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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLight Industrial Office Zoning Survey 12/2003Survey of Light Industrial Office Zoning Within Southold Town Prepared by Valerie Scopaz, AICP Town Planner December 2003 1 Survey of Liaht Industrial Zonin.n, Pumose of Survey The purpose of this survey is to identify property within the Town that is zoned Light Industrial Office (LIO) and to review the uses and requirements of the district. The survey is intended to provide information that would assist the Town Board in its effort to respond to assertions from the business community that there is an insufficient supply of LI zoned property to meet the demand. ~aterials A map showing all LI and LIO zoned properties within the Town was prepared. Smaller maps were created to show which properties were "in use" and which were vacant as of March 1, 2002, which reflects the latest assessment records available in GIS format. (Parcels that were farmed were considered to be "in use"). Where applicable, the wetlands layer was shown. Findings ~al Office_ There are 16 parcels of land encompassing 190.8 acres in this zoning category. Of these properties, 13 parcels encompassing 141.6 acres appear on the map as being in use. This represents 81% of the parcels and 74% of the land area. However, since twenty eight acres of this land have been removed from farm use and are the site of a proposed industrial park, the statistics above could be amended to 12 parcels encompassing 113.3 acres. This represents 75% of the parcels and 59% of the acreage. Not all of these properties are totally developed, meaning that some additional capacity could be built or accommodated. There is a considerable amount of raw land still available for use within this zoning district. The largest parcel, 48.5 acres, is located in West Greenport and it is the target of a land preservation effort by the Town due to the existence of extensive wetlands adjacent to Pipes Cove and their scenic attributes. (The presence of fresh and tidal wetlands, Iow elevations, clay and perched groundwater throughout this parcel could pose obstacles to the development of this property in light industrial uses.) There is one other vacant LIO parcel in the West Greenport area. Since it is only 1.3 acres in area, rezoning this parcel would not compensate for the loss of 6.44 acres of LI zoned land (due to the rezoning of the Church Lane properties). The LIO district located within Cutchogue, just west of the capped landfill, recycling and transfer station, contains the bulk of the extant LIO zoned properties. One 17 acre parcel was recently purchased by the town in order to complete the landfill capping project. This land is being used primarily for the composting operation, but it also functions as a part of the capped landfill. A second, adjacent parcel of 28 acres is proposed to be subdivided into an industrial park. The remainder of the land, about 57 acres, remains in farming with some farm-related structures and/or residences. All the parcels zoned LIO in Cutchogue have good road access or the potential for interior service roads with good access to CR 48 via Depot Lane and Oregon Road. While none of the LIO parcels have access to public water at this time, applications can be made on a lot-by-lot basis for permits for private wells from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. The land is flat and suitable for development in light industrial uses. Li,qht Industry After the Church Lane rezoning, there remained 85 parcels encompassing 244.7 acres of land in this zoning category. Of this property, 62 parcels encompassing 199.7 acres appear on the map as being in use. An additional two parcels encompassing two acres are known to have received site plan approvals, thus the total of parcels in use is assumed to be at least 64 (201.7 acres) This represents 75% of the parcels and 82% of the acreage. There appears to be limited potential for these developed parcels to accommodate more growth. The purpose of the LIO district is "to provide opportunity for the location of business and professional offices, research facilities, industrial uses and similar activities in an open, campus-like setting in areas which are not appropriate for commercial activity or low-density residential development. In this area, such uses can be established in an attrective environment and serve both as a means of preserving the open qualities of an area and providing and area adjacent to hamlet areas where such uses can be appropriately developed with suitable protection for ground-and surface waters." (Section 100-130 Zoning Code) Towards that end, the minimum land area per lot in the LIO district is 120,000 square feet, slightly less than three acres. The park setting is further emphasized through the required lot dimensions, minimum yard setbacks and allowable coverege. The permitted uses within this district tend towards non-retail uses needing larger parcels of land than would typically be found or desired within hamlet business centers. The purpose of the LI district is "to provide an opportunity for business and industrial uses on smaller lots than would be appropriate for the LIO...district." (Section 100-140 Zoning Code). Towards that end the minimum land area per lot in the LI district is 40,000 square feet, less than an acre. The lot dimensions, yard setbacks and allowable coverege are not as restrictive as that of the LIO district. The Bulk Schedule on the next page permits comparison of these requirements. A subsequent table permits direct comparison of uses permitted within each zone. 3 Bulk Schedule for Industrial Districts District Minimum requirements for business, office, industrial or other nonresidential use1 Lot size (square feet) Lot width {feet) Lot depth (feet) Front yard (feet) Side yard (feet) Both side yards (feet) Rear yard (feet) Landscape area (percent) Maximum permitted dimensions Lot coverage (percent) Building height (feet) Number of stories~? / / Light LI Industrial Light Park/Planned Industrial Office Park 120,000 40,000 200 100 300 150 variable2 variable2 30 20 60 40 75 70 35 25 2O 3O 35 35 2 2 LIO and LI Use comparison MO Agricultural operations ... Municipal buildings... Wholesale busineses, warehouses and building material storage excluding storage of coal, coke, fuel oil Building,electrical and plumbing contractor's businesses Cold storage plants, baking and other food processing and packaging plants ~.. Office buildings for businesses, governmental and professional uses ... Telephone exchange Wineries as regulated by Section 100-101A(11 ). Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Toudst camp Recreation a. minimum parcel size shall be three acres b. there shall be three acres for each use Standard regulation golf course Food catering facility Machine and equipment workshop Boat building, boat servicing and boat storage facilities, excluding retail sales of boats and accessories Light Industrial uses subject to conditions... Printing and publishing plants '-~ PERMITTED BY SPECIAL EXCEPTION: ~-~ Research, design or development laboratories... Laundry or dry-cleaning plants subject to conditions... Conference facilities with conditions... Public utility structures and uses except that wireless communications must obtain approval pursuant to ~.rt. XVI Truck or bus terminals Food Processing or packaging plants not including fish processing plants Repair of boats and marine items Basic utility stage II airport, subject to conditions.. Permitted as of right ACCESSORY USES Accessory uses on same lot and not involving a separate business Fully enclosed storage facilities incidental to the principal use Open storage as set forth in and regulated by Sec. 100-10~1 C(2) of the General Business District Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities for the exclusive use of executives & employees... In-Service training schools for employees of the principal use Vehicles owned by the owner of the prinicpal use... Central heating and power plants accessory to the principal use and the service of all structures on the premises Maintenance and utility shops incidental to the principal use. Off street parking and loading ... LI Same Same Same Same Same Same Same Same Auto Repair Shop Repair Shop... Custom workshop Machine and equipment workshop Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Same also excludes wholesale sales Same but without conditions Same Same Same Same with conditions Same Same Same Same Not allowed Light Industrial with conditions Same Not allowed Not allowed Not allowed Same Same Same Same Same The Comprehensive Plan Background studies dudng the 1980s indicate that the Town wanted to maximize its economic development potential by providing appropriate zoning for office- park types of industrial development. Industrial parks have been established successfully elsewhere on Long Island, most notably in Smithtown, Islip and Brookhaven. However, since the LIO zoning has been in effect, 1989, only one subdivision of property in this zoning into an office park has been proposed. This subdivision received preliminary approval in 1992 and has not been finalized. Recommended Alternative The largest piece of LIO zoned land in the western Greenport area that is vacant and available for development is also the target of a preservation effort in cooperation with the property owner. If this property is not preserved, the presence of wetlands and clay soils will pose challenges to use of this land depending on the type of use proposed. The vacant LIO district in Cutchogue offers the most promising source of new LI zoned land. It would be preferable to rezone LIO land than to down-zone Agricultural Conservation or Residential land. The Town Board has the option of rezoning all or a portion of this property. Since much of the land is still being farmed and the Town's first priority is to replace and enhance the LI stock that was lost through the Church Lane rezoning, the following option is recommended. The southernmost parcel in this area, located at the northeast corner of CR 48 and Depot Lane, received ~' ~. preliminary subdivision approval in 1992 under the nan,e North Fork Industrial Park (NFIP). The owner of this subdivision opted to construct the road prior to receiving final approval (instead of posting a performance bond). The road to service this layout has been substantially built. (Verified in December 4, 2003 conversation with Jamie Richter, Town Engineer.) The layout of the NFIP would lend itself to the creation of nine 40,000 square foot building lots without the need for significant revisions to either the final subdivision plat or the existing road. These lots could be located at the northern-most end of this proposed subdivision. See attached map for an illustration of how this could be accomplished. The rezoning of this portion of the proposed Industrial Park to LI would have a minimal impact on the Church Lane neighborhood as well as on the vistas of the CR 48 Scenic Byway corridor. The preliminary plat for NFIP calls for a 100 foot landscaped buffer along CR 48 and Depot Lane in order to protect the scenic vistas. This option would require a rezoning of approximately 9.44 acres of land 6 by the Town Board's own motion. Subsequent to that action, the property owner would have to amend his proposed final subdivision map as well as obtain approvals for private wells from the County Department of Health Services. If the County finds that the water quality on the proposed lots will not permit private wells the Town would have to amend the Water Main map in order to allow the Suffolk County Water Authority to extend public water service to this industrial park. 7 TE DRIVE ,4N~ . PL,4NTING ~E)DLE ROAD .'f C.R. ~t8) Light Industrial Office Zoning in Cutchogue ~ Vacant LI (4 parcels 14.39 acres) ~ Developed LI (13 parcels 69,22 acres) ~ Community Facilities LI (1 parcel 80.19 acres) ~ Vacant LIO (1 parcel .74 acres) ~ Developed LIO (4 parcels 85.16 acres) ~ Community Facilities LIO (1 parcel 17.03 acres) Notes: Lh 18 parcels, 143.8 acres LIO: 6 parcels, 102,93 acres Acreage totals account for parcels split into multiple zones. That is, only the acreage within the LI or LIO zones is included in the total acreages above. Map & Data has been corrected from DGEIS Build Out analysis, Some developed parcels may support further development, Scale: 1 inch equals 600 feet Map Prepared by Town of Southold GIS November 21, 2003 Suffolk County Real Property Tax Service Agency GIS Basemap COPYRIGHT 2003, County of Suffolk, N.Y. / / Aerial View of Light Industrial Office Zoning In Cutchogue Light Industrial Office Zoning in West Greenport Vacant LI (12 parcels 28.89 acres) Developed LI (16 parcels 16.77 acres) Protected LI (1 parcels 1.73 acres) Vacant LIO (2 parcels 48.4 acres) Developed MO (8 parcels 39.47 acres) Protected LIO (0 parcels 0 acres) Wetlands LI: 29 parcels, 47.39 acres (40.000 sq ft minimum) LIO: 10 parcels, 87.87 acres (120,000 sq ff minimum) Acreage totals account for parcels split into multiple zones. That is, only the acreage within the LI or LIO zones is included in the total acreages above Map & Data has been corrected from DGEIS Build Out analys~s. Some developed parcels may support further development. Scale: 1 inch equals 600 feet Map Prepared by Town of Southold GIS November 21, 2003 Suffolk County Real Propert~ Tax Service Agency GIS Basemap COPYRIGHT 2003, County of Suffolk, N.Y.