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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-03-29 BRIEWWN OF '3ROTON March 29 1999 MAR Colleen Pierson Town Clerk Town of Groton 101 Conger Blvd . Groton , NY 13073 Dear Colleen . Enclosed is a copy of the testimony prepared by me and read into the record by Mahlon Perkins, Esq . at the public hearing, March 18 , 1999 , on the application by Jeffery and Kimberly Langer for site plan review. Please see that it becomes part of the official documentation associated with the hearing. I am also sending a copy to Monica Carey as acting chair of the planning board . Very truly yours, Van C . Travis, Jr. t 1 Testimony at the Public Hearing For Site Plan Approval For Sirens, LLC By Van C . Travis, Jr. 10 Cemetery Lane McLean, NY I am Van Travis of McLean , NY, one of the co-owners of the property at 3 Stevens Rd . and am named in the application before you . I am unable to attend this evening and am having Mahlon Perkins , Esq . read my comments into the record . I believe that you have a most difficult case before you . On the surface it is a simple request for an eating and drinking establishment, or what we commonly would call a tavern and restaurant which is what the Elm Tree Inn has been for over 100 years . We of McLean were looking forward to seeing the Elm Tree Inn reopen ever since Joe and David Bail closed down their operation . Each rumor of a possible purchaser created excitement in the town with the hope that the Inn would be restored to its previous status as a good restaurant and tavern . My wife and I, who operate the business next door to the Elm Tree Inn , have been especially desirous of having a restaurant there as our customers very much need a place to eat, especially lunch . You can imagine our disappointment when what we got was a strip joint. The application before you, taken at face value, does not propose anything to which I have any objection . Therefore, I can stand here and say without equivocation that I fully support the establishment of a restaurant and tavern at the proposed site . It would be an economic asset to McLean and the Town of Groton . However, I strongly believe that this application is a sham, put forth in a scheme by Mr. Chatfield, in which there is no intention of operating anything even remotely resembling an eating and drinking establishment. Mr. Chatfield has told several people that there is no expectation on his part or the Langers that approval will be granted and that it is his desire to appeal the Town Code on Sexually Oriented Businesses; to have it declared unconstitutional ; and beyond that, he will sue the Town of Groton on behalf of his clients for $ 8 - 10 million , making both him and them wealthy and the Town of Groton bankrupt. How disappointed they would be if you granted them approval . I believe the Langers have no desire to do anything that would involve the investment of time, money and effort necessary to operate a restaurant. As they have openly testified under oath in public proceedings in which they have been involved, they have consciously chosen the area of adult entertainment as their field of endeavor in the same way that others might choose to operate a gas station , convenience store, dry goods store or dry cleaning service . The eating and drinking establishment which they did operate for approximately a year at the site under consideration , never offered as near as anyone can determine any food to eat. My own visit to the establishment in December, 1997, sitting in the area of the bar for approximately one hour, never revealed so much as a potato chip, pretzel or even Mr. Chatfield' s famous pickled egg. Also, sworn testimony in court by a number of people who visited Sirens never mentioned anything to eat. Investigation by the New York State Police revealed a kitchen that was filthy, the stove was not connected to a power source and the refrigerator was not plugged in . Given all of this, it seems highly unlikely that the Langers will suddenly be possessed with a zeal for all the hard, sweaty and unglamorous work associated with the restaurant business as opposed to the relative ease of an adult entertainment business where the workers pay the owners for the privilege of performing. As you consider your decision , there are a number of things that you need to know. I am going to mention several . First, the sketch plan that was submitted to you is inaccurate in its representation of the existing conditions on the property . The drawing was produced in 19 70 . Since that time, there has been a major fire at the Inn , rendering this rendition obsolete and unrepresentative of the modifications made since that time . The location of the dumpster on the sketch plan is not where it presently exists nor where it has ever existed since the Langers have occupied the property. I believe that you have received additional drawings from what were presented at the November meeting. The floor plan that has been submitted is also of questionable accuracy . We know from sworn public testimony that the facility contains a stage for entertainment performances and lap dance booths . Neither appears on the drawings . While their existence is not pertinent to site plan review, it does raise the question again of whether information provided for your review and consideration is accurate and truthful . I would recommend that you dispatch the Groton Code Enforcement Officer to the site to determine whether the information before you is true and accurate . Second, I believe that you are lacking the common , normal information that is necessary for you to render a decision regarding this application . As previously stated, you have a sketch plan , created by the applicants, that is inaccurate and about which they are unable to reasonably respond to your questions despite having occupied and operated on the property for a year. It is normal to ask for a description of their general plans of operations a business plan if you will . They don't have one . They don 't know whether it will be a sports bar, a dance bar, a fine French restaurant; a gay bar, a bikers bar or might I suggest a nude bar. I maintain that it defies credibility that anyone genuinely plans to enter into business and has no idea about what they plan to do . We have heard Mr. Chatfield bellow, bluster and obfuscate about trade secrets and competitive advantage . With regard to all of the alternatives for an eating and drinking establishment, competition abounds in the Cortland-Ithaca area and this contention regarding the need for secrecy is pure deception . Each of these alternatives that I have described inherently carry with them different effects upon the site and the adjoining neighborhood . Without any information regarding their operational plans, you are unable to decide if the activity is compatible with the neighborhood and how you must restrict the activities through the permit process to insure compatibility between the business and the primary residential nature of the zoning district. Any other applicant who stonewalled the board as Mr. Chatfield has done would be sent packing. I recommend that you do the same with him . When he is willing to provide you with the necessary information , you should be willing to consider the application . Your other alternative, of course, is to restrict the approval so that they are left with no alternative except to operate a legitimate eating and drinking establishment. Third, Mr. Chatfield has testified that it is their plan to open without so much as moving a pebble, driving a nail or disturbing an iota of earth in reoccupying the facility. Let me start off by suggesting that they need to move the dumpster if they want the sketch plan to represent the existing conditions . The suggestion that they are going to operate a restaurant, to use a more common term , without doing anything to the premises, when they are moving into a building that has no electricity, no natural gas, no propane service, no running water and no heating or air conditioning and has laid empty for months during sub-freezing weather is contrary to what we know will be the case . The kitchen , we know, is not operational and has no means by which to prepare food . For this facility to become an eating and drinking establishment, the ZBA definition of such not withstanding, will require major work. Those of us who are knowledgeable of the property believe that health department approval for food preparation and service is impossible without major structural renovations to prevent access to rodents and insects . Mr. Chatfield' s contention that there will be no construction or renovation activity seems impossible if they are to operate an eating and drinking establishment. I believe that the probability that these people would open a restaurant is essentially zero and that is why they have refused to discuss their plans for a restaurant with you ; they have none . This is just further evidence that the application before you is a sham . The information provided and the testimony given by the applicants contradicts itself and therefore you are unable to make a reasonable decision without clearer and more precise information . Fourth , I believe it is clear that the only business that the Langers have any interest in operating at the Elm Tree Inn is the one that they previously operated, a totally nude dancer juice bar. I believe that section 317 . 2 of the Town Zoning Code prohibits that activity in the M - 1 district in which the Elm Tree Inn is located . That section of the code was enacted prior to the date of the application that is before you, and it prohibits the type of activity that the Langers previously conducted at the site . In further support of my contention that the Langers plan to continue the operation of a nude dancer juice bar, I refer you to their statement on the Short Environmental Assessment Form , item 6 . There they state, in response to the request to describe the project briefly, "Reopen eating or drinking establishment without any changes whatsoever. " How much plainer can their intentions be . If they were to open a restaurant it would not be a reopening as no restaurant previously existed . If approval for an eating and drinking establishment is given , it is essential that the special permit specifically reference the prohibition of any sexually oriented business at the site Fifth , I would call to your attention that nowhere in the record is there evidence of the Langers, who are the applicants, having participated in this proceeding other than to be present. While I would be the last to deny them legal counsel, the fact that they have not uttered a single word in all of these proceedings indicates strongly to me that the true applicant here is notJeffery and Kimberly Langer, but rather Mr. Chatfield . He has stated to others his intentions to use this case to advance his practice and to increase his financial well being by suing and bankrupting the Town of Groton . I would also note that he was quoted in the Syracuse Herald-American that he is working on this case without pay. Perhaps the Langers are his cousins and therefore his willingness to work pro-bono, but I have heard nothing to suggest that. Thus, it seems clear that what the people of McLean , the Town of Groton , the State of New York and all others associated with this case are being subjected to is a thinly veiled attempt by Mr. Chatfield to advance his own personal interests . Lastly, this site plan process requires an environmental review. Within it questions are raised as to noise and other external events which would have an effect upon the surrounding area . Seemingly, such an eating and drinking establishment as proposed here would have little effect outside the confines of the building. However, such has not been the case during the period the Langers have occupied the property . Again let me point out the Langer' s response to item 6 of the Short Environmental Assessment Form states, "Reopen eating or drinking establishment without any changes whatsoever." Let me tell you what "without any changes whatsoever" means to us of McLean by reciting a long list of incidents of the past year. Mr. Chatfield noted 20- 30 noise complaints over the course of a year that he claims were baseless . They were baseless if you live in Tully, but, if you live in downtown McLean and are trying to sleep at la . m . , they are very much a reality . The law enforcement agencies responding to the calls did in fact require that the volume be turned down . Yet, as Mr. Chatfield avows, the good neighbor policy of the Langers was repeated upwards of 30 times . The record needs to showJeffery driving his truck at a high rate of speed through the streets of McLean during its annual community quilt show, garage sale, Firemen ' s barbecue and church box luncheon endangering people strolling in the streets and causing them to move into the ditch to avoid being hit. The record needs to showJeffery driving his truck up and down selected streets in McLean in what may be described as a stalking fashion to harass certain residents . The record needs to showJeffery standing in the front yard of the Elm Tree Inn and during the event just cited calling lady visitors to the event, "Cunt" ; lady' s who were totally innocent of any action that would provoke any kind of greeting other than hello and welcome to McLean . And the record needs to show dancers from Sirens standing in the front yard of the Elm Tree Inn flashing their bare breasts at passing motorists and Jeffery standing in the front yard of the Inn and grabbing his crotch as a signal of defiance to me and others as we drove by. Mr. Chatfield has stated that he cares not what the people of McLean think. We the people of McLean object to what has been a continuous avoidance of candor by Mr. Chatfield since the inception of this process, the continual display of public lewdness by the Langers and their dancers, the assault upon the safety of innocent visitors to community events and their incessant disturbance of the peace through excessive noise at hours when normal people are long since in bed and asleep . "Without any changes whatsoever" means a continual display of public lewdness, obscene language and behavior, and disturbance of the peace through deliberate attempts to produce excessive noise . For these reasons we contend that the activities of the Langers by whatever description they describe their business, are not in harmony with the residential and commercial character of the neighborhood . This is a case where you can decide based on past performance rather than speculating on the future . The Langers have proved to be a detriment to the community and rather than trying to win the people over by being quiet and considerate citizens they have chosen to disturb the peace, offend normal human sensibilities, and jeopardize the public safety . They have openly and defiantly stated that their intent is to make life in McLean as miserable for the residents as possible . During their time in town they have done just that. With that as a stated objective, one can reasonably predict what their future behavior will be . No community in America would want people who act as I have described as a part of their community . We of McLean surely don 't. I have described a long list of conditions that have existed during Sirens operation in McLean . They are conditions that you as a board must control through the permit process . Last week, I hauled out the Special Permit that we received when my wife first opened her business in our home . It controlled everything including noise and hours of operation . If you can do it to me, you can do it to them . If they truly want to operate a legitimate restaurant and tavern fine, but I don 't think so . If you find it necessary to grant approval to this application , then I hope that you will take a major portion of the next 62 days in which you have to deliberate to insure that we don't get from the Langers what we have had in the past. Respectfully submitted, Van C . Travis, jr.