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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 PB Minutes (Approved) Apr. 26, 2021Virgil Planning Board Meeting April 24, 2021 1 | Page TOWN OF VIRGIL PLANNING BOARD MEETING April 24, 2021 7:00 PM VIA ZOOM BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Planning Board Chair Jeffrey Breed, Board Members Mark Baranello, Sara Sirois, Carol Lathrup, and Dale Taylor OTHERS PRESENT: Alane Van Donsel Secretary, Patrick Snyder Town Attorney, Adam Brown Virgil Zoning Officer APPLICANTS & PUBLIC PRESENT: Richard Bottoff, Laura Fox, Daniel Haynes, Don Armstong Esq. 7:00 PM –THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CALLED TO ORDER Planning Board Chair Jeffrey Breed called the public hearing to order. The legal notice was posted in the Cortland Standard on April 15, 2021: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a meeting will be held before the Town of Virgil Planning Board on 26 April 2021, 7 p.m., via Zoom Meeting got to www.viriglny.org for a link to the Zoom Meeting. This meeting is to consider the three following applications: 1. Mary Jane and Robert Jacobson are applying for a minor subdivision of 97.6 +/- acres. They wish to subdivide 3 acres off for a house from the parent parcel 97.6 +/-acres. The remaining 95+/- acres will remain farmland. The property located at 325 Rte. 392 Cortland, NY 10345 tax map # 135.00-01-31.100. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson were not present, but they had representation from their attorney Don Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong stated that the property is under contract to sell a portion of the land to Crescent Crest Dairy. The remaining portion of the land with the house will be retained by the owns and it conforms with the current Virgil Zoning Law. Member Taylor has some questions regarding the new proposed property’s lot lines. Mr. Taylor’s questions were answered. Attorney Snyder asked if there were plans for the 95 +/- acres. Mr. Armstong stated it will remain farmland. 2. Daniel A. Haynes Jr. is applying for a Conditional Permit to build a 24’X36’ ice cream store with indoor seating. The property is located at 1764 Rte. 392 Cortland, NY 13045 tax map #127.00-04-01.000. Mr. Haynes presented his proposal. Mr. Haynes stated that there is more paperwork that he needs to submit to the county before moving forward. Member Taylor asked if Mr. Haynes was willing to go through with the engineering study. Haynes said he wanted to find out if it was feasible to move forward. 3. Congas LLC is applying for a conditional use permit to extend the current hours of operation from 6 AM-9 PM to 5 Am to 12 AM. The property is located at 2964 Webb Road, Cortland, NY 13045 Tax Map #105.00-09-09.000. No one was present from Congas LLC. Laura Fox spoke as a neighbor of the gas station. Ms. Fox has concerns because the owners have not followed the hours as spelled out by the original conditional permit. Fox said that they have been open from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM and they have after hour parties in the backyard. She is concerned about tractor trailers being parked at the gas station and used cars are being sold on the lot. The Bottoff family who are also a neighbor to the gas station spoke. Mrs. Bottoff agreed with Ms. Fox. They have issues with a large gray storage unit with a broken fence. She has concerns with trash being left around. She also has issues with the used cars being sold and they have concerns with the partying taking place. Member Baranello visited the site and found discrepancies between the original site plan and to what is currently on site. He also stated that there is a discrepancy with the original hours of operation that was originally presented, which was supposed to be 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Baranello stated that there was supposed to be enclosures around the dumpsters, and they were supposed to be located on the North end of the property. Mr. Baranello had many other concerns regarding the property being out of compliance. There was discussion regarding who the owner of the property is and who is operating the business. Mr. Breed was concerned that there was no representation from either the property owner or the business manager. Chairman Breed asked three times if there were any further comments and there was none. Chairman Breed closed the Public Hearing at 7:53 PM. OLD BUSINESS: INDEX #21-11 APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISION RENEWAL FOR JERMY LOMAS TAX MAP # 126.00-11-09.000: Chairman Breed stated that there was one item of old business. Mr. Jeremy Lomas owner of property located at 2347 Holler Road Tax Map No.: 126.00-11-09.000 applied for a subdivision in 2013 which was approved. Mr. Lomas is coming back before the Planning Board because the plans were never filed with the Cortland County Clerk. There is a potential property transfer taking place and they need to have the plans signed, so they can get the maps filed officially with the county. The minutes and notes from the original approval have been attached to the agenda. Attorney Snyder had no concerns with the Planning Board approving this item, provided there are no changes. He stated it would be a type two action under SEQR. Zoning officer Brown has reviewed the plans and he stated that there have been no changes. Member Sirois motioned to approve the renewal of the subdivision maps with no changes under a type two action under SEQR. The motion was seconded by Member Baranello. Vote: Ayes Sirois, Baranello, Lathrup, Taylor & Breed. Nays: None Motion Carried NEW BUSINESS INDEX #21-12 NEGATIVE DECLARATION UNDER SEQR FOR THE PROPOSED SUBDIVISION OF 325 RTE. 392: Planning Board Secretary Van Donsel read part two of the SEQR form. Member Taylor made a motion to approve a negative declaration on the SEQR review for the Jacobson subdivision tax map #135.00-01-31.100. Member Lathrop seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes Sirois, Baranello, Lathrup, Taylor & Breed. Nays: None Motion Carried INDEX #21-13 APPROVAL OF SUBDIVISION OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 325 RTE. 392: Chairman Breed stated that Attorney Armstrong was still available for questions, if any board members had any further inquiries. Chairman Breed pointed out that the Board Members had some additional documents attached to the agenda. Breed asked if there was any response from the county? Zoning Officer Brown stated that the County did not have any concerns. Breed asked that the letter from the county be added to the record. Breed stated that a list of neighbors that were notified and that list was presented by Planning Board secretary Van Donsel. Virgil Planning Board Meeting April 24, 2021 2 | Page Breed stated that there does not appear to be any concerns from the public. Member Sirois asked if Crescent Crest has been currently renting the land. Sirois was wondering if the land is going from untouched land to tilled land. Mr. Armstrong and Zoning Officer Brown stated they believe it has been tilled and is it is going to be used in the same capacity. Taylor stated he does not recall there being corn on there. Sirois stated that she wanted to get a sense of the expected traffic on the road and the scale of the change in land use. Member Sirois made a motion to approve the minor subdivision of the property located at 325 Rte. 392 as presented. Member Lathrup seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes Sirois, Baranello, Lathrup, Taylor & Breed. Nays: None Motion Carried INDEX #21-14 TABLING OF CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT AN ICE CREAM STORE LOCATED AT 1764 RTE. 392: Chairman Breed opened this item up for board discussion. Breed stated that the county needed more information to be provided before this project can move forward. Member Barnanello stated that a set of drawings will need to be submitted before they could make any decision. Sirois felt that a solid business plan would be prudent. Breed felt an ice cream store would be a positive addition to the community, but Breed felt that more information would be needed as well. Breed also felt it would be a good idea to form a business plan. Haynes stated that he wanted to get a feel from the community to see if was prudent to move forward on the project. Taylor stated that he did not hear of any opposition from the board members, however Taylor cautioned Haynes to make sure he will make a return on his investment. Lathrup agreed that more information is needed before moving forward. A Motion was made by Lathrup to table this item until further information is submitted by Mr. Haynes. The motion was seconded by Member Baranello. Vote: Ayes Sirois, Baranello, Lathrup, Taylor & Breed. Nays: None Motion Carried INDEX #21-15 TABLING OF CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT OF THE CONGAS LLC APPLICATION: Member Lathrup stated that she had difficulty logging on to the beginning of the zoom meeting, but she did get to hear Member Baranello’s concerns. Having been on the Planning Board when the gas station was approved, she does have concerns that some of the items on the original conditional use permit need to be addressed as they are out of compliance. She would like to see some of these items addressed before the board considers extending the hours. Chairman Breed stated that there was a lengthy process done to approve that original plan for the gas station. Breed stated that perhaps there were some issues with enforcement, however he is not throwing stones at the current codes officer. Breed also wanted to point out that a representative from the gas station did not show up to the public hearing portion of the meeting. Attorney Snyder stated that having a second public hearing would not be out of line and he agreed with the way the board is looking at this item. Snyder stated that it would be clearly within the boards rights to have this project brought up to compliance with all the original conditions. It was stated that they project should comply before any variations to the hours be made. There were some questions about used cars being sold on the lot. Zoning Officer Brown stated that had has made eight or nine different site visits to make sure that they compliance. Brown stated that he has had a hard time getting ahold of the owner. Taylor asked how Brown will move forward. Snyder stated that Brown should communicate with the owner and state what the violations are. If the issues are not addressed, then a notice of violation should be sent. Brown stated that he has already issued three notice of violations. Breed stated that when this project was initially approved, it was a very lengthy process. The partying issue was brought up, but Chairman Breed as well as Attorney Snyder felt that was a slippery slope. Breed felt that might be something that law enforcement might deal with just incase there is something illegal happening. It was also stated that it might protect the business owners as well. Sirois does not want to be a position where the board is saying that if they bring certain items up to compliance, that they will grant to extended hours. Sirois also asked what position the board would be put in if the denied the application. Snyder stated that the board would be justified in denying the consideration of the application until the original conditions are met, but once they comply, they would have to give the applicant the right to prove they have made the changes and the application should be reconsidered. Member Baranello asked what the relationship of the operators of the store is to the owners of the property. Brown did not know. Baranello was wondering if the operators know what the conditions of the original permit. Snyder stated that it did not really matter if it is the owner or the operator running the business, they need to comply with the conditions. Brown said he will go down and speak to the operators, as he has only been speaking to the owner of the property. The Board Member’s agreed that it was a good idea for the Zoning officer to speak to the current operators. Chairman Breed stated that there are probably five different site plans out there. Attorney Snyder said that Congas LLC agreed to the original operating hours. Breed said that the hours were established, and they agreed to try and keep the residential feel of the community. Baranello stated that the commercial owners need to keep in mind that their property is on the edge of a commercial district. Some discussion continued how things are going to proceed. They also discussed the signage that was modified and that they needed to go back to the planning board to get that changed. A motion was made by Member Taylor to table the conditional permit to change the hours of the gas station on Webb Road until the previous permit requitements have been met by the applicant. Member Baranello seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes Sirois, Baranello, Lathrup, Taylor & Breed. Nays: None Motion Carried INDEX #21-16 APPROVE PLANNING BOARD MINUTES FROM MARCH 22, 2021: Member Baranello made a motion to approve the planning board draft minutes from the March 22, 2021 with some clarification on who motioned to close the meeting. Member Sirois seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes: Chairman Breed, Members Baranello and Sirois. Abstain: Lathrup and Taylor Nays: None FURTHER DISCUSSION: Member Taylor asked about how long the board wishes to be on zoom meetings. Breed mentioned that he will open it up for discussion. Taylor said he has been fully vaccinated, and he is good to go. Breed said he is concerned with the greater community. Taylor wondered if there was anyway that the Planning Board could require people to show a vaccination card to enter the Town Hall. Breed stated that employers can ask that of their employees, but he is not sure if businesses can ask that. He mentioned the new empire passport app, which requires that people show proof of vaccination or negative COVID test to enter certain venues. Attorney Snyder has not heard of any decision or authority on this matter. He said that many communities require masks and social distancing, but he has not heard of one that requires proof of immunization. He does not believe that would stand up if it were ever challenged. Breed feels this would be problematic. Breed asked if the planning board would like to continue holding a virtual for Virgil Planning Board Meeting April 24, 2021 3 | Page May. All the board members agreed to meeting virtually in May. Attorney Snyder mentioned an issue about the fence of training area near the Greek Peak Wedding Barn. The GML comments recommended that a fence be constructed for safety purposes. There is some contention with Greek Peak about the size and height of the fence. Snyder wondered if the Planning Board would have any further comments or recommendations. Snyder wanted to alert the board that this item maybe coming up again. Zoning Officer Brown stated he received a response from Greek Peak, and they are not happy with the recommendations. Brown looked up junk yard requirements because there are hazards there like a junk yard. Junk yards require an eight-foot-tall fence with screening around it. Greek Peak does not want to comply with that. Brown gave them two options, either comply with that or come back to the Planning Board. This is a condition of the site plan approval that was not specifically addressed, and they are looking for guidance. Currently Greek Peak is looking to install a three-to-four-foot fence with heavier gauge chicken wire. Brown does not feel it is secure enough. Discussion continued the type of fence that the Zoning Officer feels is safest. He knows that the site is used for training, but he is concerned about kids getting in there. One of the owners of Greek Peak owns Recue-Jack. The jacks are used to help people in an accident. Brown said it is a great tool. Taylor stated that they do not want someone to get hurt in there. Brown stated that they agreed to put up a fence, but there was not a clear definition on the size and the type. Snyder said the specifications were vague. They may come before the board next month to clarify this. Breed mentioned www.Jonesfenceco.com for clarification on the type of fence that Greek Peak is proposing. Breed stated that he did not think it would stop anyone from getting in or hide what was in there. There was some discussion on black screening that they want to install. Brown stated that the training area was refenced in two site plans of the wedding barn as well as the campground and they have different wording in each site plan. The county did not go into depth on the recommendation. There was some further discussion on what an attractive nuisance is. Brown is concerned that when someone gets close to it, they might be attracted to go into the area and climb on the equipment. Member Sirois stated that although the site is not technically a junk yard, the hazards can be considered a junk yard, so calling it a junkyard is not off base. She would like to see that the area screened off so that there is not the temptation to enter the site. With no further business to discuss, Member Breed asked for a motion adjourn the meeting at 9:24 PM. Member Taylor motioned to adjourn. Member Baranello seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes: Chairman Breed, Members Baranello, Taylor, Lathrup and Sirois. Nays: None Respectfully Submitted by, Alane Van Donsel Alane Van Donsel Planning Board Secretary • Draft of these minutes were attached to the upcoming planning board meetings agenda for 05/24/2021 and sent to the Planning Board Members, Town Attorney and CEO on May 19, 2021 • A recording of the meeting is available to the Public on the Towns Website www.virgilny.org and is archived on Laserfiche