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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-08-07 TOWN OF GROTON PLANNING BOARD Public Bearing/Special Meeting Transcript - Monday, 7 August 2000 Members, Groton Planning Board (*Absent) Others Present Monica Carey, Acting Chair Joan Fitch, Recording Secretary George Van Slyke Kathryn Baxendell, Applicant Van Travis *Barbara Clark April Scheffler *Brenda Talbot Other Officials & Public Present Glenn Morey, Town Supervisor; Tyke Randall, Town Councilman ; Mark Gunn, Town CEO; DeForest Hall, Linda Bancroft, Paul Fouts The Public Hearing was opened at 7*30 p .m. by Acting Chair Monica Carey. Kathryn & Scott Baxendell, R0s & Applicants - 794 Cortland Road (NYS Route 222) - TM # 20- 1 - 36. 1 M. Carey: Let's open the meeting. Joan, would you read the Public Notice that was in the paper, please? J. Fitch: Please take notice that the Town of Groton Planning Board is holding a Public Hearing and Special Meeting on Monday, August 7, 2000 at 7: 30 PM, at the Groton Town Hall , 101 Conger Boulevard, Groton, New York for the purpose of considering an application for Site Plan Review submitted by Kathy Baxendell for a veterinary clinic to be located at 794 Cortland Road, in the Town of Groton, Tax Map #20- 1 -36. 1 . Monica Carey, Acting Planning Board Chairperson. It was published -- it was published. There's no date on it. M. Carey: Kathy, would you please get up and just kind of give us a brief overview of your operation? K. Baxendell: I'm Dr. Kathy Baxendell for those of you who have not met me . And I did bring along some information that the Planning Board members have. I thought I'd give anybody who'd like one a copy of that. Basically, it's got three parts to it. The top page is just a copy of sign. . . so that you have an idea of what the sign looks like. It just helps you find a piece of paper in all the other pieces of paper I'm sure you have. The second page gives you an idea of the business plan that we've pieced together, a little bit of history about myself and the clinic and for the business that I run right now, and what we plan on doing in the future. And the third page is just a floor plan so you can get an idea of what the clinic itself will look like once we do get it finished . Basically, I opened my own practice to take care of horses and sheep and goats two years ago. The practice has taken off tremendously in the last two years. I've been really pleased with how well it's done . In that two-year time, it's also become pretty evident that there's a need for some small animal services in the area. The Cortland veterinarians, many of them, are not taking new clients at this point and there really is a need for it. So in combination with being able to provide my large animal clients a little better service, and also providing services to the small animal clients in the area, we decided to put together a plan for a mixed animal practice, and that's basically what we plan on doing. We've purchased a piece of property from Tom and Sally Brown up on 222 . It's the old Bancroft farm for those of you who are not familiar with the exact site. It's just past Salt Road. And, as you can see from the plan there, the house that is there we will remodel into the back end of the clinic, the treatment room, surgery, the dog and cat ward. And the front end of the clinic will be a new addition that will be the waiting room, exam rooms, and that kind of stuff. And I'd be happy to take any questions from folks. M. Carey: If anybody has any questions, please state your name for the record. Page 1 of 9 u (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 D. Hall: I'm DeForest Hall, 721 Salt Road, just up the road . Now you say you're going to have what in the original part of the house? You're not going to have living area, you're going to have it part of your business? K. Baxendell: The old house will be just business. We'll continue to live down in Groton City. D. Hall: Oh, okay. K. Baxendelb The upstairs will be turned into offices, and the downstairs will be the treatment area, the surgery area, and a dog and cat ward. So there won't be any living space in the house . D. Hall: As I told Kathy here just a few minutes ago, it seems to me that this meeting is incidental as the project's already started. Not in her terms, but my terms, half done . Why have a Hearing for this already in the works? K. Baxendell: We did place our application for a Planning Board Hearing as soon as we heard that the project was going through and we did get on the Agenda as soon as we possibly could. At this time, the building has nothing special in it that would make it exclusive for a veterinary practice. It's just a large building. You could make it into a house or anything else you'd want to . And there really won't be anything special in the facility that makes it only usable as a veterinary clinic . It's just going to have a lot of rooms that are going to have a lot of plumbing in them . Other than that, ' although it's going to be a veterinary clinic, you could do something else with it. D. Hall: The Planning Board itself -- I thought originally the zoning went into effect that agriculture and non-agriculture, business or commercial, only went to the corner. I know what you're going to tell me is that you can have anything you want as long as the people around don't care . But I was always of the understanding, and don't have any special objection - - A. Scheffler, Actually, a veterinary clinic isn't allowed in that area, the M- 1 area. M. Carey: It's not M- 1 up there. D. Hall: I know the zoning keeps changing over the years . . . I thought business commercial only went to the Salt Road and that was just for a certain person that knew they were going to have a business on the corner there . G. Van Slyke: No . When the -- D. Hall: That was the original -- M. Carey: That was the original plan -- G. Van Slyke: Yes, that was 1972 . D. Hall: Yes, right. G. Van Slyke: You're talking years ago. D. Hall: Everything keeps being revised to meet the situation. G. Van Slyke: So it has been revised in 1992 . So when it was revised in 1992 , the industrial zone that you're talking about only goes to Lick Street. It doesn't go beyond that. That's beyond Lick Street, going up 222 towards Salt Road . That's still agricultural. M. Carey. All rural agricultural. G. Van Slyke: It's rural agricultural. It's not in the industrial zone . Page 2 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 D. Hall: . . . the time when W? put his snowmobile business up there on -- M. Carey: Well, that was before our time. That was way before our time, so we couldn't even answer a question. But right now, the zoning laws have up to Lick Street as the M- 1 district, and then up to 500 feet beyond Lick Street, and then after that it's rural agriculture. And with a Site Plan Review, that practice is allowed in that area. G. Van Slyke: And the same thing with probably, I don't know how long ago his snowmobile place was there, but that could have been very well grandfathered back in those days before the zoning came in so you really can't make that. Even today, you know, you can still put a business in that place . We have a business in that establishment right now. D. Hall: Yes, I know they do. G. Van Slyke: You know, and that's still legal in an agricultural zone . D. Hall: Well, when agricultural district came about, that was the purpose of it, to keep all this business from going into agricultural and upsetting the whole thing. But landowners over the years have gotten hard up financially so they've sort of sold their properties off piece by piece by piece and went to you people over the years and said yes, what do you want? M. Carey: This is a business that's supporting agriculture . D. Hall: Selling it to people who want a business there and that's what they got in mind, can they have it there , but she looked into it before she just -- I hope -- just looked into it. But it's already in the process so why are we having a Public Hearing? G. Van Slyke: Well, because -- Do Hall: It's already been said and done . G. Van Slyke: under our zoning laws you've got to have a Public Hearing -- D. Hall: Anyway? G. Van Slyke: Yes, you have to do this. It's a legality we have to go through if you're going to put a business in that area. It's like if you wanted to sell off -- I don't know what part of Salt Road you live on -- but if you wanted to sell off a piece of your place and say, okay, I'm going to have a business come in here, they would have to come back and go through the same process. D. Hall: Oh, yes. Right. G. Van Slyke: You know. It -- D. Hall: I don't know whether in her case -- were neighbors advised of this and got letters from the Planning Board or Town? M. Carey: There was a notice in the paper saying that we were having this Public Hearing, D. Hall: Only to just maybe the people right in -- M. Carey: No. There was a notice in the paper. K. Baxendell: The only close neighbor -- I actually talked to the only close neighbor which is the Bancrofts that live across the road there . L. Bancroft: That would be me. Page 3 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 A. Scheffler: There was a list of people that we notified too. D. Hall: Other than that, you know, I'm certain that if she doesn't object, then I shouldn't object. K. Baxendell: Where do you live? D. Hall: I just live up Salt Road, just the other side of Old Stage Road . M. Carey: Do we have any more comments from the public? D. Hall: It can't be any worse than the cow manure, I hope . K. Baxendell: No, there's no plans for any outdoor runs at this point. The wards will be fully . . . Also, the waste will be controlled into the septic systems . . . D. Hall: I guess the only other thing would be noise. We can hear neighbors' dogs quite a distance down the next road. Certainly if you're going to have an outside run up there, the dogs -- K. Baxendell: No, there won't be any outside run. The only times dogs will be outside is if one of the kennel staff is walking a dog. L. Bancroft: I was just trying -- Me Carey: We need your name, please . L. Bancroft: Oh , I'm sorry. Linda Bancroft. And I just wanted to see what was going on and in hearing comments from other people . . . I think it's good and there are definitely concerns, noise, traffic and cars and things going down like that and what would be going on. I think there's a definite benefit to it -- employing staff . . . And actually, I see a farm house being renovated and it turning into a hospital . . . instead of falling into the ground. It's a huge historic thing, the barn. K. Baxendell: The plan is in the future for the barn, but hopefully we can shore it up so that the roof is stable . The interior is actually in pretty good shape . And, hopefully in the future we will be able to remodel the inside of that into a boarding facility. This way we will be able to maintain the structure itself which is a pretty good structure; there's no point in redoing the whole thing. L. Bancroft: . . . it needs a little tender loving care. K. Baxendell: Yes, it needs a little TLC to get it through the next couple of winters. Employmentwise, we are probably going to start with employing between six and eight people and they'll have various positions. We have a veterinarian on staff. We will also have a couple of technicians and we'll need kennel attendants and things like that - - receptionists. And then when our number of doctors increase we'll increase staff from there. So certainly there's definitely employment opportunities at all levels, from entry level kennel attendant to technicians. I don't intend to make this a huge conglomerate. I'd like it to be a three or four doctor practice. Trafficwise, it's a very level spot so people can see very well going in and out of the practice. We're going to maintain both driveways so that people can exit and enter without too much difficulty and the entrance to the driveways will be lighted so people will know where they are . Probably, volumewise it's going to really vary as far as the number of people that are going in and out during the day. There might be six people on one day and 20 people on another. Probably not a tremendous amount of evening traffic . We probably will have evening office hours one or two nights a week, I'm not sure . L. Bancroft: Do you have other doctors here now? K. Baxendell: Yes, I have a young lady who just graduated from Cornell this year, Heather Sawyer, who is on the staff right now and she'll be doing our small animals . Page 4 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 L. Bancroft: When will you be open? K. Basendell: I'd like to think that we can be open by the first of October. Mark is probably thinking that's a little bit optimistic, but I have to live with that goal in mind. D. Hall: You come highly recommended anyway. K. Bazendell: Thank you. M. Carey. Any more comments? Then I'll close the Public Hearing, Thanks, Kathy. With everyone being heard who wished to be heard, the Public Hearing was closed at 7:45 p.m. M. Carey, We've got our quorum. Would anybody like to make a motion, or have any discussion on this? We've received the paper back from the County saying that they really had no significant impact on it. On the parking, you did say that they would be able to turn around to go out, they will not be backing out onto 222 or anything. K. Bazendell: No, they will not be backing out onto 222 . M. Carey: Okay, K. Baxendell: They will be able to park everywhere from in front of the clinic to the front of the dairy barn there. M. Carey, Okay. Anybody from the Board have any questions? V. Travis: The Ag Statement. Does the Clerk's office prepare that? M. Carey: The Ag Statement? We don't have an Ag Statement. The Town Board would need to give us . . . V. Travis: It's not handled by the Planning Board? M. Carey: Well, I would assume we'd handle it, but right now we don't have any Ag Statement on record. We just have the Right to Farm Law that I know of. V. Travis: I thought this said that this project is occurring in an Agricultural District. Is that right? And that an ADS is therefore required? M. Carey. We don't have one on record to file . V. Travis: Then an ADS is not specific to the project? M. Carey: The what? V. Travis: The Agricultural Data Statement is not specific to the project? M. Carey: Well, if you want to use this one I suppose we could. We've never filled one out before. We've never had one on record. G. Van Slyke: Is this a new requirement from the County, or what? M. Carey: This must be something new from the County because we've never had this come to us before. Page 5 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 G. Van Slyke: I've never seen one of these before . M. Carey. No, I haven't either. G. Van Slyke: In all the time I've been here. J. Fitch: The Town of Virgil, in Cortland County, uses the same form every time there's something in an Ag District. It just accompanies the application, filled out by the applicant. G. Van Slyke: Well, you know, actually I don't know why we can't fill it out anyway because it says - - well, I assume we're the local reviewing board. M. Carey: Right. G. Van Slyke: And it says we must evaluate and consider the ADS to determine the possible impacts the proposed project may have on the functions of farm operations within the subject Agricultural District. There's only one farm operation around them, and that's Browns, and I don't think they're going to impact him too much . V. Travis: He sold them the land . G. Van Slyke: And they are nice enough to let him still store his machinery in the shed. I guess you're not going to impact him too badly. A. Scheffler: If anything, I would say it would have a good impact because it's an agricultural- related business. I mean, you're going to be doing large animals too, correct? K. Bazendell: Yes. A. Scheffler: I would think it would be a good thing to for farms to have it closer by. G. Van Slyke: I'm trying to think. There's no other farmers M. Carey: No. G. Van Slyke: In that proximity. He surrounds them. A. Scheffler: He totally surrounds them. M. Carey: He surrounds them. G. Van Slyke: So Brown is the only one we'd have to list. So why couldn't we fill this thing out and get this taken care of and they could be happy. But I've never seen an Agricultural Data Statement the whole time I've been on this Board. M. Carey: I know. That's why I'm saying we don't have one yet. I was going to put it on the Agenda that we discuss it at our next regular meeting to put something like this together so that we can hand it out when we hand out applications. G. Van Slyke: I don't know why we can't go ahead and fill this thing out and get it over with . G. Morey: . . . on the reverse side . V. Travis: I think it just means, Glenn, to provide that information in Item 3 . . . the page over, and write on the back. I mean essentially you need Dr. Baxendell's name and address, the location of it, the name of any farmer located within 500 feet, and then the tax map designation which I presume they may have in the application. Is that everyone else's opinion of what we need to do? Page 6 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 A. Scheffler: This information came into our Clerk's Office at the time we were going through the Ottenschot hearings and, basically, I put the call in to Tompkins County Planning Board to find out what we were supposed to do with it or if they had a form to fill out. I figured it would be something like the Environmental Assessment Form or something. And this is what they sent me, and basically they told me that there isn't any real form, official form, that most towns come up with their own form to fit the needs that they have. Whatever they feel fits their town and their ag district. J. Fitch: The ones that I've seen at other boards, they just insert "see attached Site Plan , " or "see attached information." They don't fill any of this out on the back because it always comes in with the application and the applicant just fills it out and that's the end of it. They don't even sign it. M. Carey: How do the rest of the Board members feel? I was figuring that we could look it over at the next Board meeting and discuss it, and if it's something we want to put with all the applications when they go out, have people fill it out and send it back with their applications. V. Travis: You're talking about future use, right? M. Carey: Yes, G. Van Slyke : Okay, I'm still not clear on this. I don't understand why we have to fill out this Agricultural Data Statement. Is it something in the County law, or is it something that we don't know about that is causing this -- V. Travis: It's part of the Farm Land Preservation Act. G. Van Slyke : What's our reason for doing it? M. Carey: If the proposed activity would occur on property within an Agricultural District containing a farm operation, or on property with boundaries within 500 feet of a farm operation located within an Agricultural District -- G. Van Slyke: So this is State, right? V. Travis: That's correct. G. Van Slyke: Nice that they sent it to us. V. Travis: I mean we can fill it out; we have all the information . M. Carey: Right. It's just that when we sent your application to the County, the County came back telling us that we should fill out an Agricultural Data Statement, and this is the first time that any of us have ever seen anything like this. But I told April that she should give it to the Board members tonight so then we can take a look at it and discuss it at our next meeting and decide how we want to prepare this statement to go out with the applications. That was my only intention on that. But if the rest of the Board feels we need to fill out one tonight, we'll fill it out. V. Travis: Well, I think Joan's suggestion is just fine. All of the information that is required here is contained on the Site Plan Review Application, and why don't we mark one of these as such , staple a copy of the application to it, and consider the job done? M. Carey: Right. And then we'll go into at our next Board meeting a little more . V. Travis: In terms of what we do in future cases. M. Carey: Okay, G. Van Slyke : With that said, I'm going to make the motion that the Planning Board approves this Site Plan Review for the small vet clinic and that we give her our blessings. Page 7 of 9 (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 V. Travis: I'll second that. G. Van Slyke: And get this job done . M. Carey: Does anybody feel we should put any sort of restrictions on this? Is there any discussion? We don't want to have any on-the-street parking. A. Scheffler: Is this including the boarding barn, or will she need to come back in to reapply, or to extend her special permit at that time? G. Van Slyke: My motion says this. We're doing the vet clinic at this time . Right now, those are dreams that she has for boarding horses and for things on the top . I mean, if she wants to do something later on down the road with that property, then she'll probably have to come back. But right now all I'm concerned with is getting this woman her opportunity to open this hospital and get it going. And, you know, if something needs to happen down the road, then she needs to come back and do it. J. Pitch: Your motion reads for a small vet clinic. G. Van Slyke: For exactly what she came to us for. For the clinic. It was for nothing else as far as I understood anyway. Okay. Now you mentioned parking. Obviously, you have a double driveway so therefore there's not going to be -- hopefully, nobody is going to be parking on 222 , Is that correct? K. Baxendell: Yes. G. Van Slyke: Okay. I guess the other thing that's still a question for us is what your hours of operation are . I don't recall hearing what the hours of operation would be . K. Baxendell: We haven't established them specifically, but they will generally be between 7: 30 and 8 in the morning for animal drop-off for surgery so people can drop them off before they go to work, until 6 in the evening. There will be one or two evenings per week when we'll be open from 6 to 8. And we'll be open from 9 111 noon on Saturdays. We will not have Saturday afternoon or Sunday office hours. There occasionally may be people coming in for emergencies. G. Van Slyke: Okay, what was the day that you were going to be open later? K. Baxendell: There will be two evenings a week that we'll be open. G. Van Slyke: Two evenings. K. Baxendell: Right, and we haven't decided -- G. Van Slyke: They haven't been decided yet? K. Baxendell: Right. G. Van Slyke: And what's the K. Baxendell: 9 to 12 on Saturdays. G. Van Slyke: Okay, the evenings? V. Travis: Make it inclusive -- 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. That seems to include everything that she's suggested. G. Van Slyke: We could do that. Page 8 of 9 • a (T) Groton Planning Board Public Hearing/Special Meeting Transcript 7 August 2000 M. Carey: That sounds good . G. Van Slyke: 6 to 9? V. Travis: If I heard correctly. If it's different from that -- K. Baxendell: If there's somebody there at 6 o'clock, yeah. M. Carey: Any more discussion? All in favor`? (All members present indicated aye .) Passed. The meeting is closed . The meeting was adjourned at 8 p.m. joaDX. Fitch Recording Secretary 8/ 17/00 Page 9 of 9