PLANNING BOARD MINUTES April 8, 2002
Chairman,
Doug Allen, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. A motion to waive the reading of the Public Notice as it appeared
in the Times was made by Mert Bartels, seconded by Tom Morrison, all in favor.
Hartnagle / Route 31 / 1 Lot
Site Plan / Preliminary and Final
A motion to open this public hearing was made by Kevin Rooney, seconded by Mert Bartels, all in favor. James and Elaine Hartnagle were present to speak in favor of this application. No one else was present to speak for or against this application. A motion was made by Mert Bartels, seconded by Tom Morrison to close this public hearing, all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Hartnagle / Route 31 / 1 Lot
Site Plan / Preliminary and Final
Elaine
Hartnagle was present to address the board.
She explained that a final plan was submitted showing the changes
requested by the board, including changing the driveway location. Elaine explained that the State DOT prefers
the driveway at this end of the building due to the turning lane and it will
reduce the confusion due to the restaurant next door. Elaine also explained that the building was moved to allow a 15'
buffer between this facility and the restaurant. Scott noted that the owner of Yellow Mills Restaurant had
concerns with the grade of the parking lots and run-off. The plan shows a swale that will eliminate
any run-off to the restaurant property.
Scott stated that the engineering comments were minor in nature, the
most significant would be the notes on the drainage swale. Tom Morrison asked if the entrance was to be
paved. Elaine stated that it would be
done to State standards, a pavement detail was shown on the plan. She stated that the remaining parking area
would be left gravel for now and eventually would be paved. Scott reviewed the short environmental form
and noted negligible impacts on Ganargua Creek floodplain. A motion to grant a negative declaration on
the SEQR was made by Mert Bartels, seconded by Brian Gagne, all in favor. A motion to grant preliminary and final site
plan approval for this self storage facility per the plan presented was made by
Tom Morrison, seconded by Kevin Rooney, all in favor.
SKETCH APPROVALS
Liebert / Wiedrick Rd / 1
Lot Site Plan / Sketch
Todd
Liebert was present to address the board.
He stated that due to comments he had received concerning the driveway
location, it has been relocated to the high point on Eddy Road. He also located the house the two houses
that would be on the opposite side of the road and noted minimal impact due to
lights going in and out of the driveway on those residents. Scott explained that Dick Roets and himself
visited the site and both felt this would be the best location for the driveway
on Eddy Road. Scott noted that the dip
in the road might cause some sight distance problems. Todd noted that he was working on the perc tests and asked when
the perc test results would be due.
Scott explained that these results should be submitted with the final
plans for the board's review. Doug
noted that the driveway could be moved to Wiedrick Rd. Todd explained that he did not want to do
that due to the topography. Todd noted
that the proposed placement of the driveway would require the least amount of
grading to be done. Tom Morrison noted
that the driveway should be kept as much to the West as possible so that the
house across the road received minimal impacts. A motion to grant sketch plan approval was made by Kevin Rooney,
seconded by Brian Gagne, all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Gary Borkhuis - Evergreen
Hill Self Storage / Evergreen Hill / 1 Lot Site Plan
Doug
explained that this application had been tabled due to information requested
from the Town Attorney and this information has not yet been received. Scott Allen explained that he had talked
with Katie at the Town Attorney's office and she noted that the letter,
submitted by Dave Matthews dated March 12, 2002, was not specific enough to
this application to give a legal interpretation. The letter presented two items for review, the first is how the
Salvage and Recycling Law applies to a self-storage facility and the second is
how the term sole convenience is related in the NCD district. It was requested that Dave Matthews re-submit
a letter explaining what the intent of Mr. Borkhuis' storage facility is and
re-address the Salvage and Recycling question in more depth. Scott explained that the attorney's office
did not feel the term sole convenience precluded a private business to submit
application, however that has not yet been received in writing. Gary Borkhuis questioned how a self-storage
unit was just approved earlier in this meeting and this was not an issue for
them. Scott explained that it was
because of the residential concern and because a formal question was submitted
by Dave Matthews to the Town addressing this issue. A resident asked if they could have an independent attorney
review the law and submit and interpretation to the Town. Doug stated that any information the
residents would like to submit would be reviewed. Dave Matthews entered the meeting at 7:55pm and Scott gave him
brief overview of the previous discussion.
Dave stated that it was his understanding that the Town would also be
requesting an interpretation from the Attorney of the relationship with the
Salvage and Recycling law to a storage facility. Doug continued the conversation by adding a concern with the
short environmental impact statement.
The last question asks if there is public controversy due to
environmental impacts and the residents have brought this to the board's
attention. It was requested that Dave
Matthews address these concerns through a long form SEQR. It was noted that there would be no impacts
on services such as water and electricity.
Dave stated that he has already addressed these issues through a letter
submitted to the Town. Scott stated
that he didn't feel that the short form presented would stand up if challenged
legally. Doug stated that he
understands the controversy presented, however, this property is zoned to allow
this project, which means Mr. Borkhuis could sue the planning board if his
application is not approved due to good reason. Doug stated that by doing the extra steps necessary, the board
will have the information needed to analyze the concerns presented by the
residents and move forward. A resident
questioned if there was anyone at the Town that they could discuss how their
property values would be effected by this facility. Scott explained that property values are a hard thing to put a
finger on. He referenced the recent
project on Creek Rd by Mr. Beckenback noting that several of the neighboring
residents had concerns that their property values would also decrease. The project received approval and that
business is operating and there hasn't been any noticeable change in the
property values in that area. Scott
explained that property values are hard to quantify and that the residents of
Hance Rd had the same concerns when the houses were being built on Evergreen
Hill. Ken Nawrocki noted that the Town
will abide by what the Town hired attorney recommends, the residents are
welcome to submit any further information as long as they follow the
process. Ken explained that the
Planning Board is required to follow the zoning laws that are on the books at
this time and this application is for a permitted use. Ken stated that the Town is not responsible
that the residents of this area did not research the zoning laws of this area
prior to purchasing their homes, buyers beware. Ken stated that because this is a permitted use the Planning
Board would need a strong reason if they were to deny this application. A resident noted that they contacted someone
on the Zoning Board of Appeals to determine the process they would need to
follow to appeal this decision and asked for further clarification. Scott explained that the residents had no
recourse through the Zoning Board, in order to appeal the decision of the
Planning Board they would need to follow a legal process under Article 78. Scott explained that the State Supreme Court
of Wayne County would hear this. Scott
also explained that the board is not going to be able to vote further on this
application until the SEQR issues are addressed. A resident asked if the SEQR would address lighting issues and
the board stated that it would address all environmental concerns presented by
the residents. A resident questioned if
the long environmental impact statement would be made public once submitted. Scott explained that once it is submitted it
would be available, the residents could contact the Building and Zoning Office
to find out if submission has been made.
A motion to table this application until further information is received
was made by Mert Bartels, seconded by Brian Gagne, all in favor.
OTHER PERTINENT BUSINESS
The
board continued discussion on how property values and how loss of property
value would be determined. It was
concluded that this would be difficult to establish.
Scott
stated that the application for the property on Beebe Rd would most likely be
withdrawn. The applicants are looking
at an approved building lot on Alderman Rd.
Ken
Nawrocki noted that he received a comment from a resident who recently worked
with the Building and Zoning Office and was pleased with the service and courtesy
of the staff.
Scott
gave an update on the Rock-N-Wash extension that is currently before the Zoning
Board of Appeals, noting that utilities have been staked to the East of the
building. Scott stated that there are
four underground utilities and a 12" storm sewer that runs through this
area.
MINUTES
A motion to approve the minutes dated March 11, 2002 was
made by Kevin Rooney, seconded by Mert Bartels, all in favor.
A motion to approve the minutes dated March 25, 2002 was
made by Brian Gagne, seconded by Mert Bartels, all in favor.
ADJOURNED 8:30 P.M.