Oswego City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Special Permits
§ 280-27 Requirements for special permit.
In authorizing any special permit, the Board of Appeals shall take into consideration the public health, safety and general welfare and the comfort and convenience of the public in general and that of the immediate neighborhood in particular. For every such special permit use, the Board of Appeals shall determine, as applicable, that:
A.
Such use will be in harmony with and promote the general purposes and intent of this chapter.
B.
Such use will be in harmony with the permitted uses in the general area of the property and shall not be detrimental to such uses.
C.
The proposed use will not have a significant adverse impact on adjacent properties.
D.
The lot shall be of sufficient size, appropriate and adequate for the proposed use and the reasonably anticipated operation and expansion thereof.
E.
The proposed use conforms to any special requirements or conditions as set forth hereafter.
F.
Access facilities, entrances and exits shall not have the effect of creating traffic congestion or a potentially unsafe condition. In this regard the Board of Appeals shall consider the estimated traffic to and from the site and the use of the site by customers and/or the public. Vehicle entrances and exits shall be clearly visible from the street.
G.
All proposed curb cuts and/or driveways have been approved by the appropriate agency or agencies having jurisdiction.
H.
There are adequate off-street parking and loading facilities sufficiently constructed for the anticipated number of occupants, both employees and patrons or visitors, and further that the layout for the spaces and driveways adequately addresses all safety issues.
I.
There is adequate buffering and screening between the proposed site and adjoining properties in order to adequately protect the characteristics and uses of the adjacent properties and land uses.
J.
The applicant shall demonstrate that there is an adequate supply of water to the site and that adequate provisions have been made for sewage, refuse or other waste.
K.
The applicant shall demonstrate that there has been adequate provision for the collection and disposal of all drainage and stormwater runoff from the site.
L.
The proposed use shall be in compliance with all applicable design standards as set forth in this chapter.
M.
The location, size of the use, nature and intensity of the operations, site layout and its relation to streets and highways giving access to the site shall be such that the proposed use will not be hazardous, inconvenient or detrimental to the neighborhood. In applying this standard, the Board shall consider, among other things, convenient and safe routes of pedestrian traffic, particularly of children, relation to main traffic thoroughfares and to street and road intersections, and the general character and intensity of the development of the neighborhood.
N.
The applicant has secured all necessary permits from any federal, state or local authority, including site plan approval; provided, however, that the Board of Appeals may, in its sole discretion, grant conditional approval and establish a time frame for final approval upon the issuance of any required permits. In this regard, the applicant shall demonstrate that all necessary permits have been applied for. Conditional approval shall not be applicable for permits required for ingress and egress.
O.
The applicant has demonstrated compliance with all wetlands and all flood zone regulations.
P.
The proposed use shall have adequate lighting, but such lighting will not shine directly on or result in unnecessary glare to adjacent properties.
§ 280-28 Special conditions and safeguards for certain special permit uses.
No authorization for a building shall be granted by the Board of Appeals for any use listed in this section, unless the Board of Appeals shall specifically find that, in addition to meeting all the general standards set forth in § 280-27, the proposed special permit use also meets the special conditions and safeguards required in this section or as otherwise set forth in this chapter.
§ 280-29 Special provisions applicable to medical facilities.
Philanthropic institutions, convents, hospitals, clinics, sanitariums and nursing and convalescent homes shall conform to the following additional regulations:
§ 280-30 Special provisions applicable to outdoor drive-in theaters.
Outdoor drive-in theaters shall be governed by the following regulations:
A.
Projection screens and parking areas shall be no closer than 50 feet to any street line and no closer than 100 feet to a residential district.
B.
Projection screens shall not be visible from any major street.
C.
All parking areas, accessways and driveways shall be paved with dustless material.
D.
Loudspeakers shall be limited to the individual type designed to be heard by the occupants of one car.
E.
Entrances and exits shall connect only to major streets and shall be designed so as not to interfere with or impede traffic flow.
F.
Entrance car reservoir spaces shall be provided to accommodate no less than 5% of the theater's parking capacity.
§ 280-31 Special provisions applicable to excavations and earthmoving operations.
Excavations and earthmoving operations which are not incidental to construction of a building shall be governed by the following requirements:
A.
All excavation operations shall not adversely affect drainage or structural safety of adjoining lots and buildings. They shall not contribute to soil erosion by wind or water or create or involve any kind of noisome or injurious substances, conditions or operations.
B.
Open excavations deeper than 10 feet or having a slope greater than 30° from the horizontal shall be surrounded by a fence at least six feet high and no closer than 50 feet to the edge of the excavation or other hazardous condition.
C.
The slope of a pile of any material excavated shall not exceed its normal angle of repose.
D.
No excavation shall take place closer than 100 feet to a vertical plane created by the projection of any length of the lot line vertically into the ground, nor shall any mechanical equipment be stationed or supplies or excavated material stored any closer than 100 feet to the lot line.
E.
Before any excavation starts, plans shall be submitted to the Board of Appeals indicating:
(1)
Existing topography, showing contour lines at vertical intervals of no more than two feet; drainage courses and other pertinent physical conditions; areas to be excavated; and the extent of such excavations.
(2)
Proposed rehabilitation of the area after excavation operations cease, including finished grades, drainage and such other information as is necessary to fully explain the site conditions after operations cease.
(3)
All drawings and plans shall be approved by the Permit Administrator prior to consideration by the Board of Appeals.
F.
Before any excavations are made, performance bonds shall be posted with the City Clerk in an amount equal to the estimated cost of rehabilitation of the site as determined by the Permit Administrator, except that none of the foregoing provisions shall apply to installation, construction, erection, laying, repair, maintenance and removal of electric, telephone and gas lines.
G.
Prior to the release of any performance bonds, the Permit Administrator shall certify that the finished grades, drainage and other features pertinent to rehabilitation of the land all conform to the plans, or modifications thereof, approved by the Board of Appeals, and that topsoil to a depth of six inches has been distributed over all excavated portions of the site being rehabilitated.
§ 280-32 Special provisions applicable to landfills.
In any district, the dumping of refuse and waste material for landfill is prohibited. Loam, rock, stone, gravel, sand, cinders and soil may be used for landfill to grades approved by the Permit Administrator only if approved by permit. No landfill shall commence until a permit has been issued. Applications for landfill permits shall be made by the property owner to the Permit Administrator on forms he shall prescribe. No landfill permit shall be issued until the application has been approved by the Common Council following its referral to the Permit Administrator. The Permit Administrator may refer a request, when he deems it necessary, to the Planning Board for an advisory opinion. The Council, from time to time, shall establish a schedule of fees to defray administrative costs involved in processing the application.
§ 280-33 Special regulations for gasoline stations.
In all districts where permitted, gasoline or motor vehicle service stations shall comply with the following special regulations:
A.
A gasoline station lot shall not be located within 200 feet of any lot occupied by a school, public library, theater, religious institution, hospital, fire station or other public gathering place unless a street lies between such establishment and the gasoline station. Measurement shall be made between the nearest respective lot lines.
B.
Lot size shall be at least 20,000 square feet.
C.
Lot frontage shall be at least 150 feet.
D.
Lot depth shall be at least 125 feet.
E.
Pumps and lubricating and other service devices shall be located at least 35 feet from front lot line and side and rear lot lines.
F.
All fuel and oil shall be stored at least 20 feet from any property line.
G.
All automobile parts and dismantled vehicles are to be stored within an enclosed building; no repair work is to be performed outside a building.
H.
No signs shall extend beyond pumps nor exceed 20 feet in height.
I.
There shall be no more than two access driveways from the street. The maximum width of each access driveway shall be 40 feet.
J.
A suitably curbed landscaped area shall be maintained at least five feet in depth along all street frontage not used as a driveway.
K.
No automobile service establishment shall have an opening in the roof, side or rear walls less than 15 feet from any lot line.
§ 280-34 Special regulations for public utility substations and facilities.
In all districts where permitted, public utility substations and facilities shall comply with the following special regulations: