Town of Kent, NY: zoning for new construction

Residential 80 - Lot size starts with the district minimum but is reset by on-site soils. Under § 77-34.2, a residential lot served by an individual sewage disposal system needs 3 acres on Hydrologic Soil Group C or C/D, and 5.4 acres on Group D.

• On Group C or C/D the minimum rises to 3.5 acres where that soil covers 25% or more of the lot; on Group D it rises to 6.2 acres at 25% or more.
• On Hydrologic Soil Group A, A/D or B the district minimum stands.
• The soils calculation must be prepared and certified by a licensed engineer, surveyor, architect or landscape architect who has personally inspected the on-site soils.
• Two coverage caps apply and measure different things: the building coverage figure counts buildings only, while total impervious surface, drive, walks and patio included, is held to 30%.
• A minimum highway frontage of 250 ft applies as well as the lot width, measured along a single unbroken linear length at the street line.
• Under § 77-34.3 the lot must also be a buildable lot, with buildable area that can take the principal and accessory improvements together with an on-site water supply.

Residential 40 - Soils can override the lot minimum shown. Under § 77-34.2, a residential lot on an individual sewage disposal system must be 3 acres where the dominant hydrologic soil group is C or C/D and 5.4 acres where it is group D, rising to 3.5 and 6.2 acres at 25% or more coverage.

• Where the dominant hydrologic soil group is A, A/D or B the district minimum stands, and it also stands where the dominant soil carries no letter group.
• The soils calculation must be prepared and certified by a licensed engineer, surveyor, architect or landscape architect who has personally inspected the on-site soils.
• The 30% total coverage cap measures impervious surface, while the building coverage cap counts buildings only, so a drive, walks and a patio count against the impervious cap.
• A minimum highway frontage of 100 ft applies in addition to the 150 ft lot width, measured along a single unbroken linear length at the street line.
• Under § 77-34.3 the lot must also be buildable, with buildable area able to take the principal and accessory improvements plus an on-site water supply.
• Limited encroachments into a required yard are allowed, such as eaves, chimneys and bay windows up to 24 inches, but none in a yard already reduced by variance.

Residential 10 - A lot served by an individual sewage disposal system is re-sized by its dominant hydrologic soil group under § 77-34.2: the district minimum holds on group A, A/D or B, but becomes three acres on group C or C/D and 5.4 acres on group D.

• On group C or C/D the minimum rises to 3.5 acres where that soil covers 25% or more of the lot; on group D it rises to 6.2 acres at 25% or more.
• If the dominant soil carries no letter group, the district minimum stands.
• The soils calculation must be prepared and certified by a licensed engineer, surveyor, architect or landscape architect who has personally inspected the on-site soils.
• Two coverage caps measure different things: the building coverage figure counts buildings only, while total impervious surface is separately capped at 35%, so drive, walks and patio count against it.
• A minimum highway frontage of 50 ft applies as well as the 100 ft lot width, measured along a single unbroken linear length at the street line.
• Each lot must also be a buildable lot under § 77-34.3, with buildable area that can take the principal and accessory improvements together with an on-site water supply.

Planned Residential Development - The 50 acres is a qualifying parent parcel, not a lot minimum: at least 50 contiguous acres are needed. Density of three units per acre excludes environmentally sensitive lands under § 77-72, so developable acreage, not deed acreage, sets the unit count.

• PRD is a floating district.
• Lot area, width and yard dimensions inside the development are fixed by the Planning Board at approval; the code publishes no figure for them.
• Environmentally sensitive lands are defined in § 77-72.

Commercial - Two coverage caps apply and they measure different things. The 50% building cap counts all principal and accessory buildings together, while a separate cap holds total impervious surface, including drives, walks and patios, to 75%.

• A minimum highway frontage of 100 ft applies in addition to the 100 ft lot width.
• Stairs, cornices, eaves, gutters, chimneys and bay windows may project up to 24 inches into a required yard.
• A one-storey open porch or terrace no more than three feet high may extend up to six feet into a front or rear yard.
• A one-storey enclosed vestibule no more than 10 ft wide and 5 ft deep is allowed in a front yard only.
• None of these projections is available in a yard that the Board of Appeals has already reduced by variance.

Industrial-Office-Commercial - Two coverage caps apply and they measure different things: the 50% cap counts buildings only, while total impervious surface, including drive, walks and patio, is held to 75%.

• The 200 ft minimum lot width is measured at the street line.
• A minimum highway frontage of 200 ft applies as well.
• Stairs, cornices, eaves, gutters, chimneys and bay windows may project up to 24 inches into a required yard.
• A one-storey open porch or terrace no more than three feet high may extend up to six feet into a front or rear yard.
• A one-storey enclosed vestibule no more than 10 ft wide and 5 ft deep is allowed in a front yard only.
• None of these projections is available in a yard the Board of Appeals has already reduced by variance.

Business Park Overlay District - This is an overlay district, and the 25 acre figure is the qualifying parent parcel, which must be contiguous, rather than a lot minimum. The site also needs 200 ft of continuous unbroken frontage on, or easement access to, an existing state or county highway.

• The 50% cap is a maximum total lot coverage of the site, not a building footprint limit alone.
• At 50 ft this is the tallest district in Kent, against 30 ft in every residential and commercial district and 40 ft in IOC.
• The front, side and rear setbacks are the deepest in the town by a wide margin, which can sharply limit the buildable area on an otherwise large site.