Local Law 14 - 2018NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
41 STATE STREET
ALBANY, NY 12231
Local Law Filing
Draft: 9-24-18
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italics or underlining to indicate new matter.
Town of WAPPINGER
Local Law No. 14 of the year 2018
A local law entitled "A Local Law for the Purpose of Amending Chapter 217, Subdivision of Land, of
the Town Code with Respect to a Variety of Matters."
Be it enacted by the TOWN BOARD of the Town of WAPPINGER as follows:
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LOCAL LAW No.14 OF THE YEAR 2018
BE IT ENACTED by the Town Board of the Town of Wappinger as follows:
Section 1. Title
This Local Law shall be known and cited as "Local Law No. 14 of 2018, for the Purpose of Amending
Chapter 217, Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code with Respect to a Variety of Matters."
Section 2. Legislative Intent
The Town Board believes that it is reasonable and appropriate to update and amend Chapter 217,
Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code with respect to a variety of matters. This local law is
determined to be an exercise of the police powers of the Town to protect the public health, safety
and welfare of its residents.
Section 3. Amendments to Chapter 217, Subdivision of Land
1. Section 217-12.1 shall be revised to read as follows:
I. Public hearing and resolution approving or disapproving application. In order to
expedite the application, it is recommended that the applicant or his representative
attend the public hearing. At the hearing, the Planning Board will give an opportunity
to any interested person to examine or comment upon the preliminary plat and
construction plans. When questions or issues are raised at the hearing requiring the
obtaining of further information, the Planning Board shall have the authority to adjourn
and continue the hearing at a future Board meeting. The Planning Board will approve,
with or without modifications, or disapprove the preliminary subdivision application by
resolution, which will set forth in detail any modifications to which the approval is
subject or reasons for disapproval, pursuant to § 276, Subdivision 5, of the Town
Law. A copy of this resolution shall be mailed by the Planning Board Secretary to the
applicant as soon as possible following the Board's decision. The time within which
the Planning Board must act on the preliminary plat may be extended by mutual
consent of the applicant and the Board. Approval of the preliminary subdivision
application does not authorize the applicant or owner to perform any clearing, tree
felling, grubbing, grading or construction work on the lands being subdivided. Such
authorization shall only take place after the approval of the final subdivision plat and
construction plans.
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2. Section 217-13.H shall be revised to read as follows:
H. Review of final subdivision plat and construction plans. After completion of the final
subdivision plat and construction plans in accordance with the Board's resolution,
eight copies of each shall be submitted to the Planning Board for final review. The
construction plans must be endorsed by the Engineer to the Town as "approved"
before the plat will be signed or any clearing, tree felling, grubbing, grading or
construction work is approved or takes place. No formal approval shall be endorsed
on the plat until a review has indicated that all requirements of the resolution have
been met.
3. A new Section 217-13.1 shall be added and shall read as follows:
I. No clearing, tree felling, grubbing, grading or construction work shall be approved or
take place on the land being subdivided until all of the following occur:
(1) A bond or other performance guarantee for the possible restoration of the
land being subdivided is filed with the Town.
(2) A Notice of Intent (N01) and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan
(SWPPP) have been approved by the Town, if applicable.
(3) Applicable inspection fees and sufficient escrow have been submitted by the
applicant or owner to the Town.
(4) Erosion and sedimentation, wetland protection, and tree protection
measures, as applicable, have been implemented to the satisfaction of the
Town Building Department.
(5) The applicant shall attend a pre -construction meeting with the Town Building
Department.
4. Section 217-15 shall be revised to read as follows:
§ 217-15 Completion of improvements or filing of performance bond or other security.
A. All public and common improvements shown on the final subdivision plat and
construction plans shall be completed in a manner prescribed by the Town of
Wappinger highway specifications or other applicable law, ordinance, local law, rule
or regulation. The Planning Board shall ascertain whether or not all such
improvements are to be completed prior to endorsement by the Planning Board
Chairman of the final subdivision plat or, in the alternative, whether a performance
bond or other security sufficient to cover the full cost of such improvements in an
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amount acceptable to the Town Engineer shall be submitted to the Town by the
applicant or owner of the land being subdivided in lieu thereof of such improvement
as prescribed in Town Law § 277 and the highway specifications.[11
B. Any such security must be provided pursuant to a written security agreement with the
Town, approved by the Town Board and also approved by the Town Attorney as to
form, sufficiency and manner of execution, and shall be limited to: (1) a performance
bond issued by a bonding or surety company; (2) the deposit of funds in or a
certificate of deposit issued by a bank or trust company located and authorized to do
business in this state; (3) an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank located and
authorized to do business in this state; (4) obligations of the United States of America;
or (5) any obligations fully guaranteed as to interest and principal by the United States
of America, having a market value at least equal to the full cost of such improvements.
If not delivered to the Town, such security shall be held in a Town account at a bank
or trust company.
C. No performance bond or other security tendered under the provisions hereof shall be
deemed acceptable unless provision is made therein for the payment of a sum to be
determined by the Town Board in the event of failure to complete said improvements,
for compensation to the Town by the surety or other security of any attorney's fees
incurred by the Town in the event legal proceedings are necessary to enforce the
same, with a provision for increase in the sum stipulated for said security to be
correlated to a cost of highway construction index as formulated by the Town of
Wappinger, and authorization from a surety of the owner of applicant, in the event
the surety bond is accepted, that all acts of the owner or applicant are deemed to be
accepted by the surety and that no further notice to the surety is necessary with
respect to any acts taken by its principal.
D. Any such performance bond or other security shall run for a term to be fixed by the
Planning Board, but in no case for a longer term than three years, provided, however,
that the term of such security may be extended by the Planning Board with consent
of the parties thereto. If the Planning Board shall decide at any time during the term
of the security that the extent of building development that has taken place in the
subdivision is not sufficient to warrant all the improvements covered by such security,
or if the Zoning Administrator and Town Engineer decide that the required
improvements have been installed as provided in this section in sufficient amount to
warrant reduction in the amount of said security, and upon approval by the Town
Board, the Zoning Administrator and Town Engineer may modify the requirements
for any or all such improvements, and the amount of such security shall thereupon
be reduced by an appropriate amount so that the new amount will cover the cost in
full of the amended list of improvements required by the Planning Board.
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E. In the event that any required improvements have not been installed as provided in
this section within the term of such performance bond or other security, the Town
Board may thereupon declare said security agreement to be in default and collect the
sum remaining payable thereunder; and upon the receipt of the proceeds thereof, the
Town shall install such improvements as are covered by such security and as
commensurate with the extent of building development that has taken place in the
subdivision but not exceeding in cost the amount of such proceeds.
Editor's Note: See Ch. 214, Streets and Sidewalks, Art. V, Highway Specifications.
5. A new Section 217-27.1 shall be added and shall read as follows:
§ 217-27.1 Tree felling exception.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, the Planning Board may, at
its sole discretion, allow the felling of trees on a property after preliminary subdivision plat
approval and prior to final plat approval when the timing of such tree felling is deemed by the
Board to be in the best interest of protecting the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). However, in
this context, the removal of stumps shall not be permitted and the movement of felled trees
on -site or off -site is prohibited. Further, if the Board approves said tree felling, all of the
following shall occur prior to the cutting of any trees:
A. The applicant shall submit a sufficiently detailed plan prepared by a design
professional and acceptable to the Planning Board which shows the area proposed
for the tree felling.
B. A bond or other performance guarantee for the possible restoration of the land being
developed shall be filed with the Town.
C. A Notice of Intent (N01) and a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) shall
be approved by the Town, if applicable.
D. Applicable inspection fees and sufficient escrow shall be submitted by the applicant
to the Town.
E. Tree protection (for the trees to be preserved on -site), erosion and sedimentation
protection, and wetland protection measures, as applicable, shall be implemented to
the satisfaction of the Town Building Department.
F The applicant shall attend a pre -construction meeting with the Town Building
Department.
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6. Section 217-12.A shall be amended to read as follows:
A. Discussion with County Health Department and application to Town Board. Before
preparing the preliminary plat, the applicant may discuss the proposed subdivision
with the County Health Department, which must eventually approve any final
subdivision plat. Particular attention should be paid to the area, grade and type of
soil of proposed building sites, the proper amount of land area for private sewage
disposal facilities and water supply and the proper drainage of stormwater. Prior to
the granting of preliminary plat approval, the applicant shall apply to the Town Board
for any and all approvals relating to water, sewer or drainage districts that may be
required for the subdivision.
Section 4. Ratification, Readoption and Confirmation
Except as specifically modified by the amendments contained herein, the Code of the Town of
Wappinger as adopted and amended from time to time thereafter is otherwise to remain in full force
and effect and is otherwise ratified, readopted and confirmed.
Section 5. Numbering for Codification
It is the intention of the Town of Wappinger and it is hereby enacted that the provisions of this Local
Law shall be included in the Code of the Town of Wappinger; that the sections and sub -sections of
this Local Law may be re -numbered or re -lettered by the Codifier to accomplish such intention; that
the Codifier shall make no substantive changes to this Local Law; that the word "Local Law" shall be
changed to "Chapter," "Section" or other appropriate word as required for codification; and that any
such rearranging of the numbering and editing shall not affect the validity of this Local Law or the
provisions of the Code affected thereby.
Section 6. Separability
The provisions of this Local Law are separable and if any provision, clause, sentence, subsection,
word or part thereof is held illegal, invalid or unconstitutional, or inapplicable to any person or
circumstance, such illegality, invalidity, or unconstitutionality, or inapplicability, shall not affect or
impair any of the remaining provisions, clauses, sentences, subsections, words or parts of this Local
Law or their application to other persons or circumstances. It is hereby declared to be the legislative
intent of the Town Board of the Town of Wappinger that this Local Law would have been adopted if
such illegal, invalid or unconstitutional provision, clause, sentence, subsection, word or part had not
been included therein, and if such person or circumstance to which the Local Law or part thereof is
held inapplicable had been specifically exempt therefrom.
Section 7. Effective Date
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This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State as provided by
the Municipal Home Rule Law.
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