HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-08-16 Planning Board Minutes (Draft)1
PLANNING BOARD DRAFT MINUTES
Town of Danby Planning Board
Minutes of Regular Meeting
August 16, 2022
DRAFT
PRESENT:
Ed Bergman (had technical difficulties)
Collen Cowan
Scott Davis
Kelly Maher
Jamie Vanucchi
Jody Scriber (Chair)
ABSENT:
Elana Maragni
OTHER ATTENDEES:
Town Planner David West
Town Board Liaison Leslie Connors (Town Board member)
Recording Secretary Alyssa de Villiers
Public Chris Becker, Elizabeth Becker, Ted Crane, Kevin Feeney, Katharine Hunter
(Town Board member), Joel Gagnon (Town Supervisor, Town Board member),
Ronda Roaring
This meeting was conducted virtually on the Zoom platform.
The meeting was opened at 7:02 p.m.
(1) CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA REVIEW
There were no additions or deletions to the agenda.
(2) PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
No comments were made during privilege of the floor.
(3) APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Scott Davis noted that it was Elana Maragni not Jamie Vanucchi who was absent from the July 19th
meeting. This was confirmed and corrected.
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PLANNING BOARD DRAFT MINUTES
MOTION: Approve the July 19th minutes as amended
Moved by Cowan, seconded by Maher
The motion passed.
In favor: Cowan, Davis, Maher, Vannuchi, Scriber
Absent for vote: Bergman
(4) TOWN BOARD LIAISON REPORT
Leslie Connors, the Town Board Liaison, reported the following:
• There will be two public hearings at the next Town Board meeting, one on the Community
Development Block Grant application for housing rehab and the other on a zoning amendment to
expand the Hamlet Neighborhood on Bald Hill Rd.
• Also at the next meeting, the Town Board will be talking about two committees, one on noise and
one on broadband, as well as looking at commercial zones for the appropriateness of cannabis
sales and consumption sites.
• Christa Núñez gave a presentation to the Town Board about Khuba International. They have
purchased 14 acres on Hornbrook Rd. and are considering an application for a Planned
Development Zone (PDZ) for a cluster development. This parcel is zoned Rural 2 and has a
habitat corridor overlay zone.
(5) DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
SPR-2022-06 811 South Danby Rd.
Parcel: 29.-1-3.1
Applicant: Robert Becker
Anticipated Board action(s) this month: Application Review, Public Hearing, Consider
Preliminary and Final Approval
Zone: Rural 1
SEQR: Type II
Proposal: The applicant would like to place a modular home on a 1.97-acre lot.
Planner West said the applicant is planning to put the proposed house where a house used to be. The site
appears to be well-buffered from the road both by grade and plantings that are being preserved. It meets
the setback requirements. He showed the map and said that he advertised for a public hearing despite it
being the case’s first time before the Board. Chair Scriber felt they should move forward with the hearing.
The applicant’s father, Chris Becker, was present in place of the applicant. He said that they would be
putting in a new septic system. Board member Maher asked if there was a pad from the previous building;
the answer was no.
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PLANNING BOARD DRAFT MINUTES
Public Hearing
The public hearing was opened at 7:14 p.m.
Ronda Roaring (571 South Danby Rd.) said she lives approximately one mile north of the site and is totally
opposed to the building. Given her 45 years here, she said she knows the site well, and she gave a history.
She thought that no one had ever had a permanent residence there , it had been a small structure that
probably never had a building permit, and that if the applicants want to put a new structure up, they need
the ten acres required for the Rural 1 zone.
Planner West clarified that any existing lot of record can have a house built on it,
regardless of size or whether there was a building on it previously.
Mr. Becker thought Ms. Roaring was confused in that there was someone who had lived
there as a permanent residence and it was a larger structure than Ms. Roaring suggested.
The public hearing was closed at 7:22 p.m.
Site Plan Approval
MOTION: Grant preliminary and final approval (Res. 14 of 2022)
Moved by Maher, seconded by Davis
The motion passed.
In favor: Cowan, Davis, Maher, Vanucchi, Scriber
Absent for vote: Bergman
(6) ANNEXATION REPORT
Planner West reported the following annexations, which are handled administratively:
ANNEX-2022-02, 15.-1-12.11 to 1068 Comfort Rd.
Parcels: 15.-1-12.11 to 15.-1-12.72
Action: Administrative approval for annexation on July 18, 2022
ANNEX-2022-03, 1040 to 1038 Comfort Rd.
Parcels: 15.-1-11.41 to 15.-1-12.42
Action: Administrative approval for annexation on August 1, 2022
(7) PLANNER REPORT
Planner West reported the following:
• A survey is out in the community for residents with 80% or less of median income with homes that
could benefit from repair. The Town is working on an application for funding that would help
qualifying households. More applications are needed; his goal is to find 30 people, allowing
funding for ten homes. He added that if people report a problem like a septic failure on the form, it
will not notify Code Enforcement.
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PLANNING BOARD DRAFT MINUTES
• A survey will be going out to hamlet residents to ask about their water and septic systems in order
to help bolster long-term planning around how to enable the redevelopment of the hamlets. The
Town is looking at possibilities like shared wastewater treatment systems.
• NY State will be releasing licenses for marijuana sales and on-site consumption sites. Because
the Town did not opt out, these activities are allowed in Danby. West said he would interpret the se
as a retail store and bar respectively under the current zoning. Now is the time for discussion on
whether that is appropriate and whether additional rules are needed . However, these businesses
cannot have unreasonable restrictions, such as being treated significantly differently from other
similar businesses.
• There is a new funding program in the state called NY Forward. The money is for “downtowns” in
small towns, and the application is due next month. To be competitive, a town needs a slate of
projects, local developers, people rehabbing buildings, and efforts to make a community special
again. He would like to involve Planning Board members. The timing may be tight for this year, but
it is something to work towards next year. There was discussion with the Board about what
projects might qualify.
• There are some Planning Federations trainings coming up. The Board has done 1.5h training as a
group this year. Every member needs four hours of training per year.
• Khuba International, a non-profit with the goal of creating access to farmland and sustainable ag
for BIPOC people, has purchased a property on Hornbrook Rd. that was created from a three-
parcel subdivision last year. They are considering an application for a PDZ for five homes. It is a
complicated site with wetlands and slopes and limited buildable area near the road; there are a lot
of technical challenges. Ted Crane asked if they had consulted with West first, and West said they
did consult with him, he discussed the difficulties, and they thought they could overcome them.
(7) ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.
___________________________________________
Alyssa de Villiers – Recording Secretary