Town of Blooming Grove, NY: zoning for new construction

Rural Residential - Lot size, frontage, coverage and yards are set by the Planning Board during subdivision, and density is the real limit. A minor subdivision of three new lots or fewer may not exceed one unit per 2.33 acres of gross density.

• On a parent parcel over twelve acres, the three new lots of a minor subdivision together may cover no more than a quarter of it
• Each new lot in a minor subdivision is sized by what a septic system with a full hundred-percent reserve area and the separation distances to wells need
• A major subdivision of more than three new lots may use a flat density of one unit per ten gross acres, or go through a five-step site analysis
• The site analysis requires a Land Conservation Analysis, permanent preservation of at least half the total site area as open space, and Planning Board findings
• An accessory structure must be at least 10 ft from the side and rear lines and may rise two storeys and 20 ft

Rural Crossroads I, Rural Crossroads II - A two-family dwelling is permitted by right on any conforming lot. A new multifamily dwelling is capped at eight units to the acre and is allowed only where public water and sewer are available.

• The 30 ft lot width is a minimum street frontage
• An accessory structure must be at least 10 ft from the side and rear lines and may rise two storeys and 20 ft

Office/Research/Industrial - Impervious surface of every kind, including parking and drives, is limited to 50% of the total project area. A Town Board special use permit can raise that to seventy-five percent, but only on the Board's findings.

• For the higher limit the Board must find stormwater can be handled without impact to groundwater and no significant adverse impact on adjoining residential neighbourhoods
• The open half of the site must be arranged to buffer buildings and parking from public roads and neighbours and to protect wetlands, watercourses and scenic views
• Buildings over ten thousand square feet of footprint should be broken into visually separate but connected volumes
• Buildings should sit in front of their parking lots to screen them from the road
• Trademarked architecture that identifies a company by its building design is prohibited
• An accessory structure must be at least 25 ft from the side and rear lines and may rise one storey and 35 ft

Non-Nuisance Industrial - The 35 ft height may rise to forty-five feet, but only where the setback to an adjoining residential lot is at least twice the building height, so a forty-five-foot building must stand at least ninety feet off any residential line.

• An accessory structure must be at least 25 ft from the side and rear lines and may rise one storey and 35 ft

Sustainable Business - The share of the site that may be developed depends on the number of principal buildings: 30% for one, 35% for two, 40% for three and 45% for four or more, with the rest kept open.

• Two or more principal buildings must be designed as a business park
• Only a tenth to a fifth of the required open space may be developed as landscaped area or buffer, the share rising with the building count
• An accessory structure must be at least 100 ft from the side and rear lines and may rise one storey and 50 ft
• The Planning Board may add up to ten feet to an accessory structure's height where it finds no significant visual impact on adjoining residential uses or scenic resources