Village of Voorheesville, NY: zoning for new construction

Business-B - The lot minimum shown is for a lot with off-site sewer and water. A lot with only one of the two needs 40,000 sq ft rather than 15,000.

• A new commercial use must hold a 50 ft buffer along any residential district boundary, with no building or accessory structure in it and screening on the commercial lot.
• A nonresidential building is capped at a 20,000 sq ft footprint.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.
• The Planning Commission may allow a narrower lot than the width shown where the result is consistent with lot sizes adjacent to and within 200 ft of it.

Conservation - No permanent structure may stand inside the 100 ft wetland buffer set by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, unless a wetland permit from that agency says otherwise.

• The code publishes no footprint cap for a nonresidential building here, which is not an unlimited allowance: the 15% coverage limit still binds.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.
• The Planning Commission may allow a narrower lot than the width shown where the result is consistent with lot sizes adjacent to and within 200 ft of it.

Creekside Commercial - Lot width here is a range, not a floor: 60 ft is the minimum and a lot may be no wider than 200 ft. The front yard is bracketed too, 15 ft minimum and 35 ft maximum.

• The Planning Commission may instead require an average front setback to match the varied setbacks along Maple Avenue.
• Inside the mapped floodplain no grade change or fill is allowed, and a new permanent structure must sit outside it.
• An existing structure in the floodplain may be rebuilt or expanded by no more than 50% in aggregate.
• Any disturbance within 200 ft of the Vly Creek needs an approved erosion and sediment control plan, even below the one-acre threshold.
• A nonresidential building is capped at a 5,000 sq ft footprint.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.

General Business - A new commercial use must hold a 50 ft buffer along any residential district boundary, with no building or accessory structure in it and screening kept on the commercial lot.

• A nonresidential building is capped at a 20,000 sq ft footprint.
• The 15,000 sq ft lot minimum is the same whether the lot has both off-site sewer and water or only one of the two.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.
• The Planning Commission may allow a narrower lot than the width shown where the result is consistent with lot sizes adjacent to and within 200 ft of it.

Industrial - The lot minimum shown is for a lot with off-site sewer and water; losing either service takes it from 15,000 sq ft to 40,000.

• A new commercial use must hold a 50 ft buffer along any residential district boundary, with no building or accessory structure in it and screening on the commercial lot.
• A nonresidential building is capped at a 20,000 sq ft footprint.
• A special permit use here is confined to one whose normal operation is not a fire hazard, does not emit smoke, glare, noise, odor or dust, and does not impact the aquifer.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.

Multi-Family - A building here is capped at four residential units, a limit on the building rather than on the lot, and every new multi-family dwelling needs site plan review.

• The lot minimum shown is for a lot with off-site sewer and water; losing either service doubles the land required, from 20,000 sq ft to 40,000.
• The front yard is bracketed: 25 ft minimum and 40 ft maximum.
• New buildings along Pheasant Run must match the setbacks already there rather than the ones in the schedule.
• A nonresidential building is capped at a 2,400 sq ft footprint.
• In the mapped wellhead protection overlay a new one- or two-family dwelling on septic is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on septic is prohibited outright.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.

Main Street East - The front yard has a maximum as well as a minimum: a building must stand within 10 ft of the street line. The 0 ft front and side yards shown are requirements, and this is the only district in the village with either.

• A nonresidential building is capped at a 5,000 sq ft footprint.
• Buildings may mix commercial and residential, with the residential at the rear and on upper floors rather than on the first-floor street front.
• An existing single-family dwelling may convert to a two-family or to a commercial use.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.

Main Street West - The front yard is bracketed, 25 ft minimum and 35 ft maximum, and the Planning Commission may require it to equal the average of the front setbacks of other structures on the same side of the street within 500 ft.

• A nonresidential building is capped at a 2,400 sq ft footprint.
• A formula business in a new building is capped at 2,500 sq ft and 65 ft of road frontage and needs a special use permit.
• A building or lot originally designed for residential use may convert to a nonresidential use only if its residential character is kept and no design or structural change is made to its front.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth.

Mixed Use Business Residential - Without off-site sewer the lot minimum doubles to 40,000 sq ft and the density cap halves to 2 units per net acre. A lot with off-site sewer but no off-site water takes the same 40,000 sq ft minimum and keeps 4 units per net acre.

• Inside the Wellhead Protection Area a new one- or two-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on septic is prohibited outright.
• Inside that same area building coverage is 35% rather than 50%.
• The density cap runs on net acreage, with wetland and floodplain acreage taken out before the 4 units per acre is applied.
• A nonresidential use over 5,000 sq ft, or one adding more than 50 cars a day, needs a special use permit, and a nonresidential footprint may not exceed 20,000 sq ft.
• Multi-family may be no more than 25% of the units in a development, and two-family no more than 50%.
• The front yard has a ceiling as well as a floor, at 35 ft, and a corner lot needs 20% more land plus a front yard facing each street and two side yards in place of a rear yard.

Residential A - Every major subdivision here must submit both a conventional and a conservation design, and a conservation layout that preserves at least 50% of the lot as open space may earn up to a 20% density bonus under Village Law 7-703.

• A nonresidential building is capped at a 2,400 sq ft footprint, separate from the 30% lot coverage limit.
• Height is 2.5 storeys as well as 35 ft, and the storey count can bind first.
• Accessory buildings and structures keep side and rear setbacks of at least 5 ft.
• In the mapped wellhead protection overlay a new one- or two-family dwelling on septic is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on septic is prohibited outright.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it takes a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard.
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added.

Residential B - A lot served by only one of off-site sewer and off-site water needs 30,000 sq ft rather than 20,000 sq ft, where every other district's one-service figure is its own minimum or 40,000 sq ft. The front yard has a ceiling too: no building more than 40 ft back.

• Inside the Wellhead Protection Area a new one- or two-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on septic is prohibited outright.
• To hold the streetscape, the Planning Commission may require the front setback to equal the average of the front setbacks of other structures on the same side of the street within 500 ft.
• Height is bounded by 2.5 storeys as well as by 35 ft, whichever binds first.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum, with a front yard facing each street and two side yards in place of a rear yard.
• A nonresidential building is capped at a 2,400 sq ft footprint.
• An accessory building or structure keeps side and rear setbacks of at least 5 ft.

Residential D - Inside the wellhead protection overlay, a new one- or two-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited outright. The lot minimum does not change with off-site sewer or water service.

• A major subdivision may use the conservation subdivision process to preserve at least 50% of the lot as open space for a density bonus of up to 20%.
• The Planning Commission may allow a narrower lot than the width shown where the result is consistent with lot sizes adjacent to and within 200 ft of it.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it has a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard (Art. V (B)(5)(c)).
• Where 25% of the block frontage on either side of the street is already built to a deeper front yard than the law requires, a new building must match that existing depth (Art. VI (B)(1)).
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added (Art. VI (B)(1)).
• Accessory buildings and structures in a residential district keep side and rear setbacks of at least 5 ft (Art. V (B)(5)(a)).

Residential C1 - Inside the wellhead protection overlay, a new one- or two-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited on a lot under two acres, and a new multi-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited outright. No building may sit more than 35 ft back either.

• To hold the streetscape, the Planning Commission may require the front setback to equal the average of the front setbacks of other structures on the same side of the street within 500 ft.
• The lot minimum does not change with off-site sewer or water service.
• A major subdivision may use the conservation subdivision process to preserve at least 50% of the lot as open space and earn up to a 20% density bonus.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it has a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard (Art. V (B)(5)(c)).
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added (Art. VI (B)(1)).
• Accessory buildings and structures in a residential district keep side and rear setbacks of at least 5 ft (Art. V (B)(5)(a)).

Residential C-2 - The lot minimum shown is the one for a lot with both off-site sewer and water. Losing either service doubles the land required, from 20,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft.

• Inside the wellhead protection overlay, a new one- or two-family dwelling on a septic system is prohibited on a lot under two acres; a new multi-family dwelling on septic is prohibited outright.
• The front yard has a maximum as well as a minimum: no building may sit more than 35 ft back.
• To hold the streetscape, the Planning Commission may require the front setback to equal the average of the front setbacks of other structures on the same side of the street within 500 ft.
• A major subdivision may use the conservation subdivision process for a density bonus of up to 20%.
• A corner lot needs 20% more land than the minimum shown, and it has a front yard facing each street and two side yards instead of a rear yard (Art. V (B)(5)(c)).
• On a street whose right-of-way is under 50 ft wide, or whose right-of-way line is not known, the front yard is measured from the centre line of the roadway and 25 ft is added (Art. VI (B)(1)).