Zoning Purpose and Definitions

The citations below are individual paragraphs taken from the City of Binghamton Code and Zoning Laws. You can read the complete document here on the City's website.

Purpose

§ 410-1. Title.

This ordinance shall be known and cited as the "Zoning Ordinance of the City of Binghamton, New York."

§ 410-2. Purpose and intent.

The purpose of this ordinance is to guide the future growth and development in the City of Binghamton so as to promote beneficial and convenient relationships among existing and future residential, commercial, industrial and public areas within the city. It is intended that the provisions of this ordinance shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for, among others, the following purposes:

1. To promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens.
2. To provide adequate light, air and privacy.
3. To prevent the overcrowding of land and the undue concentration of population.
4. To secure safety from fire, flood and other dangers.
5. To protect and conserve the existing or planned character of all parts of the city and, thereby, aid in maintaining their stability and value, and to encourage the beneficial development of all parts of the city.
6. To provide a guide for public policy and action that will facilitate the economical provision of public facilities and services, and for private enterprise in building development, investment and other economic activity relating to use of land and buildings throughout the city.
7. To minimize conflict among uses of land and buildings, and to bring about the gradual conformity of uses of land and buildings throughout the city to the concepts of a well considered plan.
8. To divide the city into districts and to prescribe for each such district the trades, industries and land use activities that shall be permitted, excluded or subjected to special regulations before buildings are altered or erected, or land is used.
9. To make suitable provisions for the accommodation of solar energy systems and access to sunlight necessary thereto.
10. Pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of § 20(24) of the General City Law, to regulate and limit the height, bulk and location of buildings hereafter erected, to regulate and determine the area of yards, courts and other open spaces, and to regulate the density of population in any given area.
11. To safeguard the heritage of the City of Binghamton by preserving significant districts and landmarks which reflect periods of its cultural, social, economic, political, artistic and architectural history.
12. To promote the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and use of historic landmarks and buildings for the education, pleasure and general welfare of city residents.

Definitions

§ 410-3. Applicability of Article.

For the purpose of this ordinance meanings of the following words and phrases shall be as defined in this Article II.

§ 410-5. Terms Defined.

DWELLING - A building or portion thereof which meets the following criteria:

1. Designed, used or intended to be used exclusively as year-around and complete living quarters for one family or household;
2. Provides cooking and bathroom facilities and an independent entrance from the outside or from a common hall or entryway;
3. Meets applicable requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.

MULTIPLE DWELLING - Any dwelling containing more than two dwelling units.

OCCUPANT - Any person, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking or eating in or having actual possession of a dwelling unit or rooming unit, unless otherwise provided.

RENTAL UNIT - Any dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming house or rooming unit not solely occupied by the owner.

ROOMING UNIT - Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit or intended to be used for living and sleeping. Rooming units shall not contain cooking or kitchen facilities and shall not be used for cooking and eating purposes.

ROOMING HOUSE - A building other than a single-family residence, originally constructed for the provisions of lodging rooms with or without meals but with no cooking facilities in the individual rooms, for at least three but not more than 10 persons. A lodging house. 

FRATERNITY (SORORITY) HOUSE - A residential facility maintained exclusively for members of a society or club, and their guests or visitors, when such society or club is affiliated with an academic or professional college, university or other institution of higher education.

FAMILY- Any number of individuals related by blood, marriage or adoption; or any number of individuals not related by blood, marriage or adoption living together and who meet the indicias for a functional and factual family equivalent.

The Definition of Family

FAMILY - Any number of individuals related by blood, marriage or adoption; or any number of individuals not related by blood, marriage or adoption living together and who meet the indicias for a functional and factual family equivalent. 

FUNCTIONAL AND FACTUAL FAMILY EQUIVALENT - A group of unrelated individuals living together and functioning together as a traditional family. In determining whether or not a group of unrelated individuals comprise a functional and factual family equivalent, a petition shall be presented before the Zoning Board of Appeals, who will consider, among other things, the following factors:

1. Whether the occupants share the entire dwelling unit or act as separate roomers.
2. Whether the household has stability akin to a permanent family structure. The criteria used to determine this test may include the following:
1. Length of stay together among the occupants in the current dwelling unit or other dwelling units.
2. The presence of minor, dependent children regularly residing in the household.
3. The presence of one individual acting as head of household.
4. Proof of sharing expenses for food, rent or ownership costs, utilities and other household expenses.
5. Common ownership of furniture and appliances among the members of the household.
6. Whether the household is a temporary living arrangement or a framework for transient living.
7. Whether the composition of the household changes from year to year or within the year.
8. Any other factor reasonably related to whether or not the group of persons is the functional equivalent of a family. 

R-1 and R-2 Districts

§ 410-10. Types of districts.

The following types of zoning districts are hereby created and established in the City of Binghamton for the intent and purpose described below.

R-1 Residential Single-Unit Dwelling District.

The intent of the R-1 Residential Single-Unit Dwelling District is to designate areas where low-density, one-unit dwellings constitute the existing and desired future developmental character and where substantial restriction on the use of land and the density of development is necessary to preserve present character and protect the economic value of existing and future investment. Development which occurs in the R-1 Residential Single-Unit Dwelling District should be comparable with existing population density and the environmental character of the surrounding area.

R-2 Residential One- and Two-Unit Dwelling District.

The intent of the R-2 Residential One- and Two-Unit Dwelling District is to designate areas where a mixture of one-unit dwellings, two-unit dwellings, and townhouses creates a low to moderate population density. Restrictions on the intensity and type of residential and nonresidential development are necessary to preserve the desirable residential qualities of neighborhoods, to prevent overcrowding, and to reduce traffic congestion on existing streets. In some locations, the absence of appropriate utilities and access roads or extreme topographic conditions may restrict the intensity or type of development.