No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 08 07 2013 meeting planning board.pdfTown of Enfield Planning Board Meeting Minutes - August 7, 2013 Enfield Community Building 1 PRESENT: Virginia Bryant, Ann Chaffee, Dawn George, Steve Givin, Calvin Rothermich, Marie Vandemark, Dan Walker STAFF: Sue Thompson/Planning Board Recording Secretary Alan Teeter, Building Code Enforcement Officer Virginia Bryant called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Ann Chaffee made a motion to accept the minutes of the July 3, 2013, meeting. Calvin Rothermich seconded the motion. Minutes passed unanimously. Virginia Bryant introduced the review of the Finger Lakes Land Trust Short Environmental Assessment application for a subdivision of property near the intersection of Porter Hill Road and Rockwell Road. The parcel will be split into three parcels, one going to the land trust that has a portion of the Finger Lakes Trail going through it. On e Parcel going to Charlie Elrod a farmer on Rockwell Road and a third parcel being retained by Dave Bock that contains his home. Dave Bock presented a map of the parcel areas to the Planning Board. He gave a short h istory of the property. Dave Bock introduced Zachery O'Dell of the land trust. There was discussion of the application. The subdivision will not affect surrounding owners. Guidelines on both the subdivision owners and the surrounding property owners are protected by the NYS Health Department guidelines. There will be regular maintenance of the property through the land trust for hiking, hunting, etc. Signage will be placed at the entrance “Bock/Harvey Forest Preserve”. Dan Walker directed the Board through the application Part II. It was determined there would be no significance changes within the subdivision. Correction of the name Roger G. Bock to Robert G. Bock will be made. Dan Walker made the motion to accept the subdivision application as a minor subdivision and wave the public hearing without contest. Virginia Bryant seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Virginia Bryant signed the application on behalf of the Planning Board and Alan Teeter will follow through with the changes with Zach O’Dell. Dave Bock said they hoped to have an opening of the area on September 14. He will send an e-mail with notification of the event to Sue Thompson. Virginia Bryant presented the discussion regarding the issue of the Clarity Connect Communication Tower light on Mecklenburg Road. Reference was made to the June 5, 2013 Planning Board Minutes, where a formal vote was taken to approve the project of Clarity Connect – Chuck Bartosh, Communication Tower at 1808 Mecklenburg Road. It is was also requested that lights be placed on the Tower on that time. Town of Enfield Planning Board Meeting Minutes - August 7, 2013 Enfield Community Building 2 Chuck Bartosh reported that the FAA stated that no lights were needed on the tower. He stated the group submitted a grant for the project to pay for it. They will not receive enough revenue through the subscribers to pay for the set up of the tower and extending telephone poles. He also stated that the tower does not serve just Enfield but also other towns. Virginia Bryant read the letter from Ann Rider, Enfield Town Supervisior regarding the light for the tower, “According to Chuck, Clarity is quite willing to put up the light if required to do so. However, there is a cost to Enfield since the money for the light has to come from somewhere. Originally the State, as you know, had cut Enfield out of the grant, but Chuck has foun d ways in the past month to provide service for nearly everyone in Enfield, depending on the lighting requirement. Specifically, there are 907 unserved households in Enfield (according to the State). He would only miss only 20 of those with the full build out, meaning he would reach 98% of the unserved residents. However, if he has to remove one of the telephone poles to accommodate the lighting (it turns out the cost of lighting is about the same as the cost of a pole with equipment), then he would miss an additional 53 households for a total of 73 unserved houses. That still gives us a 92% coverage rate...but it'd be a shame if it could have been 98%. One factor that might help here is that, though the building permit is for a 195' tower, Clarity is building it to only 180' in deference to one of the neighbors. The last 15' was for cell phone colocation if that ever occurred. One solution Chuck suggested would be to waive the request for a light unless the tower is built to over 180'. If a cell company wants that height, they can also pay for the lighting, avoiding the general problem we're facing. Chuck has emphasized that Clarity is completely willing to proceed per the plan to put up the lighting and is building with that in mind. But he wants to be sure people know the necessary tradeoff, especially when it's not recommended by the FAA. There are four solutions here: (1) Put up the light and miss the additional residents. (2) Put up the light but have the town assume the cost of the light and running/maintaining the light. (3) Have the request for the light dependent on exceeding the 180' height (4) Have the request for the light rescinded entirely. In light of this new information from the FAA and the reduction in broadband service t o the Town residents that will need to be made because of the cost of a light (much greater that first anticipated), I ask that the Planning Board discuss this at their next meeting and perhaps do some other research prior to the meeting, if that would be helpful to their decision making process.” Virginia Bryant asked if anyone in the audience would like to give a statement regarding the communication tower. Rich Neno, Mecklenburg Road, spoke regarding the tower light. He stated he spoke to Dave McKenna, Tompkins County Legislator, regarding the tower. Dave McKenna stated he understood that the Grund Airport was no longer in use. Rich Neno talked about the different approaches a pilot could take to land at the Grund Airport. Chuck Bartosh responded to Rich Neno’s statements. He stated that the FAA does not regard lights to be on the tower. Church Bartosh stated that putting lights on the tower would make pilots think the tower is higher than it is. Town of Enfield Planning Board Meeting Minutes - August 7, 2013 Enfield Community Building 3 Robert Lynch, Gray Road, stated that he does not ha ve broadband where he lives. He would not be able to receive broadband if the light is placed on the tower and people were cut from the service. He stated that the FAA discourages lights on shorter towers. Art Hower, VanDorn Road, stated that where he lives they can observe planes going in and out of Grund Airport. They have observed planes almost hitting the power lines that are near the airport so it’s possible they could hit the tower. Nancy Spero, North VanDorn Road, stated that she would not like the light on the tower as it would bother people at night. If a light is placed on the tower she would like the consideration of a light that would not be bright enough to bother people. Virginia Bryant asked if the people on Gray Road could receive bro adband from Ithaca or Newfield. Church Bartosh answered no. There was discussion that if a light is put on the tower when it is not required by the FAA it could become a liability to both the town and Clarity Connect. There was a suggestion that the light be regulated as to the times it was on. Marie VandeMark reported that Grund Airport has been used as a night landing site for the Medevac helicopter. She also stated that the usage of the airport could change at any time. Virigina Bryant asked the Planning Board if they wanted to revisit the motion made for the tower light. She stated the tower is now only 180 feet. Ann Chaffee made a motion to move ahead without the light on the 180 feet tower and have Chuck Bartosh report back to the Planning Board in 6 months (February) regarding the tower and any additional funding he might have received regarding the tower. Virginia Bryant seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. It was stated that Chuch Bartosh will have to come back to the Planning Board for permission to put a light on the tower. New Business Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer, presented a Site Plan application for Rick Uhl, 371 N. Applegate Road. The Application is for a Residental 4 unit Town House with 3 bedrooms. He stated because of the size the Town House would be regulated by the Health Department. Dawn George made a motion to accept the application and have Alan Teeter send the application to the County Planning Department for any recommendations. Calvin Rothermich seconded the motion. Motion was approved unanimously. Town of Enfield Planning Board Meeting Minutes - August 7, 2013 Enfield Community Building 4 Virginia Bryant asked the Planning Board members to look at each section of the Comprehensive Plan and let her know of any changes. Calvin Rothermich made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ann Chaffee seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sue Thompson, Recording Secretary