HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-08-19 i r L_ ' '
loop.
OF.: APPEALS
PUBLIC HEARING '° TOWN :Q GR )TON ZONING BOARD
Held ' at the Town SHa11 `
Groton , No ; Yo
August 19 , P 1974, B;- . P , M <
• �,•
.a u _ -
PRESENT : J ; Wargo - . Chaarman Zoning ' Board of Appeals
P . It 11 11
�, Lawrence - Member1.
" L , . Volpicelli rl ',�
R . Bell — ofIt 7� n it n
V '
Go Hoy - 11 . •,• , � 11 I1 ► 1
ol
4 :
B , Bucko - . Town Attorney.
L . Baker . enst o. Town Clerk - '
H , Dow - Town Supervisor
D , Snell lZoning ` Enforcemen.t Officer
G . Totman - Chairman ''Groton Town -Planning Board
1 . H , . Fink - Member of Groton Town Planning Board
do
A . Clark Ithaca Journal
M ,' Dempsey - .Cortland Standard
J , Bell - Recording Clerk
"Approximately , 70 members of the general public .
Jo Wargo : I ' ll call this ' hearin1. g to ' order and read aloud the pubI notice
of this hearin11 g as px.inte , , in - the Groton Journal and Courier ,
F. • r . . -
(Mr . Wargo4read the not3�e •aloud and it° is attached,
.aloud
and made a part of .these minutes . ) : ',
B ; Bucko : When was that', published'?
0310P1 .
J , Wargo : It: . was published on - August 7th . The- application is from Melvin
Brown and ' Iohn Lewis . - ` Before ' , we open this up , please give . your
name before you ask questions - or ma.ke • a statement . I ' ll now
throw this henring, opon ,.. to people from Lewbro Inc ,
N , Magro : May I- make one request , please , Will they tell us the approxi
mate -distance from this site that they ;live ?
B ' ' Bucko ; May'" I see the - application ?
. , F. . .
W., McDermott First ' of a11 , I ' m Lles `McDermott and I ' m here , on- behalf of .Mr .
and Mrs . , Brown Pand' Mt.; and Mrs . Lewis ; IF • I would ` like to perhaps
bring you up to date as to , how I became , - involved , First of. all ,
as indicated " by the. chabrman , • an application ,- for a variance for
use other • than sand and gravel operation in an agricultural
area located north of. ` the Village. approximately l - 2 to 2 miles
on Route 38 ' was made , ', ' The entire area , which, the Lewbro Company
t. owns , is approximately 50 acres and is shown on this 'drawing here . '
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44
W , McDermott . I . expect most of you 'are more familiar "withIF I the area ; than
TYie area in ;`question is this :area in this vicinity
Iam . , ., . . ,
� . the Pr. ert which they oWn is
portn o and thefront ,
zoned , .`. as Ihunderstand ,; low density about 5 .0,0 ;' ft , and. the
balance` is agrFicultuIII,ral , . of .. the - 50 acres approximatly
40 are ' woodedh "and the proposal is . to construct a .ready
mix 'concrete' b�usine's'sJ & d sand and ,. gravel business in the
r
area , Of course , ` I am sure ' you are ally aware they are
, already, ,located' in your ='community within the Township: and
we hope then - clan hcont roue to::; do business here ;
w .;;
f As I said , the , area pin .; question is approximately . 500 .. ft ,
back from the , road�ray and really this is tj
the only: , area
that we arer, askinglit be granted for , not for the :entire
area , , ' The on1 involvement with the low intensity area
y
- would be 3.ngress and ,egress to the plant itself ;
:� . , .
4,1
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Now , as I understand it some of the background is relevant ;
I believe , is,,;`tliat ` sV :tomotime .`ago Lewbro began looking " for
property to relocate and place - anew ' plant . I .:believe
initially they had . one ..abortive attempt to purchase
property tin .:the , Tgwn and subsequently sought counsel ` of some
of the. � Town of1. ficials '4 advise theIll m and °came across this
property . we are talking about this . evening . They purchased
2 , . the property in good faith feelrn* it - was going to be per
use and' applied fox -,land, obtained . a building" permit .
At this point , , "I ,would : like;, to.: say something about the
issuance', of ;the permit ' ` tself , .The `zoning officer =necessar �
ily'_ is ; an administrative officer , :;" •an official , of ' the . Town ,
It
n
` expected. to use his good, judgment .and; be reasonable . There
has. never ` beenza zoning ordinance, :written. - that covers all
situations and consequently in - many instances itTfalls on
his shoe lders 4to ' detIll 0" ermine whether.' or "n.ot this would , be an
, . appropriate' =use in a given -areI .a I and ao ' exercise good' , judg -
ment .and , of courI, ^ reach a conclusion ,; as . to , whether or
not' a : permit „shovld4 be' . issued , . ` In thI . is particular case a
permit uias .issued , and L. personally , think ito. was a proper
issuance espec ally ` with the sand and gravel provisions in
your ordinanceo
Subsequently : Mel and John were advised than this wasn ' t
appropriate , I ; think .they -came ;.to the Town Board . 'and
.. r y . . .
asked for advice :and .it': was ;` suggested . they apply; for : a
variance < I : :came 3. quite , late ' and a : few of you know
' what my : advice has Ir
been--
to Mel: and John . " I . ,th:ink they
have cooperated a.nd � tred to maintain a go®d working
relationship in : the : business:' comzuunity Consequently
d" presence :here ''tonight
our . .
. . .. .
r Now , as I understand they . 'have been. in • bus.iness
approximately ' . years here . . ' This' . 'really fits into, ,a hope
r g .. the
to locate on. ; their own property , They are : rentin
property .. their business is * operated from ' n'6w and this
' new plant would also represent a slight expansion of . their
operation , Of " the property that we are talking about , once
i 2. : - ''
4 to' ry •.\" yI l t . wd l � rf' Y f _ : t
.:g. f M1, J. �,� fdo ''� P f i .^ 4
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W • ti
McDermott more roughly T 'If guso es 107. acres are ` clear and ? the balance
' ;- is wooded , ° That 10, acres - sat fallow = rl
farm ' land ..
for .. the past 4 years and has not. been produc,t3ve " to the Town
or th4 . 1e or�mer ' during that period , I believe that the �cir-
t r ° 3 , cumst,gnces 'that;' theA company ;: finds itself in at thisIV
I.f;time
` certainlyrhasf. � relationship to general condgtions in the
ord
area butkrather unique ; conditions :' in that they have" pur - '
chased..' the .piropexty, in good : €aitli; "and on reliance 4upoAL
' advice that `this ;would ,be a.` permissible use .and have
o
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o
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III
Lft
F'. ' proceeded in ;oampl ancerwith : the . laws of the ' Town ; Thus
far heteaeen • the property and excavation , they have 'a
substantial .investment' " and I , think this should . be a fac -
tor - in . the Board ° s.0consideration • of -the circumstanceso
1
-: As far ",as the' sctual � loeation of the plant • ,it` `will be
:, back ; 500 ft . :from thexoadway -and the nearest neighbor ,
" as I understand rit>;" will be no less than : 500 - 600 ft, . . .
from the - actual 'j,operat•iono ' . fiom ' talking about ` the
physical siteI the storage bin •and so forth., wheI the
trucks - , load }, r d .
; . ", >l
One ' other thing ` partieularly , =' when you are going north
it is my ' observation that the site as excavated is
hardly, visible from 'the',d, road even ; I thinks also ;in ::
terms of distnce` from . ;the roadway there ' will be a'
minimumamotint� of ; noises , dust and so on and as a .;ma ter
of fact. -. should- have: little or. . rio effect on- the surround -
r . ing residentsof J . .
As agricultural land I ' 1b ieve there are a '- number of
permitted uses widthin : your ordinance which - would ' have a
much " more devastating effect on .: the environment and on
the beauty -- of the . . area , .• For • instance , you are all
familiar % with ; the : sand and gravel "Opera.tions - quarrying
and - thee " ugly gouges w 'ich ' r' sult from this . operation ,
This is ' • a closely . allied operation but I understand`.;they
have to. intention :do - taking:. gravel from the `area `; is\;
that right , , Mel , stillta- by trucking,@
;, .Y ,. . o
M , Brown : Yeso ot " I z t) .•
W . McDermott ' Another ,:. use is for:: the operation of a saw mill . Il certainly
rcan' t think of Anythixg . that'swould beimore noise producing
" l both by,>;the screaming ;I f the, saw - and the motors which propel
9. it F
> , . ,
'1 d 4
In summary . - I . don ° -t believe the location o.f; this , business ,
` • • back so -:;fax . from• -the roadway ;.and", surrounding _ residences ,
as it is , these shouldY not, be ;any great impact " either in
terms terms of noise , dt ; Y dust ,: and things of thLs , nature and
also , as . a cox egvence of this , "• I ` lthink there +' should- •be
little or no.,' effect on' ahe .residential values of..;` the ; area ,
-j ., +%
The '. front portion0. 0f the property could still be prop•.erly
used in ' accordanee ' With' the , . ordinance . We ; are not ' here
asking for ' a . varia=6 of the full acreage , we ' are concerned
P. , .. . ady zoned . agricultural •
only " with that ortaon . that is sire
to . do
ui ' Ido do
.4tildjff J, 1 .
j' . '' I 3 ., tff k h' d ' 1 IF
wfl,r till
ill '.�li - , ' • ' S , . '.
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W McDermott : I 'think . I aliceady mentioned it , , one of the permuted " uses
' ° ri ` 'the ' agr c � tur$1 % area under III is the co ricial
eXeavption ;off;, sand and 'Ilkgrauel anct: other natural de osts
.uses arg� not'. goad ' for
" and quaxryirigp roe . I: thL I these ,
.; the lands�apo-1 pause ` dust :.and things youry arIf
e . co %cer%�ed ' '
at�obat bxt tti s{ rmperataon,r. wo_v1d have much ; less effect: . than
such a .::permi ked operationk . y
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AL
" Finally , unless John. or Mel :would like to add to ; what I ' ve
Ilk said , I ; tlnlz that the'se .' are ` thel things that hopefully you
will . give this ] variance favorable: consideration . and ` grant
zY
it for, : this x �se Q ,
if Ifone other matter '�ahich: I think should . be .important , to' you ,
t ToPan of ` Groton , thor�gh . not entirely
as residents my theIt I.
,I if ;:, :. X .lk, ; relevant to phisli� IliheIt aring , `if and that is„ an interest 3zi
maintaining : conunerclal ventures within you�co torn? . 4 We -all
K,f .. p to ent and
depend 'upon 'them ° :fOrt 'ax base su port, for amp . 3'm . .
so forth , 4 •I ' think that this organization. has proven that
it ' is good and they ' are good citizens; in-
your' torah . and
Al "'' If
If
1Ik would ' 1'ike' ' to , eontinue; to :be . such and remain ;he�ee as _ part
of the ;comiminity , I .
J . Wago : Does + anyone -glsn ha� iive '„anything , to add to . that aIk
t this e
point ? What; is ' the acreage involved:. here , Mel .; ' `
1 ) O
If
` M . . Brown : .: ;- The wthole parcel :of : land is . 50 acrese ;
`
J , Wargo : What :are the' measurements ` on that , What . is blocked , out
there , ` is that , 50 acres ? km
if ., >
If
2 r"o
If
M tBrown : a Right ,, that ' 6 , 50 AcresAk II
It
' right there .
x: . Ilk If
If
G Can you sh00% on ,tchere ' where the plant : wool be ?
Can ,: n 1 If, ,
e ! ,
J . Wargo • Please ,, come ., up , and show itI kill
, on the map here eahere the `
P Y �,.
plant wi. lh he ; ',
._ Ia ' be ,® f a few .• feet here but I - 'can put it
Sure ; IIIM . 'Brown : s „ ' . ' ' just about here ; ` it � ;s` , going next to; , this creek ` and the
�amoded;.•area; Mr pi M�DermOtt made ' reference: to is everything
` beyond N .
this creeko ` is is; theopen°, ground . here , and right
h, ,
b there is wrhere the :;p1an will .'._.
sit : : Can; ' everyone see
y
n y ;
If 1, Ifth$tle k
r ,
I. .� 4 . :-
L . , UolIII pc7li ;: Are you 500 .,xftkr 'from that creek
' , a
74 M < ;-Brown * No , from this roadq r } ;,
- If fr-
Ik
III
,
. Volpicelli ' You ' have to be 500 ft from the• stream . r, r
r , ' , 1, NI
fill Lj.�
M , Brown : Not according ' to - the ,'. Conservation Department , :They have '
been over there And checked it out .
tr
d.
If
J , Wargo : Ilk
Mark it on there a little heavier , Mel , � 's�. L . everyone :can
LLIf
see it , Good .
4
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B . Bucko : That ' s on ly 'totgiye � notice ' to the Cotxnty :'IPlanning Board
NO At 4
or, .the State.; Co issiono
A.
N , 'Magr�o : Would you read that;, paragraph out loud: so we 'can all
y�� V•Y 1'" J fir.
hear it ?
L . Vol icelli I just came across th1s , what am I getting into Ben$
P � .
B Bucko
What you are . ,reading , 500
is 503 and that As ;A . if you are :. ..
feet . °�. r
. o t.
f
.:
N , Magro : would you read that paragraph again , , please ? . '
r . ., ..
L . Volpicel1li • t ~ : r . World you read ' it Ben?
1 fr. . 4
' • Y* <
b ' ,
p .,
(Mr Bucko 'rread paragraph 1503 aloud ,`)
:. ,. .
r{� don ° t have tc� no0tify " the County . Planning Ageugy before
r B o Bu.cko .: So - 11�y 5 .
final actionn taken' �. and they have 60 days on which to act
on this
A
So there has to be ' a submission by you ?
N o MagrO'% ,
B , Bucko : By this Board but � they don ' t have to do • it prior to the
' hearingto A
A .
s . y
N ; Ma
gro : Thank ' you
, '
W , Petrello . . ' ' I own two �reces of property : out there . I ' m not awfully
` t familiar 4with the '-, reason ' people " are against. . Lewbro , -and '
would like ,' to- know -more particp.lars on what r'they are
against and, why:they . object to new businesses in 'the
a Village of. Gioton'94 -would `like " to know the reasons '1ie -
fore �'e. . go any farther-O
a .
Ao - Gee 1,i1 : My ' name is Adrian Grant and I live ' qu,ite ' nearby ; they are
going : to . haul1. A11; th'is; gravel and there '. II ' be . dusAt flying
and are going rto= ,'haul - 'cement out , Where wiIL. th ' cement
.
= - - be `poureAt -d „ . Down that creek ' and all the ; 'dust
will "be : flyingP „ a '
V . 1 . \
.�.rtf
M , ` Brown ; We have no intention of making it dusty , dorm . there . `
A , ' Grant : It ' s bound to be + dusty ` wherever . trucks ° are , - - look at 222 !
If you have . a° water wagon to. . keep those tracks wetie,
,. =
M , - Bronrr� : That .is . our problem t®. control . -`. As ` I say there ill be a
minimum 'amountk .mf dust' , that ° .s what I,,. mean ; '
A . Grant : Would .you ' .want it near', yourrhouse ? Do you 'A1ive . down there ?
M a '. Brown : No , .but ' I wotildn ° t . mind moving down there ; So .far `' a s ; dumping
into the creek , "we ' re not that foolish , We have not dump
by Herb ' s ' for - betteL .
r than 'a year and,, wouldn ' t be if the
ground belonged to us . Thfs ' is one of the reasons," we are
buying ' ground for ourselves so we can have the freedomr. to
do it our wayo ' We are not dumping it into the creek but
- 5 -
:: 7
.. 1 yS , ioi,i . 4 `. firi i A
if P
4 to
pq
M , Brown : info tylo holoso rAd
, M .
ofi
_ a
r +
A . Grant : f .Probably into somebodyi's well ! of
of to P to
M ; Brown. Probably' about ; 1 / 2:" m31e from . anybody ' s
Ma I res and to the Issue on the stream `
T10 McDermott Y p ,,.. , ,
If r <..
Let ' s a�,lo�i ever pn a : chance to have' thef" word
J, Wargo : Y .
W , McDermott With regard to tha , stseeam , : sir , the EAC s' beginning to
assert itsto
elf and ;• af ' there; ` s any: contamination of
public 'stream by ` Lewbrq or anyone else is .' liable for
money damagesi2 fox ; thew. , action . _ 'I think -,there ' s
sufficient' control � n ` that ;respect and cextainly 'if
they did dump there>` �iould have problems with the: Depart -
ment of - Enviroramental ; �onservation and mould be :'Subject r
to a fine for tff1t . :
Who checks . 0 won this ; dumping into the creek and ; all .
John Evans : p
- that ;
An report of contamination '? of a stream is investigated
W , McDermott : Y P11
by one of 'thiir ` field • tepresentatives and a report sub -
mitted ' back to the
mein office and appropriate. action
is taken th�ne ' KTheL.ire ' ,s a regional office in .Coraland
f .
nova , by. the wag,.
W , pot I have a restaurant 1n ; the town of Groton and have heard
,: . both sides". and : I• feel• there has been ' more misunderstand
ing and, mis.'interp etaas
tion 0f this, and maybe; if it . �1 ,
explained better : maybe, the . people that live" in that
area would .li,ave ; a; different feeling and would' undetstand
a better what' is ' goin1.g on . L have been up around Lewbro ' s
when they haire been putting sand. : and .gravel ' into .. trucks
and also at 'ooffther. _ places • wher, 'they do this and•- there ' s
not' . a terrific remount' :of . dust , ` : So maybe these fellows
, • .
ought to explain :better .
a third , or half mile from where John . and Mel
N , Magro : I , live about , ,
want . to ,put t�?eir plant , I ' 'cani appreciate e their . gsroblem
but 'owould ask ' .this . Board and Mr , Petrello 'how would they
i ,
like : to have. one of'' .tYiese .plants . right in their' hadkyard ,
A petition ha`s been ," signed by, all but , people opposing
thus . Question is a cement plant today , = a " rendering
„ . . .
plant tooraw , -a • junkyard next• `week . I;:. know 'there will '
be ioise n Look atd ` p Opm nandn ohere ' and .am to
opposed
e pme • ,
: to a . p you will : see there are
9flots' Of aand ':of people who . oppose it and have signed,, no
we don ' t the there and I think . y6U should _take
that into consideration ,
t of to 1
F , 'Kyes : My nine is Floyd Kyes and I Mould like to speak on' behalf
of the Groton Business- Association . ; First I'` wouldlike to
ask ` Mr , "Wargo a ` vestion , = -`when the zoning ordinance was
drawn up what was
the purpose of , zoning : for =this community ? ,
it .
i Wargo : To regulate and encourage growth in a. uniform patterno
and for the general 'welfare of the community .
6 _
to
tunityF , Kyes : I. think the • Town is faced with an oppor the y
shouldn ' t pass up`, Our town.vhas always been a satellite
of _ SCM = weave• noth; ng: to speak of ' `that 1a directly, or
indirectly related to�' SCM . and I think anl . ything Ghat , comes
in to promote commerce :- for:, the good of all the people who
live here should : s.
not, bye stamped out ,
I . really don°;t think this cement plant will hurt :' 'anyone
near as much % as it. , will help everyone As to a . lowering
in property vales I don'' t think this is going to happen ,
Look : at Grant. , s . in. Cortland , Triphammer. 'in . Ithaca where
farm. land has been converted into industrial land , where
people who r have o�rned:. .farm s are now extremely - wealthy
people , : Routce ` 38 ; 'is, a good site , - and we shave " no. commercial
outside of, 22I ell
2 , r
. 1 . t
_ Ifii
I think that ' we e - I know for a fact that there is
enough " government'" control 'agencies and enough people
watching ithe.-'ef f orts•.. of something like a cement plant ,
or in my case ad. yard . to look after it for the good
of the people a4d ` Lewbro themselves are looking to become
a part of the community and know for a ' 'fact they have been
invited into `Locke or Lansing , I don ' t think it ' s for the
good of vs at ' ah ;to try to push someone out who . is trying
to cooperate ' ."arid' : operate properly ,
It
Lk
R ,' Houston : I ' m, about 5 : miles ' from this site . I would agree with Dusty
that ':anything ise. can"do te. ncres se tax base in
'• this area
-
I,an. : a set , to .' this Town ,, ' Those of us who have used
a lot ' of . cem-` over the . last ' l® - 12 years would probably
find ' it cost ing , a . lot ' more ' to have it' , brought in. from
somewheres ' else• but • thit ' s �.besidetthe point ® Those of us
who: have expanded ;= our":: assessment has e`been raised. so if
we Edon`° tt gel". some ' tax base ` ,in td the . :town This ` is: an
opportunity ;I. `°_. Just hths next. year my school ` taxes ' will be
$ 2 000 Anything that.'; can ' be brought ' into ; the Town that
will increase tho : taxtbase` I think will be ' :an asset . to this
commanity ; '
G , Gleason :
Here ° -Here ? .
J ; Hora :
It
I ' m Joe Hora and . ' I live about 7 miles from where the plant
mot
would'. be I and • I � do ,work 'on their- trucks and my, neighbors
P . don ' t complain , Z'heg' don ' t . seem to mind It
I ' m: not that
big . of ; a businessI.
that I can afford , to % lose them, If they
are driven- ,out that ° s •probably. what - will, , happen ,
D Carey : I live ahe1 . other side of torn but - welare customers :bf Lew-
bro , . When . you draw ankordinance if you could see every,.
occasion • when ,. anything like this would come vp you. wouldn ' t
have this meeting at all bvt as soon as. you have - these
meetings there are always . objection's , ' Now I ' d hate' to see
this outfit go out; of 'town ', simply mean people will
say you are driving smell businesses out of town - and we
14 do need them , we can It set .. big businesses here so : would
like to see this group left here to contribute to . the town ,
As I say , Iif" you could see all these things ' when you set up
It 7.. -
1y�
.1 I I I, I I o I I a 1 1$ F v 'r t r il' r b I. 4: a ..
t } t a . "'}' F ' 1. 4
^ r , qR , t •fY Ji k , . .. ,! i' ' r{•If
r tej
,aG i t i± , tt f / m a
. ,. 4 Y5, . . ". ILL, 1 If
,..
y - J " Y° kItI LL . . gs . h have been
D 'e Care an ordinance wouldntt havelto have these meetings
to .� good many meetings ,9r' not exactly , this type , , but all It,
people object whether ' he I INyrknow ; what they are objecting ° about or
not; Lewbro have� been ' .up here on the hill : and` f` tlie Vidd ,hlag14. 1
e would
. . have been hollering if ' ' utysettled on the >wallagIf
e' and we ' haven ' t
0 ' :heard an comp faints Now , ; really I think anyone that >. objects to
„: . y ' Pre
this a %re objecting ` to something : they`; 'aren , ' quite familiar with :
qI. I
n tud iIt
t 3 , .,�5 }
N ° Magro . May I ask a ,
No There was some property they bought from
Cotanch � •y
r d. s
ILL l
J ° Wargo That ' I don ° t .kno�VILr °t y t ` ,f
ID
j
N : Ma ro . Can you be specific HicksIt
graw ILL It
�,
11
s
M ° Brown : About 20 ' acres a !� , ' " Il.
' About 20 acres b .brtzline ' s barn and in order toTput &Tiy kind
H ° " Dow y ; It
x' of business . estab,l'isldient there wasn "t the depth Ito put: it
r 4 -
4fi across the creek
' -I 5 1. ,
N , Magro . Why' not ? a ; . .
. .
H , Dow .,, Because it mould Piave to be bridged which wou1 be quite: an in
s
vestment ; IN I's
•r
why couldn ' t rit o across the road ?
N Magro . g, ., '
H , Dow . There ' s more to it , Old
Nick , too , - - low intensity belt is ,
r
- , .
N . Magro ; It ' s the same hence ; k „
Ho -Dow . : No , it almost taperstou at the point -Z . of the bridge so Idid
the
difference there ,, ,I., 111,
�' ' , `If
III , ; Add,>r ' '�
Couldn ' t the grant a variance at the .other
N ° Magro' ; Y sites
•,
B ° LBucko • CILNo ; down there by , Cotanch ' s; ,` it ' s low intensity -and is ' prohibited .
,;
N Magro : Couldn ' t 'youcliange it ?'I .r ,
i '
That would be a zone change ' not a 'variance`,`
J ° Wargo r;
... .r. -y . . : , . p - o
5II . It
J ° Evans I think Lit ', was stateI . d III 'that "the plant was going to be , .50.0 ft . from
the'. closest neighbor ; °' rIf it ° s 500 ft . from .the road , it.
t 'has to
be' closer than that r to . us , , ,
W ° . McDermott : ,Perhaps` that was an error in my ' estimate . `` It was my ` understanding
,
' ' that•. it .;wozld' be, 500 ft9 rf
is this - your proper' si
ti
J ° EvansI.
, .Yes ; - Led cif 'the plaVilntr ; is 500 ft . from the 'road `only leaves 300 ft .
from my .property : '
. . ,
W ° McDermott : I was trying . to make reference to the; residences , - I ` covld ' be
t
Ir wrong � '
, f ; .
;:
J . Evans ; I work nights and imagine I IL
it would be quite' noisy in„'' te 'morning
and will certainly , be ' dusty I - - whether it ;will' blow on us or not ,
I ILL
don ' t know yet . . "
r .
D , , VanBenschoten : I live 'about " one. and a ' half miles from the proposed plant
• site and- so ' far as ng� se is concerned, m3' ` suggestIII iori would
' be if you, , want , to ,b ; without . nose ask SCM to curtail pro -
duction : Zn icown `to,rlt ' the some 250 °cars or so that go
t .. . • ..r , c li _ t .� ,. .
:7 by every morning or every night ? One trkuck , Irwould 'say ,
14 ,
...
PIPwould lie theequivalent to1 '5 :cars . It ` s ,;true , there is
•' :: going to be noise � invo.lved but you already have . this
problem . some, at , a.nd,PIP- ; . another thing ,i It, I : would say`. would be
just :as 'much=IIIof aIII , :bother and that s the ' auction ' gallery - -
. a
N . . Magro . :4 It ' s a pain in the, aPps I get the dust 'from . there 9
D , ,VanBenschoten : . Were you 'there beit .fore ?r - 4 :T
Al
I was there before ;
No Magro :
Fss
4
Mrs . J . Evans : I ' ve yetI. see a 1.truck loaded w1 .ith gravel that doesn ' t.'•make
more noise than anPI y dozen cars ,arid they will;; tie driving right
by the end of our ..property.:. with ' my husband trying to sleep days ,
d It
J . Lewis . _ There ' s one thing I want'` to 'bring out here . We went down there
and- drove in : with . our.,-` Pinto ; -
ti.
r
I .
Mrs . J , ' Evans : And that makes noise
J , Lewo I ' m sorry but birds make no ,
too , the reason we : are ;going in
P.
there at ` this. time is � that :it ' s . the- only place w.e can - - - - - -
- is ''to make a driveway .
PC Ill 9
Mrs . J , Evans . It s all swamp , - , ;, 0
t '
L . Whatman: PP
�.' My name is Lucille Whatman, ' and I reside in 'the Town of Locke
but my husband and I; . odm " the property listed as No . 3 up there .
Now I want. toIask just = two questions , - -we ' don ' t have •- zoning in
Cayuga . County , I ;_,want ;� to' know about this , = - this is zoned as
agricultural , if I ' w I . Iere to ` own that - property am I`, prohibited
" from building a : diry barn ` in there and having and housing cows
h
' there ?
try,
B . Bucko : . . It ' s zoned so you'� ' can- have :a dairy - barn ,
L . Whatman : Care I build a calfebarn or ' a chicken house like Mr . Cotanch
has ?
B , Bucko . Yes . r , )) .
' y , ' •. a a 5 S ', a N 0. . .
La Whatman '. Enough said ? F
J
r: '
rfi •&
PP
L , Grant . 111, „ I Live two` houses ' down .`. Ir want to know are there going - to be
different hours- thI truckixig •• will be" going on down there because
you see unless you live down there you don' t know you can hear
your neighbors . just like ` you were standing next to them.-
J , Lewis : You live across the brI IL
idge ? Would you be - past . Dick - = - - - - - ' s
house ? , .
L . Grant : Just below, it .
M1
1d -
9 1 '
Vlo
If
J . Lewis : Do you think our ,trucks` wi . keep your children awI.ake ? '
u
Mrs , L . Grant : If they are • runn th
ing rough ;the-- night .
+ Iti
J . hewis We ';' don ' t run . through thernight , - -ju'st daylight ' hours ;
Mrs . L , Grant : ' I ' Mi talking about sleeping noises ; You have • to live 'there to
know how not"sel + carr > es :` int •that . valley ,
J . Lewis . , You are ; talking about vehicles going by your house ?
41
Mrse L . Grant : You don ' t have to Arive by4 -you
J . Wargo : ; Let him finish his4statement before you break in , ' please , .
It A
,.It
it It
J . Lewis : , ' Did I answer the `question
M . Brown : Yes ,
J . Lewis . We don ' .t . run on Sundays either' In - case that* is ' one of the things
that bothers you , ; Ovr• , days '.run from ' in the. morning and
usually . by six ,at `night ue ' re done but wouldn ' t want - to say I ' m go -
ing to be done every night at six ,
: ,
Mrs , Le Grant : Would you ' say, youere done tonight at six ? "
J . Lewis : II IN . I was . w
. n
Mrs, L . ' Grant : One of your trucks wasm ., t
. . .
J , Lewis :. That ' s quite possible , .:,
,. -
r3, d.
11 r a`
J , Wargo . f a- Does + the Board havetany questions ?,
Sri ' ' .. . ; It
. -•.
B , Baron : We live across the ,stream fram the site butimy . husband and I have
no object ionso
L , Robison : . I live in Groton but Iformerly lived on a farm but I understand this
is zoned agriculI.
tural Mrs ;: Evans says there ' s a Iot .of quicksand
and swamp . there , t ,'_What °Lgood ° would this be for' agricultural purposes ?
Why - shouldn ° t it' ` be ; put to 'm,good ' use anal bring some money. back ? I ' m
asking . you, peoplg , that 'o* 1
1 ,•r f,
. -
W , Elliott : ^ ` I . live , in' Groton . City,, .and I. m : wondering asl to ' the ,statement that if
: you grant this ' .eement plant ; - that doesn °,Itmean anybody can move
` in 'and . do anyth:in.g they `want , does it?' In' other- words anybody else
I .
that wanted a• business .like say a ' junkyard or rendering - works would
have to go` •through this Brame thing , wouldn-' t they ?
y .
It
N . Magro : The point is , . once you break itpit 'I . s easier the next time , I ' m
asking the � Board ' to -'look . at` the. `names '' on the petition and ask
yourselves would ypu : : like this in your. own' backyards ?
S . McCarty: My nameI ' Shirley McCarty and we have motor cycles ' going 'by .all the
time , we moved - into Groton temporariiy : and had the . Grand;. 'Union at
ourr backyard and about two riights - we ,,'thought we wouldn ° t.,� be able to
sleep at all but noise is something you become , used to anal have
found living in thecountry• the noise isn ' t any less than living .
next ' to Grand Union ,
.. . . , : 10
Ld
W . 1¢Dermott, : " One last thing noio, John , of you had any complaints ' with regard
to` dust . or trucks ". or' ,any relate of the things that to. your
business , - -where _.you , arerpresen, located' , you °have been there
.,
wi
4' years . now' , - have you '"" had :any cenaplaints in rglation' to. your
LL
'L
sand and gravel operation ? , .
M • Brown : . ` .. None whatsoever , J `
N • Magro : , T think you should ask •lthe people that live up ' there •'
D • Ostrander : My daughter and herAhusL .band': live near where th:ey• ha.ve • conducted
their operations ' for 4. -.. Years and they have had no:` prI .
oblems or
� complaints and .certaagly,=they should ' know if it' was dusty or
anything else , `
,, s ;
B • Ostrander : I an employee of FLewbro , much: more convenient to, have ' 'them
:here than ' if : I had' to drive to Ithaca 4 years '' and live in
r ` , Groton and ownk, Property here . You would think t1.e town would
. want growth and mor6 ,tbzsiness in the community ,
Don Whatman-o • • It , seems to me haven ° t , beenJ . 1concerned before because probably
this property was for :sale ° and if ; they didn ' t '.want any neigh -
bors they could have ,I'bought it themselves !
J . Wargo : Gordon , , do you ' have any questions ?
G . Hoy : IN02 I guess not .
J . Wargo : . Dick , - -George , Laura ?r ' ,
Id All the Board memb'ers ,repled they didn ' t have any questions .
J . Wargo : d Dana , do you have. •_ anything, to say?
D . Snell * No .
o `
J , Wargo : Do you have anything else to come before theBoard?
M . Brown : One minute ,- 'before you adjourn , - -we have been at this now for
14 -5 months with these problems and one thing after another and
you get the feeling ' .that people• " do . want you out but with �. the
number of, people here tonight Iaget the feeling we � are wanted
and I just want to = say. ; .rea 'lly appreciate your . .Support and
what you have :said ; Thar}k you ,
J . Wargo : Thishearing is now closed , ;
( The hearing . . closed
Respec fully ' submitted ;
q Jose hin . Bell
•
PUBLIC HEARING - .TOWN OF . GROTON ._ZONING , BOARD OF APPEALS
Held at the Town Hall
Groton , N . Y .
August 19 , 1974 8 P . M .
PRESENT : J . Wargo - Chairman , Zoning Board of Appeals
&. Lawrence - Member " " it
L . Volpicelli
R , Bell
G . Hoy
Be Bucko - Town Attorney
L . Baker - Town Clerk
H . Dow - Town Supervisor
D . Snell - Zoning Enforcement Officer
G . Totman - Chairman - Groton Town Planning Board
H . Fink - Member of Groton Town Planning Board
A . Clark - Ithaca Journal
M . Dempsey - Cortland Standard
J . Bell - Recording Clerk
Approximately 70 members of the general public .
J . Wargo : I ' ll call this hearing to order and read aloud the public notice
of this hearing as printed in the Groton Journal and Courier .
(Mr . Wargo read the notice aloud and it is attached
hereto and made a part of these minutes . )
Be Bucko : When was that published ?
J . Wargo : It was published on August 7th . The application is from Melvin
Brown and `John Lewis . Before we open this up , please give your
name before you ask questions or make a statement . I ' ll now
throw this hearing open to people from Lewbro Inc .
N . Magro : May I make one request , please . Will they tell us the approxi -
mate distance from this site . that they live ?
Be Bucko : May I see the application ?
W . McDermott : First of all , I ' m Wes McDermott and I ' m here on behalf of Mr .
and Mrs . Brown and Mr . and Mrs . Lewis . I would like to perhaps
bring you up to date as to how I became involved . First of all ,
as indicated by the chairman , an application for a variance for
use other than sand and gravel operation in an agricultural
area located north of the Village approximately 1 -2 to 2 miles
on Route 38 was made , The entire area , which the Lewbro Company
owns , is approximately 50 acres and is shown on this drawing here ,
1 -
W . McDermott ; I expect most of you are more familiar with the area than
I am . The area in question is this area in this vicinity
and the front portion of the property which they own is
zoned , as I understand , low density about 500 ft . and the
balance is agricultural . Of the 50 acres approximately
40 are wooded and the proposal is to construct a ready
mix concrete business and sand and gravel business in the
area . Of course , I am sure you are all aware they are
already located in your community within the Township and
we hopethey can continue to do business here .
As I said , the area in question is approximately 500 ft *
back from the roadway and really this is the only area
that we are asking it be granted for , not for the entire
area . The only involvement with the low intensity area
would be ingress and egress to the plant itself .
Now , as I understand it , some of the background is relevant ,
I believe , is that sometime ago Lewbro began looking for
property to relocate and place a new plant . I believe
initially they had one abortive attempt to purchase
property in the Town and subsequently sought counsel of some
of the Town officials to advise them and came across this
property - we are talking about this evening . They purchased
the property in good faith feeling it was going to be per -
missible use and applied for and obtained a building permit .
At this point , I would like to. say something about the
issuancd of the permit itself . The zoning officer necessar -
ily is an administrative officer , an official of the Town ,
expected to use his good judgment and be reasonable . There
has never been a zoning ordinance written that covers all
situations and consequently in many instances it falls on
his shoulders to determine whether or not this would be an
appropriate use in a given area and to exercise good judg -
ment- and , of course , reach a conclusion as to whether or
not a permit should be issued . In this particular case a
permit was issued and I personally think it was a proper
issuance especially with the sand and gravel provisions in
your ordinance .
Subsequently Mel and John were advised that this wasn ' t
appropriate and I think they came to the Town Board and
asked for advice and it was suggested they apply for a
variance . I came in quite late and a few of you know
what my advice has been to Mel and John . I think they
have cooperated and tried to maintain a good working
relationship in the business community . Consequently
our presence here tonight .
Now , as I understand it , they have been in business
approximately 4 years here . This really fits into a hope
to locate on their own property . They are renting the
property their business is operated from now and this
new plant would also represent a slight expansion of their
operation . Of the property that we are talking about , once
2 -
W . McDermott : more roughly I guess 10 acres are clear and the balance
is wooded . That 10 acres sat fallow - farm land - -
for the past 4 years and has not been productive to the Town
or the owner during that period . I believe that the cir -
cumstances that the company finds itself in at this time
certainly has a relationship to general conditions in the
area but rather unique conditions in that they have pur -
chased the property in good faith and on reliance upon
advice that this would be a permissible use and have
proceeded in compliance with the laws of the Town . Thus
far , between the property and excavation , they have a
substantial investment and I think this should be a fac -
tor in the Board ' s consideration of the circumstances .
As far as the actual location of the plant it will be
back 500 ft . from the roadway and the nearest neighbor ,
as I understand it , will be no less than 500 - 600 fte
from the actual operation . I ' m talking about the
physical site of the storage bin and so forth where the
trucks load .
One other thing particularly , when you are going north
it is my observation that the site as excavated is
hardly visible from the road even . I think also in
terms of distance from the roadway there will be a
minimum amount of noises , dust and so on and as a matter
of fact should have little or no effect on the surround -
ing residents .
As agricultural land I believe there are a number of
permitted uses within your ordinance which - would have a
much more devastating effect on the environment and on
the beauty of the area . For instance you are all
familiar with the sand and gravel operations - quarrying
and the ugly gouges which result from this operation .
This is a closely allied operation but I understand they
have no intention of taking gravel from the area , is
that right , Mel , still by trucking ?
M . Brown : Yes .
W . McDermott : Another use is for the operation of a saw mill . I certainly
can ' t think of anything that- would be more noise producing
both by the screaming of the saw and the motors which propel
it .
In summary , I don ' t believe the location of this business ,
back so far from the roadway and surrounding residences ,
as it is , there should not be any great impact either in
terms of noise , dirt , dust , and things of this nature and
also , as a consequence of this , I think there should be
little or no effect on the residential values of the area .
The front portion of the property could still be properly
used in accordance with the ordinance . We are not here
asking for a variance of the - full acreage , we are concerned
only with that portion that is • already zoned agricultural .
3 -
W . McDermott : I think I already mentioned it , one of the permitted uses
in the agricultural area under 601 . 44 is the commercial
excavation of sand and gravel and other natural deposits
and quarrying rock . I think these uses are not good for
the landscape , cause dust . and things you are concerned
about but this operation - would have much less effect than
such a permitted operation .
Finally , unless John or Mel would like to add to what I ' ve
said , I think that these are the things that hopefully you
will give this variance favorable consideration and grant
it for this use .
One other matter which I think should be important to you ,
as residents in the Town of Groton , though not entirely
relevent to this hearing , and that is an interest in
maintaining commercial ventures within your town . We all
depend upon them for tax base support , for employment and
so forth . I think that this organization has proven that
it is good and they are good citizens in your town and
would like to continue to be such and remain here as part
of the community .
J . Wargo : Does anyone else have anything to add to that at this
point ? What is the acreage involved here , Mel ?
M . Brown : The whole parcel of land is 50 acres .
J . Wargo : What are the measurements on that . What is blocked out
there , is that 50 acres ?
M . Brown : Right , that ' s 50 acres right there .
G . Hoy : Can you show on there where the plant would be ?
J . Wargo : Please come up and show it on the map here where the
plant will be .
M . Brown : Sure . I may be off a few feet here but I can put it
just about here , - - it ' s going next to this creek and the
wooded area Mr . McDermott made reference to is everything
beyond this creek . This is the open ground here and right
by there is where the plant will sit . Can everyone see
that ?
L . Volpicelli : Are you 500 ft . from that creek ?
M . Brown : No , from this road .
L . Volpicelli : You have to be 500 ft . from the stream .
M . Brown : Not according to the Conservation Department . They have
been over there and checked it out .
J . Wargo : Mark it on there a little heavier , Mel , so everyone can
see it . Good .
- 4 -
B . Bucko : That ' s only to give notice to the County Planning Board
or the State Commission ,
N . Magro : Would you read that paragraph out loud so we can all
hear it ?
L . Volpicelli : I just came across this , what am I getting into Ben ?
B . Bucko : What you are reading is 503 and that is if you are " 500
feet . . . . . . '''
N . Magro : Would you read that paragraph again , please ?
L . Volpicelli : Would you read it , Ben ?
(Mr . Bucko read paragraph 1503 aloud . )
B . Bucko : So - - They don ' t have to notify the County Planning Agency before
final action is taken and they have 60 days on which to act
on this ,
N . Magro : So there has to be a submission by you ?
B . Bucko : By this Board but they don ' t have to do it prior to the
hearing .
N . Magro : Thank you .
W . Petrello : I own two pieces of property out there , I ' m not awfully
familiar with the reason people are against Lewbro and
would like to know more particulars on , what they are
against and why they object to new businesses in the
Village of Groton , - -would like to know the reasons be -
fore we go any farther ,
A . Grant : My name is Adrian Grant and I live quite nearby , they are
going to haul all this gravel and there ' ll be dust flying
and are going to haul cement out . Where will the cement
- - - - - - - - - - be poured ? Down that creek and all the dust
will be flying .
M . Brown : We have no intention of making it dusty down there .
A . Grant : It ' s bound to be dusty wherever trucks are , - - look at 2221.
If you have a water wagon to keep those tracks wet - - -
M . Brown : That is our problem to control , As I say there will be a
minimum amount of dust , that ' s what I mean .
A . Grant : Would you want it near your house ? Do you live down there ?
M . Brown : No , but I wouldn ' t mind moving down there . So far as dumping
into the creek , we ' re not that foolish , We have not dumped
by Herb ' s for better than a year and wouldn ' t be if the
ground belonged to us . This is one of the reasons we are
buying ground for ourselves so we can have the freedom to
do it our way . We are not dumping it into the creek but
- 5 -
M . Brown : into two holes .
A . Grant : Probably into somebody ' s well !
M . Brown : Probably about 1 / 2 mile from anybody ' s well .
W . McDermott : May I respond to the issue on the stream ?
J . Wargo : Let ' s allow everyone a chance to have their word ;
W . McDermott : With regard to the stream , sir , the EAC is beginning to
assert itself and if there is any contamination of
public stream by Lewbro or anyone else is liable for
money damages for their action . I think there ' s
sufficient control in that respect and certainly if
they did dump there would have problems with the Depart -
ment of Environmental Conservation and would be subject
to a fine for it .
John Evans : Who checks up on this dumping into the creek and all
that ?
W . McDermott : Any report of contamination of a stream is investigated
by one of their field representatives and a report sub -
mitted back to the main office and appropriate action
is taken then . There ' s a regional office in Cortland
now , by the way .
W . Petrello : I have a restaurant in the town of Groton and have heard
both sides and I feel there has been more misunderstand -
ing and misinterpretation of this and maybe if it was
explained better maybe the people that live in that
area would have a different feeling and would understand
better what is going on . I have been up around Lewbro ' s
when they have been putting sand and gravel into trucks
and also at other places where they do this and there ' s
not a terrific amount of dust . So maybe these fellows
ought to explain better .
N . Magro : I live about a third or half mile from where John and Mel
want to put their plant . I can appreciate their problem
but would ask this Board and Mr . Petrello how would they
like to have one of these plants right in their backyard .
A petition has been signed by all but 3 people opposing
this . Question is a cement plant today , - - a rendering
plant tomorrow , - - a junkyard next week . I know there will
be noise and dust and equipment in there and am opposed
to it 100% . Look at that map and you will see there are
9 lots of land of people who oppose it and have signed no
we don ' t want that pland there and I think you should take
that into consideration .
F . Kyes : My name is Floyd Kyes and I - would like to speak on behalf
of the Groton Business Association . First I would like to
ask Mr . Wargo a question , - -when the zoning ordinance was
drawn up what was the purpose of zoning for this community ?
J . Wargo : To regulate and encourage growth in a uniform pattern ,
and for the general welfare of the community .
= 6 =
1
F . Kyes : I think the Town is faced with an opportunity they
shouldn ' t pass up . Our town has always been a satellite
of SCM - . we have nothing to speak of that is directly or
indirectly related to SCM and I think anything that comes
in to promote commerce for the good of all the people who
live here should not be stamped out .
I really don ' t think this cement plant will hurt anyone
near as much as it will help everyone . As to a lowering
in property values I don ' t think this is going to happen .
Look at Grant ' s in Cortland , Triphammer in Ithaca where
farm land has been converted into industrial land , where
people who have owned farms are now extremely wealthy
people . Route 38 is a good site and we have no commercial
outside of 222 .
I think that we can , - - I know for a fact that there is
enough government control agencies and enough people
watching the efforts of something like a cement plant ,
or in my case a junkyard , to look after it for the good
of the people and Lewbro themselves are looking to become
a part of the community and know for a fact they have been
invited into Locke or Lansing . I don ' t think it ' s for the
good of us at all to try to push someone out who is trying
to cooperate and operate properly .
R . Houston : I ' m about 5 miles from this site . I would agree with Dusty
that anything we can do to increase tax base in this area
will be an asset to this Town . Those of us who have used
a lot of cement over the last 10 - 12 years would probably
find it costing a lot more to have it brought in from
somewheres else but that ' s beside the point . Those of us
who have expanded , our assessment has been raised so if
we dori'' t get "some tax base rota •tbe tourn - this is an
opportunity . Just this next year my school taxes will be
$ 2 , 000 . Anything that can be brought into the Town that
will increase the tax base I think will be an asset to this
community .
G . Gleason : Here ! Here !
J . Hora : I ' m Joe Hora and I live about 7 miles from where the plant
would be and I do work on their trucks and my neighbors
don ' t complain . They don ' t seem to mind it . I ' m not that
big of a business that I can afford to lose them . If they
are driven out that ' s probably what will happen .
D . Carey : I live the other side of town but we are customers of Lew-
bro . When you draw an ordinance if you could see every
occasion when anything like this would come up you wouldn ' t
have this meeting at all but as soon as you have these
meetings there are always objections . Now I ' d hate to see
this outfit go out of town , - -will simply mean people will
say you are driving small businesses out of town and we
do need them , we can ' t get big businesses here so would
like to see this group left here to contribute to the town .
As I say , if you could see all these things when you set up
_ 7 _
D . Carey : an ordinance wouldn ' t have to have these meetings . I have been
to a good many meetings , not exactly this type , but all these
people object whether they know what they are objecting about or
not . Lewbro have been up here on the hill and the Village would
have been hollering if dust settled on the village and we haven ' t
heard any complaints . Now , really I think anyone that objects to
this are objecting to something they aren ' t quite familiar with .
N . Magro : May I ask a question ? There was some property they bought from
Cotanch ?
J . Wargo : That I don ' t know .
N . Magro : Can you be specific Hicks ?
M . Brown : About 20 acres .
H . Dow : About 20 acres by Portzline ' s barn and in order to put any kind
of business establishment there wasn ' t the depth to put it
across the creek .
N . Magro : Why not ?
H . Dow : Because it would have to be bridged which would be quite an in -
vestment .
N . Magro : Why couldn ' t it go across to the road ?
H . Dow : There ' s more to it , Nick , too , - - low intensity belt is wide .
N . Magro : It ' s the same here .
H . Dow : No , it almost tapers out at the point of the bridge so the
difference there N . Magro : Couldn ' t they grant a variance at the other site ?
B . Bucko : No , down there by Cotanch ' s it ' s low intensity and is prohibited .
N . Magro : Couldn ' t you change it ?
J . Wargo : Thht would be a zone change not a variance .
J . Evans : I think it was stated that the plant was going to be 500 ft . from
the closest neighbor . If it ' s 500 ft . from the road , it has to
be closer than that to us .
W . McDermott : Perhaps that was an error in my estimate . It was my understanding
that it would be 500 ft . - - is this your property , sir ?
J . Evans : Yes , - - so if the plant is 500 ft . from the road only leaves 300 ft .
from my property .
W . McDermott : I was trying to make reference to the residences , - - I could be
wrong .
J . Evans : I work nights and imagine it would be quite noisy in the morning
and will certainly be dusty - - whether it will blow on us or not ,
I don ' t know yet .
- 8 -
D . VanBenschoten : I live about one and a half miles from the proposed plant
site and so far as noise is concerned , my suggestion would
be if you want to be without noise ask SCM to curtail pro -
duction in town to limit the some 250 cars or so that go
by every morning or every night ! One truck , I would say ,
Tv*ould be the equivalent to 5 cars , It ' s .true , there is
going to be noise involved but you already have this
problem somewhat , and , another thing , I would say would be
just as much of a bother and that ' s the auction gallery - -
N . Magro : It ' s a pain in the ass , - - I get the dust from there !
D . VanBenschoten : Were you there before ?
N . Magro : I was there before ,
Mrs . J . Evans : I ' ve yet to see a truck loaded with gravel that doesn ' t make
more noise than any dozen cars and they. will be driving right
by the end of our property with my husband trying to sleep days .
J . Lewis : There ' s one thing I want to bring out here . We went down there
and drove in with our Pinto , - -
Mrs . J . Evans : And that makes noised
J . Lewis : I ' m sorry but birds make noise too , the reason we are going in
there at this time is that it ' s the only place we can - - - - - - - -
is to make a driveway .
Mrs , J . Evans : It ' s all swamp ,
L . Whatman0 My name is Lucille Whatman and I reside in the Town of Locke
but my husband and I own the property listed as No . 3 up there .
Now I want to ask just two questions , - -we don ' t have zoning in
Cayuga County , - - I want to know about this , - this is zoned as
agricultural , - - if I were to own that - property am I prohibited
from building a dairy barn in there and having and housing cows
there ?
B . Bucko : It ' s zoned so you can have a dairy barn .
L . Whatman : Can I build a calf barn or a chicken house like Mr . Cotanch
has ?
B . Bucko : Yes ,
L . Whatman : Enough said !
L . Grant : I live two houses down , - - I want to know are there going to be
different hours that trucking will be going on down there because
you see unless you live down there you don ' t know you can hear
your neighbors just like you were standing next to them ,
J . Lewis : You live across the bridge ? Would you be past Dick- - - - - - - - - - - ' s
house ?
L . Grant : Just below it .
- 9 -
r
J . Lewis : Do y8u think our trucks will keep your children awake ?
Mrs , L . Grant : If they are running through the night .
J . Lewis : We don ' t run through the night , - - just daylight hours .
Mrs . L . Grant : I ' m talking about sleeping noises . You have to live there to
know how noise carries in that valley .
J . Lewis : You are talking about vehicles going by your house ?
Mrs . L . Grant : You don ' t have to drive by , - -you
J . Wargo : Let him finish his statement before you break in , please .
J . Lewis : Did I answer the question ?
M . Brown : Yes ,
J . Lewis : We don ' t run on Sundays either in case that is one of the things
that bothers you . Our days run from six in the morning and
usually by six at night we ' re done but wouldn ' t want to say I ' m go -
ing to be done every night at six .
Mrs , L . Grant : Would you say you were done tonight at six ?
J . Lewis : I was .
Mrs . L . Grant : One of your trucks wasn ' t !
J . Lewis : That ' s quite possible .
J . Wargo : Does the Board have any questions ?
B . Baron : We live across the stream from the site but. my husband and I have
no objections .
L . Robison : I live in Groton but formerly lived on a farm but I understand this
is zoned agricultural . Mrs . Evans says there ' s a lot of quicksand
and swamp there . What good would this be for agricultural purposes ?
Why shouldn ' t it be put to good use and bring some money back ? I ' m
asking you people that .
W . Elliott : I live in Groton City and I ' m wondering as , to the statement that if
you grant this cement plant - - that doesn ' t mean anybody can move
in and do anything they want , does it ? In other words anybody else
that wanted a business like say a junkyard or rendering works would
have to go through this same thing , wouldn ' t they ?
N . Magro : The point is , once you break it ) it ' s easier the next time . I ' m
asking the Board to look at the names on the petition and ask
yourselves would you like this in your own backyards ?
S . McCarty : My name ' s Shirley McCarty and we have motor cycles going by all the
time , we moved into Groton temporarily and had the Grand Union at
our backyard and about two nights we thought we wouldn ' t be able to
sleep at all but noise is something you become used to and have
found living in the country the noise isn ' t any less than living
next to Grand Union .
10 -
W . McDermott : One last thing now , John , if you had any complaints with regard
to dust or trucks or any of the things that relate to your
business , - -where you are presently located , you have been there
4 years now , - -have you had any complaints in relation to your
sand and gravel operation ?
M . Brown : None whatsoever .
N . Magro : I think you should ask the people that live up there .
D . Ostrander : My daughter and her husband live near where they have conducted
their operations for 4 years and they have had no problems or
complaints and certainly they should know if It was dusty or
anything else .
B . Ostrander : I ' m an employee of Lewbro , much more convenient to have them
here than if I had to drive to Ithaca 4 years and live in
Groton and own property here . You would think the town would
want growth and more business in the community .
Don Whatman : It seems to me haven ' t been concerned before because probably
this property was for sale and if they didn ' t - want any neigh -
bors they could have bought it themselves !
J . Wargo : Gordon , do you have any questions ?
G . Hoy : No , I guess not .
J . Wargo : Dick , - - George , - -Laura ?
All the Board members replied they didn ' t have any questions .
J . Wargo : Dana , do you have anything to say ?
D . Snell : No .
J . Wargo : Do you have anything else to come before the Board ?
M . Brown : One minute , before you adjourn , - -we have been at this now for
4 -5 months with these problems and one thing after another and
you get the feeling that people do want you out but with the
number of people here tonight I get the feeling we are wanted
and I just want to say really appreciate your support and
what you have said . Thank you .
J . Wargo : This hearing is now closed .
( The hearing closed at 9 P . M . )
Respec fully submitted ,
Jose hin Bell
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TOMPKINS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING
LMWJ4 Frank R.Liguori PE Commissioner of Planning
August 22, 1974
Mr. Joe Wargo, Chairman
Town of Groton
Board of Appeals
Groton, New York 13073
Re: Zoning Review Pursuant to Section 239 1 and m of the General
Municipal Laws Case: Application for Var iance by the Lewbro
Corporation to Construct a Transit Mix Plant in an Agri-
cultural Zone
Dear Mr. Wargo:
This will acknowledge receipt of the above proposal for review
under Section 239 m of the General Municipal Law® It is proposed
to construct a transit mix plant operation in an existing agri-
cultural zone on property owned by the applicants on route 38
north of the Village of Groton. It is proposed to draw water from
a stream on the property for use in the transit mix operations It
is stated that no wastes will be discharged to said streams
I have discussed the proposal with representatives of the NYS
Department of Environmental Conservations The stream in question
is part of the protected streams of the Department and as such a
permit will be required to take water from the stream* It is also
important that provisions be made so that wastes from the operation
will not drain back into the stream. It may also be necessary to
obtain a permit from the NYS Department of Environmental Conserva-
tion in connection with potential dust from the cement operations
Upon the condition that proper permits are obtained from the NYS
Department of Environmental Conservation, it is apparant that there
will be no significant deleterious impact upon inter-community,
county or state interests. In order to reduce the impact on nearby
residential properties, it would be best to locate the entrance
road to provide suitable buffer space.
Under these conditions, I offer no objection to the proposal and
the Zoning Board of Appeals is free to act without prejudice.
Sin
a_nk R. ori
C ommi ss iclie'r of Planning
FRL:ys
CC: Ben Bucko, Attorney, Town of Groton
Hicks DOW, Supervisor, Town of Groton
128 East Buffalo Street Ithaca New York 14850 Telephone 607-273-2080 Extension 28 29