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The proposed new law has more than 60 new requirements for adequate maintenance of the exterior of your existing structures, lawns, gardens etc... Read more here.

The proposed new law has different limitations depending on the size of your lot. The current law has a limitation by sq. ft. regardless of how much land you own. That is replaced by a limitation by a formula that favors large buildings (mega-mansions for example) on large lots. It works like this. Tables 400-402 tell you the percentage of your lot that can be “covered” by any kind of structure that has a roof over it. The formula compares the total gross horizontal area of these “covered” structures to the horizontal area of your lot. It can be expressed mathematically in this way:

Building coverage = 100 x Gross Horizontal Area of All Buildings / Horizontal Area of the Lot

This formula represents the building coverage as a percentage, where: the numerator is the sum of the gross horizontal areas (or footprint) of all buildings on the lot; the denominator is the total horizontal area of the lot (one acre = 43,560 sq. ft.); and the ratio is multiplied by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

This means that small lots may have already taken up most of the allowed building coverage with existing buildings and can’t build anything else; and conversely it means that large lots can build very, very large buildings. There is no limit on building size in the proposed new law. Read more here.

Good news! Under the proposed new law, anyone can buy half an acre in the low density district and become a farm. There are no acreage requirements as long as you just grow one or more crops and don’t build any structures. Almost any “crop” qualifies.

The proposed new law defines the term “farm” this way: “FARM: See AGRICULTURE”.  It defines the term “agriculture” this way: “AGRICULTURE (FARMING):  The use of land for agricultural production purposes including, tilling of the soil, dairying, pasture, animal and poultry husbandry, apiculture, arboriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture and accessory uses . . . .” These definitions are in Section 1201, which is an alphabetical list.  Section 400 of the proposed new law requires a minimal lot size only for uses of land that involve structures. Read more here.

Good news! Under the proposed new law, you don’t need a special use permit for this kind of housing – just 3 acres in a hamlet commercial district, a regular building permit, and a regular zoning permit that the Zoning Officer can grant without any zoning review by anyone.

With a 3-acre lot, the building size for an apartment house can be up to 19,602 square feet (convert 3 acres to sq. feet which is 130,680 sq. feet and apply the formula:  130,680 x 15/100 = 19,602). Read more here.

There is absolutely no protection in the new proposed legislation (or the current legislation either).

Section 727 of the proposed new law governs the “Regulation of Commercial and Industrial Energy Production/Conversion Systems (CEPCS). This section says: “See Local Law 2 of 2020 regulating commercial solar systems.” It may have been intended to cover wind systems as well.

The term “Local Law 2 of 2020” is another name for the current law which has been in force since 2009 and has been amended several times. The most recent amendment was in 2020.

The current law provides in Section 5010(D) as follows: “Height Exemption: The height limitations of this Local Law shall not apply to wind energy towers or solar collectors provided that such structures are erected only to such height as is necessary to accomplish the purpose for which they are intended, and such structures do not obstruct solar access to neighboring properties.”

There are no specific protections against junkyards in the proposed new legislation.

The current law provides extensive protection against junkyards in Section 5110. The proposed new law relies on property maintenance regulations on rubbish and debris and protects only against junk motor vehicles and abandoned appliances in Section 902(B).

There are no protections in the proposed new legislation.

The overall size of a proposed new building is not a consideration under the new law, either as to whether farm land can be used for that purpose. Whether a special use permit is required for oversize buildings generally, or whether the Zoning Officer or the Planning Board can reject an application based solely on considerations of the size of the proposed structure.

If your business involves employees other than family members, the proposed new law requires you to get a special use permit, as does the current law. If you employ only family members, the proposed new law does not require you to get a special use permit. Check to be sure the fine print does not adversely affect you. Read more here.

No one, including Town officials, can come on your property unless that person has your consent, a warrant or order from a proper court to show you, or there is a situation that actually involves immediate physical danger to persons.

The proposed new law provides that Town officials, including the Zoning Officer, may enter private property and take direct action on private property to deal with perceived violations of the zoning law.  For example, you can look at Section 108, Section 600B(1), Section 600(D)(2), and Section 904(F) (1)(b).  Because the proposed new law does not explicitly say so, a property owner who is not represented by a lawyer might not know that the Zoning Officer may never enter private property without the consent of the owner, a warrant or order from a proper court, or the existence of a situation causing imminent danger to persons.  The proposed new law should not suggest otherwise by failing to include this important wording in all necessary places.

A proposed new zoning law should be clear, concise, and easy for a property owner to understand in the context of his or her own property.  No one should be required to have a lawyer at hand to make decisions about whether a Zoning Officer or other town official is correct that a violation exists.  The current town zoning law has the natural advantage of 15 years of experience in application to specific cases and a common understanding so that the Zoning Officer, the Planning Board, and the Town Board all can work together to solve problems.  The proposed new zoning law has numerous “language” difficulties.  For just one example,

Section 902(B)(6) in the property maintenance rules provides:

“All fences and planting areas installed on the premises shall be maintained.  Such maintenance shall include but be limited to the replacement or removal of trees and shrubs which may die or otherwise be destroyed, the maintenance and cutting of laws and the replacement, repair or removal of fences which may become damaged.  Fences and hedges shall be maintained at required height limits.”

Now comes the Zoning Officer to your property and issues a notice of violation of Section 902(B)(6) listing the condition of your trees, shrubs, and fences and giving you 10 days to fix these violations.  If you do not want to do this work, you might have these questions:

1. If my “planting areas” just grew and were not “installed” by me, do I still have to “maintain” them?
2. How does the Town know that my trees “may die?”   What if I disagree and believe they may live for years?  Am I required to remove trees and shrubs that “may die” regardless of whether they ever actually do die? 
3. What about shrubs that “may . . .  otherwise be destroyed?”  Do I have to remove them if they are never actually destroyed?
4. What is a violation of the “maintenance and cutting of laws?”  If the drafters of this law meant “lawns” instead of “laws,” am I in violation even if they didn’t exactly say that?
5. And who is to say that my fences “may become damaged?”  What level of “damage” to a fence requires its replacement, repair, or removal? How do I know that I have to remove them if they are just slightly damaged?
6. If I am required to “maintain” fences “at required height limits, does that mean a reduction in height from the required limit is not allowed?

Why not just say that dead trees and shrubs shall be removed?  Why bother with fences at all when Section 512 of the proposed new law already covers the whole subject of fences much better?

The proposed new law says in Section 600(D)(3)that the Zoning Officer has the right to cancel your existing special use permit if the Zoning Officer thinks there is a violation on your property, and you disagree.  In fact, the Zoning Officer cannot do this administratively.  Your permit is a property right.  It cannot be taken from you without a court hearing at which you can appear to argue your case and following the hearing a decision issued by the court.  It is wrong to omit this constitutional requirement from the text of the law because it misleads persons who do not have a lawyer. 

The Town’s current Comprehensive Plan requires that the Town Board protect the Town against large projects that “could adversely affect the quality of life in the town.”   The New York State Legislature has taken away significant protections that the Town Board has used in the past, and the Governor is pressing big energy projects on rural areas in order to support the power needs of the State’s bigger cities.  The Town Board’s only method of protecting the Town in these regards is enforcement of zoning regulations carefully planned and implemented to improve the chances of success.
The proposed new zoning law simply leaves out any protection against these kinds of large projects:

• Windmills
• Very large solar farms
• Massive electric transmission lines
• Sewage sludge from waste treatment plans
• Biosolids and solid waste spread on productive farm land
• Commercial geothermal, oil and gas wells
• Major mining operations
• Massive battery factories
• Very large data storage centers