In an era of increasing complexity in urban life, the subdivision and development of private land can have a profound impact upon the cost and efficiency of sanitary sewer and water services, vehicular and pedestrian circulation systems, stormwater runoff control, educational and recreational facilities, and upon environmental qualities conducive to the well-being of citizens. Therefore, the following regulations and standards applicable to the subdivision and/or development/redevelopment of land within the jurisdiction of the City of Lockport are hereby adopted to:
(A) Advance the public health, safety and welfare in an era of increasingly rapid improvements of vacant land.
(B) Encourage the use of the best planning and engineering practices by private developers in an age when sophisticated technology in building and design is available.
(C) Promote the growth of the City of Lockport in a manner that will not only provide its citizens with a safe, healthy and beneficent environment, but will also protect property values, thereby securing the fiscal base for public services.
(D) Ensure adequate and economical provisions of necessary public services caused by and attributable to improvement of vacant land.
(E) Promote those qualities in the environment that bring value to the community, to foster the attractiveness and functional utility of the community as a place to live and work, to protect investments in the community, and to raise the level of community expectations for the quality of its environment.
(F) Prescribe the standards for the preparation and submission of preliminary and final subdivision plats and development plans; to specify the types of development or land use for which submissions shall be required; to define and establish the responsibilities and standards for processing, review and approval of such plats and plans; and to designate the reviewing and approving authorities for the city.
(G) Diminish threats to public health, safety and welfare caused by excessive stormwater runoff from new development and redevelopment. Excessive stormwater runoff may result in the inundation of damageable properties, the erosion and destabilization of downstream channels, and the pollution of valuable stream and lake resources. The cause of increases in stormwater runoff volume and flow rate, and impairment of water quality, is the development and improvement of land. As such, this chapter regulates these activities to minimize or prevent adverse impacts.
(H) Ensure that new development does not increase the threat of stormwater damage or flood hazards to others or create unstable conditions susceptible to soil erosion.
(I) Protect new buildings or major improvements to buildings from flood damage due to increased stormwater runoff.
(J) Protect human life and health from the hazards of increased flooding on a watershed basis.
(K) Lessen the burden on the taxpayer for flood control projects, repairs to flood-damaged public facilities and utilities, correction of channel erosion problems, and flood rescue and relief operations caused by increased stormwater runoff from new development.
(L) Protect, conserve and promote the orderly development of land and water resources.
(M) Preserve the natural hydrologic and hydraulic functions of watercourses and flood plains and to protect water quality and aquatic habitats.
(N) Preserve the natural characteristics of stream corridors in order to moderate flood and stormwater impacts, improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, protect aquatic and riparian habitat, provide recreational opportunities, provide aesthetic benefits, and enhance community and economic development.
(O) Safeguard persons, protect property, prevent damage to the environment, and promote the public welfare by guiding, regulating and controlling the design, construction, use and maintenance of any development or other activity which disturbs or breaks the topsoil or otherwise results in the movement of earth on land situated in the city. It is the intention of this ordinance that the delivery of sediment from sites affected by land-disturbing activities be limited, as closely as practicable, to that which would have occurred if the land had been left in its natural and undisturbed state.
(Ord. 18-008, passed 2-7-18; Am. Ord. 21-021, passed 8-18-21)