Poughkeepsie City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
§ 210-1 Title.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Zoning Law of the Town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York."
§ 210-2 Scope.
This chapter regulates and restricts the location, construction, alteration and use of buildings and structures and the development and use of land within the Town of Poughkeepsie and for said purposes divides the Town into zoning districts.
§ 210-3 Legislative authority; purpose.
A.
This Chapter 210 of the Town of Poughkeepsie Town Code is enacted pursuant to the authority and power granted by the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York and the Town Law of the State of New York, in conformance with the 2007 Poughkeepsie Town Plan duly adopted by the Town Board. As stated herein, specific sections of Article 16 of the Town Law have been superseded by this chapter pursuant to the authority of § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.
B.
This chapter is adopted to protect and promote the health, safety, comfort, convenience, economy, aesthetics and general welfare and for the following additional purposes:
(1)
To guide the future development of the Town in accordance with the Town Plan of land use so that the Town may realize its potential as a place to live and to work, with the most beneficial and convenient relationships among the residential, commercial and industrial areas within the Town and with due consideration to:
(a)
The character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses.
(b)
Existing conditions and trends in population, economic activity, land use and building development.
(c)
Conserving the value of buildings and neighborhoods by encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the Town.
(2)
To prevent the pollution of streams, ponds and all other water resources, to prevent floods and to encourage the wise use and sound management of natural resources throughout the Town in order to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the community and the value of the land.
(3)
To protect the character and the social and economic stability of all parts of the Town and to enhance the appearance of the Town as a whole by ensuring that all development shall be orderly and beneficial to the Town, by eliminating inappropriate and poor quality design in the exterior appearance of structures and by controlling the erection and maintenance of signs throughout the Town.
(4)
To protect residential areas and to provide privacy for families by the preservation of such areas from, among others, the visual intrusion of nonresidential uses and, wherever reasonable, by the elimination of nonconforming uses which exert a deleterious influence on their surroundings.
(5)
To facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks and other public requirements.
(6)
To make provision for access to sunlight and the accommodation of solar energy systems and equipment and other alternative energy systems.
§ 210-4 Severability.
If any part of this chapter is declared to be invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect or impair the validity of said chapter as a whole, or any other part of said chapter. The Town Board hereby declares that it would have adopted this chapter and each part thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more of the parts may be declared invalid.
§ 210-5 Supersession of inconsistent laws.
To the extent that this chapter is inconsistent with Town Law §§ 261-b, 261-c, 265-a, 267-a, 274-a, 274-b, 276, 277, 278 or any other provision of Article 16 of the Town Law, the provisions of this chapter are expressly intended to and do hereby supersede any such inconsistent provisions.
§ 210-6 When effective.
This chapter, together with the Zoning Map, shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.