The purpose of this chapter is to exercise a town's right to protect its citizens by controlling the use of land so as to broadly protect the public health, safety and general welfare and to carry out locally established goals and objectives in accordance with a comprehensive plan designed to preserve and protect, for the benefit of the township as a whole, the basically rural-agricultural nature of the Town.

This chapter shall be known as the "Zoning Law of the Town of Chatham, New York."

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety or the general welfare. Whenever the requirements of this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations or ordinances, the most restrictive or those imposing the higher standards shall govern.[1]