MINUTES OF June 16, 2009 Regular MEETING of the Town of Rochester PLANNING BOARD, held at the Town Hall, Accord, NY.
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman Tapper.
PRESENT: ABSENT:
Melvyn I. Tapper, Chairman Shane Ricks, Vice Chairman
Leon Smith Robert Rominger
Anthony Ullman
Michael Baden
Anthony Kawalchuk
Malena Calan (alt.)
Pledge to the Flag.
NEW APPLICATION PRESENTATION
HOWARD JARVIS– PB Approval for off premise advertising sign per section 140-24E. for sign size, 4736 Route 209, Tax Map #69.3-2-17.110, ‘B’ District
Mr. Jarvis was present for his application.
Chairman Tapper noted that Mr. Jarvis received his variance from the ZBA to have a 2 sided sign with 32 sf of advertising on each side for Mr. Jarvis’s business. He noted that there wasn’t much to do. The Planning Board gave a favorable advisory to the ZBA for the variance.
There were no questions or further comments from the Board.
Chairman Tapper motioned for approval for the off premise advertising sign. Seconded by Mr. Smith. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
NEW APPLICATION PRESENTATION
VINCENT VALETUTTI– Subdivision approval for lot line adjustment, Cedar Drive/ Chris Lane, Tax Map # 68.1-3-32.110, ‘A’ District
Mr. Valetutti was present on behalf of his application. He explained that since the time of his original subdivision, 2 different adjoining property owners have approached him about buying portions of lot 1 to join to their existing properties. He noted that Hayduk had mistakenly built a shed on lot 1 and Mr. Valetutti recently had a deal on lot 1 fall through because of that. So, he is trying to rectify the situation by selling Hayduk the portion of lot 1 with his shed on it. The other portion that will be conveyed to Cancelliere is a very strange triangular piece that just makes sense to add to his property.
Chairman Tapper reviewed the map and noted that it did make sense.
Mr. Baden questioned if there were setbacks as far as private roads from bounding properties.
Mrs. Paddock Stange, Secretary, noted that there were not.
Mr. Valetutti noted that Chris Lane extends to lot 4, but it’s not shown on the map because the only lot being affected in this lot line adjustment is lot 1.
Mr. Baden motioned for an Unlisted Action under SEQRA. Seconded by Mr. Ullman. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
Chairman Tapper motioned for the Town of Rochester Planning Board to be Lead Agency. Seconded by Mr. Baden. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
Chairman Tapper motioned to hold the Public Hearing at the July meeting. Seconded by Mr. Ullman. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
NEW APPLICATION PRESENTATION
ALAN MADNICK– Site Plan Approval to amend PB Decision #1991-07 to eliminate “Carpet Sales Only” in order to include general retail sales, Tax Map #77.1-1-24.11 & 24.13, ‘B’ District
Mr. Sprague from Medenbach & Eggers, Engineering and Land Surveying was present along with
Mr. Madnick’s real-estate representative, Mr. Feinberg.
Chairman Tapper questioned if in this application the applicant wanted to convert the whole building to retail?
Mr. Sprague answered yes. It would be 11,000 sf of retail space from 4,000 sf of approved retail for carpet sales only.
Chairman Tapper wanted to know if they were expanding the parking area into the existing lawn. Would this change any drainage patterns? He recalled from the original application for the carpet store that there were issues with drainage.
NEW APPLICATION PRESENTATION
ALAN MADNICK(cont’d)– Site Plan Approval to amend PB Decision #1991-07 to eliminate “Carpet Sales Only” in order to include general retail sales, Tax Map #77.1-1-24.11 & 24.13, ‘B’ District
Mr. Sprague noted that he would look into that—to see if there were any issues with drainage.
Mr. Feinberg noted that the original lot that the carpet store was on was +/-2 acres. Since that time, the current owner has changed some lot lines around and combined this parcel with another one and now it is +/-4 acres.
Chairman Tapper questioned if the DOT would be notified by the application.
Mr. Feinberg wasn’t sure what kind of business would be going in there, so the DOT hasn’t been notified. He really wants the stipulation on the decision that “carpet sales only” be taken away to include all retail sales. They aren’t sure what will ultimately go in there.
Mr. Baden noted that if they came in and just wanted to change the condition, that would be easy, but if they were looking to add retail space to what is already approved, that is considered an expansion and it would be a more involved application process.
The Secretary had spoken with the Code Enforcement Officer regarding this and he agreed. On their Zoning and Classification Permit Application, the applicant specifically requested taking off the condition mentioned, not adding retail space. They would need to re-apply to the Code Enforcement Office if they were looking to add retail area as that would entail the need for a Special Use Permit.
The applicants weren’t sure what they were going to go for—just the removal of the condition specifying carpet sales only, or for more retail area. What were the classifications of retail things that would require a Special Use Permit or Site Plan Approval?
Chairman Tapper noted that the applicants would need to consult with the Code Enforcement Office as that is at the determination of the Code Enforcement Officer.
The Board wanted to make clear to the applicants that they were in front of them at this meeting for removing amending a condition on a previous decision. The Board would not be approving additional retail. If the applicants had a specific business in mind and they pursued applying for that, the new decision for that application would supersede the current one and therefore the condition for carpet sales only could be amended that way as well. It really was up to the applicants on how they pursued the application.
The applicants felt that at this time they would move forward with removing the ‘carpet sales only’ condition from the original decision.
Chairman Tapper questioned where this application would need to be referred to?
Mr. Baden noted that it would need to go to the Ulster County PB as it was on a State Highway. The Board may want to contact DOT just to let them know what was going on. Did the applicant know that this was in a County Ag District? That would require the Board to classify this as a Type 1 Action.
NEW APPLICATION PRESENTATION
ALAN MADNICK(cont’d)– Site Plan Approval to amend PB Decision #1991-07 to eliminate “Carpet Sales Only” in order to include general retail sales, Tax Map #77.1-1-24.11 & 24.13, ‘B’ District
Mr. Feinberg wasn’t aware that it was in a County Ag District.
Mr. Sprague noted that the original decision showed this action as being an Unlisted Action.
The Secretary had the original file for the Ulster County Carpet Store and noted that Mr. Sprague was correct, however that must have been a typo. She read through the file earlier in the day and it was clearly stated in the minutes that the PB had classified the action as a Type 1 for the reason that it was in a County Ag District. She and Mr. Baden had also checked the County Ag Map earlier that day and the property is clearly in the County Ag District.
Mr. Baden motioned for a Type 1 Action under SEQRA. Seconded by Mr. Ullman. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
Mr. Baden motioned to refer the application to the County Planning Board for comments and to the NYS DOT for comments. Seconded by Mr. Smith. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
Chairman Tapper motioned for the Town of Rochester Planning Board to be Lead Agency with an uncoordinated review. Seconded by Mr. Ullman. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
Chairman Tapper motioned to set the Public Hearing for the July 21, 2009 meeting. Seconded by Mr. Baden. No discussion.
Vote:
Tapper: Yes Ricks: Absent
Smith: Yes Kawalchuk: Yes
Rominger: Absent Ullman: Yes
Baden: Yes Callan, alt.: not required to participate
ACTION ON MINUTES
Chairman Tapper motioned to accept the minutes for April 21, 2009, May 6, 2009, and May 19, 2009. Seconded by Mr. Smith. All members present in favor.
OTHER MATTERS
Chairman Tapper wanted to comment on the Board’s comments written to the DEC based on the May 19, 2009 Public Hearing for the consolidation of the Rochester Center and Mombaccus Mines. He had wanted to include as an impact the additional material being hauled to the Rochester Center/Mombaccus Mine from the proposed Amanda Drive Bluestone Mine. A couple of Board Members didn’t like that idea because it was something that was proposed and not in effect. They wanted to keep the focus of their comments to the consolidation of the mines in question. Chairman Tapper just wanted it to be known that his reasoning for wanting to put that aspect of the Amanda Drive Bluestone Mine in the letter was because under SEQRA every thing had to be taken into consideration. Even though there is no current activity on the Amanda Drive Bluestone Mining application, the Board is aware of it.
Mr. Ullman’s noted that the DEC can’t make a decision on something that may happen.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Baden motioned to adjourn, seconded by Chairman Tapper. No discussion. All members present in favor.
As there was no further business, at 7:50 PM, Chairman Tapper adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebecca Paddock Stange, Secretary