Village of Prospect Zoning Law - Article IV

ARTICLE IV - SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS

Section 9 - Additional Area and Yard Requirements

A.     Lots of Less Than Required Dimension. Any lot with an area or width less than that required in the district in which said lot is located may be developed to lesser dimen­sional standards than stipulated in Schedule A after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals, and further provided that said lot was held under separate owner­ship on the effective date of this law or any amendment thereto, and the owner thereof owned no adjoining unimproved land that could be combined with said lot to meet the dimension requirements.

B.     Projecting Architectural Features, Terraces, Porches, Fire Escapes, and Solar Energy Equipment. Certain architectural features may project into required yards as follows:

1.      Balconies, bay windows, chimneys, cornices, canopies, eaves, fire escapes, or other architectural features may project a distance not exceeding four (4) feet into any front or rear yard, and forty (40) percent into any side yard to a maximum of four (4) feet.

2.      Apparatus needed for the operation of active and passive solar energy systems, including but not limited to overhangs, movable insulating walls and roofs, detached solar collectors, reflectors, and piping, shall be allowed to project into any required front, side, or rear yard as necessary to provide for their effective operation. In addition, such equipment shall not be considered in the determina­tion of lot coverage.

3.      A paved terrace shall not be considered as part of a building in the determination of yard sizes or lot coverage, provided that such terrace is unroofed and without walls, parapets, or other form of enclosure exceeding six (6) feet in height.

4.      In determining the percentage of building coverage or the size of yards for the purpose of this law, enclosed porches, or porches open at the side but roofed, shall be considered a part of the building.

5.      Unenclosed entrance steps or stairways providing access to the first story, cellar, or basement of a building may extend into any required" yard a distance not to exceed six (6) feet.

C.     Walls, Fences, and Hedges. The yard requirements of this law shall not prohibit any necessary retaining wall nor any fence, wall, or hedge, providing that such fence, wall, or hedge shall be no closer to any sidewalk than two (2) feet, and shall comply with visi­bility at street corners, and providing further that fences and walls shall not exceed six (6) feet in height.

Section 10 - Additional Height Requirements

The height requirements set forth in Schedule A shall not apply to barns, silos and other farm buildings, belfries, church spires, cupolas, penthouses, and domes which are not used for human occupancy; nor to chimneys, ventilators, skylights, water tanks, solar energy collectors and equipment used for the mounting or operation of such collectors and necessary mechanical appur­tenances usually carried above the roof level; nor to flag poles, monuments, transmission towers and cables, radio and television antennas, or towers and similar structures. Such features, how­ever, shall be erected only to such height as is necessary to accomplish the purpose for which they are intended and to ensure that they do not significantly impair the solar accessibility of buildings or solar collectors on adjacent properties. No advertising devices of any kind whatso­ever shall be inscribed upon or attached to that part of any chimney, tower, tank, or other struc­ture which extends above the roof limitations.

Section 11 - Accessory Buildings and Uses

A.     Permit. All accessory buildings or uses shall require a Permit to be issued prior to their initiation, except that no Permit shall be required for an accessory building with dimen­sions that do not exceed a maximum of one hundred (100) square feet in size, provided that all minimum yard limitations are observed.

B.     Number. There shall not be more than two (2) accessory buildings to a residential lot.

C.     Coverage. The portion of a lot which may be covered by accessory buildings is included within the maximum coverage allowance for principal uses as set forth in Schedule A.

D.     Height. Maximum height of accessory buildings shall be twenty-six (26) feet.

E.      Location. Accessory buildings or structures which are not attached to a principal build­ing may be erected only within the side or rear yard in accordance with the following requirements:

1.      For garage, tool house, or similar storage building, ten (10) feet from side or rear lot line.

2.      On the street side of a corner lot, the same setback as for the principal building.

3.      Not closer to a principal building or another accessory building than ten (10) feet.

4.      For barn, stable, kennel, or other animal shelter or farm structure, twenty-five (25) feet from side or rear lot line.

F.      Attached Accessory Buildings. When an accessory building is attached to the principal building, it shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this law applicable to the principal building.

G.     Swimming Pools. A private, outdoor swimming pool shall be allowed by permit as an accessory use to a dwelling unit only in accordance with the following regulations:

1.      Such pool may be erected or constructed only in the side or rear yard of the lot, shall conform with the minimum side and rear yard requirements for the district in which it is located, and shall not be less than fifteen (15) feet distant from any principal or accessory structure.

2.      Such pool shall be enclosed by a fence with a minimum height of four (4) feet in order to assure that it will be used only by those persons having approved entrance to the pool.

3.      Such pool shall not adversely affect the character of any residential neighborhood and all lighting or other appurtenances shall be so arranged as not to interfere with neighboring uses.

Section 12 - Off-Street Parking

A.     Off-street parking space shall be required for all buildings constructed after the effective date hereof. Each off-street parking space shall consist of at least one hundred eighty (180) square feet with a minimum width of nine (9) feet. In addition, space necessary for aisles, maneuvering, and drives shall be provided.

B.     Parking requirements specified in Schedule B are hereby made a part of this law. For uses not specified, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall establish parking requirements in specific cases consistent with those specified in Schedule B.

C.     For any building having more than one use, parking spaces shall be provided as required for each use.

D.     Parking spaces required in residential districts shall be located in the side or rear yard on the same lot or tract as the principal use. or hedge shall be no closer to any sidewalk than two (2) feet, and shall comply with visi­bility at street corners, and providing further that fences and walls shall not exceed six (6) feet in height.

E.      Floor areas for the purposes of computing parking requirements shall be the sum of the horizontal area within exterior walls of the several floors of a building, excluding base­ment, cellar, and attic areas used primarily for storage or service.

Section 13 - Signs

A.     General Regulations. The following regulations shall apply to all signs:

1.      No sign shall be erected, altered, or reconstructed without the issuance of a sign permit by the Enforcement Officer, except for temporary signs of not more than three (3) days duration.

2.      Signs shall not project into nor be erected within a public right-of-way.

3.      Illumination of signs shall be so arranged so as to prevent direction thereof upon a public street or adjacent premises, and may only be illuminated during regular business hours.

4.      No sign shall be audible or consist of lights that flash or move.

5.      No free standing sign shall exceed twenty (20) feet in height.

6.      No sign shall be painted directly upon the exterior walls of any structure.

B.     Standards for Business Signs and Advertising Devices

1.      Business signs and advertising devices shall not contain a gross surface area exceeding thirty-two (32) square feet.

2.      A premises shall not contain more than two (2) business signs or advertising devices.

3.      Where a business or type of business is ordinarily identified by a freestanding sign or advertising device, one sign or device, in addition to a sign attached to the building, may be permitted.

C.     Standards for Other Signs and Advertising Devices

1.      A business sign or advertising device directing attention to a permitted home occupation shall not contain a gross surface area exceeding two (2) square feet.

2.      The sale, rental, or development of a premises may be advertised by not more than one (l) nonilluminated business sign or advertising device with a gross sur­face area not exceeding six (6) square feet and provided such sign is promptly removed after the premises has been sold or rented.

3.      Farm product signs or advertising devices not exceeding ten (10) square feet in area may be displayed on the property, but only when such products are on sale.

4.      Signs or advertising devices of carpenters, painters, and other artisans may be maintained on a premises where such persons are performing work, provided such signs or devices do not exceed thirty-two (32) square feet in gross surface area and are promptly removed upon completion of the work.

5.      No off-premises signs shall be permitted.

6.      Billboards shall not be permitted.

D.    Standards for Existing Signs and Advertising Devices

Signs or advertising devices existing on the adoption date of this law which do not com­ply with any of the provisions of this law are hereby declared to be generally in conflict with the development objectives of the community and are therefore to be discouraged from continuance.

1.      Whenever such nonconforming sign or advertising device is damaged by fire or other cause, or is to be replaced, altered, or reconstructed, no permit shall be granted for such repair, replacement, alteration, or reconstruction unless done in a manner so that such nonconforming sign or advertising device will thereafter be fully conforming with this law.

2.      A sign or advertising device which is declared unsafe by the Enforcement Officer or other proper authority shall be immediately removed.

Section 14 -Individual Mobile Homes

A.     All proposed individual mobile home shall be allowed only after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals.

B.     All mobile homes located or installed after the effective date of this law or its amendment shall comply with the State Code for Construction and Installation and Standards, Rules and Regulations for Mobile Homes, effective January 25, 1974, and as it may be amended.

C.     A Special Permit shall be required for any addition or alteration to the mobile home.

D.     Such Special Permit shall include a provision for removing the structural addition at such time as the mobile home may be removed or relocated.

E.      Metal, wood, or other suitable skirting or framing, properly ventilated and attached, shall enclosed that area from the bottom of the floor line of the mobile home to the ground.

F.      All mobile homes shall be adequately anchored to ensure against uplifting or overturning.

Section 15 - Mobile Home Courts

A.     Mobile home courts shall be permitted only after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals. Such mobile home courts shall comply with the following standards:

1.      All existing mobile home courts of record shall comply with the provisions of this law whenever any addition, expansion, or alteration of the use or operation is proposed, and they shall be required to obtain an initial and annual operating license. Existing courts shall comply in every regard with minimum standards for health, sanitation, and cleanliness.

2.      A mobile home court shall have a minimum lot size of two (2) acres.

3.      Within the mobile home court the minimum distance between individual mobile homes shall be thirty (30) feet. This minimum distance shall be maintained with regard to any additions, and/or structures, and/or any projection from the main building, except that unenclosed steps, awnings, and one storage building not to exceed ten (10) feet wide by ten (10) feet long by eight (8) feet high per mobile home are except from this thirty-foot minimum requirement.

4.      Replacement of mobile homes in existing parks will only be permitted where exist­ing clearance limits are maintained or the thirty (30) foot minimum requirement is met, whichever is less.

5.      SANITARY FACILITIES

                                                                                     a.      WATER AND SEWER - All water supply and sewage disposal systems will comply with those standards set forth in this law and the plans shall be approved by the State Department of Health or Department of Environ­mental Conservation as is applicable.

                                                                                    b.      Storm and surface drainage systems and garbage and refuse disposal facili­ties shall comply with sanitation standards set forth in this law.

6.      UTILITY AND FUEL CONNECTIONS

                                                                                     a.      All wiring, fixtures, and appurtenances shall be installed and maintained in accordance with the specifications and regulations of the local utility company. Whenever possible, electrical transmission and other utility lines shall be placed below ground.

                                                                                    b.      Liquefied petroleum gas systems designed and installed in conformity with NFPA 58, Storage and Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Bases, are deemed to meet the requirements of this law.

                                                                                     c.      Equipment for flammable liquids designed and installed in conformity with NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, is deemed to meet the requirements of this law.

7.      ROADWAYS

                                                                                     a.      All internal roadways within a mobile home court shall have a paved or stone course maintained in a dust free manner, the minimum width of which shall be twenty-two (22) feet for two-way traffic and fifteen (15) feet for one-way traffic.

                                                                                    b.      There shall be no dead-end streets in any court. A cul-de-sac or wye turn around will be provided.

8.      OFF-STREET PARKING

                                                                                     a.      Off-street parking space shall be provided for each mobile home lot in the mobile home court outside the required road and shoulder area.

9.      RECREATION AREA

                                                                                     a.      An open space area of at least ten (10) percent of the total land area suit­able for recreation and play purposes shall be designated on the site plan and shall be an integral part of any proposed mobile home court. No such open space area shall be placed in any designated floodplain or wetland.

10.  IMPROVEMENTS

                                                                                     a.      Each mobile home owner-tenant shall be required to screen the area between the ground and the bottom of the mobile home with a suitable 'skirt,' properly ventilated, within ninety (90) days after location in the mobile home court. Notification of such requirement shall be the responsi­bility of the mobile home court operator.

11.  RECORDS

                                                                                     a.      Each mobile home within the mobile home court shall bear a readily iden­tifiable number.

                                                                                    b.      Each mobile home court shall contain an office on the premises in which shall be maintained a book recording the names of each household head, and the mobile home number.

                                                                                     c.      The court owner or his agent shall notify the Village Clerk in writing when a mobile home is moved from its location in the court.

12.  PERMITS

                                                                                     a.      Application for a Special Permit for the establishment of a mobile home court shall include:

                                                                                    b.      A site plan to scale showing elevations, the layout of the court, individual mobile home lots, the roadway system, parking areas, water supply, sewage disposal, and recreation area.

                                                                                     c.      A complete statement describing the proposed method of sewage disposal, water supply, electric, utility, and other services.

                                                                                    d.      Approval by the County or State Health department with regard to matters under their jurisdiction.

                                                                                     e.      The court owner or operator shall not allow a mobile home to be installed or a replacement mobile home to be installed without first obtaining a Certificate of Compliance.

                                                                                      f.      A Permit shall be obtained for any structural alteration to any mobile home within a mobile home court - except for a self-contained storage or service building not to exceed ten (10) feet in length by ten (10) feet in width by eight (8) feet in height - and such Permit shall include a pro­vision for removing the structural addition at such time as the mobile home may be removed or relocated.

13.  LICENSE

                                                                                     a.      The court owner shall not permit occupancy of any mobile home in the court, until a license to operate has been issued.

                                                                                    b.      After such time that all conditions, specified for the establishment of the mobile home court, have been met and have been approved by the Enforcement Officer, said officer will issue an initial operating license.

                                                                                     c.      All licenses shall be effective until December 31 of the calendar year of their issuance. An application for a renewable operating license shall be made to the Village Clerk at least thirty (30) days prior to expiration date of the previous license. Upon recommendation of the Enforcement Offi­cer, the Village Board shall authorize or deny such license in accord with the requirements set forth in this Section and the established fee schedule.

                                                                                    d.      Licenses shall not be transferred or reassigned and become void upon the transfer or change of ownership of the property.

14.  REVOCATION. If the Village Board upon inspection finds that such mobile. home court is not being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition or that such mobile home court is not being conducted in accordance with the provisions of this law, it shall serve upon the holder of such license or the person in charge of such mobile home court an order in writing, directing that corrective action with regard to the conditions therein specified be started within five (5) days after the service of such order and completed within thirty (30) days. If after the expiration of such period, such condi­tions remain unchanged, or are not corrected in accordance with the order of the Board, the Board shall serve notice in writing upon such license holder or the person in charge of such mobile home court requiring the holder of such license to appear before the Village Board at a time and place to be specified in such notice, and show cause why such license should not be revoked. The Village Board may after a hearing, revoke such license if the holder has violated the regulations applicable to such mobile home court or has violated any of the provisions of this law. Upon the revocation of such license, the premises shall forthwith cease to be used for the purpose of a mobile home court and all occupants shall be removed therefrom within thirty (30)· days.

Section 16 - Public Utility Structure, Use

Such uses shall include electric substations, transformers, switches, and auxiliary apparatus serv­ing a distribution area, utility pumping stations, and storage facilities, and shall be subject to the following regulations:

A.     No such structure shall be constructed, erected, altered, or reconstructed until the Board of Appeals has issued a Special Permit for such activity.

B.     Such facility shall not be located on a residential street unless no other site is suitable and shall be so located as to draw a minimum of vehicular traffic to and through such streets.

C.     The location, design, and operation of such facility shall not adversely affect the charac­ter of the surrounding area.

D.     Adequate fences, barriers, and other safety devices shall be provided, and the facility shall be screenplanted.

Section 17 - Home Occupation

Home occupations shall be permitted according to the following:

A.     All proposed home occupations shall be allowed only after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals.

B.     A home occupation includes, but is not limited to, the following: professional office of a physician, dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, or similar professions; art or photo­graphic studio; dressmaker or seamstress; teacher of musical instruments limited to one pupil at a time; and a barber or beauty shop of no more than one (1) chair. A home occupation shall not be interpreted to include an auto body repair shop; commercial stable or kennel; restaurant; tourist or boarding house; animal hospital; convalescent home; funeral home; and stores, trades, or businesses of the kind herein excepted.

C.     A home occupation may not employ nonresidents of the premises, except that the professional office of a physician, dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, or similar professions may employ one (1) nonresident.

D.     No more than twenty-five (25) percent of the floor area of a dwelling unit may be used in the conduct of a home occupation.

E.      There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the building or premises, or other visible evidence of the conduct of such home occupation other than one sign, not exceed­ing two (2) square feet in area, nonilluminated, and mounted fiat against the wall of the principal building.

F.      No traffic shall be generated by a home occupation in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood, and nay need for parking generated by a home occupation shall be provided off the street, and not in a required front yard.

G.     No equipment or process shall be used in a home occupation which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical interference; no equipment or process shall be used which creates visual or audible interference in any radio or television receiver off the premises, or causes fluctuations in line voltage off the premises.

Section 18 - Family Dwelling by Conversion

Creation of a two family or multiple family dwelling by conversion of an existing residence may be permitted only after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals and in accordance with the following:

A.     Floor space, health, safety, and sanitary conditions shall be adequate to insure livability and be in accord with the New York State Multiple Residence Law, where applicable.

B.     Off-street parking arrangements for each dwelling unit shall be provided pursuant to this law.

C.     Such residential units shall provide lot size sufficient to accommodate the number of per­sons to be housed and yard space for any children.

D.     Such residential units shall comply in every respect with the sanitation requirements of this law.

Section 19 - Gasoline Station

Gasoline stations shall be permitted only after the issuance of a Special Permit by the Board of Appeals and in accordance with the following:

A.     That the location and size of the use, the site layout, and its relation to any street shall be such that vehicular traffic and turning movements and their relation to pedestrian traffic will not be more hazardous than the normal traffic of the district.

B.     That the nature, location, size, site layout, and display of signs in connection with the use shall be such that the use will not hinder the appropriate development and use of neighboring land and buildings or impair the value thereof.

C.     That the location of the gasoline pumps and islands shall be on premises which shall not be less than two hundred (200) feet from any church, school, or public playground meas­ured along the street line from the nearest boundary line of the premises on which such pumps may be located to the nearest boundary line of the premises on which such church, school, or playground is located.

Section 20 - Sanitation

A.     General. The requirements and standards set forth in this Section are minimum criteria, and wherever any applicable State or County standard shall make additional requirements or establish a higher or more restrictive standard, such additional or more restrictive standard shall govern. Applicable criteria for water supply systems are set forth in Rural Water Supply, and for waste treatment facilities in Waste Treatment Handbook - Individ­ual Household Systems, both published by the NYS Department of Health.

B.     Water Supply

1.      Potable water from an approved source shall be available at all times in any residential building or dwelling unit and in every building in which plumbing fixtures are installed, water supply systems shall be installed and maintained so as to pro­vide a supply of water to plumbing fixtures and appurtenances in sufficient vol­ume and at pressures adequate to enable them to function satisfactorily and in a manner that will preclude the possibility of contamination.

2.      All new construction containing plumbing fixtures shall be connected to a public water supply system wherever possible and when such connection may be made lawfully thereto.

3.      Any individual or private system or well shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet distant from any tile field or seepage pit, fifty (50) feet from any septic tank, and five (5) feet from any lot line.

C.     Sewage Disposal

1.      Plumbing fixtures shall be drained to a sewage drainage system and such system shall be connected to a public sewer or to an adequate and approved system of sewage disposal.

2.      All new construction containing plumbing fixtures shall be connected to a public sewage disposal system wherever possible and when such connection may be made lawfully thereto.

3.      Where an individual sewage disposal system is necessary, it shall be so located, installed, and maintained as to insure the reception and disposal of sewage and other waste without creating a health hazard or nuisance resulting in obnoxious odors or unsightliness, and shall further not be discharge into or on the ground or any waterway until first rendered harmless through subjection to proper treat­ment.

4.      No dumping, release, or discharge of such septic tank effluent shall be permitted until a Special Permit has been obtained. In particular the sludge, discharge, or other material pumped or removed on a commercial basis from any septic tank or sewage pit shall be disposed of in a place and in such manner as are approved by the Board of Appeals and in accord with any applicable State or County requirements, after a Special Permit has been applied for and granted for this pur­pose.

5.      Notification will be given to the Enforcement Officer when the required installa­tions have been made and before they are covered over in order that he may prop­erly inspect them. Such inspection and official notification will be made promptly so as not to inconvenience the applicant.

D.    Surface Drainage

1.      Surface and subsurface water shall be appropriately drained to protect buildings and structures and to prevent development of stagnant ponds or pools.

2.      Storm drainage shall be conveyed to an adequate and approved system of storm water disposal where available. Storm drains shall not discharge onto the sidewalk, street, or adjacent property in such a manner as to create a nuisance or haz­ard.

E.     Garbage, Refuse, Pests

1.      Adequate sanitary facilities and methods shall be used for the collection, storage, handling, and disposal of garbage and refuse.

2.      In multiple dwellings, it shall be prohibited to store or accumulate garbage or refuse in public halls and stairways.

3.      Grounds, buildings, and structures shall be maintained free of vermin and rodents, and methods used for exterminating them shall conform to generally accepted practice.