Village Of The Branch
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Business District
§ 275-32 Application of regulations.
In the Business District, the following regulations contained in this article shall apply.
§ 275-33 Permitted uses.
A building may be erected, altered or used, and a lot or premises may be used, for any of the following purposes and for no other:
A.
Any use permitted in a residence district.
B.
Club, community house, lodge or building for any approved purpose of the Incorporated Village of the Branch.
C.
Store.
D.
Office or bank.
E.
Restaurant or bakery, pastry, candy or confectionery shop.
F.
Carpenters, cabinetmaking, furniture or upholstery shop; electrician shop; tinsmith, plumbing, steam or hot-water fitting shop; paint store and paperhanger establishment.
G.
Hand laundry, tailoring, dressmaking, shoemaking and repairing.
H.
Jewelry, watches, clocks or optical goods, and musical, professional or scientific instruments manufacture.
I.
Newspaper or job printing; bookbinding.
J.
Telephone exchange.
K.
Accessory use on the same lot with and customarily incidental to any of the above permitted uses.
L.
Any use of the same general character as any of the uses hereinbefore specifically permitted when authorized as a variance by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
M.
Adult uses (as hereinafter defined).
[Added 6-17-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
(1)
Purposes and considerations.
(a)
In the execution of this subsection, it is recognized that there are some uses which, due to their very nature, have serious objectionable characteristics. The objectionable characteristics of these uses are further heightened by their concentration in any one area, thereby having deleterious effects on adjacent areas. Special regulation of these uses is necessary to ensure that these adverse effects will not contribute to the blighting or downgrading of the surrounding neighborhoods or land uses.
(b)
It is further declared that the location of these uses in regard to areas where our youth may regularly assemble and the general atmosphere encompassing their operation is of great concern to the Incorporated Village of the Branch.
(c)
These special regulations are itemized in this subsection to accomplish the primary purposes of preventing a concentration of these uses in any one area and restricting their accessibility to minors.
(2)
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ADULT BOOKSTORE
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock-in-trade books, magazines, other periodicals, films, slides and videotapes and which establishment is customarily not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CABARET
A public or private establishment which presents topless dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or exotic dancers or other similar entertainments and which establishment is customarily not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.
ADULT THEATER
A theater that customarily presents motion pictures, films, videotapes or slide shows that are not open to the public generally but exclude any minor by reason of age.
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment having a fixed place of business where massages are administered for pay, including but not limited to massage parlors, sauna baths and steam baths. This definition shall not be construed to include a hospital, nursing home or medical clinic or the office of a physician, surgeon, chiropractor, osteopath or duly licensed physical therapist or barbershops or beauty salons in which massages are administered only to the scalp, face, neck or shoulders. This definition also shall exclude health clubs which have facilities for physical exercise, such as tennis courts, racquetball courts or exercise rooms and which do not receive their primary source of revenue through the administration of massages.
PEEP SHOWS
An establishment which presents material in the form of live shows, films or videotapes, viewed from an individual enclosure, for which a fee is charged and which is not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.
(3)
The adult uses as defined in Subsection M(2) above are to be restricted as to location in the following manner in addition to any other requirements of the Incorporated Village of the Branch Code:
(a)
Any of the above uses shall not be located within a one-fourth-mile radius of another such use.
(b)
Any of the above uses shall not be located within 1,000 feet of the lot line of the premises used for a school, church or other place of religious worship, park, parkland, playground or playing field, library, hospital or similar public or semipublic place of general congregation.
(4)
No more than one of the adult uses as defined above shall be located on any lot.
N.
Hookah lounges and vape stores/lounges.
[Amended 9-11-2018 by L.L. No. 5-2018]
(1)
As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HOOKAH LOUNGES and VAPE STORES/LOUNGES
Any facility or location whose business operation, and its principal use, include on-site indoor smoking/sale of electronic cigarettes, vape pens, vapors, e-liquids, other legal marijuana derivatives or other substances. As it relates to provisions concerning hookah lounges and vape stores/lounges, the term "smoking" is defined as the inhalation of the smoke/liquid nicotine/vapors/water pipe tobacco and other substances encased in electronic cigarettes, vape pens, and pipes commonly known as "hookah," "waterpipe," "shisha," and "narghile," or any similar device.
(2)
Any of the above uses shall not be located within 1,500 feet of the lot line of the premises used for a school, church or other place of religious worship, park, parkland, playground or playing field, library, hospital or similar public or semipublic place of general congregation.
§ 275-34 Prohibited uses.
[Amended 6-13-1989 by L.L. No. 2-1989]
A.
No building may be erected, altered or used and no lot or premises may be used for any trade, industry or business that is noxious or offensive by reason of odor, dust, smoke, gas, vibrations or noise.
B.
No electronic or other mechanical games or devices which are activated by the insertion of coins or other mediums of exchange shall be allowed in any commercial building or establishment within the confines of the Village of the Branch.
§ 275-35 Maximum lot coverage for dwelling purposes.
In the case of any building erected, altered or used in whole or in part as a dwelling, the building area shall not exceed 70% of the lot area.
§ 275-36 Height restrictions; setback requirements.
No building or structure hereinafter erected, altered or moved to a new foundation shall exceed 35 feet in height nor be less than 20 feet distant from every highway adjacent to the lot.
§ 275-37 Reduction of minimum open space by subdivision prohibited.
The open spaces above prescribed shall not be reduced as a result of subdivision of the property upon which they are located.
§ 275-38 Awnings.
In the Business District and unrestricted districts, all awnings extending over any street or walk, whether of cloth material or any other material, shall have a clearance of not less than seven feet from the level of the sidewalk to the lowest part of such awning and any part of the framework of such awning.
§ 275-39 Fences, hedges or walls.
In the Business District, no fence, hedge or wall may be erected or maintained higher than six feet from the ground without a permit, except when authorized as a special exception by the Board of Zoning Appeals. On a corner plot, within the triangular area determined by the intersecting street center lines and a diagonal connecting two points, one in each street center line, each of which points is 75 feet from the intersection of such street center line, no fence, wall or other structure and no hedge, shrub or other growth shall be erected or maintained to a height in excess of two feet above the curb level.
§ 275-40 Buffer area.
A.
To protect abutting property, any Business District that adjoins a residential district shall have a minimum area 25 feet wide bordering the residential district within which no building or accessory building shall be allowed.
B.
A buffer area shall occupy at least 10 feet of the border of any Business District adjoining existing residential land. Within this area there shall be either trees, evergreens, fencing or a combination of any of the foregoing as required by the Planning Board in order to obscure the business property from the view of the abutting residential land.
C.
The height of an evergreen planting screen shall not be less than six feet. A continuous stockade-type fence shall be six feet high from ground level, have the finished side face the residential district and be anchored by galvanized posts set in concrete and fastened with stainless steel straps.
D.
The fence or planting screen shall not extend beyond the setback line of the building on the business-zoned property.
E.
The aforesaid buffer zone and all trees and shrubs required to be planted and fences required to be erected therein shall be maintained regularly by the owner or owners of the properties in the Business District. The same shall include but shall not be limited to the replacement of trees and shrubs, of whatever type is required by the Board of Trustees, which shall die and/or otherwise become infected, infested, destroyed or decayed; the replacement of fences which shall fall into disrepair; and the general maintenance of the buffer zone in a clean, healthful, sanitary and aesthetic condition.
[Amended 8-12-1975 by L.L. No. 2-1975]
F.
The owner or owners of record of property who shall be directed by the Board of Trustees or its duly authorized agent to replace trees or shrubs and/or to repair or replace a fence or fences as provided in the preceding subsection shall do so within 15 days after the postmarking of a letter mailed by or on behalf of the Board of Trustees to said owner or owners of record at the address of record set forth on the current tax assessment rolls of the Village of The Branch, by certified mail, return receipt requested, directing compliance with the Board of Trustees' directive in question. In the event that such order shall not be duly and timely complied with, the work in question shall be performed by the Village and the entire cost thereof, including any attorneys' fees incurred shall be assessed by the Village upon the real property and/or properties in question, and the expenses and fees so assessed shall constitute a lien and charge upon such real property and/or properties until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged and shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time as other charges, taxes and assessments of the Village.
[Added 8-12-1975 by L.L. No. 3-1975]
§ 275-41 Parking requirements.
[Amended 5-12-1981 by L.L. No. 1-1981]
A.
No building or structure shall hereafter be erected, enlarged or altered in the Business District unless at least the following number of off-street parking spaces shall be provided for use in connection with such building or structure:
Type of Use | Required Minimum Number of Parking Spaces |
|---|---|
Auditorium, art gallery, church, library, museum, theater or other place of public assembly not otherwise classified | 1 per 4 permanent seats or the floor area equivalent thereof |
Bank, stock brokerage firm | 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area |
Community shopping center | 1 per 125 square feet of gross floor area |
Funeral home | 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area |
Home occupation, home professional office | 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area given to this component of the land use, but in no case less than 2 spaces |
Industrial or manufacturing establishment | Area required for parking to equal at least the total percentage of the lot covered by all buildings and structures thereon, with a minimum of 1 parking space for each 400 square feet of gross floor area or at least 1 parking space for every 5 persons employed on said premises, whichever provides the greater number of parking spaces |
Offices, office building | 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area |
Public or private school | 1 per employee plus 1 per each 8 students in grade 12 or above, or the parking requirement for the auditorium or gymnasium component, whichever is the greater |
Restaurant | 1 per 4 permanent seats or the floor area equivalent thereof, or 1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area |
Retail or wholesale store or shop | 1 per 125 square feet of gross floor area |
B.
All of the foregoing parking facilities shall be located on the premises on which the building or structure shall be situated, at the rear or sides thereof or underneath said building or structure; provided, however, that the Board of Trustees may, by special exception, permit parking facilities required in connection with the foregoing to be provided on any plot in the Village which is located within 300 feet of such building, if the Board shall determine that it is not practical to provide all of the parking facilities required on the same premises on which the building or structure shall be situated.
C.
Each parking space shall have an area of not less than 200 square feet, and there shall be provided in addition thereto adequate areas for entering and leaving said parking facilities.
§ 275-42 Permissive relaxation of requirements.
[Added 3-12-1974 by L.L. No. 4-1974]
A.
The Trustees may, either on their own recognizance or on application of the landowner, allow parking in front of buildings in the Business District, provided that the site plan has been approved in all other respects by the Planning Board and provided further that the parking in front of the building does not total more than 15% of the total parking.
B.
The Trustees may, either on their own recognizance or on application of the landowner, allow the parking requirement in the Business District to be changed from one parking space for each 125 feet of rentable building area to no less parking than one space for each 160 feet of rentable building area where circumstances dictate.
C.
The Trustees may, either on their own recognizance or on application of the landowner, allow the ten-foot residential buffer area in the Business District to be on contiguous property, provided that all the property is owned by the same person or persons.
§ 275-43 Donation of land or moneys by developer.
[Added 1-13-1976 by L.L. No. 1-1976]
A.
No map or plat relating to the subdivision of land in the Business District for any purpose shall hereafter be approved by the Planning Board of the Incorporated Village of the Branch or shall be actually filed in the office of the County Clerk of Suffolk County, nor shall any building permit hereafter be issued for any construction on property contained on such subdivision map or plat, unless the owner of such property shall first either set aside and donate to the Village 10% of the land to be so developed by way of fee title or pay to the Village a sum, to be determined by the Board of Trustees of the Village, equal to the market value, at the time of the approval of such map or plat, of 10% of the land to be so developed. The land so donated to the Village shall be solely used and developed by the Village for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes or, if moneys are donated in lieu of land, such funds shall constitute a trust fund for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes, including acquisition and/or development.
B.
The determination of whether to accept lands or trust fund moneys shall be in the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees. In making its determination, the Board shall consider such factors as:
(1)
The total existing acreage then owned by the Village and reserved for park, playground, recreation or conservation purposes.
(2)
The size of the parcel under consideration for donation by the developer.
(3)
The location of such parcel in the Business District.
(4)
The topography of the land proposed to be donated and the general suitability thereof for park, playground, recreation and/or conservation purposes.
§ 275-44 Clothing bins.
[Added 4-12-1983 by L.L. No. 1-1983]
Clothing bins for the collection of used clothing for charitable purposes may be allowed in the Business District in the Village of the Branch only upon the grant of a special exception permit issued by the Village Board upon application pursuant to §§ 275-83 and 275-84 of the Code of the Village of the Branch. In addition to the standards set forth in those sections, the applicant must also evidence to the Village Board the following:
A.
The location, size and construction of the clothing bin proposed.
B.
The charitable use for the clothing to be collected.
C.
Plans of the applicant for pickup and unloading of the clothing in any proposed bin.
D.
Plans of the applicant for cleanliness of the bin area and the surrounding parking area.
E.
Plans of the applicant for traffic flow in and about the proposed storage bin area.
F.
Plans of the applicant for repair and maintenance of any proposed storage bin.