Prohibition against the exploration for or extraction of natural gas and/or petroleum. No land in the Town shall be used to conduct any exploration for natural gas and/or petroleum; to drill any well for natural gas and/or petroleum; to transfer, process or treat natural gas and/or petroleum; or to dispose of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration or production wastes; or to erect any derrick, building, or other structure; or to place any machinery or equipment for any such purposes.

Prohibition against the storage, treatment and disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production materials. No land in the Town shall be used for the storage, transfer, treatment and/or disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production materials.

Prohibition against the storage, treatment and disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production wastes. No land in the Town shall be used for the storage, transfer, treatment and/or disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production wastes.

Prohibition against natural gas and/or petroleum extraction support activities. No land in the Town shall be used for natural gas and/or petroleum extraction support activities.

Home occupations are an accessory use allowed as per Appendix A, Schedule of District Use and Bulk Regulations.[1] A home occupation which involves retail sales are permitted by special use permit approval of the Planning Board, provided the Board finds that the home occupation will not detract from the residential character, appearance (handicapped access notwithstanding), or makeup of the neighborhood in which the business is located. The Planning Board shall consider the need a business may have for advertising and display, traffic generation, and other operational characteristics to ensure it does not adversely impact the surrounding neighborhood. The following factors shall be used to determine if a home occupation will comply with this section. The determination can be made on anyone, or a combination, of these factors and shall be made by the Code Enforcement Officer, who may consult the Planning Board in making such determination. The Code Enforcement Officer shall determine whether the business is a retail use, which shall then be subject to Planning Board special use permit approval.

No home occupation, having once been permitted or established, shall be added to, expanded, enlarged or otherwise increased or changed substantially in character without complying with this chapter, and such permission or establishment shall not be a basis for a later application to establish a principal commercial use. Moreover, the conversion of a residence with a home occupation to a commercial use by the abandonment of the residence or sale, rent or transfer of the business to a party that does not reside on site is strictly prohibited unless the business is then moved off site.

Home occupations involving the use of contractor equipment (e.g., lawn maintenance and landscaping business) and similar enterprises requiring storage of materials or equipment shall provide inside storage area for all such materials and equipment, which such inside storage area shall be confined to the principal building or an accessory building not exceeding 25% of the habitable area of the principal building.

Findings. The Town Board of the Town of Wawarsing hereby finds the need for affordable housing warrants the establishment of a system by which specific incentives or bonuses are granted for this purpose. The Town Board further finds several social benefits will inure to the community the need for affordable housing being an inherent element of the Town Comprehensive Plan. These benefits include the ability to accommodate the location, within the Town, of first-time homebuyers and households otherwise transitioning to home ownership and encouragement of property maintenance from the assuming of household ownership responsibilities. This section, pursuant to the authority of § 261-b of the New York State Town Law, offers adjustments in the permissible population density, area, height, open space, use, and other provisions of this chapter for the specific purpose of encouraging long-term development of affordable owner-occupied housing. This section also supersedes § 261-b of the Town Law so as to not only offer a system of bonuses and incentives for affordable housing, but also to mandate its use in the case of owner-occupied residential dwelling projects of 25 dwelling units or more in total. All new residential dwelling projects or project additions of 25 or more cumulative dwelling units hereafter created on the same parcel of land or as part of a common scheme or plan of development shall provide for affordable housing as set forth herein. These affordable housing provisions shall not apply to dwelling units associated with a PRRD or to mobile home parks.

Definition. Affordable housing shall consist of owner-occupied dwelling units marketed at a net affordable purchase price (NAPP), including all fees, which price shall be approved by the Town Board and deliver a unit affordable to a household earning 100% of the median family income as defined in Subsection H, assuming no more than 30% of income being devoted to housing expenses. Floor area, for this purpose, shall not include decks and patios. Floor area shall also not include separate building storage areas, separate building mechanical space and common areas, all of which shall be considered common area and not considered in the purchase price.

Administration. The Town Board shall administer the system of bonuses, incentives and requirements provided herein for affordable housing. It shall bear responsibility, also, for adjusting the definition of affordable housing as provided herein, establishing the income limits pertaining to this program, assuring compliance with these requirements, administering associated programs and otherwise promoting affordable housing in the Town of Wawarsing. The Town of Wawarsing Planning Board shall also apply these requirements in reviewing and approving subdivision and site plans for new housing projects subject to this section.

Minimum allocation. A minimum of 10% of the dwelling units in new residential projects or subdivisions of 25 or more cumulative dwelling units in total on the same parcel of land, or part of a common scheme or plan of development, shall be dedicated to affordable housing units as defined herein. Fractional units shall be addressed using the payments-in-lieu-of provisions herein. Such units shall be marketed to eligible households, as defined herein, and at the NAPP set forth above. Any rental units created subsequent to adoption of this section and thereafter offered for sale as individual units shall also be subject to these requirements. The Town Planning Board, in approving new rental projects, shall require the adoption of deed covenants so restricting any future sale of such rental units.

Quality and size of units. Affordable housing dwelling units shall be of a comparable construction quality and appearance to other dwelling units in a given project that are not marketed as affordable housing. Purchasers must accept units in a basic as-depicted physical condition conforming to submitted plans, provided they meet New York State building standards, the standards of this section and other zoning requirements. Purchasers shall be entitled to no modifications except as may be required by law for handicapped access. Moreover, developers of affordable housing shall not comply with purchaser requests for any extra options or upgrades to be financed by the developer, the purchasers of such units, or others. All affordable units shall be fully ready to occupy, except for appliances, prior to sale.

Review and approval. Prior to the approval of any affected subdivision or issuance of a building permit, the Town of Wawarsing Planning Board shall review and approve the subdivision, site and building plans to ensure the project meets the requirements of this section. Prior to issuance of any certificate of occupancy, all requirements of this section shall be met. Any certificate of occupancy issued without compliance with this chapter shall be null and void. The seller of any unit without a valid certificate of occupancy shall be liable in damages resulting from the lack of such certificate.

Bonuses and incentives. The Town of Wawarsing Planning Board is hereby authorized to modify, when reasonable, with respect to subdivision and site plans for residential subdivisions and multifamily dwelling projects, the lot area, lot width and/or lot depth requirements provided in this chapter. Such authority shall be limited to a maximum of 20% of the residential lots created and be further limited to those lots restricted to development for affordable housing, which shall be of the same type as the remainder of the subdivision or project (e.g., multifamily dwellings would not be permitted in a single-family development).

Offering of affordable housing units. Affordable housing units shall be marketed, for owner-occupied housing only, to households approved for eligibility by the project owner or developers subject to provisions of this chapter and such additional guidelines as may be promulgated by the Town Board. Eligibility shall be limited to proposed owner households with combined earned and unearned income, averaged for the three most recent years, of less than 100% of latest median family income for the Town of Wawarsing, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provided that the Town Board may employ an alternate measure of income if this estimate does not coincide with more recent local trends or other evidence. The Town Board may also, based upon surveys of community housing needs, develop a system of owner-occupant selection priorities to be implemented and used by the project developer or owner in selecting owner-occupants.

Verification. The Town Board may develop procedures and such implementing regulations as may be appropriate for this affordable housing program. The project owner or developer shall take applications, verify eligibility through documentation of income and otherwise assure compliance with the occupancies of affordable housing units provided under these regulations. Prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any affordable housing unit, the builder or developer shall provide the Town of Wawarsing Building Department with adequate evidence of sale to qualified households at the required price.

Marketing of units. The project owner/developer shall determine whether a household is eligible for affordable housing provided hereunder and shall formally reply, in writing, to all applicants for such housing. Affordable housing unit availability shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Wawarsing at least 30 days prior to the units being offered for sale. Such newspaper shall include one designated or approved by the Town Board. Notice of the same shall concurrently be given, in writing, to the Town Board.

Complaints. Any person aggrieved by the decision of an owner/developer in application of the eligibility and owner-occupant selection criteria or by the owner/developer's noncompliance with the standards of this section may file a written complaint with the Town Board for a review of the owner/developer's conformance to the standards of this chapter, provided that such complaint is filed within 30 days of the owner/developer's action. The owner/developer shall be entitled to a copy of the complaint. The Town Board shall make a finding with respect to any such complaint within 60 days of receipt and upon finding may, in its sole discretion, pursue such administrative or other civil remedies as may be available to it by law, including but not limited to qualifying the applicant for future housing, requiring the owner/developer to make additional affordable units available or the filing of a lien for the value of the affordable housing not properly provided in accordance with this section.

Resales of units. The purchaser of any affordable housing unit shall, for a period of 15 years following purchase, be obligated to resell such unit only to another household eligible, under these regulations, for affordable housing, except as provided below for market-rate sales. Notwithstanding this provision, an owner/developer may retain a right of first refusal with respect to such units, provided that they are subsequently resold only for affordable housing pursuant to this chapter. However, rentals of such units shall not be permitted under any circumstances, by either the developer/owner or affordable housing purchaser.

Market-rate sales. Any sales within the 15 years shall be to other income-qualified households in the form of affordable housing as provided hereunder. Sellers shall in such instance be entitled to retain equity gained thereby, provided the unit is resold at the current affordable housing price as determined by the Town Board for the year in question. Should sale to income-qualified households not be possible, units may, with the approval of the Town Board, be sold on the open market subject to a payment to the Town of Wawarsing Affordable Housing Fund in an amount equal to the sale price less the base (original sale) price divided by 15 and multiplied by such number of years, to the nearest quarter, that occupancy fell short of the 15 years required. The base price may include up to 5% for approved improvements made to the unit and an adjustment for inflation based upon the consumer price index.

Redevelopment fees. Open-market sales that take place within 15 years shall be subject, also, to a redevelopment fee of $5,000 for each and every full year less than 15 that the unit is owned by the original purchaser, up to maximum of $75,000. Such redevelopment fee shall be paid to the Town of Wawarsing Affordable Housing Fund for use in making additional affordable housing available within the Town. The Town Board shall have authority to waive or reduce this redevelopment fee in instances of documented hardship due to sudden changes in family situations or for other good cause, but shall be under no obligation to do so.

Downpayments. No sales agreement for an affordable housing unit subject to this section shall require a down payment of more than 20% of the purchase price from an eligible household.

Affordable Housing Fund. There is hereby created, pursuant to § 10 of the New York State Municipal Home Rule Law, a Town of Wawarsing Affordable Housing Fund for the purpose of providing affordable owner-occupied housing for income-qualified households. Such fund shall be a segregated municipal fund controlled by the Town Board and used exclusively to provide for the acquisition, planning, construction, improvement, sale or resale, subsidy or other legal means of creating more owner-occupied affordable housing for income-qualified households within the Town of Wawarsing. Deposits into the fund may include revenues of the Town from all authorized sources approved by the Town Board and shall include, at a minimum, all revenues from payments and fees collected by the Town pursuant to this section. The fund shall also be authorized to accept gifts. Interest accrued by monies deposited in the fund shall be credited to the fund. In no event shall monies deposited in the fund be transferred to any other account unless determined to be in furtherance of the affordable housing goals of the Town.

Previously approved projects. This section shall not apply to site plans and subdivisions given conditional or full preliminary approval by the Town of Wawarsing Planning Board prior to its enactment.

Payments in lieu of affordable housing. The Town Board may, in its sole discretion, agree to exempt a given project from affordable housing requirements where practical difficulties having to do with the physical nature of the site involved would make the provision of such additional units economically or physically impractical. The developer, in such instance, shall pay the Town a redevelopment fee in lieu of the minimum allocation of affordable housing units or such portion thereof as is not provided. Such fee shall be annually established by the Town Board based upon the cost of replacing the affordable housing elsewhere plus any additional development costs associated with relocation. Fees in lieu of affordable housing shall be deposited into the Affordable Housing Fund. The Town Board shall review and may adjust this redevelopment fee on at least an annual basis. The Town Board may also, in its sole discretion, agree to accept, as an alternative to such redevelopment fee, the provision, by the developer, of affordable housing units located elsewhere within the Town of Wawarsing. Such units shall otherwise meet all standards herein with respect to affordable housing, including but not limited to the quality of the units. Such units shall also require approval of the Town of Wawarsing Planning Board and be processed prior to or simultaneously with the review and approval of the market-rate units. Any approval of the market-rate units shall be conditioned upon the prior start of construction and imposition of affordable housing restrictive covenants with respect to the affordable housing units. The Town Board may also require the posting of a financial guarantee to ensure the timely construction and offering of affordable housing units no later than the market-rate units.

Enforcement. All affordable housing sales agreements shall include restrictive covenants that ensure the enforceability of the above requirements. Such covenants shall survive the sales transactions, be inserted in deeds and include language setting forth that such restrictive covenants shall run until released by the Town Board. No certificates of occupancy shall be issued until such deed restrictions are recorded. The Town shall be represented at all closings for these purposes. The Town Board is further authorized to place liens on affected properties as may be required to enforce the provisions of this section and collect any amounts due the Town as provided herein. Release of any such liens shall require Town approval. Compliance with this section may be enforced by the Town, and the cost to the Town of such enforcement may be assessed, levied, and collected in the same manner as Town taxes.

Modifications and waivers. The standards provided herein for affordable housing shall be reviewed and may be modified from time to time by resolution of the Town Board to accommodate unique innovative projects that offer significantly greater value to households needing affordable housing. The Town Board may, following public hearing, also waive specific requirements of this section where the imposition of such provisions would cause undue hardship as a result of unique physical circumstances or frustrate the ability to provide affordable housing as intended. The Town Board shall, in all such circumstances, ensure any modifications or waivers serve to further the goal of providing affordable housing in the Town of Wawarsing.

Purpose. These regulations are enacted for the purpose of establishing minimum health and safety standards for junkyards in the Town of Wawarsing as well as controlling their location. They are enacted pursuant to the authority granted Towns by § 136 of the General Municipal Law and § 112-65 of this chapter.

Applicability. These regulations shall apply to all preexisting junkyards. Junkyards are otherwise a prohibited use and shall not be established in the Town of Wawarsing. No junkyard shall continue except in conformance with the standards herein, and all junkyards shall be required to conform to said standards or be removed at the owner's expense.

Exemptions. The following land uses shall be exempt from these requirements provided they are not maintained in the manner of a junkyard and do not include a junkyard operation:

License required. No person, partnership, association or corporation, being the owner or occupant of any land within the Town of Wawarsing, shall use or allow the use of such land for a junkyard in existence on the effective date of this chapter unless a license has been obtained from the Town Board and maintained as herein provided, which license shall be accompanied by a site plan requiring the approval of the Planning Board. The Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a license within 10 days after approval of the application by the Planning Board pursuant to these criteria. Said license shall be effective from the date of issuance until surrendered by the licensee or revoked by the Code Enforcement Official and shall be renewed annually based on inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer and approval by the Town Board as to continued compliance with these standards. No license shall be issued until the Code Enforcement Officer has received:

Disapproval. Any disapproval shall be in writing stating the reasons for said denial. The Code Enforcement Officer shall not issue a license where the Planning Board has not approved a site plan for the continued use of the junkyard.

Right to enter and inspect. The Code Enforcement Officer shall enforce all of the provisions of this chapter and shall have the right, at all reasonable times, to enter and inspect any junkyard. The Town Board shall specify the frequency of such inspections, but no less than four times per year, and set fees by resolution to cover costs involved.

Orders to correct. If the Code Enforcement Officer finds that a junkyard for which a license has been issued is not being operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the CEO may serve, personally or by certified mail to the holder of the license, a written order which will require the holder of the license to correct the conditions specified in such order within 10 days after the service of such order.

Suspension of license. If the holder of such license shall refuse or fail to correct the condition or conditions specified in such order within 10 days after the service of such order, the Code Enforcement Officer may suspend such license and the holder of the license shall thereupon terminate the operation of such junkyard.

Expiration of license. Any license which is not used for the purpose intended within 12 months of the date of issuance shall automatically expire and the junkyard shall be removed in its entirety.

Standards applicable to existing junkyards. All existing junkyards shall conform to the following standards to be administered by the Town Board based on the inspection and report of the Code Enforcement Officer as to compliance with the standards of this chapter:

Junkyards shall not be expanded.

Junkyard application standards. All applications to operate junkyards in the Town of Wawarsing shall include criminal records with respect to the applicant(s), including any owner with 5% or more ownership. Should such criminal records reveal convictions for larceny or receiving stolen property, such application shall be denied. This procedure shall apply to both original license and transfer applications. Applications shall in other respects comply with special use and site plan review procedures.

Outdoor areas shall be suitably fenced in compliance with applicable state and federal security requirements, with suitable safety signage.

Suitable access from the street shall be provided for inspection, repair, and maintenance of security at the facility.

No buildings shall be permanently staffed or used as offices.

The facility shall provide suitable landscaping to soften views from nearby neighbors, consistent with security needs for the facility.

Facility lighting shall avoid casting glare on surrounding properties. Lighting shall be minimized consistent with the lighting standards included in § 112-17, Lighting.

Purpose. The Town of Wawarsing recognizes that solar energy is a clean, readily available, and renewable energy source. Development of solar energy systems for residential, agricultural, and nonresidential parcels use of solar energy provides an excellent opportunity for the reuse of land throughout the Town and offers an energy resource that can act to attract and promote green business development. The Town of Wawarsing has determined that comprehensive regulations regarding the development of solar energy systems is necessary to protect the interests of the Town, its residents, and its businesses. This section is intended to promote the effective and efficient use of solar energy resources; set provisions for the placement, design, construction, and operation of such systems to uphold the public health, safety, and welfare; and to ensure that such systems will not have a significant adverse impact on the aesthetic qualities and character of the Town. To the extent practicable, and in accordance with Town of Wawarsing law, the accommodation of solar energy systems and equipment and the protection of access to sunlight for such equipment shall be encouraged in the application of the various review and approval provisions of the Town of Wawarsing Code. It is therefore the intent of this section to provide adequate safeguards for the location, siting and operation of solar energy facilities.

Applicability. The requirements of this chapter shall apply to all solar energy systems installed or modified after its effective date, excluding general maintenance and repair. Solar-thermal systems and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems are permitted outright in all zoning districts, subject to building permits if required upon determination by the Code Enforcement Officer.

Permit requirements.

Safety.

Exceptions.

Small-scale solar energy system as an accessory use or structure.

Accessory use. An event venue is allowed, by special use permit approval of the Planning Board, as an accessory use to a principal permitted use or a special use only within the following zoning districts: RU, BH, PCIM, MU, AD, VP. An event venue must demonstrate compliance with the standards set forth herein and the special use standards set forth in § 112-64 of this chapter.

Exemptions. Upon review of an application by the Code Enforcement Officer, where an event venue is determined to be "regularly occurring and usually associated with such use," and where said use has been approved by the Planning Board such as agricultural tourism enterprises, restaurants, hotels, or agriculture/farm-based businesses, not-for-profit organization, places of worship, public and semipublic uses, social hall, resorts, or other such use shall be exempt from the requirement of a special use permit and these standards but, in all cases, shall be required to meet the additional parking and health and safety requirements and other provisions of the Town Code. In such cases, the Code Enforcement Officer shall determine if the requirements have been satisfied and may determine special use permit and site plan review and approval by the Planning Board shall be required.

Design standards.

Application. A special use permit and site plan shall be submitted to the Planning Board for review and approval. The following additional requirements shall apply: