HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-03-06 - PB TOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD MEETING
MARCH 6 , 1995
TOWN HALL
P RESENT : CHAIRMAN : DAVID TYLER ; MEMBERS : GERALDINE KEIL , KRYS
CAIL , BUDD STOVER , PETER DEMJANEC ; SECRETARY : ROXANNE
SMITH
The meeting came to order at 7 : 38 PM . The minutes from the
short meeting on January 3 , 1995 were reviewed . Krys moved that
those minutes be approved ; Peter seconded . The minutes were
• approved unanimously .
The Chairman stated that the purpose of the meeting was to
✓ egroup , and discuss issues that needed to be addressed during
the coming year . Two issues that came up were the Subdivision
Regulations and an analysis of the Business Zone .
Budd inquired what the current status of the water grant
application was . Krys responded that the last meeting she
attended on that , was about a week before the deadline for the
g rant was due . The County employee who was going to write the
grant stated that they didn ' t have what was needed for a winning
e ffort . When there is another round they will try again . The
engineer ' s report came in at double what they thought it would
be . Peter stated that a poor system works better than none ,
perhaps the engineer should have been told to try again . Krys
stated that she left that meeting thinking it might be unwise to
t eam up one end with the other as the north end has a water tower
which is expensive . The numbers for the south loop were more
✓ easonable . Of course , the Village thought that was what they
would be getting out of the whole process ( an improved water
system for the north end ) . The engineer did state that there
would not be any added stress to the north end if only the loop
was done at the south end . David wondered if the zebra mussels
would eventually be a problem . Bolton Point is already looking
into that said Krys . If the point where the pump draws is in the
g ravel , it may not be a problem , said David .
The Members discussed the Subdivision Regulation issue . The
Chairman read the Subdivision Regulation , Article I , Section 112
and 112 . 2 . Subdivision : division of a lot or lots into two or
more lots . . . Rural Subdivision : subdivision of land resulting in
5 lots each of which is 3 acres or more , and which : ( 1 ) does not
include new streets , utility extensions . . . ( 2 ) does not conflict
w ith the zoning regulations . . . ( 3 ) does not adversely affect use
o r development of adjoining land . A Minor Subdivision is 5 lots
o r more of which is less than 3 acres and which : ( 1 ) does not
include new streets , utility extensions . . . ( 2 ) does not conflict
w ith the zoning regulations . . . ( 3 ) does not adversely affect use
o r development of adjoining land . A Major Subdivision is 5 or
- more lots , otherwise not qualifying as a Rural or Minor
Subdivision . It may involve new public right - of -way , utility
e xtensions , or other public facilities . The only time that the
P lanning Board gets involved in reviewing a Subdivision is when
you have either a Minor or a Major Subdivision . David stated that
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TOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD MEETING
MARCH 6 , 1995
TOWN HALL
h e believes that the Rural Subdivision does not come under their
jurisdiction . David has been on the Board six years and has
n ever seen one . The bottom line is there is no jurisdiction
going on unless there is something significant going on . Most
people sell off land , as a practical matter or by virtue of
premeditation , and end up not falling within the purview of this
• ordinance . David added that he thinks that the Health Department
law is more stringent than this , it says 5 or more in less than 3
years . If you fall outside of that than you ' re not under the
H ealth Department purview either . They have tightened it up a
little bit though . If you have a piece of land , and you sell off
3 lots , it is actually a 4 lot subdivision as they count the
✓ emaining piece as a lot . If you have land that is divided by a
public street , with the same owner on both sides , they count that
as one unit . One of the favorite things to do when a person is
in that position is to ask the acessor to assign them two
d ifferent tax parcel numbers . Then they go ahead and subdivide
them off on either side as independent mother parcels . Gerri
said you could also go ahead and put them in two different names .
D avid said that some of the time restraints are in state statue .
H e would suggest shortening up some of the time requirements .
David stated that the real issue may be a touchy one ,
whether there should be some review of all subdivision . Krys
e xplained the situation in her neighborhood . They have an area
o n the interior roads ( Glenwood Hts . Rd . is the first road down
between DuBois Rd . and Rt . 96 ) that is a fairly large parcel that
is currently a combination of woods and fields . It is between
DuBois and Rt . 89 and it is like a triangle . Currently the
property that is being developed is Dorothy Evans ' . She has
already sold the property on the other side and a house has been
put up . Her son has been involved on her behalf . A development
company out of Homer is involved . The easiest way to do this is
to build a couple of homes or three along the road . What you do
if you do that , is create a situation in which there will be no
o utlet for any future roads that will be built into the interior .
At some point the land that was purchased from Poyer Orchards
will be developed . The likely outlet for that would be the next
crossroad . You end up with these cul - du - sacs , which are not that
g reat from the point of view of fire trucks , and electric lines .
David passed out his smaller version of the Town of Ulysses
map . The parcels are predominantly large . He has seen in other
municipalities a type of review . The owner is asked what else
they have in mind ( in the future ) . They then suggest ideas to
the landowner ( in case they sell off additional lots later on ) to
address issues that may come up . He thinks that is advantageous
as it does not stymie the landowner , but it does get them
t hinking about some of the issues . When you take things piece by
piece by piece , one , one year , one the next year and so forth ,
• you don ' t really take cognizance . That is what happened with the
P UDs . No one was looking at the overall scenario , and then were
startled later on . Gerri inquired if there was a way to avoid
_ the land lock issue . Krys responded that it might be as simple
as saying when you divide a lot , you have to stop short of
d ividing into single house lots , you have to allow additional
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TOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD MEETING
MARCH 6 , 1995
TOWN HALL
areas to avoid land lock . The advantage to the municipality is
t hey avoid problems that could be very expensive down the road ,
said David . There are a couple of issues that may come out of
Master Plan . One would be a tax base issue , the other is making
affordable housing available .
The Chairman asked the Members what the consensus was on the
® scope of the existing Subdivision Ordinance . Budd replied that
h e thought they would avoid a lot of road frontage breakup if
roads could be built that didn ' t have to meet the Town specs .
Maybe that is not possible . Private roads are no longer possible
because when deeds change hands there are no provisions made for
✓ oad maintenance , said David . " Offering Plans " need to be filed
w ith the Attorney General . The filing fees are extreme . Krys
said it might be worth looking into what the road specs are .
P erhaps they are more than the absolute minimum required . The
H ighway Superintendent has a lot to say about it , stated Budd .
In response to Budd ' s observation , was this spec written by the
H ighway Superintendent , asked Peter ? Basically it says over and
o ver again the Highway Superintendent gets to tell you what to
d o . ( He was reading directly from the booklet . ) David commented
t hat most places require 60 feet , not 50 feet . The problem is
that the Town doesn ' t have the finances for an engineer , said
D avid . Krys did note that there are other areas in New York that
we might be able to borrow the information , and just substitute
The Town of Ulysses . Gerri stated that assurances need to be
made that there will be potential for a road to prevent closure
of the land . Krys would like to discuss this more when Dan ( and
Gregg ) were present , that she would like their perspective .
P eter did think that it makes sense to write in different time
frames for different complexities . A public hearing might be
n ecessary , and public notice ( which include filing fees ) . Peter
mentioned roadside blight . The Town seems to be getting an
increasing number of these tiny little parcels with the double
w ide parked 30 feet from the road . David said he sees those who
are in the business of selling these double wides come in and buy
a large chunk of land and use that to locate , and sell off lots .
It has become a new type of trailer park said Peter . Cold
Springs Road has an area like that , said Budd . ( Near Podunk )
Peter inquired if there could be a classification system for
✓ oads ? It might be done according to the number of lots on it .
It is important that the review process for the Subdivision
Regulations not become a rubber stamp said Peter . We may want to
e numerate some criteria that need to to be addressed as part of
the approval process . Issues that need to be covered and
✓ eviewed might be the ratio of the lot lines to the depth ,
existing drainage areas , topography and so on .
The next Planning Board Meeting will be March 27 , 1995 at
the Town Hall at 7 : 30 PM . The meeting adjourned at 9 : 05 PM .
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