HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-02-12 .- , . 1,
1
, ii Town of L
3 Monday , February 12 , 2001 7 : 30 PM PLANNING BOARD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS
5 (eDxi:4 presciu)
6 * Brad Griffin, Chair * Gregg Travis
7 * Larry Sharpsteen Lin Davidson
8 Viola Miller * David Hatfield
9 * Nancy Loncto
10
11 * Bud Shattuck, Town Councilman
12 * George Tolman, Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer
13 Public Present
14 Robert Bland
I5
16
17 GENERAL BUSINESS
18 Brad Griffin opened the meeting at 7 :30 PM.
19 Minutes of January 8, 2001 — Page 3, Line 22 . . . Brand Griffin corrected . . . not be built because . . . Page 4,
20 Line 16. . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . . . has performed projects . . . . David Hatfield moved to accept the minutes
a as corrected. Gregg Travis seconded . VOTE ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
22 Minutes of January 22 , 2001 - Page I , Line 39 . . . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . . to emphasize to . . . Page 2, Line
23 24 . . . accomplish that goal . Brad Griffin stated that it seems they had some consensus on some changes that
24 were not in the minutes . David Hatfield agreed , Bud Shattuck stated that he thought Mr. Niederkom was
25 going to be supplying them with those changes. The board will delay the approval of the minutes until the
26 tape has been reviewed.
27 .Brad Griffin stated that he, Bud, Steve Farkas , Herb Beckwith, and Nancy Loncto attended a meeting on
28 February 1 , 2001 . Brad stated that the Town of Danby Planning Board was struggling with what they were
29 going to do with planning and land use, and they used that as an opportunity to bring in other localities . Brad
30 added that they had a panel that spoke. Brad asked Nancy Loncto if she came up with anything memorable
31 out of that meeting. Nancy replied that she came out of it with a sense of new community by virtue of trying
32 to involve people. Nancy stated that they certainly tried to make the point that sprawl is not the farms
33 offering lots for sale to maintain their ability to keep their farms and pay their taxes . Bud stated that they
34 addressed the fact that they need the aquifer study. Bud stated that it was a combination of the Towns of
35 Danby & Caroline. Bud stated that one of the reasons they got together was because they wanted to get more
36 people to understand their desperate need for the aquifer study through the County Board, certainly any
37 funds the County Board can do for that through planning. Bud stated they are not going to get public water
38 and they want to plan for any growth , to make sure they have the infrastructure for the growth, and they feel
39 they need the aquifer study to do that.
40 Subdivision Request, Robert Bland , Tax Map #
41 Robert Bland stated that he bought land on Pheasant Way and explained the survey map . Mr. Bland
42 explained that they would like to keep about 9 acres for themselves and sell the remaining land . Mr. Bland
• stated that he did riot want to develop it, that he wanted it to be low density. Mr. Bland passed out copies of
44 one idea for a subdivision. The property has a right-of- way from Pheasant Way to Dick Thaler' s land. Mr•
45 Bland explained that he would like to divide the properties so that they each would have 20 feet of' road
46 frontage on Pheasant Way , with long driveways , a shared driveway or private road and then if the road were
2 Town o f Lansing, Planning Board, Iretmneary 26, 2001
1 ever developed through there, they would each have the required road frontage. Brad Griffin asked whom
2 Mr. Bland thought would put the road in. Mr. Bland replied that he was not sure, as he did riot even know
3 why the right- of-way was there .
4 Larry Sharpsteen stated that the easement for the road was put there because the Planning Board has a
5 mandate to provide connections between potential development areas , Larry stated that the Town of Lansing
6 does not build roads , the developers build the roads to the Town ' s specifications and then the Town takes
7 them over if the need arises . Larry added that he thinks it would be a mistake to effectively cut off any
8 connection or to land lock any land with flag lots with no understanding that someone bears the
9 responsibility for developing the road. George Totman stated that he proposed to put in the deeds that if
10 anyone wanted to develop that road, the landowners wouli give up their ownership of those lots so that it
1 I could developed into a road. Larry Sharpsteen asked who pays for the development of the road . George
12 Totman replied that it would be who ever wants to develop it. George stated that it was not Mr. Bland ' s
13 intention to block that road from ever coming through there.
14 Brad Griffin stated that generally , the Planning Board would view a flag lot as the exception, rather than as a
15 way around orderly development. Brad stated that in the potential revision of the ordinance, they deal with
16 the reaffirmation that flag lots will be the exception. Brad stated that he would be reluctant to recommend to
17 the Town that as a way of doing business on the road . Mr. Bland stated that if he wanted to do the
18 subdivision he would have to develop the road and have the same kind of "T" that is there now, Larry
19 Sharpsteen stated that they have done several developments in this area and it would not hurt to research how
20 they were done.
21 Mr. Bland stated that if this subdivision was not allowed, he would have two options, as he does not really
22 want to keep the land . Mr. Bland asked if he could sell it as one lot, the other 14 acres and they would just
23 put in one driveway . The board discussed the configuration .
24 Larry Sharpstcen stated that there were some other possibilities . Larry stated that one is that the prime
25 developer, Mr. Bland, would put into escrow part of the purchase price of the property to pay for the road
26 when it is built. Larry added that the purchasers would be made aware that it was part of the purchase price .
27 Larry stated that another way is to assess the cost of the road as a benefit area, such as the way sewer lines
28 are, and then when the road has to be built, if the developers do not build it, the Town builds it and then
29 assesses property owners whether they like it or not. Larry stated that both of those would have to be built
30 into the Town ordinance, but both are planning methods that are in use in other townships. Larry added that
31 the most commonly used one is where the developer puts the money into escrow.
32 Mr. Bland asked if there would be a problem if he approached the neighboring land owners to see if they
33 wanted to buy the land behind theirs to add to their property to make it larger. The Board agreed that those
34 would be boundary changes and should not be a problem.
35 Mr. Bland thanked the board.
36 OTHER BUSINESS
37 Brad Griffin stated that he had written a letter to the County Highway Department regarding that culvert at
38 the intersection of Asbury and Warren Roads after they did the Ronsvalle subdivision . Brad read the reply
39 he received Ward Hungerford . Larry Sharpsteen stated that he drove down Warren Road the other day and
40 looked down the drainage ditch that comes down the hedgerow and it has not been touched. Larry added that
41 he also drove up Asbury Road. He did not see any large puddles of standing water, Larry stated that the
42 little ditch could quite possibly run 10 feet in either direction if it is not enhanced. Bud Shattuck stated that
43 they agreed to alter that before they start the construction of the other building . Larry stated that it is the
44 other ditch that looks like it needs to be done, and was agreed upon. Bud Shattuck stated that to their credit,
45 it does not look like they have done any further construction in the last month so it could be that when they
46 are ready to do something, the water problems would be the first thing that they do .
47 Brad Griffin stated that at the last meeting, they ended by talking about the business district and the flier that
48 there was going to be a meeting of the Town Center Committee . Brad stated that Viola Miller, Jackie Baker,
i l
3 T jj o ' lasing Planing Board, Februwy 26, 2001
I and Nancy Loncto attended that meeting. Nancy passed out copies of the minutes from that meeting and also
2 the copy of the agenda for the next committee meeting. Nancy stated that she would like them to take a look
at what the committee is looking at for the Town Center, it is located in the third paragraph on the last page.
4 Nancy stated that they would like to have a joint meeting with the Town Center Committee, the Town Board
5 and the Planning Board . Nancy gave an overview of the things the committee is considering. Nancy Loncto
6 stated that Meg Overstrom was wondering what it was that the Planning Board is expecting from them as a
7 committee, towards input in the zoning, and having someone participate on that committee. Brad Griffin
8 stated that he does not know that the Planning Board expects the committee to perform for them. Brad stated
9 that they would look to them to express particular interest in development. Brad added that his view is that
10 the Planning Board should be at arm ' s length because they may have to try to judge it objectively for their
11 advice to the Town Board.
12 Brad Griffin stated that the Planning Board was charged with doing the revision in three stages. First, to deal
13 with the moratorium issue in a timely manner. Brad stated that they have done that. Brad stated that the next
14 stage was to look at the rest of the ordinance and move on that. Brad added that after that was done they
15 would move on to the third phase, which is to review the map. Brad stated that a Town Center or B2 district
16 should be deferred until they get to that stage 3 .
17 Nancy Loncto asked if in the meantime, could they look at zoning regulations around that eventual B2
18 designation, perhaps earlier rather than later. Brad Griffin responded that they would need to look at the
19 district as it is now.
20 Brad stated, as he had many times in the past, that any town that would allow a dump in the center of its
2 I town, let alone the center of its business district deserves whatever it gets. Brad stated that no one is going
22 risk very much in terms of grants or moving businesses to a town that allows that to happen . Brad stated that
23 he sees that as a priority event to occur, with the clean up of that dump before they move on to flagpoles and
24 lights and such.
Bud Shattuck asked George Totman if he had an update on the Ottenschott property. George Totman replied
26 he wished he did. George stated that they have to go through the bankruptcy courts before they can exercise
27 their rights to do what they intended to do when they took over the mortgage. George stated that it has to
28 change from one bankruptcy classification to another. George stated that the last time he was in court, they
29 basically proved with the paperwork that was put forth, that Mr. Ottenschott could not maintain paying his
30 taxes and getting himself out of debt. George stated that the judge said she would have a written answer to
31 them by the middle of January . George added that Mr. Ottenschott has lost his one remaining contract with
32 AES . George stated that it has been observed that he is moving a lot of his equipment off the property.
33 George stated that they are awaiting the statement from the judge. George stated that they have to wait until
34 he gets out of Chapter 13 , before the Town can foreclose.
35 Committee Reports
36 EMC — Larry Sharpsteen stated that they installed a new slate of officers . Larry stated that Susan Brock
37 retained chairmanship . Larry stated that the committee is organizing priorities for the coming year. Larry
38 stated that they are continuously reviewing the comments on the radioactive waste site . Larry stated that the
39 Environment Review Board reviewed the application of the town to proceed with the three water district
40 extensions. Bud Shattuck asked if there has been any mention of the aquifer study. Larry replied that there
41 was a suggestion before the board to expand representation of the EMC on the Aquifer Board .
42 Treasurer — Brad Griffin stated that from now on, when they move to approve minutes, they would also
43 move to approve budget expenditures. Brad stated that the new chair would have a copy of those. Brad
44 stated that he had the opportunity to sit down with Sharon and go over things with her. Brad stated that
45 would be a much better system . Sharon will forward the expenditures to the Chairperson for the first
meeting of every month, the board will review and approve, then sign and get it back to Sharon in a timely
/ manner.
48 Nominating Committee — David Hatfield reported the following slate of officers proposed by the nominating
49 committee
•-
4 'Town r.f Lansing f!arming Board, February 26, 2001
1 Chairperson — Gregg Travis
2 Vice-Chairperson — Lin Davidson
3 Secretary — Larry Sharpsteen
4 Treasurer — Viola Miller
5 Nancy Loncto motioned to accept the slate of officers as presented , Brad Griffin seconded. VO'T'E : ALL IF
6 FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
7 Discussion on letter from Steve Farkas to Grew Travis
8 Gregg stated that he and Brad discussed this earlier and felt that taking these items one by one, they should
9 give some cursory discussion to it tonight. Gregg Travis stated that with the changes from the existing
10 ordinance, he felt that having Torn Niederkorn do that for them would be one suggestion. Gregg stated that
11 perhaps they should ask him for a cost estimate for that project, The board discussed ways that it could be
12 done. Nancy Loncto stated that she would be happy to do overheads. Brad Griffin stated that it is something
13 they could discuss with Torn. Nancy stated that one of the things she did while working with the ordinance ,
14 was a cut and paste of the actual applicable statute that was referred to on the same page as the reference.
15 Nancy volunteered to also do that,
16 Gregg Travis stated that the next item was the commercial zone.
17 Gregg Travis asked Bud Shattuck what he thought about how soon Steve Farkas expected a response back
18 from the Planning Board . Bud Shattuck replied that because they do not want to run into problems where
19 they have to give someone information that is going to change in the next 6 months to a year, the object is to
20 get this done as quickly as possible. Bud stated that at the same time, what he told Steve when he first saw
21 the document was they realize they need to go back over it piece by piece, and that was probably the best
22 way to do it. Bud Shattuck stated that while they gave them the document from October, a lot of things have
23 changed in the last two meetings, and they should not look at that document as what is going to be presented .
24 Bud stated that specifically in the letter, and he in not so sure this is all Steve ' s language, is probably going •
25 to be talked about at this board level , and probably going to be changed again from what was turned in at that
26 October meeting. Bud stated he told Steve not to look at it as the final document. Bud stated that, ideally , he
27 would like to have it completed by April .
28 Larry Sharpsteen stated that they need to know what the specific objections are. Bud replied that what he
29 differs with and what they are saying is the issue of Site Plan Review. Bud added that he is saying "they"
30 because he did not think Steve did this by himself, but it is not completely through the Town Board. Brad
31 Griffin stated that one specific thing that is being raised is Sec . 706 .
32 Gregg Travis stated that since Steve put this in writing, his own preference would be to tell him that the
33 board has read it and they are doing their review of the ordinance in the three phases . And in the meantime,
34 will be discussing the individual items and getting back to them. Gregg volunteered to respond to Steve
35 Farkas ' s letter.
36 Checklist for Subdivisions - Gregg Travis reviewed through the checklist he prepared for the applications
37 of minor subdivisions . The Board discussed it. Gregg stated that he has started the one for major
38 subdivisions and will continue to work on it.
39
40 Bud Shattuck will talk to Tom Niederkorn and share with him a copy of Steve Farkas ' s letter to Gregg
41 Travis.
42 Gregg Travis thanked .Brad Griffin for his leadership over the past couple years . The Board agreed .
43 The next meeting will be on February 26, 2001 , at 7 : 30PM
44 Submitted by Robin Cornell .
45
• ,..
1
ti Town of Lansing
Monday , February 12 , 2001 7 : 30 PM PLANNING BOARD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS
5 ( •Ikmxes pic cnt)
6 * Brad Griffin, Chair • Gregg Travis
7 * Larry Sharpsteen Lin Davidson
8 Viola Miller * David Hatfield
9 * Nancy Loncto
l0
11 * Btid Shattuck, Town Councilman
12 * George Totman, Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer
13 Public Present
14 Robert Bland
15
16
17 GENERAL BUSINESS
18 Brad Griffin opened the meeting at 7 : 30 PM .
19 Minutes of January 8, 2001 — Page 3, Line 22 . . . Brand Griffin corrected . . . not be built because . . . . Page 4,
20 Line 16 . . . 13rad Griffin corrected . . . . . has performed projects . . . . David Hatfield moved to accept the minutes
as corrected . Gregg Travis seconded . VOTE ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
Minutes of January 22, 2001 - Page 1 , Line 39 . . . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . . to . Pag
emphasize to . . e 2, Line p be
23 24 . . . accomplish that goal . Brad Griffin stated that it seems they had some consensus on some changes that
24 were not in the minutes. David Hatfield agreed . Bud Shattuck stated that he thought Mr. Niederkorn was
25 going to be supplying them with those changes . The board will delay the approval of the minutes until the
26 tape has been reviewed .
27 Brad Griffin stated that he , Bud, Steve Farkas , Herb Beckwith , and Nancy Loncto attended a meeting on
28 February 1 , 2001 . Brad stated that the Town of. .Danby Planning Board was struggling with what they were
29 going to do with planning and land use , and they used that as an opportunity to bring in other localities. Brad
30 added that they had a panel that spoke. Brad asked Nancy Loncto if she came up with anything memorable
31 out of that meeting. Nancy replied that she came out of it with a sense of new community by virtue of trying
32 to involve people. Nancy stated that they certainly tried to make the point that sprawl is not the farms
33 offering lots for sale to maintain their ability to keep their farms and pay their taxes . Bud stated that they
34 addressed the fact that they need the aquifer study. Bud stated that it was a combination of the Towns of
35 Danby & Caroline . Bud stated that one of the reasons they got together was because they wanted to get more
36 people to understand their desperate need for the aquifer study through the County Board , certainly any
37 funds the County Board can do for that through planning. Bud stated they are not going to get public water
38 and they want to plan for any growth , to make sure they have the infrastructure for the growth, and they feel
39 they need the aquifer study to do that.
40 Subdivision Request, Robert Bland, Tax Map #
41 Robert Bland stated that he bought land on Pheasant Way and explained the survey map . Mr. Bland
42explained that they would like to keep about 9 acres for themselves and sell the remaining land . Mr. Bland
stated that he (lid not want to develop it, that he wanted it to be low density. Mr. Bland passed out copies of
one idea for a subdivision . The properly has a right-of-way from Pheasant Way to Dick Thaler' s land . Mr.
45 Bland explained that he would like to divide the properties so that they each would have 20 feet of road
46 frontage on Pheasant Way, with long driveways, a shared driveway or private road and then if the road were
` 2 Town of Lansing Planning Board, Fezbruarv+ 26, 20011
I ever developed through there, they would each have the required road frontage . Brad Griffin asked whom
2 Mr. Bland thought would put the road in . Mr. Bland replied that he was not sure, as he did not even know
• why the right- of-way was there .
4 Lary Sharpsteen stated that the easement for the road was put there because the Planning Board has a
5 mandate to provide connections between potential development areas . Larry stated that the Town of Lansing
6 does not build roads , the developers build the roads to the Town ' s specifications and then the Town takes
7 them over if the need arises . Larry added that he thinks it would be a mistake to effectively cut off any
8 connection or to land lock any land with flag lots with no understanding that someone bears the
9 responsibility for developing the road . George Totman stated that he proposed to put in the deeds that if
10 anyone wanted to develop that road , the landowners would give up their ownership of those lots so that it
11 could developed into a road . Larry Sharpsteen asked who pays for the development of the road . George
12 Totman replied that it would be who ever wants to develop it. George stated that it was not Mr. Bland ' s
13 intention to block that road from ever coming through there .
14 Brad Griffin stated that generally, the Planning Board would view a flag lot as the exception, rather than as a
15 way around orderly development. Brad stated that in the potential revision of the ordinance , they deal with
16 the reaffirmation that flag lots will be the exception . Brad stated that he would be reluctant to recommend to
17 the Town that as a way of doing business on the road . Mr. Bland stated that if he wanted to do the
18 subdivision he would have to develop the road and have the same kind of "T" that is there now . Larry
19 Sharpsteen stated that they have done several developments in this area and it would not hurt to research how
20 they were done.
21 Mr. Bland stated that if this subdivision was not allowed , he would have two options , as he does not really
22 want to keep the land . Mr. Bland asked if he could sell it as one lot, the other 14 acres and they would just
23 put in one driveway. The board discussed the configuration .
0 Larry Sharpsteen stated that there were some other possibilities . Larry stated that one is that the prime
developer, Mr. Bland , would put into escrow part of the purchase price of the property to pay for the road
26 when it is built. Larry added that the purchasers would be made aware that it was part of the purchase price .
27 Larry stated that another way is to assess the cost of the road as a benefit area , such as the way sewer lines
28 are, and then when the road has to be built, if the developers do not build it , the Town builds it and then
29 assesses property owners whether they like it or not . Larry stated that both of those would have to be built
30 into the Town ordinance, but both are planning methods that are in use in other townships . Larry added that
31 the most commonly used one is where the developer puts the money into escrow .
32 Mr. Bland asked if there would be a problem if lie approached the neighboring land owners to see if they
33 wanted to buy the land behind theirs to add to their property to make it larger. The Board agreed that those
34 would be boundary changes and should not be a problem .
35 Mr. Bland thanked the board .
•
36 OTHER BUSINESS
37 Brad Griffin stated that he had written a letter to the County Highway Department regarding that culvert at
38 the intersection of Asbury and Warren Roads afler they did the Ronsvalle subdivision . l3r•ad read the reply
39 he received Ward Hungerford . Larry Sharpsteen stated that he drove down Warren Road the other day and
40 looked down the drainage ditch that conies down the hedgerow and it has not been touched . Larry added that
41 he also drove up Asbury Road. He did not see ally large puddles of standing water. Larry stated that the
42 little ditch could quite possibly run 10 feet in either direction if it is not enhanced . Bud Shattuck stated that
43 they agreed to alter that before they start the construction of the other building. Larry stated that it is the
44 other ditch that looks like it needs to be done, and was agreed upon . Bud Shattuck stated that to their credit,
it does not look like they have done any further construction in the last month so it could be that when they
are ready to do something, the water problems would be the first thing that they do .
47 Brad Griffin stated that at the last meeting, they ended by talking about the business district and the fact that
48 there was going to be a meeting of the Town Center Committee . Brad stated that Viola Miller, Jackie 13aker,
3 Town o1Latsing Planning Board , February 26, 2001
1 and Nancy Loncto attended that meeting . Nancy passed out copies of the minutes from that meeting and also
2 the copy of the agenda for the next committee meeting. Nancy stated that she would like them to take a look
Sat what the committee is looking at for the Town Center, it is located in the third paragraph on the last page .
Nancy stated that they would like to have a joint meeting with the Town Center Committee, the Town Board
5 and the Planning Board . Nancy gave an overview of the things the committee is considering . Nancy Loncto
6 stated that Meg Overstrom was wondering what it was that the Planning Board is expecting from them as a
7 committee , towards input in the zoning, and having someone participate on that committee . Brad Griffin
8 stated that he does not know that the Planning Board expects the committee to perform for them . Brad stated
9 that they would look to them to express particular interest in development . Brad added that his view is that
10 the Planning Board should be at arm ' s length because they may have to try to judge it objectively for their
11 advice to the Town Board .
12 Brad Griffin stated that the Planning Board was charged with doing the revision in three stages. First, to deal
13 with the moratorium issue in a timely manner. Brad stated that they have done that. Brad stated that the next
14 stage was to look at the rest of the ordinance and move on that . Brad added that after that was done they
15 would move on to the third phase, which is to review the map . Brad stated that a Town Center or B2 district
16 should be deferred until they get to that stage 3 .
17 Nancy Loncto asked if in the meantime, could they look at zoning regulations around that eventual B2
18 designation , perhaps earlier rather than later. Brad Griffin responded that they would need to look at the
19 district as it is now .
20 Brad stated , as he had many times in the past, that any town that would allow a dump in the center of its
21 town , let alone the center of its business district deserves whatever it gets. Brad stated that no one is going
22 risk very much in terms of grants or moving businesses to a town that allows that to happen . Brad stated that
23 he sees that as a priority event to occur, with the clean up of that dump before they move on to flagpoles and
24 lights and such .
® Bud Shattuck asked George Tatman if he had an update on the Ottenschott property. George Totman replied
26 he wished he did . George stated that they have to go through the bankruptcy courts before they can exercise
27 their rights to do what they intended to do when they took over the mortgage . George stated that it has to
28 change from one bankruptcy classification to another. George stated that the last time he was in court , they
29 basically proved with the paperwork that was put forth, that Mr. Ottenschott could not maintain paying his
30 taxes and getting himself out of debt. George stated that the judge said she would have a written answer to
31 them by the middle of January. George added that Mr. Ottenschott has lost his one remaining contract with
32 AES . George stated that it has been observed that he is moving a lot of his equipment off the property.
33 George stated that they are awaiting the statement from the judge . George stated that they have to wait until
34 he gets out of Chapter 13 , before the Town can foreclose .
35 Committee .Reports
36 EMC — Larry Sharpsteen stated that they installed a new slate of officers . Larry stated that Susan Brock
37 retained chairmanship . Larry stated that the committee is organizing priorities for the coming year. Larry
38 stated that they are continuously reviewing the comments on the radioactive waste site . Larry stated that the
39 Environment Review Board reviewed the application of the town to proceed with the three water district
40 extensions . Bud Shattuck asked if there has been any mention of the aquifer study. Larry replied that there
41 was a suggestion before the board to expand representation of the EMC on the Aquifer Board .
42 Treasurer — Brad Griffin stated that from now on , when they move to approve minutes, they would also
43 move to approve budget expenditures . Brad stated that the new chair would have a copy of those. Brad
44 stated that he had the opportunity to sit down with Sharon and go over things with her. Brad stated that
45 would be a much better system . Sharon will forward the expenditures to the Chairperson for the first
9 . meeting of every month , the board will review and approve, then sign and get it back to Sharon in a timely
manner.
48 Nominating Committee — David Hatfield reported the following slate of officers proposed by the nominating
49 committee
,4 Town of Lain Planning Board, herhruary 26, 2001
1 Chairperson — Gregg Travis
2 Vice-Chairperson — Lin Davidson
9 Secretary — Larry Sharpsteen
Treasurer — Viola Miller
5 Nancy Loncto motioned to accept the slate of officers as presented . Brad Griffin seconded . VOTE : ALL IF
6 FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY .
7 Discussion on letter from Steve Farkas to Gregg Travis
8 Gregg stated that he and Brad discussed this earlier and felt that taking these items one by one , they should
9 give some cursory discussion to it tonight. Gregg Travis stated that with the changes from the existing
10 ordinance, lie felt that having Toni Niederkorn do that for them would be one suggestion . Gregg stated that
11 perhaps they should ask him for a cost estimate for that project. The board discussed ways that it could be
12 done . Nancy Loncto stated that she would be happy to do overheads . Brad Griffin stated that it is something
13 they could discuss with Toni . Nancy stated that one of the things she did while working with the ordinance,
14 was a cut and paste of the actual applicable statute that was referred to on the same page as the reference.
15 Nancy volunteered to also do that.
16 Gregg Travis stated that the next item was the commercial zone.
17 Gregg Travis asked Bud Shattuck what he thought about how soon Steve Farkas expected a response back
18 from the Planning Board . Bud Shattuck replied that because they do not want to run into problems where
19 they have to give someone information that is going to change in the next 6 months to a year, the object is to
20 get this done as quickly as possible . Bud stated that at the same time , what he told Steve when he first saw
21 the document was they realize they need to go back over it piece by piece, and that was probably the best
22 way to do it . Bud Shattuck stated that while they gave them the document from October, a lot of things have
23 changed in the last two meetings, and they should not look at that document as what is going to be presented .
0 Bud stated that specifically in the letter, and he in not so sure this is all Steve ' s language, is probably going
to be talked about at this board level , and probably going to be changed again from what was turned in at that
26 October meeting. Bud stated he told Steve not to look at it as the final document . Bud stated that, ideally, he
27 would like to have it completed by April .
28 Larry Sharpsteen stated that they need to know what the specific objections are . Bud replied that what he
29 differs with and what they are saying is the issue of Site Plan Review. Bud added that he is saying "they"
30 because he did not think Steve did this by himself, but it is not completely through the Town Board . Brad
31 Griffin stated that one specific thing that is being raised is Sec . 706 .
32 Gregg Travis stated that since Steve put this in writing, his own preference would be to tell him that the
33 board has read it and they arc doing their review of the ordinance in the three phases . And in the meantime,
34 will be discussing the individual items and getting back to them . Gregg volunteered to respond to Steve
35 Farkas ' s letter.
36 Checklist for Subdivisions — Gregg Travis reviewed through the checklist he prepared for the applications
37 of minor subdivisions . The Board discussed it . Gregg stated that he has started the one for major
38 subdivisions and will continue to work on it.
39
40 Bud Shattuck will talk to Tom Niederkorn and share with him a copy of Steve Farkas ' s letter to Gregg
41 Travis .
42 Gregg Travis thanked Brad Griffin for his leadership over the past couple years . The Board agreed .
0 The next meeting will be on February 26, 2001 , at 7 : 30PM
Submitted by Robin Cornell .
45
5 Town cfLw:sinzPlanning Board, February 26, 20101
1
•
•
c
1
Town of Lansing
3 Monday , February 12 , 2001 7 : 30 PM PLANNING BOARD
4 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS
C' 1?cwxcs picsao
6 * Brad Griffin, Chair Gregg Travis
7 * Larry Sharpsteen Lin Davidson
S Viola Miller * David 1•Iatfield
9 * Nancy Loncto
10
1 1 * Hud Shattuck, Town Councilman
12 * George Totman, Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer
13 Public Present
14 Robert Bland
15
16
17 GENERAL BUSINESS
18 Brad Griffin opened the meeting at 7 : 30 PM.
19Minutes of January 8 , 2001 - Page 3, Line 22 . . . Brand Griffin corrected . . . not be built because . . . .Page 4.
0 Line 16. . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . . . has performed projects . . . . David Hatfield moved to accept the minutes
as corrected. Gregg Travis seconded_ VOTE ALL IN FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
22 Minutes of January 22, 2001- Page 1 , Line 39 . . . . Brad Griffin corrected . . . . to emphasize to . . . Page 2 , Line
23 24 . . . accomplish that goal. Brad Griffin stated that it seems they had some consensus on some changes that
24 were not in the minutes . David Hatfield agreed. Bud Shattuck stated that he thought Mr. Niederkorn was
25 going to be supplying them with those changes . The board will delay the approval of the minutes until the
26 tape has been reviewed.
27 Brad Griffin stated that he, Bud, Steve Farkas, Herb Beckwith, and Nancy Loneto attended a meeting on
28 February 1 , 2001 . Brad stated that the Town of Danby Planning Board was struggling with what they were
29 going to do with planning and land use, and they used that as an opportunity to bring in other localities . Brad
30 added that they had a panel that spoke. Brad asked Nancy Loncto is she came up with anything memorable
31 out of that meeting. Nancy replied that she came out of it with a sense of new community by virtue of' trying
32 to involve people. Nancy stated that they certainly tried to make the point that sprawl is not the farms .
33 offering lots for sale to maintain their ability to keep their farms and pay their taxes . Bud stated that they
34 addressed the fact that they need the aquifer study. Bud stated that it was a combination of the Towns of
35 Danby & Caroline. Bud stated that one of the reasons they got together was because they wanted to get more
36 people to understand their desperate need for the aquifer study through the County Board, certainly any
37 funds the County Board can do for that through planning. Bud state they are not going to get public water
38 and they want to plan for any growth, to make sure they have the infrastructure for the growth, and they feel
39 they need the aquifer study to do that.
40 Subdivision Request, Robert Bland , Tax Map #
41 Robert Bland stated that he bought land on Pheasant Way and explained the survey map . Mr. Bland
explained that they would like to keep about 9 acres for themselves and sell the remaining land. Mr. Bland
43 stated that he did not want to develop it, that he wanted it to be low density. Mr. Bland passed out copies of
44 one idea for a subdivision. The property has a right-of- way from Pheasant Way to Dick Thaler ' s land . Mr.
45 Bland explained that he would like to divide the properties so that they each would have 20 feet of road
46 frontage on Pheasant Way , with long driveways , a shared driveway or private road and then if the road were
1
2 Town of Lansing Planning Board. Febnsary 12. 2001
I ever developed through there, they would each have the required road frontage. Brad Griffin asked whom
2 Mr. Bland thought would put the road in. Mr. Bland replied that he was not sure, as he did not even know •
3 why the right-of-way was there.
4 Larry Sharpsteen stated that the easement for the road was put there because the Planning Board has a
5 mandate to provide connections between potential development areas . Larry stated that the Town of Lansing
6 does not build roads , the developers build the roads to the Town ' s specifications and then the Town takes
7 them over if the need arises. Larry added that he thinks it would be a mistake to effectively cut off any
8 connection or to land lock any land with flag lots with no understanding that someone bears the
9 responsibility for developing the road. George Tatman stated that he proposed to put in the deeds that if
10 anyone wanted to develop that road, the landowners would give up their ownership of those lots so that it
II could developed into a road . Larry Sharpsteen asked who pays for the development of the road. George
12 Tatman replied that it would be who ever wants to develop it. George stated that it was not Mr. Bland ' s
13 intention to block that road from ever coming through there .
14 Brad Griffin stated that generally, the Planning Board would view a flag lot as the exception, rather than as a
15 way around orderly development. Brad stated that in the potential revision of the ordinance, they deal with
16 the reaffirmation that flag lots will be the exception. Brad stated that he would be reluctant to recommend to
17 the Ton that as a way of doing business on the road_ Mr. Bland stated that if he wanted to do the
18 subdivision he would have to develop the road and have the same kind of "T" that is there now. Larry
19 Sharpsteen stated that they have done several developments in this area and it would not hurt to research how
20 they were done.
21 Mi. Bland stated that if this subdivision was not allowed, he would have two options, as he does not really
22 want to keep the land, Mr. Bland asked if he could sell it as one lot, the other 14 acres and they would just
23 put in one driveway . The board discussed the configuration .
24 Larry Sharpsteen stated that there were some other possibilities. Larry stated that one is that the prime •
25 developer, Mr. Bland, would put into escrow part of the purchase price of the property to pay for the road
26 when it is built. Larry added that the purchasers would be made aware that it was part of the purchase price .
27 Larry stated that another way is to assess the cost of the road as a benefit area, such as the way sewer lines
28 are, and then when the road has to be built, if the developers do not build it, the Town builds it and then
29 assesses property owners whether they like it or not. Larry stated that both of those would have to be built
30 into the Town ordinance, but both are planning methods that are in use in other townships . Larry added that
31 the most commonly used one is where the developer puts the money into escrow.
32 Mr Bland asked if there would be a problem if he approached the neighboring land owners to see if they
33 wanted to buy the land behind theirs to add to their property to make it larger. The Board agreed that those
34 would be boundary changes and should not be a problem..
35 Mr. Bland thanked the board .
36 OTHER BUSINESS
37 Brad Griffin stated that he had written a letter to the County Highway Department regarding that advert at
38 the intersection of Asbury and Warren Roads after they did the Ronsvalle subdivision . Brad read the reply
39 he received Ward Cummerford. Larry Sharpsteen stated that he drove down Warren Road the other day and
40 looked down the drainage ditch that comes down the hedgerow and it has not been touched . Larry added that
41 he also drove up Asbury Road. He did not see any large puddles of standing water. Larry stated that the
42 little ditch could quite possibly run 10 feet in either direction if it is not enhanced. Bud Shattuck stated that
43 they agreed to alter that before they start the construction of the other building . Larry stated that it is The
44 other ditch that looks like it needs to be done, and was agreed upon . Bud Shattuck stated that to their credit ,
45 it does not look like they have done anything further construction in the last month so it could be that when •
46 they are ready to do something, the water problems would be the first thing that they do .
47 Brad Griffin stated that at the last meeting, they ended by talking about the business district and the fact that
48 there was going to be a meeting of the Town Center Committee , Brad stated that Viola Miller, Jackie Baker ,
3 Town o J ' :sin. Tannin ; Board Februa 12 2 . 01
1 and Nancy Loncto attended that meeting. Nancy passed out copies of the minutes from that meeting and also
the copy of the agenda for the next committee meeting. Nancy stated that she would like them to take a look
3 at what the committee is looking at for the Town Center, it is located in the third paragraph on the last page.
4 Nancy stated that they would like to have a joint meeting with the Town Center Committee, the Town Board
5 and the Planning Board . Nancy gave an overview of the things the committee is considering. Nancy Loncto
6 stated that Meg Overstrom was wondering what it was that the Planning Board is expecting from them as a
7 committee, towards input in the zoning, and having someone participate on that committee. Brad Griffin
8 stated that he does not know that the Planning Board expects the committee to perform for them , but would
9 look to them committee for anything. Brad stated that they would look to them to express particular interest
10 in development. Brad added that his view is that the Planning Board should be at arm ' s length because they
11 may have to try to judge it objectively for their advice to the Town Board.
12 Brad Griffin stated that the Planning Board was charged with doing the revision in three stages . First, to deal
13 with the moratorium issue in a timely manner. Brad stated that they have done that. Brad stated that the next
14 stage was to look at the rest of the ordinance and move on that. Brad added that after that was done they
15 would move on to the third phase, which is to review the map. Brad stated that a Town Center or B2 district
16 should be deferred until they get to that stage 3 .
17 Nancy Loncto asked if in the meantime, could they look at zoning regulations around that eventual B2
18 designation, perhaps earlier rather than later. Brad Griffin responded that they would need to look at the
19 district as it is now.
20 Brad stated, as he had many times in the past, that any town that would allow a dump in the center of its
21 town, let alone the center of its business district deserves whatever it gets. Brad stated that no one is going
22 risk very much in terms of grants or moving businesses to a town that allows that to happen . Brad stated that
23he sees that as a priority event to occur, with the clean up of that dump before they move on to flagpoles and
04 lights and such.
25 Bud Shattuck asked George Totman if he had an update on the Ottenschott property. George Totman replied
26 he wished he did. George stated that they have to go through the bankruptcy courts before they can exercise
27 their rights to do what they intended to do when they took over the mortgage. George stated that it has to
28 change from one bankruptcy classification to another. George stated that the last time he was in court, they
29 basically proved with the paperwork that was put forth., that Mr. Ottenschott could not maintain paying his
30 taxes and getting himself out of debt. George stated that the judge said she would have a written answer to
3 I them by the middle of January . George added that Mr. Ottenschott has lost his one remaining contract with
32 AES . George stated that it has been observed that he is moving a lot of his equipment off the property.
33 George stated that they are awaiting the statement from the judge. George stated that they have to wait until
34 he gets out of Chapter 13 , before the Town can foreclose.
35 Committee Reports
36 EMC — Larry Sharpsteen stated that they installed a new slate of officers . Larry stated that Susan Brock
37 retained chairmanship , Larry stated that the committee is organizing priorities for the coming year. Larry
38 stated that they are continuously reviewing the comments on the radioactive waste site. Larry stated that the
39 Environment Review Board reviewed the application of the town to proceed with the three water district
40 extensions . Bud Shattuck asked if there has been any mention of the aquifer study . Larry replied that there .
41 was a suggestion before the board to expand representation of the EMC on the Aquifer Board ,
42 Treasurer — Brad Griffin stated that from now on, when they move to approve minutes, they would also
43 move to approve budget expenditures . Brad stated that the new chair would have a copy of those. Brad
44 stated that he had the opportunity to sit down with Sharon and go over things with her, Brad stated that is
05 would be a much better system . Sharon will forward the expenditures to the Chairperson for the first
46 meeting of every month, the board will review and approve, then sign and get it back to Sharon in a timely
47 manner.
48 Nominating Committee — David Hatfield reported the following slate of officers proposed by the nominating
49 committee
4 Town of Lansing Plannink Board, February 12. 2001
1 Chairperson — Gregg Travis
2 Vice-Chairperson — Lin Davidson
3 Secretary — Larry Sharpsteen •
4 Treasurer — Viola Miller
5 Nancy Loncto motioned to accept the slate of officers as presented. Brad Griffin seconded. VOTE : ALL iF
6 FAVOR. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
7 Discussion on letter from Steve Farkas to Gree Travis
8 Gregg stated that he and Brad discussed this earlier and felt that taking these items one by one, they should
9 give some cursory discussion to it tonight. Gregg Travis stated that with the changes from the existing
I0 ordinance, he felt that having Tom Niederkorn do that for them would be one suggestion. Gregg stated that
1 I perhaps they should ask him for a cost estimate for that project The board discussed ways that it could be
12 done. Nancy Loncto stated that she would be happy to do overheads. Brad Griffin stated that it is something
13 they could discuss with Tom. Nancy stated that one of the things she did while working with the ordinance,
14 was a cut and paste of the actual applicable statute that was referred to on the same page as the reference.
15 Nancy volunteered to also do that.
16 Gregg Travis stated that the next item was the commercial zone.
17 Gregg Travis asked Bud Shattuck what he thought about how soon Steve Farkas expected a response back
18 from the Planning Board. Bud Shattuck replied that because they do not want to run into problems where
19 they have to give someone information that is going to change in the next 6 months to a year, the object is to
20 get this done as quickly as possible. Bud stated that at the same time, what he told Steve when he first saw
21 the document was they realize they need to go back over it piece by piece, and that was probably the best
22 way to do it. Bud Shattuck stated that while they gave them the document from October, a lot of things have
23 changed in the last two meetings, and they should not look at that document as what is going to be presented. •
24 Bud stated that specifically in the letter, and he in riot so sure this is all Steve' s language, is probably going
25 to be talked about at this board level , and probably going to be changed again from what was turned in at that
26 October meeting. Bud stated he told Steve not to look at it as the final document. Bud stated that, ideally, he
27 would like to have it completed by April .
28 Larry Sharpsteen stated that they need to know what the specific objections are, Bud replied that what he
29 differs with and what they are saying is the issue of Site Plan Review. Bud added that he is saying "they"
30 because he did not think Steve did this by himself, but it is not completely through the Town Board. Brad
3 I Griffin stated that one specific thing that is being raised is Sec. 706.
32 Gregg Travis stated that since Steve put this in writing, his own preference would be to tell him that the
33 board has read it and they are doing their review of the ordinance in the three phases . And in the meantime ,
. 34 will be discussing the individual items and getting back to them. Gregg volunteered to respond to Steve
55 Farkas 's letter. ,
36 Checklist for Subdivisions - Gregg Travis reviewed through the checklist he prepared for the applications
37 of minor subdivisions . The Board discussed it. Gregg stated that he has started the one for major
38 subdivisions and will continue to work on it.
39
40 Bud Shattuck will talk to Tom Niederkorn and share with him a copy of Steve Farkas ' s letter to Gregg
41 Travis .
42 Gregg Travis thanked Brad Griffin for his leadership over the past couple years . The Board agreed .
43 The next meeting will be on February 26 , 2001 , at 7 : 30PM. •
44 Submitted by Robin Cornell .
45