Town of Berne, NY: zoning for new construction

Medium Density Residential - These figures are the residential case. A nonresidential use takes a 140 ft front yard instead of 40 ft and 250 ft of lot width instead of 200 ft, while the 1.5 acre lot minimum and the 50 ft side and 100 ft rear yards stay the same.

Neighborhood Commercial - These figures are the residential case. A nonresidential use takes a 140 ft front yard instead of 40 ft and 250 ft of lot width instead of 100 ft, while the 1.5 acre lot minimum and the 20 ft side and 50 ft rear yards stay the same.

Reforestation Area - RA is a mapped overlay lying over land otherwise zoned RAF, covering much of the town's south end. Which dimensional standards apply to a parcel under it is not confirmed, so settle that with the building department before counting on any building envelope.

• The overlay appears on the official zoning map (190 Attachment 3, dated 7-9-2007), which § 190-5 makes an appurtenant part of the zoning chapter.
• RA is not among the districts listed in § 190-4, so ask the building department how the overlay is administered on a private application.
• Ask the building department whether the underlying RAF standards govern lot size, setbacks and coverage for land marked by the overlay.
• The town's comprehensive plan, a separate planning document, uses the term reforestation area for state-owned forest land; the zoning chapter does not say so in terms.

Historic - H works as a design and appearance review layer and sets no lot size, setback, coverage or height figure of its own. A parcel in H is governed by whatever base district underlies it, so the figures depend on where the parcel sits on the zoning map.

• Exterior features, materials and scale, along with demolition, are reviewed by the Planning Board against the district's architectural character (§ 190-21.C).
• District boundaries are those shown on the zoning map (§ 190-21.A(2)).
• Confirm with the building department which base district, such as RAF or MDR, applies to a given parcel before sizing a project.

General Commercial - A residential lot in GC needs the same 1.5 acres of area but only 100 ft of width, so the 250 ft width applies to the nonresidential case.

• The density schedule prints two side yard figures for this district, 40 ft and 20 ft, and does not define which one applies; confirm the side yard with the building department.
• Height is capped at 3 stories as well as 35 ft.
• A note attached to this district in the density schedule points to the mobile home park standards in § 190-38.

Industrial - There is no mapped Industrial area. Under § 190-20 the Town Board may approve industrial development of a parcel in the RAF district and establish an Industrial District there, after Planning Board review, public notice and hearing.

• The approval acts as an overlay, superimposing the Industrial standards on the underlying district for that approved site in place of the RAF standards.
• No residential use is allowed under § 190-20.C(2)(a), apart from a caretaker's dwelling or a residential use that predates the Industrial District's establishment on that site.
• The schedule prints a second side yard figure of 200 ft next to the larger one, and neither § 190-10 nor § 190-16 says which applies, so confirm the side yard with the building department.

Residential/Agricultural/Forestry - These figures are the residential case. A nonresidential use needs 8 acres rather than 5 and a lot at least 400 ft wide rather than 300 ft, while the 70 ft front yard applies either way.

Traditional Neighborhood/Mixed Use 1 - Without sewer service the lot minimum is 1.5 acres rather than 0.25 acre. The front yard is a band as well, 15 ft minimum and 30 ft maximum, so a building cannot sit further back than 30 ft.

• A nonresidential use also needs 1.5 acres, and its building coverage may reach 65% against the 25% a house is held to.
• A nonresidential use in an existing building takes the acreage of the existing lot instead, so a change of use does not make an undersized lot noncompliant.
• A new nonresidential building's footprint is capped at 2,000 sq ft; no footprint maximum applies to a house.

Traditional Neighborhood/Mixed Use 2 - Without sewer service the lot minimum is 1.5 acres rather than 0.25 acre. The front yard is a band as well, 15 ft minimum and 50 ft maximum, so a building cannot sit further back than 50 ft.

• A nonresidential use also needs 1.5 acres, and its building coverage may reach 65% against the 25% a house is held to.
• A nonresidential use in an existing building takes the acreage of the existing lot instead, so a change of use does not make an undersized lot noncompliant.
• A new nonresidential building's footprint is capped at 3,000 sq ft; no footprint maximum applies to a house.