Village of Colonie, NY: zoning for new construction

Conservation/Residential - At least 50% of the lot has to be left in its natural state as a conservation area, with a minimum dimension of 125 ft. That is a floor on undisturbed land rather than a ceiling on building coverage.

• One single-family or two-family dwelling on a lot of at least one acre is allowed by right; more than that takes a special permit.
• For a nonresidential use, impervious surface is capped at 12.5% of the site.
• Maximum height is three storeys or 35 ft, whichever is less.
• The maximum horizontal building dimension is 175 ft, or 150 ft and four units for a row of attached single-family dwellings.
• Two buildings on one lot have to stand 20 ft apart side by side and 50 ft apart front to back.
• Yards are measured from the edge of the Patroon Creek drainageway rather than the lot line, and land inside the drainageway still counts toward lot area and density.

Commercial A - A gasoline station carries its own site standards whatever the district figures say: at least 200 ft of street frontage and 200 ft of depth, and no site within 1,000 ft of another gasoline station on the same side of the highway.

• An odd-shaped site may be considered with 200 ft of frontage and 40,000 sq ft of area.
• No driveway may connect to a curb cut within 200 ft of a residential district boundary.

Commercial B - A gasoline station carries the same site standards here as in Commercial A: at least 200 ft of frontage and 200 ft of depth, and a 1,000 ft separation from another station on the same side of the highway.

Commercial D - Where this district abuts a residential district, a landscaped buffer strip at least 100 ft wide is required, and up to 50% of the required green space may count toward it.

• Maximum height is two storeys or 35 ft, whichever is less, so the storey count can bind before the height does.

Residential A - The 10 ft side yard is a floor, not the whole rule. Under § 242-5 a house adds five feet to it for each floor of height, so a three-storey house needs 25 ft, and a corner lot keeps 25 ft from the side street line.

• A two-family needs 15,625 sq ft (0.3587 acre) and 125 ft of frontage against a one-family's 9,375 sq ft and 75 ft, and § 242-5 forbids placing one on a lot portion under 125 ft wide.
• Where the 125 ft depth is impracticable, a one-family lot may be shallower if it still holds 9,375 sq ft, and a two-family lot may go to 100 ft deep if it holds 12,500 sq ft.
• A dwelling must hold at least 900 sq ft of finished floor area and must cover at least 900 sq ft of ground.
• An accessory garage or shed of one storey and up to 576 sq ft may sit 5 ft from a side or rear lot line.

Residential B - Density here is set by planned occupancy rather than by a lot-area rate. The unit mix has to satisfy up to 25% of units at 2.5 persons and a 900 sq ft minimum, up to 25% at 2.0 persons and 750 sq ft, and up to 100% at 1.5 persons and 600 sq ft.

• No multifamily building may exceed 45 ft or three storeys.
• No multifamily building may stand within 200 feet of any Residential A property line.
• A row of single-family attached dwellings may not exceed six units or 150 ft of horizontal dimension, and each unit or separately conveyed parcel must be at least 20 ft wide.
• Fire lanes between buildings must be 25 ft plus 5 ft for each floor of the adjoining buildings.

Residential C - The 10 ft side yard is a floor, not the whole rule. Under § 242-5 a house adds five feet to it for each floor of height, so a three-storey house needs 25 ft, and a corner lot keeps 25 ft from the side street line.

• Ordinary residential use here follows the Residential A standards: § 242-7A(1) permits the uses of § 242-5 subject to all of that section's restrictions, regulations, requirements and procedures.
• What this district adds is the mobile home park. An individual site inside one must hold 5,000 sq ft and be at least 50 ft wide and 100 ft deep.
• Front, rear and side yards, both for an individual site and for the park as a whole, are as approved by the Planning Commission.
• A mobile home must be at least 14 ft wide, and its minimum living space is whatever HUD approves.