 197-17 Height exceptions.
The height limitations of this chapter, as shown in Table 2,[1] shall not apply to the following structures: church spires; belfries; silos; cupolas; domes not used for human occupancy; chimneys; ventilators; skylights; water tanks; bulkheads and other necessary mechanical appurtenances usually carried above the roof level, parapet wall or cornice for ornament extending above such height limit not more than five feet; radio or television receiving antenna; or a public utility transmission tower or cable. No such uses shall in their aggregate coverage occupy more than 20% of the roof area on which located.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 2 is included as an attachment to this chapter.
§ 197-18 Accessways.
A.
Access to lots. A lot to be used for building purposes shall have direct frontage on a public street. No portion of any driveway shall be located closer than 30 feet to the intersection of two intersecting streets or roads.
B.
Access to parking areas. Unobstructed and direct accessway between a street and a parking area shall be provided. There shall be a minimum of:
(1)
One accessway at least eight feet but not more than 12 feet wide for parking areas with five spaces or less.
(2)
One accessway at least 16 feet but not more than 24 feet wide for parking areas having six to 20 spaces.
(3)
One accessway at least 24 feet but not more than 30 feet wide or two one-way accessways, each at least 12 feet but not more than 24 feet wide, for parking areas with over 20 spaces.
C.
Access to loading berths. Accessways at least 10 feet in width shall connect all loading berths or areas to a street. Such accessways may be coincidental with access roadways or driveways to parking areas.