Standard Use & Conditional Use: Getting to know two important terms

Application Deadlines

As in any type of project, planning ahead is always critical. Depending on the type and nature of a project will depend on the approval process involved by the town.

In the Town of Webb there are “standard uses” and “conditional uses.”

One is acceptable, the other potentially acceptable.

An example of a standard use would be the permitting process to build a house.

In all Zoning District classifications except OS Zones [open space], to obtain a building permit to build a house does not require any approval other than building permit issued through the Code Office.

Of course the normal plans, surveys, site location plan, and septic system design may need to be submitted to the Code Office.

However, there is no automatic need for any Planning Board review.

Thus the term “standard use.”In all CB Zoning classification districts [Commercial Business], any new, altered, expanded and/or replaced commercial type facility will be considered a “conditional use.”

A conditional use may not specifically be prohibited, but does rise to a higher need of oversight.

The Code Office cannot issue a building permit until the Town Planning Board has reviewed the application to determine whether or not the proposed project is an appropriate fit for that specific location.

Thus the term “conditional use.”

As taken straight from the Town’s Zoning Ordinance the definition of a conditional use Section 15-A:

“Certain other uses are designated as Conditional Uses because such uses have or may have special characteristics and impacts on surrounding uses in and adjoining the district.

“Such uses may not be appropriate in all locations in the district.

“It has been determined that such uses require special control and consideration to determine whether the specific use in a specific location may be permitted, or to require that the use be modified to avoid or mitigate any inappropriate and adverse impacts.

“Such control of Conditional Uses is considered to be particularly important in the Town’s Commercial Business (CB) Districts primarily concentrated in a corridor along NYS Route 28 in the Thendara, Old Forge and Eagle Bay hamlets of the Town.

“While recognizing that the various uses identified as Conditional Uses within the CB District may be desirable and necessary within the Town, it is also recognized that such uses in certain locations may be inconsistent with and detrimental to the pattern, scale and character of not only the established commercial activity areas of the hamlets but the major concentrations of the Town’s residential uses within and adjoining the CB Districts, as well as natural, historic, visual and other resources of the Town and Adirondack Park.”

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This is where the planning of your project is important to understand the process in advance.

The Town will consider all conditional use applications in as timely a manner as possible.

Unless the proposal is extremely complicated and has many potential environmental issues, the process does not take months.

However, it will take usually at least three weeks.

As part of the process of a conditional use application, a “Public Hearing” is required.

Both NYS law and local law require that a “legal notice” or “Notice of Public Hearing” be advertised in a local paper prior to the hearing.

Locally that is ten days before the actual hearing.

And since the local paper is only distributed weekly, and the paper has minimum requirements or deadlines to get anything into the paper, the application needs to be in the Code Office several weeks, almost three weeks, before the hearing.

Please call the Code Office for specific dates.

This is why there is a deadline date of approximately three weeks before the hearing to get on the agenda for a conditional use application to the Planning Board.

Although any applicant can come to a meeting before the hearing date and discuss their application, the Planning Board would not be able to render a decision until the Public Hearing process has taken place.

The Town of Webb Planning Board meets the first and third Tuesday evenings of every month at 7:00 pm. All meetings are open to the public.

Every attempt is made to make a decision on the same night as the hearing if possible.