§ 57-0205 — Plan contents

§ 57-0205. Plan contents.\n 1. Protection areas. The plan shall provide for protection areas\nwithin the study area that are designed to protect and preserve\nwatershed functions in the Peconic Bay watershed by:\n (a) preserving lands in their natural state;\n (b) promoting compatible agricultural, horticultural, and open space\nrecreational uses;\n (c) prohibiting development or redirecting development outside the\nprotection areas;\n (d) accommodating necessary management practices;\n (e) protecting the quality of surface waters and groundwaters; and\n (f) coordinating and providing for the acquisition of private lands\ninterests as appropriate and consistent with available funds.\n 2. Permit provisions for development. (a) Any person, upon a showing\nof extraordinary hardship or compelling public need caused by the\nprovisions of subdivision one of this section, may apply to the town\nboard for a permit exempting such person from the development\nprohibition provided for in subdivision one of this section. Such\napplication for a permit shall be approved if the applicant satisfies\nthe standards for either extraordinary hardship or compelling public\nneed. In the case where a governmental entity is the applicant a permit\nmay be granted only upon a showing of compelling public need.\n (b) Extraordinary hardship shall be deemed to have been met if the\napplicant has established, based upon specific facts, that the subject\nproperty does not have any beneficial use if used for its present use or\ndeveloped as permitted by the provisions of subdivision one of this\nsection and that this inability to have a beneficial use results from\nunique circumstances peculiar to the subject property which: (i) do not\napply to or affect other property in the immediate vicinity; (ii) relate\nto or arise out of characteristics of the subject property, rather than\nthe personal situation of the applicant; or (iii) do not arise out of\nthe action or inaction of the applicant.\n (c) Compelling public need shall be deemed to have been met if:\n (i) the proposed development will serve an essential health or safety\nneed of the town;\n (ii) the public benefits from the proposed development would override\nthe preservation of the protection area;\n (iii) that the proposed use is required to serve the existing needs of\nthe residents; and\n (iv) no feasible alternatives exist outside the protection area to\nmeet the established public need.\n (d) A permit for development in the protection area shall also meet\nthe following additional standards:\n (i) the granting of the permit will not be materially detrimental or\ninjurious to other property or improvements in the protection area in\nwhich the property is located or endanger public safety or result in the\nsubstantial impairment of the resources of the protected area;\n (ii) the permit will not be inconsistent with the purposes,\nobjectives, or general spirit and intent of this title; and\n (iii) the permit is the minimum relief necessary.\n (e) The town board shall make a decision on such application within\nsixty days of the receipt of a complete application for a permit.\n