§ 230-14. Submission of preliminary plat, approval.

The procedure for obtaining preliminary plat approval is as follows:

A. 

The subdivider shall file with the Town Clerk the application and pay such fees as established by the Town Board. The Planning Director shall receive the following:

(1) 

Sufficient sets of prints of the preliminary plat and legal description for review.

(2) 

Three signed statements describing the proposed use of the land and a draft of any protective covenants to be applied to the subdivision.

(3) 

Sufficient copies of any supplemental information such as a topographic map.

(4) 

State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Part I assessment form.

(5) 

A signed statement that identifies the type of ownership that the development will have and what features will be owned and maintained by it (homeowners' association, condominium, etc.).

[Added 12-18-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2018]

B. 

Before acting on the preliminary plat, the Planning Board may request a report from any person or agency directly concerned with the proposed development, such as the Erie County Department of Public Works, Erie County Department of Planning, Erie County Department of Health, New York State. Department of Transportation and the Town of Hamburg Engineering Department. Such reports shall certify compliance with or note deviations from the requirements of this chapter and include comments on other factors which bear upon the public interest.

C. 

As part of the subdivision review process for preliminary plat approval, and to allow for proper notification of the action, the applicant shall erect a sign, as provided by the Town of Hamburg, on the subject property indicating that the property is proposed for major subdivision. The sign shall be erected in accordance with Town guidelines and a fee shall be paid in accordance with the Town’s Fee Schedule.

[Added 12-11-2006 by L.L. No. 7-2006]

Editor’s Note: This local law also provided for the renumbering of former Subsection C as Subsection D.

D. 

Such preliminary plat shall be clearly marked, "preliminary plat," and shall conform to the definition provided in this section. Within 62 days after the receipt of such preliminary plat by the Clerk of the Planning Board, the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing, which hearing shall be advertised at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town at least five days before such hearing. The Town shall also notify all property owners within 500 feet of the proposed subdivision by mail. This notification must be mailed a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled public hearing. It should be noted that the SEQR process must either be completed or a draft EIS accepted as complete, before a public hearing can be held (sixty-two-day clock does not start until one of these SEQR steps is completed).

[Amended 6-25-2012 by L.L. No. 2-2012; 12-18-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2018]

E. 

As part of the public hearing for the preliminary plat, a sign-in sheet shall be provided for all parties who wish to be notified of any and all future actions for the proposed subdivision. When the preliminary plat has been revised to address any conditions or comments offered by the Planning Board, the Town shall notify those parties who provided their contact information on the sign-in sheet. The revised preliminary plat plans shall be made available for public review and comment for a period of 10 days prior to approval by the Town. Any planning issues that are identified during this public review period which cannot be resolved by Town staff shall require resubmittal of the preliminary plat plans to the Planning Board for further review and consideration prior to approval of the plat.

[Added 12-11-2006 by L.L. No. 7-2006]

Editor’s Note: This local law also provided for the renumbering of former Subsections D, E and F as Subsections F, G and H, respectively.

F. 

Within 45 days after the date of such hearing, the Planning Board shall approve with or without modification or disapprove such preliminary plat, and the ground of a modification, if any, or the ground for disapproval, shall be stated upon the records of the Planning Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the time in which the Planning Board must take action on such plat may be extended by mutual consent of the owner and the Planning Board. When so approving a preliminary plat, the Planning Board shall state, in writing, modifications, if any, as it deems necessary for submission of the plat in final form. Within five days of the approval of such preliminary plat, it shall be certified by the Clerk of the Planning Board as granted preliminary approval and a copy filed in his office and a certified copy mailed to the owner. In the event that the Planning Board fails to take action on a preliminary plat within the time prescribed therefor, such plat shall be deemed granted preliminary approval.

G. 

Time frames upon approval.

[Amended 8-4-2003 by L.L. No. 4-2003]

(1) 

Within one year of the approval of the preliminary plat, the owner must submit construction plans to the Town Engineer for review. Within two years of the preliminary plat approval, the developer must have secured construction plan approval from the Town Engineer. In the event that the approval of construction plans is delayed because the developer has pending applications which are being reviewed by the governing regulatory agencies, a one-year extension of time to obtain construction plan approval shall be granted upon Town approval of application by the developer to the Planning Board and Town Engineer. if the above time frames are not properly complied with, the preliminary plat approval shall also expire.

(2) 

In the case of a multiphase development, the same time frames shall exist for each subsequent phase. For example, after Phase 1 construction plans are approved, the owner/developer must submit within one year construction plans for Phase 2 to the Town Engineer for review. Within two years of Phase 1 approval, the owner/developer must have secured construction plan approval from the Town Engineer. Phase 3 will have the same requirements as they relate to Phase 2 approval.

(3) 

In all cases, inactivity (building permits, approval applications, etc.) on a multiphased project for over a two-year period shall cause the preliminary approval to expire, and future phases of the project will require a new preliminary subdivision approval and the plans must meet all zoning and design requirements that exist at that time.

(4) 

For all multiphased projects that have phases that have not been approved after a five-year period, but meet the previous requirements of one- and two-year time frames, the owner/developer must appear before the Planning Board to receive reapproval of the preliminary plat. (The subdivision will still be "grandfathered" from any Zoning Code amendments; bulk and use requirements.)

H. 

During preliminary review, if the application is tabled by the Planning Board for additional information, or upon request of the applicant, and remains tabled for three months with no activity, the application will be considered as being expired. Prior to the expiration of the application, the applicant can request in writing that the ninety-day period be extended for one additional ninety-day period. After expiration of an application, the applicant may resubmit a new application with the appropriate fee. A new application made within six months of the expiration will require a fee equal to 50% of the required application fee. After six months, a full fee will be required.

[Added 6-14-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999]