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Home My WebLink About2003-01-16 TOWN OF GROTON PLANNING BOARD Minutes of Regular Meeting - Thursday, 16 January 2003 - 7 : 30 PM - Town Hall Members , Groton Planning Board (*Absent) Others Present Monica Carey , Chair Joan Fitch , Recording Secretary Barbara Clark Glenn Morey, Town Supervisor Tom Guihan George Senter, Town CEO *Mark Baxendell Brad Albro Mary K. Gloster Janice Haines ARulicants & Public in Attendance Karel & Thomas Jackson , Dorothy Pashley The meeting was called order at 7 * 30 p . m. by Chairperson Monica Carey Jackson Property 118 Wood Road - TM #28- 1 -29 3 - RE: ECHO Housing Unit (Background Information : The Jacksons appeared before this Board in January 2002 requesting approval for an ECHO Housing unit to be placed on their property for use as a residence for Mrs. Jackson's mother, Dorothy Pashley . Approval was granted . ) Chairperson Carey recognized the Jackson's , and her mother, Dorothy Pashley , who were appearing before the Board seeking the removal of the ECHO Housing Unit designation from the mobile home on their lot now occupied by her mother. The unit granted the ECHO designation is a mobile home purchased and owned by the Jacksons . They now want to have this designation removed so that the home would not have to be removed when Mrs . Pashley no longer needed it. Mrs. Jackson stated that they would like to turn it into a permanent part of the property . She realized that there was a shortage of 16 feet " short on road frontage . " In response to CEO Senter's question , Mrs. Jackson answered that their total acreage was 10±. He then asked if it would be possible to divide the lots , placing the mobile home on a separate lot adjacent to their lot. She replied that it would , but since there 's only 284 feet of road frontage , and 150 feet is required per lot, they lacked 16 feet to have the 300 feet needed . CEO Senter commented that there was enough total acreage to satisfy the one-acre lot size requirement, so perhaps they could purchase an additional 16 feet from their neighbor. If this proved not feasible , the next step would be to ask for an area variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals . CEO Senter advised the Jacksons that if they subdivided into two lots , there was no need for Planning Board approval; that's only done for three or more lots . However, each home would have to be served by separate septic systems whereas both residences are on one system . CEO Senter will check this with the Tompkins County Health Department. Mrs. Jackson stated that they did not wish to "mess with the septic system which is huge" to accommodate their home and the mobile home and was designed and installed specifically to 5 -bedroom criteria. Member Carey suggested that if separated , they may wish to have separate driveways ; CEO Senter advised that sharing a driveway could be done . Eventually , the mobile home could be used by the Jacksons as a rental unit. When asked by Mrs. Jackson if they could leave the property as is and utilize the mobile home as a rental, CEO Senter responded that it could be done as long as there was the proper acreage and proper road frontage , 150 feet of frontage plus an acre of land for each residence . The Jacksons thought this was the best way to go , so requested the removal of the mobile home's designation as an ECHO unit . CEO Senter stated he would verify his comments and , if anything was different than he stated , he would get back to the Jacksons . At the close of the discussion , a motion was made by Member Tom Guihan to remove the ECHO Housing Unit designation , as requested, contingent upon the owners' ability to meet all requirements Page 1 of 3 (T) Groton Planning Board Minutes of Regular Meeting 16 January 2003 for lot size , road frontage , septic system , etc . The motion was seconded by Member Barbara Clark, with the vote recorded as follows : Ayes : Chair Carey Nays : None Member Albro Member Clark Member Gloster Member Guihan Member Haines Absent: Member Baxendell Motion carried . This becomes Action # 1 of 2003 . Board Procedural Business Town Clerk April Sheffler administered the Oath of Office to those Board members present . Election of Chairperson On a motion by Member Guihan , Monica Carey was nominated for Board Chair. The motion was seconded by Member Clark, with the vote recorded as follows : Ayes : Chair Carey Nays : None Member Albro Member Clark Member Gloster Member Guihan Member Haines Absent: Member Baxendell Motion carried . This becomes Action # 2 of 2003 . Election of Vice -Chairperson On a motion by Member Clark, Member Brad Albro was nominated for Vice- Chair. The motion was seconded by Chair Carey, with the vote recorded as follows : Ayes : Chair Carey Nays : None Member Albro Member Clark Member Gloster Member Guihan Member Haines Absent: Member Baxendell Motion carried . This becomes Action # 3 of 2003 . Setting of Meeting Date / Time On a motion by Member Mary Gloster, the meeting date for the Town of Groton Planning Board was set for the third Thursday of each month at 7 : 30 p . m . . The motion was seconded by Member Guihan , with the vote recorded as follows : Ayes : Chair Carey Nays : None Member Albro Member Clark Member Gloster Member Guihan Member Haines Absent: Member Baxendell Motion carried . This becomes Action # 4 of 2003 . Page 2 of 3 ti (T) Groton Planning Board Minutes of Regular Meeting 16 January 2003 A_pnroval of Minutes - 17 October 2002 A motion was made by Member Barbara Clark to approve the Minutes of the 17 October 2002 Planning Board meeting, as submitted . The motion was seconded by Member Janice Haines , with the vote recorded as follows : Ayes : Chair Carey Nays : None Member Albro Member Clark Member Gloster Member Guihan Member Haines Absent: Member Baxendell Motion carried . This becomes Action # 5 of 2003 . Other Discussion Paperwork Revisions At the request of Chair Carey , Kris Strickland , Deputy Clerk for the Town of Groton, had attended the October 2002 Planning Board meeting to go over the application forms utilized by the Board . At that meeting, suggested revisions were made by Board members, and Kris said she would incorporate the changes into new forms for everyone 's review. These revisions were made with the assistance of CEO Senter, and each Board member received a copy of the new forms in this month's meeting packet. Chair Carey started the review of the newly revised Application for Site Plan Review/ Special Permit. A suggestion was made to include a blank for Zoning District on all application forms. Chair Carey also noted that the Land Use Activities Chart had been re -done and was a lot clearer than before . Member Gloster noted a couple of typos that needed changing, and other information omitted ; Member Gloster stated that she would mark up a copy and contact Kris regarding these . In response to Chair Carey's question, Town Supervisor Morey commented that he felt the new forms "were great. " The Board then reviewed the Boundary Change application . Chair Carey stated she had received a letter from an attorney who stated that the definition had been amended in 1997 to read "Any boundary change , with the exception of boundary changes between two adjoining non-conforming lots . . . " She stated that this statement made no more sense to her than the present definition . Supervisor Morey confirmed that a Public Hearing had been scheduled by the Town Board for February 11 `h at 7 : 30 p . m . regarding this matter. CEO Senter agreed the present definition was very confusing. Supervisor Morey stated he had conferred with the Town Attorney for his opinion . Chair Carey commented that it would be nice to have Board representation at that meeting. The Board affirmed that Kris had done a very nice job with the form revisions . (VI Groton Proposed Zoning Change Chairperson Carey asked Member Tom Guihan if he would like to inform the Board with regard to the proposed zoning change in the Village . Member Guihan and CEO Senter explained that basically, the zoning law (Proposed Local Law # 1 ) would allow multiple residence housing only in a high -intensity zone ; all other should be labeled as single-family (the mediums and lows, etc . ) . If someone wished , then, to construct a multiple residence in any other zone , they would have to go before the ZBA for a variance . Adjournment At 8 : 10 p. m. , a motion was made by Member Guihan to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Member Clark, with every member present voting in favor. E . Fitch , Board Secretary I� � �; � 100I� � 1 / 28 / 03 JAN 3 1 2003 Page 3 of 3 TOWN Ur VnJ i VIV TOWN CLERK