The Department of Community Development and Conservation cannot answer whether a property is subdividable or not. That decision is made by the Planning Board. Planning Division staff can provide background information on the property such as if it has ever been before the Planning Board in the past, if it is generally steep or wet, etc. A property owner should hire their own professional to investigate a property for potential subdivision. Planning staff cannot recommend engineers or architects but a property owner may review past Planning Board files for examples of firms that do work in the Town of
Pollutants entering natural wetlands are treated by a variety of physical, chemical and biological processes. The following processes filter out pollutants before they reach other waterbodies:
-Settling of sediment and other pollutants
-Breakdown of pollutants into harmless substances
-Plant uptake
Wetlands are areas of saturated soil which may flood or pond (especially in winter), and support specific plants and animals.
Wetlands provide a variety of ecological, social and aesthetic benefits such as:
-Protecting water quality by removing nutrients and chemical contaminants
-Controlling flood waters
-Serving as essential plant, fish and wildlife habitats
-Recharging ground and surface waters
-Providing open space and recreational opportunities
As a means of mitigating wetland losses. It is hoped that these practices can offset the annual loss of natural wetlands due to development activities.
Buffers filter surface and subsurface stormwater flows before they enter a wetland, watercourse or body of water, reducing the amount of pollutants entering these systems. Naturally vegetated buffers can significantly reduce the water quality impacts of development. These buffers, around watercourses and wetlands, are one of the most practical and cost effective pollution prevention and ecosystem protection measures.
Riparian (streamside) and wetland buffers do the following:
-Naturally vegetated buffers filter out excessive nutrients and other nonpoint source pollutants in runoff, before they reach streams, lakes, wetlands and embankments.
-Moderate runoff and stream temperatures
-Control the velocity, quantity and quality of stream flows
-Enhance wildlife habitat and diversity
-Stabilize streambanks and reduce channel erosion
-Provide leaf litter as food for animals at the base of the food chain
-Reduce nitrogen from shallow groundwater flows to streams
-Reduce potential formation of fish migration barriers
-Enhance recreational opportunities
-Increase property values
The presence of any attorney is not required. An applicant may present his/her own case if he/she wishes. In many instances, particularly in more complicated cases, applicants have chosen to be represented by a professional, such as an attorney, a planning consultant, an architect, or a contractor, well versed in zoning matters. Sometimes an applicant will choose a relative or friend to represent him/her. This choice is entirely up to the applicant.
The best preparation for a Zoning Board appearance is to attend a hearing before your own hearing is scheduled. By listening to the presentations and the questions asked by the Board, you will get a sense of the workings of the Board.
A Zoning Board Hearing, while quasi-judicial in nature, is still relatively informal. The Board goes out of its way not to be intimidating. After all, the members of the Board are all volunteers, and are your neighbors.
In all zoning cases, the Board schedules a hearing and notices of the hearing are sent to all neighbors within a 250-foot radius of the property. These neighbors may or may not choose to appear. However, the Board always welcomes the opinions of neighbors who may be affected by zoning variance. Therefore, while not required, support of such neighbors can be helpful to an applicant's case.If a supporting neighbor does not choose to appear, a letter indicating support for an application may be submitted as evidence, but should be submitted not less than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled Hearing.
All applicants are required to submit transparencies for projecting the proposed plans on the wall of the Meeting Room. In addition, oral presentations are helpful to describe plans. In addition, drawings and photographs that show what the property will look like both before and after any planned construction will be helpful. Specific dimensions are required to describe the size of additions, decks, patios or other features. Where the slope of the lot is important to the location of any construction, an adequate description of the degree of slope and its location should be presented. Applicants are encouraged to have professionally prepared plans.
Regularly scheduled Hearings are typically held on the 3rd Thursday of each month, at the Greenburgh Town Hall, with additional special meetings scheduled as required. Meetings start at 8:00 P.M. No Hearing of an individual case can start after 10:30 P.M., unless specifically permitted by the Board, which occurs only in unusual circumstances.
All applicants are encouraged to state their reasons for seeking relief and supportive evidence in writing. As stated in the accompanying Board Rules of Procedure, all written evidences must where possible, be submitted not less than then (10) days before the scheduled Hearing on their applications.