Town of North Harmony
Local Law No. ___2___ for the Year 2016
A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND THE CURRENT TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY ZONING LAW IN REGARDS TO THE REGULATIONS OF SAWMILLS
ARTICLE VI: SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS
Section 642 – Sawmills
Definition:
Sawmill, Small – A non-portable manufacturing facility where logs or partially processed cants are sawn, split, shaved, stripped, chipped, or otherwise processed to produce wood products, not including the processing of timber for use on the same lot by the owner or resident of that lot, but which is generally operated for the custom cutting of timber for local craftsmen, carpenters and farmers.
Purpose: In order to protect the environment and the public welfare of neighboring residential properties from the impacts created by sawmill operations, the Town of North Harmony has created the following requirements for sawmill operations within its boundaries.
Requirements:
1. Sawmills, as defined in this regulation, shall only be allowed in the A – Agricultural Districts by special use permit in the Town of North Harmony.
2. The minimum lot size shall be 10 acres with a minimum width of 200 feet of frontage.
3. All buildings or other structures and all equipment or storage areas associated with the sawmill shall be located not less than 100 feet from any property line, nor less than 300 feet from any neighboring dwelling.
4. No storage area for logs, sawn lumber or waste materials shall be located within 100 feet of any stream, other water body or well providing a source of potable water.
5. Accumulation of waste materials in an onsite dump or landfill shall not be permitted. All waste materials shall be recycled or removed from the site to a State approved solid waste management facility in a timely fashion.
6. All uses shall provide sufficiently long stacking lanes into the facility so that vehicles
waiting will not back-up onto streets.
8. All access drives onto the site shall be paved for a distance of at least one hundred (100) feet or consist of a one hundred (100) foot long gravel section of driveway to help collect any mud that may have attached to a vehicle’s wheels. The owner and/or operator shall be responsible for removing any mud from streets caused by persons traveling to and from the site.
9. All fuel used for equipment shall be stored in a manner that meets all New York State requirements for fuel storage.
10. Owner/Operator of sawmill shall cooperate with the Fire Department and Zoning Code Officer to determine appropriate access lanes for adequate fire prevention/emergency vehicle service.
