Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Oswegatchie, New York

Town of Oswegatchie’s own rules

• Agricultural exemptionAvailable

  Agricultural operations and structures or improvements used, maintained, or operated in connection with agricultural use inside the Town of Oswegatchie, for site-plan-review purposes.

  • The exemption includes seasonal roadside sales of home-grown produce.
  • It specifically excludes permanent farm stand sales operations.
  • This is a site-plan-review exemption, not an exemption from all building, health, State, county, or other permit requirements.

  “Agricultural operations including seasonal roadside sales of home-grown produce, or construction of a structure or improvement used, maintained or operated in connection with an agricultural use, but specifically excluding permanent farm stand sales operations.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  A tract in the Town of Oswegatchie becomes a subdivision when the fifth residential lot or residential building plot is sold, rented, or offered for sale or lease within any consecutive three-year period.

  • Preliminary and final subdivision plats are subject to the law's review and approval provisions.
  • A one-time application fee is required and set by the Town Board.
  • The cited law identifies itself as effective January 1, 2009 and states that it takes effect immediately upon filing with the New York Secretary of State.

  subdivision threshold: 5 residential lots or residential building plots (Within any consecutive three-year period.)

  “Subdivision: A tract of land shall constitute a subdivision upon the sale, rental, or offer for sale or lease of the fifth residential lot or residential building plot there from within any consecutive three-year (3) period.”

• Permit feesVariable (with conditions)

  Town of Oswegatchie building permits and subdivision applications.

  • Permits must be picked up and paid for before work begins.
  • If work began before permit issuance, an additional fee is charged.
  • The standard permit-fee amount was not stated in the opened official form.
  • The subdivision law requires a one-time application fee set by the Town Board.

  building permit renewal fee: 25 percent of original permit cost (Applies to renewal of a permit good for one year from issuance.)

  “A one-time application fee shall be required and shall be set by the Town Board of Oswegatchie.”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Oswegatchie

Town of Oswegatchie does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  On-site sewage treatment systems and privies inside the Town of Oswegatchie under the countywide Sanitary Code.

  • The cited county code applies to new or modified sewage treatment systems designed to discharge sewage without industrial or other wastes to ground or surface waters of the county.
  • No sewage system, privy, cesspool, pipe, or drain may expose or discharge sewage in the prohibited ways stated by the Sanitary Code.
  • The county document is labeled a draft and revised May 17, 2019; confirm a later adopted revision.

  “privy, cesspool, sewage treatment system”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Oswegatchie or St. Lawrence County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-built residential construction inside the Town of Oswegatchie.
• Local zoning — Land inside the Town of Oswegatchie, St. Lawrence County, New York.
• Zoning districts — Land inside the Town of Oswegatchie.
• Minimum dwelling size — Dwellings inside the Town of Oswegatchie.
• Minimum lot size — Residential lots inside the Town of Oswegatchie.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.