HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-11-10 C
TOWN OF LANSING PLANNING BOARD
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DATE : November 10 , 1980
410 TY.E : 7 : 30 P . M .
PRESENT : Chairman D . Hardie , L . Hirvonen , S . Cleveland , B . Briggs , T . Kick ,
L . Montague , V . Miller
ABSENT : H . Ley
GUESTS : See attached sheet
I . Land Use
Discussion centered around the placement of a modular home on the corner
o f Maple Dr . and Armstrong Rd . in the Horvath subdivision just south of
Peruville Rd . and immediately east of Triphammer Rd . . Residents of the
subdivision have requestad . a tightening of the zoning ordinance to
e xclude mobile homes in their area . Neighbors on the east side of Arm-
strong Rd . , an unzoned area , object to the proposal submitted by residents
o f the subdivision which would include them in the zoned area . ( See attache
B . Dart - wondered why he hadn ' t been informed of the proposed change ?
D . Hardie - outlined how the situation came about - stated no action is being
considered .
B . Dart - why aren ' t people notified of changes ?
D/Hardie - explained that no changes are being made , but if a change was
considered , everyone in the area would be notified .
✓ . Miller - only the Town Board can make changes - the Planning Board makes
✓ ecommendations , a public hearing must be held and everyone notifie
• B . Bush ( subdivision ) - everyone got together ( in subdivision ) because a trailer
was moved onto a prime lot in the area - an apology was extended
to the people on Armstrong Rd . for not inviting them to the
n eighborhood meeting - their intention was to ask for a tightening
o f the zoning ordinance to protect the value of the property in
the area - they are only making a recommendation to the PB .
I . Bower - ,people on the east side of Armstrong Rd . should have a say if
zoning is considered for their area .
B . Sharpe - -people on Armstrong want things to be left alone - felt zoning
o fficials at fault for letting trailer into the area .
D . Hardie - proper procedure was followed - a building permit was obtained
and reviewed .
B . Sharpe - has anyone approached the assossors office to see if their property
values have gone down ?
L . C000er - build on Armstrong Rd . because there wasn ' t zoning - likes things
the way they are and would resent zoning being forced on him - if
people are asking for zoning they should first approach everyone
that would be affected .
D . Hardie - suggested we use the term " land - use " instead of zoning - Lansing
is the only Town in the state that is partially zoned .
E . Armstrong - owns 11 acres on Armstrong - feels as a farmer he wouldn ' t want
zoning - deed restrictions should have prevented the trailer from
getting in .
3 . Bush - can ' t change what ' s on Armstrong now even if area becomes zoned -
there are 2 modular homes on Armstrong that are very nice , that are
on permanent , continuous foundations - modular and mobile homes
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I . Land Use - continued
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are the coming thing - suggested giving zoning ordinance some
IIIguidelines to help solve this problem , like requiring a permanent ,
continuous foundation - his group felt that if they could get a
movement started for zoning it would be easier for others to join i
P . Tammelin - just forget the east side of Armstrong Rd .
✓ . Miller - we certainly don ' t want to consider the type of strict zoning con -
trols found in Cayuga Heights - until we have some type of Town
wide zoning it ' s very difficult to help the neighborhoods - there
haven ' t been any complaints from the zoned areas .
D . Hardie - no one wants anything to change until something happens that
shocks them - land - use protects you , it doesn ' t hinder what you
want to do with your own land - whatever happens , it will be for th
good of the Town .
B . Dart - What ' s happening north of the Town Barns ? It seems to be a road
going in .
D . Hardie - it could be anything - it ' s unzoned , completely unrestricted .
A . Currey - resented that on one told him this was going on - likes the peace
and quiet on Armstrong - upset because he wasn ' t notified that
people were talking zoning .
D . Hardie - thanked everyone for coming - the PB is glad to hear and understand
their views .
C . Cleveland - hoped that no one was lwaving thinking anything had been done
under the table .
ili A . Currey - that ' s what it looks like .
S . Cleveland - stated this was his first opportunity , as a Board member , to
listen to the people and wants to hear what everyone has to say -
unaware of anything going on under the table - everyone must be
notified of any changes .
B . Briggs - pointed out that the letter that notified the Planning Board of
the situation was dated October 28 , 1980 and members received their
copies the night before this meeting .
✓ . Miller - everyone is always welcome to come to PB meetings - if ever the
PB expects to act , everyone in the area in question would be notifii
S . Cleveland - on Oct 14 , 1980 this problem was brought to the Town Board who
recommended it be brought to the Planning Board & this is the first
official discussion .
B . Sharpe - where did they get the figure 650 ' east of Armstrong Rd , referred
to in the letter ?
BBush - just an arbitrary figure .
At this point the majority of the guests departed .
Continued Discussion
III D . Hardie - can you zone to the middle of a road ?
✓ . Miller - yes , but it ' s poor planning . Are we considering tightening up
and working within our zoning ordinance or are we talking about
a larger area ? Are we going to recommend to the Town Board that
tighter restrictions be made in a certain area ?
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JI . Land Use - continued
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B . Briggs - Let ' s address the immediate problem . The definition of a mobile
411 home as defined by the Land -Use Ordinance was read . Mr . Briggs
pointed out the reference to a "modular home " and " placed on a
permanent foundation . "
D . Hardie - the building permit said "modular home " , andel the manufacturer
termed it a "modular home " .
B . Briggs - I don ' t think there ' s any question .
✓ . Miller - Mrs . Miller read the definitions of modular & mobile homes
as provided by Mr . Tom Neiderkorn . What do we need to do to solve
the problem ? Removal ? Permanent foundation ? Tighter restrictions ?
D . Hardie - we don ' t want to ask anyone to move .
S . Cleveland - does it comply with our existing ordinance ?
B . Briggs - we have to be careful about setting a precedent .
S . Cleveland - who does Mr . Stanton verify his decisions with ?
D . Hardie - the Town Board has to back him up .
✓ . Miller - he goes to the Town Board if there ' s a question .
D . Hardie - asked Mr . Stanton if he would consider the dwelling in question
a modular or mobile home .
N . Stanton ( ZO ) - it didn ' t meet the foundation requirement - the policy up
to that time had been to issue permits to mobile homes , however
because it was put together on the site it appears to be a mobile
home .
• " S . Cleveland - does it in every way meet the definition of a mobile home in
the ordinance ?
B . Briggs - can we change the ordinance and stop it right there ? ( mobile homes
in subdivisions )
✓ . Miller - ( to Mr . Stanton ) would you have approved a house that wasn ' t put
on a continuous foundation ?
N . Stanton - the Town doesn ' t have a building code - as long as a dwelling has
proper setbacks , we can ' t interfere - there are no construction
requirements .
B . Briggs - what would you say the intent is of the Ordinance ' s definition
of a mobile home ?
N . Stanton - felt confident at the time that it was the correct procedure -
we don ' t discriminate between single - family dwellings and mobile
homes - beginning to doubt what ' s been done in the past . Mobile
homes complu with all definitions .
B . Briggs - do you think it was intentionally left loosely defined ?
N . Stanton - just didn ' t want mobile homes descriminated against - whatever
is done , the ordinance should be be clarified .
T . Kick - mentioned the change for the better between the 2 times he ' d looked
at the dwelling in question - saw others in the near area that
looked worse - if there are deed restrictions , why hasn ' t the
subdivider ( Horvath ) been contacted ?
F . Mortlock ( from the floor ) - a lawyer has been contacted - because a
precedent has been set in court , the lawyer has advised them not
to fight .
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' I . Land use - continued
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. B . Bush ( floor ) - just don ' t want similar situations to reoccur .
S . Cleveland - there is a non - conforming structure on the site - it would
destroy the integrity of the ordinance to let this sort of
thing continue .
B . Bush ( floor ) - his group feels they would have a fair chance in court if
they wanted to sue him to put it ( modular home ) on a permanent
foundation . Could the Town Board sue for that ?
N . Stanton - the Town Board is comfortable that they don ' t descriminate
against mobile homes .
S . Cleveland - based on the fact that it ' s not on a permanent foundation , it
doesn ' t conform .
D . Hardie - if it ' s a mobile home , why isn ' t it allowed ?
S . Cleveland - if there ' s no restriction in low - density zoning for mobile
homes , the deed restriction route will have to be followed .
B . Bush ( floor ) - wouldn ' t an addition to your zoning ordinance addressing this
issue help other areas ?
✓ . Miller - there are other areas that would like to exclude mobile homes .
T . Kick - from the preceding discussion he sees 3 separate issues :
1 . this situation is legal according to the ordinance .
2 . legal counsel must be consulted if the deed restriction is to
be protested .
. 3 . does the Planning Board want to tighten up the ordinance
to avoid future problems ?
F . Mortlock ( floor ) the neighbors don ' t think they can afford to take it to
court ' .
✓ . Miller - it might be possible to get help from others , not necessarily in
your area , who have deed restrictions and want to make sure it will
stand up in court .
B . Briggs - wants to see this doesn ' t happen again .
✓ . Miller - you are asking that the ordinance be changed .
S . Cleveland - is it a conforming structure for the area ,, ?
- what will it look like in the future ?
- the question of precedence must be considered .
- if it ' s not a modular and the permit was issued for a modular ,
then it ' s wrong ( permit ) .
✓ . Miller - let ' s resolve the issue .
D . Hardie - do we tell the Town Board they have to take up the problem ?
MOTION : B . Briggs moved that it should be drawn to the attention of the
Town Board that the structure on the corner of Maple and Armstrong
isn ' t the structure that was applied for and therefore non - conforming
Seconded by B . Miller .
Discussion
ON the permit would still have been issued .
✓ . Miller - perhaps in the future deed restrictions will be considered before
a permit is issued .
B . Briggs could the owner have known of the deed restriction and that ' s why
he called it a modular ?
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Land Use - continued
S . Cleveland - the Town Attorney will review this .
B . Briggs - the definition applies to both mobile and modular .
L . Montague - tell the Town Board that if people want to pursue the matter
they must do it on their own .
✓ . Miller - they want tighter restrictions for the future - we can ' t do it
tonight .
VOTE : the motion was unanimously voted down .
N . Stanton - take word "mobile home " and add it to Section 601 . 11 .
L . Montague - maybe we need a section on modular homes .
✓ . Miller - we need to consider it but we don ' t want to do it unless the Town
Board goes along with us that there are areas all over the Town
that want zoning - it takes just as much time to do the whole
thing ( zoning ) as one little section .
B . Briggs - thinks we should have meetings and work sessions separately - do
one thing or the other and nothing else .
✓ . Miller - asked the Chairman if it would be possible to appoint several peop]
to work on designating areas for commercial , industrial , etc . ,
preparatory to zoning . More could be accomplished if members
brought in prepared material to discuss .
S . Cleveland - not satisfied with the way we ' ve left the issue in question
S. and doesn ' t agree with spot zoning - would like to see some
recommendation go to the Town Board re : the inadequacies of the
zoning ordinance to provide direction - pointed out the fact that
the Planning Board has no other alternative but to look at the
zoning ordinance in its review of this issue - it ' s the only way
the Planning Board can be consistent , objective and work within
a framework .
MOTION : It is resolved that due to the combination of partial zoning and
the inadequacies within the present zoning ordinance , the Planning
Board shall contact the Town Board to determine their willingness
to support Planning Board recommendations for some type of zoning
ordinance revision . So moved by S . Cleveland , seconded by B . Briggs ,
carried unanimously .
B . Briggs - felt we should request some answer from the Town Board .
II . Subdivision - V . Miller
Location : 21f acres off Bush Lane - sold to Morse Borg -Warner
There seems to be a difference of opinion on whether the land being sold
is a subdivision or not .
Mrs . Miller presented a sketch plan .
No housing is to be built . It is a division of land only . I t will
have a buffer zone and construction road on it . Not for residential use .
MOTION : The sketch plan having been duly presented for 214- acres to be sold
to Morse Borg-Warner , bounded by Bush Lane , Cherry Rd . , J . W . Miller
,property and Morse Borg-Warner , and not to be used for residential
construction , the Planning Board feels it doesn ' t fall into the
subdivision category and no approval is necessary .
Adjourned : 10 : 00 P . M .
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