HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-04-11 GROTON TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING
Ate APPLICATION FOR A JURYTARD LIMSE PRESENTED BY SEEM H .
O ' BRIEN , R . 2 , SHARPSTEEN ROAD , GROTON , NEW YORE
Held at the Tokm Hall , Groton , N . Y .
Monday - April llth , 1977
8 : 00 Fm
MESENT : H * Dow - Tama Supervisor
B . Eucko � Town Attorney
Ft . Walpole - Town Justice
At Heffron - Tmm Justice
V . Rankin - ToI Councilman
L . . Sovocool � Town Councilman
D . Snell - Town of Groton Zoning Enforcement Officer
J * Bell Recording Clerk
Sherry H . O ' Brien - Applicant and apprmimately 20 members of the .
General Public .
H . Dow : it ' s 8 PM so I ' ll read the Notice of the Public Hearing which was
published in the Journal and Courier on March 28 , 1977 , a copy of
which is on file in the Toim Clerk ' s Office .
(Mr . Dow read the notice aloud . )
A5 this hearing progresses tonight , folks , 'and anyone wants to
speak I ' m going to ask you to give your name so that our clerk can
record it with your remarks because without having this recorded we
can ' t act on it later .
Our procedure in the past has been to hear the remarks of those iu
favor of a proposition and the reasons they have for being in favor
of it and then we follow that -up b , remarks from those opposed with
their reasons and usually during the course of the hearing have time
to go back anal re- enforce anything that udght have beers missed or
that pertains to the issue we are dealing with so , with that ire mind ,
we can begin by calling on someone in favor of the establishment of
this junkyard on Sharpsteen Road .
INM%r the first person should probably be Sherry O ' Brien himself because
he is the one w'ho made the application for - this license on February 28 .
Sherry - I
S . O ' Brien : The stain reason I want it is , � �I ' m interested in antique cars and feel
as far as I ' m concerned the only way I can afford to restore antique
cars is that when you buy parts you almost have to buy the complete
car . It ' s the only ;gay I can afford to do it . I can buy a car
cheaper than I can buy it piece by piece and another thing is if you
are interested in these a lot of times you . can swap parts , I have
gone to antique flea markets a good number of times , as far array as
Pennsylvania . This , year I hope to go to one in Maine and would like
to be able to store these parts and the only Vay that I guess I ' m
going to have this is to have a junkyard .
H . Dow : When you say " junkyard " what is your impression of a junkyard ?
S . O ' Brien : My inpression , and everybody else ' s , for this , - - I feel as long as
you have a few cars and keep them lined up , - -not scattered. all over
the place , - - and they are halfways decent , don ' t see what harm they
are going to do .
R . Walpole : Is this a hobby or full time business ?
S . O ' Brien ; It ' s a hobby more than anything . Some day if I get going good enough
I would like to get into the business of restoring antique cars but
the way things are going now that ' s a long ways away .
H . Dow : Now while we ' re on the affirmative , - -who else would like to speak up
in favor of the junkyard ? What about it ?
D . O ' Brien : I ' m David O ' Brien , - - if you have an old car and he has parts you want
to swap , it ' s a lot easier than running all over the countryside to
get them , - - it ' s a lot less expensive .
H . Dow : Where is your home , Dave ?
D . O ' Brien : Right here in town .
H . Dow : Right in the Village .
A . Heffron : How many cars do you anticipate having at one time ?
S . O ' Brien : I can ' t really tell you . If you get a chance to get them you take
them when you can . Right now I have 5 I ' m trying to restore . A
lot of times , - - for instance I ' m looking for a Packard right now be -
cause I know a guy who will swap me a 1946 Ford Convertible , - - all
he wants is a Packard and then I ' ll have my Ford parts . Unless you
can afford to buy them new , - -but I can ' t afford that .
A . Heffron : So you might have anywheres from five to a dozen cars up there ?
S . O ' Brien : Right .
H . Dow : Dave and Sherry , - - do you want us to go on now or do you have something
else to say?
S . O ' Brien : No .
H . Dow : Who would like to . -speak to the other point of view in opposition ?
R . Jackson : My name is Roberta Jackson , - - I ' ve lived next door to Sherry , - -nothing
personal , - -but it began to look pretty junky up there last year when
he had so many cars around the place and then they disappeared and it
didn ' t look so bad but the thing is this , - - four to five sounds great
but when you have a license you can do anything you want and any town that
has a junkyard on a high elevation is putting it in everybody ' s sight
because when you come up from McLean you can see our area and anything
spreading out on that hill is going to be miserable and any other elevation
in the whole area . And a junkyard license is a junkyard license and
3 years from now there might be a thousand cars up there .
S . O ' Brien : I think you ought to read your junkyard laws .
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H . Dow : Novi let ' s give each person a chance to talk in their own way be -
cause once again speak up clear and slowly so she can get it all
down here .
R . Jackson : I ' m Robert Jackson . I ' m a little bit concerned regarding values , - -
you have had several meetings on trailers and have come up with a
trailer ordinance that keeps a number of people out because of the
size limitations . You are concerned about your tax base - - now
if anybody wanted to build a house on Salt Road and there ' s a junk-
yard there , I ' m quite sure they would not and this is my main
concern . I don ' t think any of us on the road have show places but
we do try to keep our places up and I ' m concerned if a junkyard goes
in our values will fall .
H . Cole : I ' m Harold Cole . I ' ve got property right across the road from him .
We ' re already planning to build a house and if you put one up
there what is it going to be worth with a junkyard right across the
road ?
R . Walpole : You own property right across from him?
H . Cole : Yes , sir , I did long before he ever owned his . So I don ' t care about
seeing a junkyard up there .
A . Gantart : I ' m Al Gantart , - - I ' m in the process of closing on a piece of land with
Joe Hora right next to Sherry and the value of it will just go to
pieces if a junkyard goes in there .
H . Dow : Do you own property north of there ?
A . Gantart : Yes ,
R . Walpole : Are you going to build it?
A . Gantart : No , I ' m selling .
N . Breeze : I ' m Ned Breeze and I live at the corner of Sharpsteen Road . I work at
the landfill and if anybody says the landfill is detracting from Caswell
Road , - - there ' s a lot of new construction down there and I think any
person going to have a junkyard has to follow the rules and regulations
in the zoning that cover them and if it ' s adequate I don ' t see where
there ' s - anything wrong with it . I have a brand new house and can ' t see
that it will lower my value . I have had a few cars and received a
letter from the zoning Board after I sold them , - - they didn ' t come back
and check so I have one in my yard now that hopefully I can sell and
get rid of and hopefully later on wish to have more .
R . Walpole : You ' re on the Corner of Sharpsteen and South Lansing Road , right ?
N . Breeze : I ' ve had more than one and taken the wheels off or parts out of and
he would have ones he would fix up , - - that type of thing .
A . Gantart : The landfill on the Caswell Road is just a dirt road that comes to
Caswell Road and it ' s set back a quarter of a mile and I don ' t think
anyone would complain about a junkyard a quarter of a mile back from
the road with trees around it .
H . Dow : Now , we ' re ready to hear from somebody else , please .
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B . Warner : I ' m Betsy Warner and I would like to know how many junkyards
there are in Groton at the present . time ?
H . Dow : Let ' s see , now , - - if we can count them , - -one , two , three , - -
three .
B . Warner : Do you think we need another one where people are living there
will have to put up with the noise and welding and what have you ?
He says he ' s only going to have 5 - 1O cars but that is just a
starter . After he gets a license he could have it full , - -we
don ' t know , - - and there would be nothing stopping him once he
got the license . He has had a number of cars and still has a
number of cars there . I ' m all for anybody having the right to
do what they want with their property but a junkyard where people
have to live near it and look at it , - -right in your own front
yard , - -I can ' t see it .
H . Dow : Yes .
L . Bell : I ' m Lary Bell and I live on Sharpsteen Road and have lived there
for about six years . I bought an old farm house and did a lot
of remodelling and I bought it where there would be little
traffic and I spent quite a bit hauling away trash that had
accumulated and I guess the amount of traffic a junkyard would
involve concerns me after the money I put into my property .
H . Dow : These contributions give us a basis on which to make our judgments
so if we can hear from more people here would sure like it .
V . Romaine : I ' m Vic Romaine , an - I don ' t know , - - I can sympathize with Sherry
and it ' s too bad there isn ' t some way you could have different
classifications for these junkyards , - - if this is really what he
wants and he is just going to have antique cars there won ' t be
that many but , like everybody says , once he gets a license he
could fill the whole yard so that ' s why I feel there - ought to be
different classifications so you couldn ' t fill a yard up .
H . Dow : You ' re thinking of a matter of degree ?
V . Romaine : Yes . I don ' t think anybody would mind if it was passed and there
was a law that you couldn ' t have more than 6 - 8 cars but the whole
side hill up there , - - I can see their point of view . I don ' t live
there . I can see his poing of view but I can also see theirs be -
cause there ' s no limitation .
S . O ' Brien : I know everybody here , - - I don ' t know them that well , - -I ' m a loner
and I want to stay that way . I don ' t know what everybody does
for a hobby but what would they think if I went to them and
said they could no longer do it ? I don ' t think anybody would
like it . As Mr . Bell said there was a lot of junk around the
farm you (Mrs . Warner) owned before he did .
B . Warner : We used to own it , - - it was there before we lived there .
S . O ' Brien : How would you like it if I wouldn ' t let you have your dogs ?
L . Bella I think the major concern is not for you to engage in your hobby
but the degree in what a junkyard could become . My concern is
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L . Bell : what would it turn into with people travelling in and out
of there constantly for parts , - - that ` s my concern . My
concern is not for your hobby but what would happen to my
place which I bought because it was on a back road .
S . O ' Brien : I think there ' s a lot of traffic . on that ' road right now and
I don ' t see that I ' d have any more company than anybody else
on that road . In fact most of the company on that road goes
to the Warners . 6 or 7 cars daily down to their house !
A . Gantart : I think we ' re getting away from the issue . I would get
irritable if someone stopped me from doing my hobby but ,
at the same time , you ' re talking property value , - - some-
thing important like that takes precedence over anybody ' s
hobby .
A . Strubble : I ' m Amelia Strubble , - -I improve my property and every time I
do my taxes increase and it isn ' t fair . The more you do the more
you pay in taxes and then somebody comes along and does something
that is an eyesore , - - it ' s just doesn ' t seem to bear out .
H . Dow : I used to go to school in your house .
A . Strubble : I know , - -I have quite a few people come by wanting to see the
inside of it .
R . Plunkett : I ' m Robert Plunkett , - - I have Town and County Radio and TV for
my job and can sympathize with him wanting to have a business
of his own but mine is not like a junkyard and I don ' t want
a bunch of junk around and when I moved in there I had to
clean lots of it out . I never thought the Bell place looked
that bad but I don ' t agree with a junkyard . I sympathize with
Sherry but don ' t feel we need one in the neighborhood . Now if
he wants it for a hobby he could maybe rent from Dusty Ryes
or some place else but don ' t want it there where I am .
R . Walpole : You ' re located in the Town of Dryden .
R . Plunkett I ' m right by him , - - a neighbor .
H . Dow : He ' s the Quasi -Motorolo man .
R . Plunkett : It took me a long time to get my business going and a junkyard
is a very touchy subject to get into and I wouldn ' t want one
around my place .
A . Heffron : flow far is he from you ?
R . Plunkett : I mould say about a quarter to half a mile . You ' re talking;
about Mr . Gantart back here , - - I bought my land from Joe Hora ,
too , and paid good for my land and if he goes and tries to
sell land with a junkyard next door will have quite a time .
Would you buy one like that ?
A . Heffron : How far away from you from the middle of the Hill ?
R . Plunkett : Do you know where Chuck Kriner lives ?
A . Heffron : No , - - if you ' re coming back towards Groton ?
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R . Plunkett : 2 miles exactly from Route 38 .
A . Heffron : Does that junkyard up the hill from you have any effect on
your property?
R . Plunkett : I had no say over that one as he was there before I was .
A . Heffron : Do you feel it deteriorates , - m
R . Plunkett : I don ' t think it helps but what can I do ? It ' s there but I ' m
going to try to stop anything else . But there ' s one going into
the Wood Road and I ' m going in to complain on that too .
B . Bucko : The County owns that one , doesn ' t it ?
R . Plunkett : No , - - there are 16 people living in trailers with 30 junk cars
around - - I don ' t feel we need that kind of thing around our
neighborhood , - - getting more of them every day . I have no
objection to people living in mobile homes , - - 1 live in one .
I know a lot of people live in them and they look very nice so
a few hurt it for everybody .
B . Warner : Does Mr . Muff or Cuff have a junkyard license at this time ?
H . Dow : It ' s expired and he has left .
He has moved away .
B . Warner : He ' s back , I understand .
H . Dow : Dana , - -he doesn ' t have a license , does he ?
D . Snell : No .
B . Bucko : He did have a license but he left , - -he sold it and the guy was
going to clean it up . It ' s all been cleaned up .
B . Warner : It isn ' t cleaned up too good .
B . Bucko : We ' re not talking about cleaning up junk , - -he ' s back and owns
it again .
H . Dow : I don ' t know .
R . Plunkett : I never could see what good zoning is because it ' s kind of funny , - -
you tell one guy he can have something and another guy he can ' t , - -
I think it ' s like a choice few , - - go up Bone Plain Road or Wood
Road , - - the people don ' t keep them neat and clean . Let ' s take a
guy on Route 13 if he has junk they come right in and put the
kibosh to him and I don ' t think it ' s right .
H . Dow : About Bone Plain Road , you have to keep in mind we have no
responsibility there .
R . Plunkett : Take a look at some of those houses , - -nobody cares , but tell
O ' Brien he can ' t have it without going to a hearing and these
guys already have one and nobody is doing anything about it .
H . Dow : Last year we just recently burned up one of the old houses
on the north . side of Pleasant Valley Road , - - the owner asked
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H . Dow : us to and right across the road is another one that ought to
be taken care of but all of those houses up there are really
old and those houses never were big .
R . Plunkett : I ' m not talking about the houses themselves , - -just the junk
in the door yards .
Be Bucko : The Towns of Dryden even arrested a man , Ray Dennis , on Bone
Plain Road .
R . Plunkett : Right , - -but go by his place now , - -what good is zoning if you
don ' t enforce it ? It ' s not worth a darn , - - it ' s sort of a
dictatorship .
Be Bucko : We ' ve cleaned some up and are going after others .
R . Plunkett : The school bus driver is the zoning officer , - -he sees all the
junk but doesn ' t do anything about it . You can ' t do for some
and not for others , - - I don ' t think it ' s right .
H . Dow : Of course the position of the Board , Robert , - - and I guess it ' s
true of every town board , - -they try the best wayrthey know
how , - - sometimes it ' s slow going trying to improve a community
and don ' t always do it exactly to everybody ' s liking .
R . Plunkett : Well , if you approve any more junkyards you ' ll be the junkyard
capital of the County .
H . Dow : Do we have anybody else ?
R . Kriner : I ' m Robert Kriner , - - first off I own property bordering on Sherry ' s
and I didn ' t even get a notice that a hearing was going to be
held , - -a neighbor told me .
H . Dow : I don ' t know how that happened .
Be Buckoe Must have just been missed somehow .
R . Kriner : I have about 5 acres of woods over there but if I was to want to
sell my place say in 5 - 10 years and there ' s a junkyard next to
it who would want to buy it ? I ' m not against your junkyard if
it was put down where you only had a few cars and were allowed
just so many and that would be it .
H . Dow : We ' re getting to the point now where we can ' t keep records of all
these remarks but do have a point to make here . If any of you
folks want to add to this would like to hear it right now .
R . Jackson : Even if you were to limit the number of cars , - - if you have 7 - 8
junks with no wheels , rusting and so on , it would be an eyesore .
S . O ' Brien ,* I would like to know who pays the taxes on my property , - - me or
my neighbors ? I don ' t see that it ' s fair for any neighbors to tell
me what I can or can ' t do .
R . Jackson : We ' re not telling you , - -we ' re here to tell the Town Board how we
feel , - -we ' re not telling you .
H . Dow : We ' re only here to hear from all the people .
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H . Dow : Because on the basis of what you think we have to make our
judgments . If there aren ' t any other points to bring up , - -
H . Cole : A junkyard is not only an eyesore but an awfully good rat
harbor .
R . Walpole : Do Jacksons border the south border and Bob you come in on
the west border and Gantart on the north ?
H . Dow : Now , we ' re approaching that time when if there are no more
remarks coming in , will proceed to close the hearing so you
can go home . If no more people want to make comments , I
will pronouce the hearing closed .
R . Walpole : Mr . Cole , - -how many acres do you own across the road ?
H . Cole : 20 .
R . Walpole : Roughly , how much road frontage ?
A . Cole : Around 500 , I ' m not sure .
R . Jackson : 19000 ft . frontage on both sides of the road and we have 40
acres of land .
H . Dow : If that ' s it folks , the hearing is adjourned at 8 : 38 P .M .
Thank you all for coming .
Respectfully submitted , o
Josephine Bell
r
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