§ 340-27
Site plan review and approval for industrial uses
[Amended 4-8-1996 by Ord. No. 968; 7-14-1997 by Ord. No. 1001; 10-14-1997 by Ord. No. 1017; 5-24-1999 by Ord. No. 1082; 5-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-13]
- A. Planning Board review.
- (1) No building permit shall be issued for any industrial use construction in any zone of the Town until a site plan review of the proposed construction has been conducted by the Planning Board. In addition, any industrial use which requires a special use permit, at the Zoning Board's option, may be subject to a site plan review by the Planning Board before a public hearing is held by the Zoning Board. It shall also be required for any enlargement in size of any industrial building or change in use of any industrial building, including accessory structures.
- (2) Site plan review is not required for repairs or alterations to existing industrial buildings or structures, provided that such work does not increase the floor area of any industrial building or structure and does not change the actual use thereof.
- (3) The Planning Board, by majority vote, may waive site plan review and approval requirements or any specific provision(s) thereof for any change of use, and construction of an addition or accessory building to any other principal building, provided that the use is subordinate and customarily incidental to the principal use and provided that:
- (a) Sufficient documentation is submitted to the Planning Board by an applicant to enable the Planning Board to determine if a waiver is permissible;
- (b) Such building does not exceed 25% of the existing building(s) or 1,500 square feet, whichever is less;
- (c) Such building does not exceed one story;
- (d) Such building conforms to all requirements of the district in which it is located or any other requirements of this chapter; and
- (e) No site improvements are intended, required or will result from such building, including, but not limited to, the development of additional parking spaces.
- (4) A building wholly or partially destroyed may be rebuilt pursuant to this section if rebuilt without change to the building footprint or the square foot use of usable space.
- B. Grounds for site plan review application denial. The Planning Board may reject an application for site plan review for any one of the following reasons:
- (1) Noncompliance with this chapter;
- (2) Incomplete application, including the application form, the accompanying site plan maps and supporting documentation, or the application fee as requested by the Planning Board; or
- (3) Inability to impose reasonable conditions to mitigate adverse impacts in those areas in which guidelines for review have been established.
- C. Site plan submission requirements.
- (1) Each applicant for site plan review and approval shall file with the Building Inspector the required application form and fee and four copies of a site plan prepared and stamped by a registered professional land surveyor and a registered professional engineer drawn at a suitable scale to show the following:
- (a) Name and address of the applicant and the designer of the plan;
- (b) Date, North arrow, and contours at two-foot intervals;
- (c) Plat and lot number(s);
- (d) Existing zoning classifications;
- (e) Location of any existing buildings or structures on the site;
- (f) Existing sewers, water lines and hydrants;
- (g) Location, arrangement and dimensions of off-street loading spaces and parking;
- (h) Location, height and materials of walls, fences, screen plantings and other landscaping features;
- (i) Ground cover, finished grades, slopes, banks and ditches;
- (j) Location, proposed use and general exterior dimensions of principal and accessory buildings and signs;
- (k) Percentage of the area to be covered by buildings;
- (l) Percentage of the area to be hard surfaced or paved;
- (m) Such additional information as may be required to enable the Planning Board to determine compliance with § 340-27 of this article.
- (2) At the Planning Board's request, the applicant shall file up to four additional copies of the site plan.
- (1) Each applicant for site plan review and approval shall file with the Building Inspector the required application form and fee and four copies of a site plan prepared and stamped by a registered professional land surveyor and a registered professional engineer drawn at a suitable scale to show the following:
- D. Action on industrial site plans.
- (1) Within 45 days of the Building Inspector's receipt of a site plan for industrial use, the Planning Board shall hold a public hearing. At least 14 days prior to the hearing, the Planning Board shall give written notice of the time and place of such hearing, by certified mail, to the applicant and to persons owning land abutting the site. The cost of all notifications shall be borne by the applicant. The Planning Board shall also publish, in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Johnston, a notice of said hearing, at least 14 days prior to the hearing.
- (2) The Planning Board may, within five days of receipt of the site plan application, transmit copies of the application to other agencies and departments of the Town for review and comment if the Planning Board is of the opinion such review will assist in its deliberations. The Planning Board shall not make a finding and determination upon an application until it has received a report from an agency/department to which the application has been referred, or until 21 days shall have elapsed since the transmittal of said copies of the application and site plan to other agencies/departments without such report being submitted. Failure of an agency/department to report within the allotted time shall be interpreted as nonopposition to the site plan.
- (3) The Planning Board shall review the site plan for compliance with all articles of this chapter. The Planning Board shall approve, subject to modifications, or disapprove the site plan within 30 days from the date the public hearing was closed, unless the Planning Board and the applicant mutually agree to an extension of time. The decision of the Planning Board shall be transmitted to the applicant and the Building Inspector, and shall consist of either:
- (a) A written finding that the development will be consistent with the guidelines for review set forth below in this section; or
- (b) A written denial of the application stating the reasons for such denial, and which shall include a statement of the respect in which any elements in the particular features of the proposal are deemed to be inconsistent with the guidelines for review set forth below in this section; or
- (c) A written finding and determination, subject to such reasonable mitigating conditions, modifications and restrictions set forth therein as the Planning Board may deem necessary to ensure that the proposed development achieves consistency with the guidelines for review established in this section.
- E. Guidelines for review.
- (1) Site plan approval is designed to provide a balance between landowner's rights to use his land with the corresponding rights of abutters and neighboring landowners to live or operate businesses without undue disturbance (e.g., noise, congestions, smoke, dust, odor, glare, stormwater runoff, etc.). Additional objectives include the preservation of the natural resources of the Town; and the creation of a better and safer living environment.
- (2) The Planning Board shall review site plans and shall issue site plan approval, including appropriate revisions and mitigating conditions, if the Planning Board determines, and makes a written finding, that the industrial performance standards of Article IV of this chapter and each of the following standards can be achieved:
- (a) Johnston's natural resources shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
- (b) Erosion and sedimentation shall be controlled during and after construction and shall not adversely affect adjacent or neighboring property or public facilities or services.
- (c) Increased runoff due to the development on the site shall not be injurious to any downstream property owner or cause hazardous conditions on adjoining streets.
- (d) Direct discharge of untreated stormwater runoff to a wetland or watercourse from impervious surfaces, including, but not limited to, roadways, parking lots, driveways, basements, and roofs shall not be allowed.
- (e) The proposed development shall not result in pollution of ground or surface waters, other than that anticipated under normal development practices with adequate mitigating measures to prevent significant impacts.
- (f) The movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the site in relation to access streets shall be safe and convenient, and adequate provision shall be made for snow removal.
- (g) Vehicular entrances and exits shall not be located within 75 feet of any street intersection.
- (h) Traffic generated by the development shall not create significant congestion on the adjoining and nearby street system.
- (i) Adequate off-street parking and loading shall be provided to prevent on-street traffic congestion.
- (j) No development shall be allowed where there is unrestricted access to the public streets or where the public street must be utilized to maneuver in and out of a parking space.
- (k) Buildings and the grounds adjoining them shall permit easy access and operation of fire, police and other emergency vehicles.
- (l) Sensitive environmental land features such as steep slopes, wetlands and large outcroppings shall be preserved and protected.
- (m) Buffering elements in the form of architectural design and landscape design that provide a logical transition to adjoining existing or permitted uses shall be provided.
- [1] Where a business abuts a residential district, a landscape buffer of five feet in width shall be provided along the abutting side or rear lot lines.
- [2] B-2 zones. Between a B-2 zone and any R zone, there shall be created and maintained a buffer zone with a minimum dimension of 50 feet. This buffer zone shall consist of vegetation, fencing, or other manner of buffering designed to shield the neighboring R zone from direct view and to diffuse sound generated to a B-2 site.
- [3] No structure shall be built within the buffer zone. No parking shall be permitted within the buffer zone. Topography may be changed to accomplish the intent of the buffer zone requirements. The buffer zone may contain a playground, walking path, or similar recreational or educational provision which will serve as an accessory to the principal use of the site. Any such intended use shall require the approval of the Zoning Board.
- (n) Glare from the installation of outdoor lights and signs and from the movement of vehicles on the site shall be shielded from the view of adjacent properties in a residential zone.
- (o) Abutting properties and Town amenities shall not be degraded by undue disturbances caused by excessive or unreasonable noise, smoke, vapors, fumes, dust, and odors.
- (p) Special buffer and screening requirements for I-L Districts:
- [1] Where possible, the maximum amount of natural vegetation on the site shall be retained. Clear cutting in excess of that required for site development is prohibited.
- [2] Outdoor storage of equipment and material shall be screened as to prevent vision of such equipment from any public road or adjacent property. There shall be no outdoor storage of equipment or materials between any building and any public road.
- [3] Screening shall consist of existing natural vegetation on the site or an opaque hedge or fence at least six feet in height.
- [4] The location of all screen planting and fencing shall be determined by the site plan review provisions of this section.
- (q) Manufacturing, storing, processing, or packaging of cement, asphalt, bituminous asphalt, lime, chalk, or other similar products.
- [1] These land uses are not allowed in or within 1,500 feet of residential districts R-40, R-20, R-15, R-10, or R-7, nor in or within 1,000 feet of business zones B-1 or B-2. They are allowed by special use permit in industrial zones I, I-L, I-S. Prior to a special use permit being issued, the use must be reviewed by the Planning Board, and must adhere to all applicable portions of Article IV and Article V.
- [2] A proposed plant of this type which is claimed to be temporary, portable, or otherwise nonpermanent shall not be allowed to operate in a B-1 or B-2 zone. A proposed plant of this type which is claimed to be temporary, portable, or otherwise nonpermanent shall be allowed in an I, I-L, and I-S zone, though not within 1,500 feet of an R zone, for a fixed period of time, for use on and accessory only to, a construction project being undertaken in that area. Such plants must be located on the site of the construction, or within a distance therefrom acceptable to the Planning Board. If such a plant is located off of the construction site, there must be presented to the Planning Board sufficient reason and cause for such placement, and the location of said plant shall conform to all aspects of this subsection, including all distance restrictions.
- [3] A time limit for use of the plant, including erection and dismantling, must be set and agreed to by the Zoning Board and the applicant. The applicant must present a reclamation plan for the proposed site to the Planning Board for acceptance. The applicant must post a bond of sufficient value to assure the dismantling and removal of the plant, and the reclamation of the site.
- F. Subsequent to the approval of the site plan by the Planning Board, the applicant may apply to the Building Inspector for a building permit.
- (1) A copy of the approved site plan endorsed by the Planning Board shall be transmitted to the Building Inspector, and said approved site plan shall be part of the building permit record. Any construction, reconstruction, substantial exterior alteration, or addition shall be carried out in conformity with any mitigating conditions, modifications and restrictions, subject to which the Planning Board shall have made its findings and determination and only in conformity with the application and site plan on the basis of which the findings and determinations are made. The Building Inspector shall enforce the fulfillment of any conditions which the Planning Board may impose.
- (2) Minor changes to the approved site plan may be submitted to the Building Inspector for approval. All requests for minor changes shall, within one day of receipt, be referred to the Planning Board. The Planning Board, at its next regular or special meeting, shall evaluate the proposed changes against its previous findings under this section to determine if such changes are major or minor and shall advise the Building Inspector of its decision within two days of the meeting. If the change is minor, the Building Inspector is authorized to approve the change. If the change is considered to be major, resubmission of an application for site plan review and approval will be required.
- (3) Any building, reconstruction or expansion not approved by the Building Inspector or the Planning Board shall be ordered halted and fully removed.
- G. The approval of a site plan application, or a modification or amendment thereof, shall remain effective for a period of one year only from the date of such approval (either directly or by inaction) unless prior to the expiration of such one-year period, the applicant makes substantial efforts to build in accordance with the approved site plan, or unless, upon a written request from the applicant, the Planning Board votes to extend the time period for a period not to exceed one additional year.
- H. Performance bond.
- (1) The Planning Board shall require a bond in sufficient amount to cover the cost of all improvements in the approved site plan. The bonding period shall be established by the Planning Board and in no case shall this period exceed two years. An extension not to exceed one year may be granted if, pursuant to the applicable provisions of this section, the Planning Board grants a site plan approval extension.
- (2) The form of the bond to guarantee the construction of the required site improvements of this section shall be acceptable to the Johnston Finance Director.
- (3) The Planning Board shall inspect the site to ensure the requirements of the approved site plan have been followed and that required landscaping and other construction improvements have been completed or are in the process of being completed.
- (4) Subsequent to this inspection and determination by the Planning Board that the requirements of the approved site plan have been followed, the Planning Board shall notify the Building Inspector of substantial site plan compliance and recommend the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the premises.
- I. Action on referrals from Zoning Board for special use permits for industrial uses. When in accordance with § 340-77 of this chapter, the Zoning Board refers an application for a special use permit for an industrial use to the Planning Board for review and comments, the Planning Board's written report to the Zoning Board shall include, but not be limited to, all of the findings and determinations the Planning Board would make in reviewing a site plan under this section to the extent they are applicable to the information contained in the application for a special use permit.
- J. Appeals. Persons aggrieved by a site plan review and approval decision may appeal to the Zoning Board pursuant to Article XVIII of this chapter.