Source: https://ecode360.com/8291993
Timestamp: 2020-04-02 23:19:21
Document Index: 87803314

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', 'art 5', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107', '§ 107']

Town of Cazenovia, NY Land Disturbances
§ 107-4 Permit required.
§ 107-5 Exemptions.
§ 107-6 Land disturbance permits.
§ 107-7 Stormwater management standards.
§ 107-7.1 Watershed impervious surface requirements; riparian buffers.
§ 107-8 Inspections.
§ 107-9 Penalties for offenses.
§ 107-10 Referral to Conservation Commission and Planning Board.
§ 107-11 Performance bond.
Chapter 107 Land Disturbances
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cazenovia 3-5-1990 by L.L. No. 2-1990. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Lake Watershed Zone — See Ch. 130, Part 5.
This chapter shall be titled "Local Law No. 2-1990 Regulating Land Disturbances in the Town of Cazenovia, New York."
Conserve the character of Cazenovia, to promote the purposes of the Cazenovia Land Use Guide and to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens;
Protect critical environmental areas and vulnerable areas mapped in the Cazenovia Land Use Guide;
Preserve the water quality of prime community water resources, including Cazenovia Lake, watercourses and feeder streams, wetlands, saturated soils and aquifer recharge areas;
Minimize flooding, erosion and sedimentation from land disturbance activities and to protect downhill and/or downstream properties;
Ensure that the volume and rate of stormwater runoff from a given site shall not be significantly different than existed prior to the development;
Minimize aesthetic devaluation of neighboring properties during, and as a result of, land disturbance activities;
Establish specific control standards and practices during construction phases of development when land is most vulnerable to erosion; and
Minimize the amount of pollutants introduced into the stormwater runoff negatively affecting community water resources.
Ensure compliance, as applicable, with the most recent version of the Cazenovia Lakefront Development Guidelines, as last amended and adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cazenovia.
[Added 2-12-2018 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
The value of a property derived from such intangible factors as its inherent attractiveness, its access to attractive views or its general appeal to the sense of beauty.
Those areas designated by the Town of Cazenovia as critical environmental areas pursuant to 6 NYCRR 617.4.
Special areas with saturated soils which have been mapped by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) or the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Standards and specifications for erosion and sediment control measures which include temporary and permanent structural measures as contained in the New York State Guidelines for Urban Erosion and Sediment Control and the New York State Stormwater Design Manual, most current editions.
[Amended 4-11-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
Those areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as flood hazard areas.
A stream or portion of a stream that flows only in direct response to precipitation. It receives little or no water from springs and no long-term continued supply from melting snow or other sources. It is dry for a large part of the year, ordinarily more than three months.
The stripping of vegetation and/or topsoil, or surface grading which changes the existing natural slope by 5% or more, excavation, filling, mining and/or any other activity causing the addition and/or displacement of soils by mechanical means.
Any movement of earth by a motorized device of any kind, except that "motorized device" shall not include devices such as garden or lawn tractors, post-hole diggers, and similar devices which have as their primary purpose residential use.
PERMITTED FILL MATERIAL
Natural soils such as sand, loam, clay, etc.
Natural stone such as slate, sandstone, granite, marble or any other igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks.
Hard, nonbiodegradable, nonhazardous man-made material whose individual components, pieces or parts do not exceed one cubic foot in volume (i.e., no bathtubs, boilers, tree trunks, stumps, etc., unless broken down into pieces not to exceed one cubic foot).
Soil types identified and defined in the Madison County Soil Survey as:
Canandaigua (Cd)
Carlisle Muck (Ce)
Lyons (Ly)
Fonda Muck Silt Loam (Fo)
Palm's Muck (Pb)
Wayland (Wa)
Practices which result in runoff water safely conveyed or temporarily stored and released to minimize erosion, sedimentation and flooding. See stormwater management standards in § 107-4.
Removing the vegetative cover or topsoil from land.
WATERCOURSE or STREAM
Natural or man-made streams and natural or man-made drainage channels, but not including intermittent streams.
Except as provided herein, no land disturbance by mechanical means is permitted within the Township of Cazenovia without a permit. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed as limiting the normal use of land for the agricultural, horticultural or gardening purposes defined in § 107-5. Disturbance of one acre or more of a single lot or multiple lots may require a permit and/or approval pursuant to Chapter 140.
The following categories of land disturbances are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
Normal agricultural activities relating to cultivation, planting of crops and/or harvesting inherent in farming, gardening or similar agricultural or horticultural activities which are otherwise permitted in any zoning district. Land disturbances related to residential or commercial landscaping are not exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
Specific agricultural land improvement activities carried out in conformance with a farm plan approved by the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District. Such a plan must be filed with the Code Enforcement Officer but no fee will be required.
Emergency land disturbances required to protect the health, safety and welfare.
Any land disturbance activity defined herein which does not qualify for an exemption shall require a land disturbance permit issued by the Code Enforcement Officer. Land disturbance permit fees shall be established from time to time by the Town Board of the Town of Cazenovia.
Applications for a land disturbance permit shall be made in writing on forms available from the Code Enforcement Officer.
Wherever the following conditions exist, grading plans showing existing and proposed contours at two-foot intervals, existing trees six inches or more in diameter measured at breast height (dbh), proposed revegetation and drainage will be required:
Proposed land disturbance on slopes 8% or greater which are mapped as C, D, E and F slopes in the Madison County Soil Survey;
Proposed land disturbance within 25 feet of a property line;
Proposed land disturbance within 50 feet of the mean high-water line of a watercourse;
Proposed land disturbance where the change in elevation (cut or fill) will be 12 inches or more;
Proposed land disturbance relating to driveways or private roads entering directly into public roads;
Proposed land disturbances in commercial and industrial zones;
Proposed land disturbance within 100 feet of the mean high-water line of Cazenovia Lake; and
Proposed land disturbance which the Code Enforcement Officer finds may be inconsistent with the health, safety or welfare or the purposes of this chapter.
Grading plans shall show the entire area to be affected by the land disturbance and shall show the relationship of proposed grades to existing grades.
The Code Enforcement Officer or, if applicable, the Planning Board may request actual surveyed contours, instead of using geodetic contours, whenever circumstances warrant greater accuracy, such as on steep slopes, along watercourses, etc.
No land disturbance permit shall be issued within designated wetlands, saturated soils, floodplains or steep slopes of 15% or greater (D, E or F slopes) without approval of the Planning Board and, if applicable, the approval of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) or the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District.
No land disturbance permit shall be issued unless stormwater management, erosion and sediment controls as set forth in Chapter 140, where applicable, and in § 107-7 hereinafter are met by the applicant. Depending on site conditions, applicants may need the Army Corps of Engineers’ approval, where appropriate.
[Amended 5-12-2008 by L.L. No. 3-2008; 4-11-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
No land disturbance shall involve the use of any fill material other than permitted fill material as defined in § 107-2.
No certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any structure or for any structure owned by a person who violates this chapter within a subdivision if any land disturbance has occurred relative to the structure or the subdivision which is not in compliance with this chapter.
Land disturbances relating to a proposed or approved subdivision shall be in conformance with this chapter and with any plans approved by the Planning Board. All such land disturbances shall be referred to the Planning Board for approval prior to the issuance of a land disturbance permit.
A land disturbance permit shall terminate 12 months from issuance unless otherwise extended by the Code Enforcement Officer or the Planning Board.
No land disturbance permit shall be issued in an area of a known human burial ground until the applicant contacts the proper state or federal authorities. In the event of a risk of interference with a known site the Code Enforcement Officer, after consultation with the appropriate authorities, may impose conditions on the land disturbance permit which will minimize the risk of injury. Any person who discovers such a burial ground during a land disturbance shall cease all land disturbance activities, report the discovery to the appropriate authorities and not proceed with the land disturbance until the appropriate agency consents.
Compliance with the Cazenovia Lakefront Development Guidelines. Where applicable, no land disturbance permit shall be issued for any parcel located adjacent to Cazenovia Lake without demonstration that said activity is compliant with the most recent version of the Cazenovia Lakefront Development Guidelines, as last amended and adopted by the Town of Cazenovia Town Board.
Erosion and sedimentation resulting from land disturbance activities and/or extended periods of construction are not permitted.
No land disturbance permit shall be issued unless appropriate stormwater management standards are incorporated therein by the applicant pursuant to the following standards which will ensure that the land disturbance shall be managed in such a way that there shall be no:
Flooding of downhill/downstream properties;
Introduction of pollutants into stormwater runoff;
Significant increase in the volume or rate of runoff from any given site;
Erosion or sedimentation permitted; and
Direct stormwater runoff into Cazenovia Lake or its feeder streams.
Land disturbance permits may be referred to the Cazenovia Advisory Conservation Commission or the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District for recommendation if any of the following conditions may result:
A possible delay of three months or more in revegetating stripped land;
Land disturbance within 25 feet of a natural drainage channel, feeder stream or waterway;
Land disturbance on slopes of 15% or greater (D, E or F slopes);
Land disturbance in connection with the installation of sewer, water or utility extensions;
Land disturbance within 100 feet of Cazenovia Lake; and
Any other land disturbance which the Code Enforcement Officer finds may require further review or recommendation in order to further the purposes of this chapter.
In addition to the requirements set forth herein, all land development activities, as defined in Chapter 140, shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 140, Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control.
[Added 6-14-2004 by L.L. No. 2-2004; 2-9-2009 by L.L. No. 3-2009; 4-11-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
The Planning Board shall have site plan approval review on any property being developed in the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor Zone. In conjunction with such site plan approval review, the Planning Board may conduct a public hearing on the site plan. In the event that the Planning Board conducts a public hearing, such hearing shall be held within 62 days of the receipt of a complete application for site plan approval review and shall be advertised in the Town's official newspaper or, if there is none, in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least five days before the public hearing.
Any surface which adsorbs less than approximately 50% of stormwater which falls on it or cross it. The following surfaces are considered impervious by the Town of Cazenovia:
Concrete pavements, regardless of the amount of porosity or perviousness of the concrete.
Asphalt pavements, regardless of the amount of porosity or perviousness of the asphalt.
Driveways made with paving blocks, regardless of the porosity or perviousness of the blocks or the spacing of the joints between blocks.
Gravel and crushed stone.
Oil and stone pavements.
Pools with less than 4.5 inches of freeboard.
Patios and walkways made with bricks, pavers or flagstones, regardless of the porosity or perviousness of the materials or the amount of space between joints.
Wooden decks with tight joints such as ship lap or tongue and groove.
Other surfaces which adsorb less than 50% of stormwater falling into or crossing the surface at any time during the lifespan of the material, based on the judgment of the Town Engineer.
An area of trees, shrubs or other appropriate vegetation located adjacent to and up gradient from water bodies.
Within 500 feet of creeks, streams or lakes.
SEMI-PERVIOUS SURFACE
Any man-made or nonnatural (including newly introduced materials) surface which adsorbs more than approximately 50% of the stormwater which falls on it or crosses it. Semi-pervious surfaces shall be considered 50% impervious for the purpose of calculating the total impervious cover of a site. The following surfaces are considered semi-pervious by the Town of Cazenovia:
Wooden decks with loose joints of at least 1/8 inch.
Other man-made or nonnatural (including newly introduced materials) surfaces which adsorb more than 50% of the stormwater falling onto or crossing the surface at any time during the lifespan of the material, based on the judgment of the Town Engineer.
Impervious surface regulations in the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor Zone.
Purpose. To limit for future development the amount of impervious surface in the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor Zone. In the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor, the maximum impervious surface allowable shall be l0% of the total size of the property area subject to improvement. In nonriparian corridor areas within the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor Zone, the maximum impervious surface shall be 20% of the total size of the property area subject to improvement.
Graduated system of allowable percentages of impervious surfaces in the watershed. The following zones within the Cazenovia Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor shall have the stated maximum allowable percentage of impervious surfaces:
In the zone from the first 20 feet inland from the lake edge, the maximum impervious surface permitted shall be 5% (basically access to the lake by way of an impervious path or walk).
In the zone from 20 to 100 feet from the lake edge, the maximum impervious surface permitted shall be up to 10%.
In the zone from 100 to 500 feet from the lake edge, the maximum impervious surface permitted shall be up to 15%.
In the zone making up the remainder of the watershed, the maximum allowable impervious surface shall be up to 20%.
Percentages shall be calculated within each zone. An aggregate amount or average shall not be permitted.
In the zone comprised of the area of 25 feet on both sides of the center line of the Cazenovia lake tributaries, only riparian vegetation shall be permitted. The only impervious surface permitted in this zone is that surface necessary to cross the tributary. The maximum impervious surface permitted in this zone shall be 5%.
Policy for riparian buffers: Cazenovia Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor.
Purpose. The Town of Cazenovia, recognizing the importance of the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor to water quality and habitat, has adopted a policy directed at protecting and maintaining vegetation along shorelines, by establishing Riparian Buffers adjacent to streams in the Town of Cazenovia and the shoreline of Cazenovia Lake (called Riparian Buffers) that provide numerous environmental protection and resource management benefits, which include the following.
Restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the water resources.
To remove pollutants delivered in stormwater runoff.
To reduce erosion and control sedimentation.
To stabilize streambanks.
To provide infiltration of stormwater runoff.
To maintain the base flow of streams.
To contribute organic matter to the aquatic ecosystem.
To provide tree canopy to shade streams and to promote desirable aquatic organisms.
To provide riparian wildlife habitat.
To furnishing scenic value and recreational opportunities.
All proposed actions that disturb vegetation shall be subject to review and approval by the Town Planning Board.
The following practices and activities are prohibited within the Critical Environmental Area adjacent to Cazenovia Lake, except after approval by the Planning Board.
Clearing any existing vegetation.
Drainage by ditching, underdrains, or other systems.
Use, storage, or application of pesticides, except for the spot spraying of noxious weeds or nonnative species consistent with permits issued by NYSDEC.
Housing, grazing, or other maintenance of livestock.
Storage or operation of motorized vehicles, except for emergency use.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, for those above-described and listed activities occurring outside of the Critical Environmental Area but within the Lake Watershed and Riparian Corridor Zone, the Code Enforcement Officer may grant a permit for such practice and activities upon a showing of no harm to the areas sought to be protected. However, at any time, the Code Enforcement Officer may refer the matter to the Cazenovia Advisory Conservation Commission for review or comment or the Code Enforcement Officer may refer the matter to the Planning Board for a full site plan review.
Applicants are required to submit the plans and documents as part of the review. The plan shall set forth an informative, conceptual and schematic representation of the proposed activity by means of maps, graphs, charts or other written or drawn documents so as to enable the Planning Board to make a reasonably informed decision regarding the proposed activity.
A location or vicinity map.
Field delineated and surveyed streams, springs, seeps, bodies of water, and wetlands (include a minimum of 200 feet into adjacent properties).
Field delineated and surveyed forest buffers.
Limits of the one-hundred-year floodplain.
Hydric soils mapped in accordance with the NRCS soil survey of the site area.
Steep slopes greater than 15% for areas adjacent to and within 200 feet of streams, wetlands, or other water bodies.
A narrative of the species and distribution of existing vegetation within the buffer.
The Code Enforcement Officer may conduct announced or unannounced inspections at any stage of the activity to ensure compliance with this chapter. The Code Enforcement Officer may also require the applicant to submit periodic reports, and the applicant shall give the Code Enforcement Officer reasonable notice of the dates of the proposed land disturbance.
Any person or entity that is responsible for or authorizes or engages in a land disturbance in violation of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a penalty of not more than $250 or imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. Each day the offense continues shall be a separate violation. In the event of such a violation, all land disturbance activities shall cease except corrective or remedial activities approved by the Code Enforcement Officer.
An action or proceeding in the name of the Town of Cazenovia may be commenced in any court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or restrain a violation of this chapter.
No land disturbance permit shall be issued without Planning Board approval if a land disturbance has been initiated prior to the issuance of a permit.
[Amended 12-8-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003; 4-11-2011 by L.L. No. 1-2011]
In the event that the Code Enforcement Officer determines that there may be an adverse environmental impact under stormwater management standards, CEAs, erosion control guidelines, the Land Use Guide or to adjacent property, then the land disturbance permit application shall be forwarded to the Cazenovia Advisory Conservation Commission for comment and shall also be filed with the Cazenovia Town Planning Board for review and approval.
The Code Enforcement Officer or the Planning Board may require that the applicant for a land disturbance permit post a performance bond, in an amount reasonably determined by the Town, as a condition of a permit before a land disturbance may commence.
[Added 6-11-1990 by L.L. No. 3-1990]
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to land disturbance conducted pursuant to a valid New York State mined land reclamation permit issued prior to the effective date of this section. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to land disturbances outside the scope of any such permit and to any land disturbances conducted pursuant to a permit issued after the effective date of this section.