New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Appendices › Appendix Q-8

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
LAND USE AREA CLASSIFICATION DETERMINANTS
Many criteria and determinants are used in land use planning.
				Some are common to any planning process. Others vary with the area for which
				the plan is to be prepared. The needs of inhabitants, the region, and of
				society define those determinants that receive primary emphasis.
The determinants used in preparing this Land Use and
				Development Plan were chosen to identify those areas in the park best suited
				for development. The determinants fall into the following basic categories:
(1) natural resources,
(2) existing land use patterns, and
(3) public considerations. The
			 determinants found within these three categories help identify areas where
			 similar standards are necessary if develop-ment is to provide positive values
			 to both the park and the community in which it is located. Furthermore, they
			 identify areas where the potential costs of development to the developer, the
			 community, the prospective purchaser and the environment are so great that
			 serious consideration should be given to alternative uses.
The natural resource determinants identify those areas that are
				physically most capable of sustaining development without significant adverse
				impact. Such determinants as soils, topography, water, vegetation and wildlife
				have been inventoried and analyzed to assure the protection of the basic
				elements of the park. Existing land uses must also be carefully considered in
				the planning process, particularly because they are important determinants of
				the park's present and future character. These determinants identify the
				historic patterns of the park's growth and indicate the types of growth that
				have been and are presently viable. Future development contemplated under the
				plan must also be considered in light of its relation to existing
				development.
The Legislature has found that there is a State interest in the
				preservation of the Adirondack Park, and therefore a variety of public
				consideration determinants have been analyzed in the preparation of this plan.
				In general, public consideration determinants help identify areas that must be
				protected in order to preserve the essential open space character of the park.
				These areas may be considered important from a public standpoint for such
				reasons as their location near important State lands or their present use in an
				open space condition. Additionally, there may be a substantial State interest
				in preserving certain critical public considerations.
The following determinants were used in the land area
				classification process. The land use implications paragraph is a general
				indication of the manner in which these determinants were utilized in preparing
				the plan:
A. DETERMINANT: SOIL
1.Characteristic: Poorly drained or
			 seasonally wet soils.
Description: Soil with a high-water content or seasonal
				high-water table less than 1
1/2
feet from the surface.
Land use implications: Onsite wastewater treatment systems will
				not function adequately and may pollute groundwater supplies. There may also be
				a problem of flooded basements, backed-up toilets, broken pavements, cracked
				walls and similar situations. These problems may lead to community health
				hazards, environmental problems, inconvenience and economic hardship. Severe
				developmental limitations exist in those areas that contain a high proportion
				of poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. Such areas are capable of sustaining
				development at only a very low level of intensity.
2.Characteristic: Moderately drained soils.
Description: Soils with a seasonal high-water table 1
1/2
				to 4
feet below the surface.
Land use implications: A potential for onsite wastewater
				treatment system failure or groundwater pollution exists. The New York State
				Department of Health recommends that the bottom of a onsite wastewater
				treatment system, tile field be 18 to 30 inches below the soil surface at final
				grade, with a minimum depth of two feet between the bottom of the tile field
				and the water table. Special precautions must also be taken to avoid washouts
				where deep road cuts are necessary. An occasional problem for roads, streets
				and parking lots on this soil is the "washboard" effect caused by frost
				heaving. Although these soils can tolerate a higher level of development than
				can poorly drained soils, moderate development limitations still
				exist.
3.Characteristic:
			 Well-drained soils.
Description: Soils with a depth to the seasonal high-water
				table of more than four feet.
Land use implications: Areas containing well-drained soils
				present only slight development limitations. Generally, this type of soil can
				adequately filter the effluent from onsite wastewater treatment systems and
				poses few other construction problems.
4.Characteristic: Low permeability soils.
Description: Soils with a permeability rate of less than one
				inch per hour.
Land use implications: Soils with low permeability
				characteristics present severe development problems. Onsite wastewater
				treatment systems may overflow, causing pollution of surface water. Street,
				road and parking lot surfaces heave, and building walls and foundations tend to
				crack. Sanitary landfills may cause acute problems when located on soils with
				these characteristics.
5.Characteristic: Moderately permeable soils.
Description: Soils with a permeability rate of one inch per 30
				to 60 minutes.
Land use implications: Problems experienced in soils with this
				characteristic are similar to, but slightly less severe than, problems
				experienced with soils of low permeability. In general, adequately designed and
				engineered onsite wastewater treatment systems, roads and structures help solve
				the problems that these soils can cause, but these alternatives tend to be
				expensive. Areas containing a high percentage of these soils should not be
				developed at a high level of intensity.
6.Characteristic: Permeable soils.
Description: Soils with a permeability rate of more than one
				inch per 30 minutes.
Land use implications: Generally, these soils present only
				slight development limitations, and they can handle a relatively intense level
				of development. However, excessive permeability may create a potential for the
				pollution and contamination of groundwater and nearby uncased wells if onsite
				wastewater treatment systems are employed.
7.Characteristic: Shallow depth to bedrock.
Description: Soils with a depth to bedrock of less than one and
				1 % feet.
Land use implications: These soils present severe development
				constraints. Massive excavation costs are necessary to do even minimal
				development. Onsite wastewater treatment systems are not possible under these
				conditions, as soil depths are not sufficient to provide adequate filtration of
				effluent. Community sewage systems can only be installed at a prohibitive cost.
				Shallow soils also present substantial road and building construction problems.
				These soils should not be developed.
8.Characteristic: Moderate depth to bedrock.
Description: Soils with a depth to bedrock of 1 I/2 to 4
				feet.
Land use implications: These soils present moderate development
				limitations. Onsite wastewater treatment problems can arise with effluent
				flowing directly over the bedrock into nearby drainages or groundwater
				supplies. The more shallow portions of these soils result in increased
				excavation costs. Intense development should not occur in these
				areas.
9.Characteristic:
			 Deep soils.
Description: Soils with a depth to bedrock of more than four
				feet.
Land use implications: Relatively intense development can occur
				on these soils.
10.Characteristic: Extremely stony soils.
Description: Soils with over 35 percent coarse fragments less
				than three inches in diameter.
Land use implications: These soils present development
				problems. Excavation for such purposes as onsite wastewater treatment systems,
				homesites with basements, and streets and roads is costly and difficult. Soils
				with this description affect the rate at which water moves into and through the
				soil. The difficulty of establishing a good vegetative ground cover can cause
				erosion problems. Generally, intense development should be avoided on soils of
				this nature.