HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-05 - PB TOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD
12/05/06
Approved 01/16/07
Present: Chairperson Margot Chiuten, Planning Board Members : David Means,
Darien Simon, John Wertis, Deputy Supervisor Dick Coogan.
Excused : Rod Porter, Rebecca Schneider, Ken Zeserson
Ms. Chiuten called the meeting to order at 7 : 35 . She stated they had received an
application from Stanley Koskinen to divide his property. She asked if there was anyone
in the audience representing this application.
Mr. Charles Wolff introduced himself as Mr. Koskinen ' s attorney and friend of the
family.
Ms. Chiuten asked him to give a brief description even though the plan seems fairly
obvious .
Mr. Wolff stated it is very simple, Mr. Koskinen owns the lot # 12, he wants to deed lot
12 to his son and grandson along with a portion of 11 . 2 to go back to the property line .
Ms . Chiuten asked if they would go through simple subdivision to combine the two .
Mr. Wolff affirmed this .
Mr. Wertis asked what they would do with the two that are left over.
Mr. Wolff stated on the south side, referring to the addendum, has Mr. Koskinen ' s home
he has no plan for that .
Mr. Wertis asked now that there are three parcels would the town designate different tax
parcels .
Mr. Coogan replied yes, what they would probably see is the largest would stay 11 . 2 , the
other would 11 . 2 . 1 . He is not positive but they would be differentiated by tax numbers .
Ms . Chiuten noted they had the application and fees, the Plat has been received as well as
the GIS map . She asked if any other members had questions or comments . No
comments/questions were offered . She stated she had prepared a resolution she would
like to read through.
Ms . Chiuten read through the resolution and asked if any members had any issues or
comments.
Mr. Means noted the area was all in the Ag. District so they would not be dealing with
that problem again .
Ms . Chiuten noted she had not seen the final plat, however she listed some conditions
that should be reviewed in the resolution . She asked Mr. Wolff if there were and liens or
covenants on the property.
Mr. Wolff stated there were not .
Mr. Wertis asked on the little map there were a series of blue lines and circular areas, he
asked what these were illustrating.
Mr. Wolff stated he had drawn these on the GIS map to illustrate the streams and ponds
that are on the properties .
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Ms . Chiuten stated it seemed like a logical place to divide the lot .
Mr. Wertis stated they are depending on Alex ' s knowledge of the property, however
there is no indication as to if the area is hilly, flat etc . The initial plat should be indicative
of the topography of the area, all structures, wooded areas, streams etc . are supposed to
be shown, it is not important in this case but he did want to point this out .
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Ms . Chiuten stated there are no physical changes on the properties .
Mr. Wolff stated he is dealing with a very difficult client, he is not only a dear family
friend but he is very obstinate . He is an 80 year old man whose thought is "I bought the
property and did not have to have it surveyed then why do I have to do it now" He tried
to prepare the information to the best of his ability without going against his clients
wishes .
Mr. Wertis acknowledged this and offered unspoken advice from Alex which is probably
okay. He gets nervous and is afraid it will come back to bite them when they do not go by
the book that has been given to them to follow. The other issue he has is the application
was not submitted within the ten days required.
Mr. Wolff stated he accepts this and appreciates the problem, he acknowledged the Board
has to do what they are required to do, however this is essentially a gift to a son and
grandson .
Ms . Chiuten noted that the sketch plat requires more than the subdivision plat.
Mr. Wertis stated they are also working with a very difficult document.
Ms . Chiuten noted it is also written as if it were a Site Plan.
Mr. Wertis stated he is appreciative of Ms . Chiuten' s preparing the draft resolution so
they have something to work from .
Mr. Means asked if there were plans to build on the property.
Mr. Wolff stated long term the grandson Kyle, who is a Deputy Sheriff would probably
build on the lot. There is nothing planned at this time.
Mr. Wertis noted the road frontage is 440 feet which meets the requirement.
Mr. Wertis offered to move the motion with the modifications . The motion is as follows .
TOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD
RESOLUTION NO. 2006-011
Koskinen Minor Subdivision
Minor Subdivision Approval
Tax Parcel No. 23 .-3 - 11 .2
4248 Waterburg Road
Town of Ulysses, New York
Planning Board, December 5, 2006
MOTION made by Mr. Wertis, seconded by Ms . Simon,
WHEREAS :
The applicant submitted a subdivision plat and fee to Mr. Rachun, Town of Ulysses
Zoning Officer on December 5 , 2006
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1 . consisting of the following :
• Application and associated fee
• Draft subdivision plat
• GIS map showing adjacent properties
2 . This action is consideration of Subdivision Approval for the proposed minor,
three-lot subdivision located at 4248 Waterburg Road, Town of Ulysses Tax
Parcel No . 21 -3 - 11 . 2 , A- 1 Agricultural district . The proposal subdivides an
existing +/-70. 36 acre parcel that spans behind parcel 21 - 3 - 12 into three separate
parcels, of which the middle parcel will be deeded and combined with parcel 23 . -
3 - 12 . The resultant parcels will be 2 Parcels from 23 . -3 . 11 . 2 , with total acreage
of 13 . 67 acres, the latter of which is classified as a Simple Subdivision under
Section 18 . 2 . 1 Subdivision Definitions AND
3 . The Planning Board has determined that a Public Hearing is unnecessary because :
• The subdivision and proposed merging of lots creates legal conforming lots .
• There currently are no plans for the involved parcels that would create a
negative impact to adjacent parcels .
4 . The Planning Board on December 5 , 2006 , has reviewed a survey map entitled Map
of Survey Lands to be Conveyed by Stanley R. Koskinen, September 16, 2006
Robert S . Russler, Jr. Land Surveyor-
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED :
That the Town of Ulysses Planning Board hereby grants minor subdivision approval .
The vote on the motion resulted as follows :
AYES : Ms . Chiuten, Mr. Means, Ms . Simon, Mr. Wertis
NAYS : NONE
ABSENT : Mr. Porter, Ms . Schneider, Mr. Zeserson
ABSTAINED : NONE
The vote on the motion WAS CARRIED unanimously.
Mr. Wolff asked what the procedure was from here.
Mr. Coogan advised him 5 days from today he would receive a letter indicating the
approval .
Ms . Chiuten stated the next business at hand was a letter received from Department of
Health, there is no action to be taken but they should learn from the experience .
Mr. Coogan stated there were a lot of missteps . Communication from the Health
Department led them to believe they had the same information as the Planning Board.
The actual records never were sent to the Health Department, it was during a subsequent
conversation they realized they had different information. In a coordinated review the
different between Alex and John, is what the Health Department is above the Planning
Board . John is looking at as in a coordinated review the SEQR process should be done
simultaneously.
Ms . Chiuten acknowledged this, in the sense they should have had their comments back
prior to the SEQR decision.
Ms . Carlisle Peck stated as far as the Planning Board was concerned the information had
gone to the Health Department .
Mr. Coogan affirmed this and stated if the subsequent conversation had never happened
this issue would not have been brought up .
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Mr. Wertis stated the final condition was the permits were pending final approval of the
Health Department.
Mr. Coogan stated he and Alex had reviewed the document and agreed that all the
conditions of the Health Department have to be met prior to permits being issued.
Mr. Wertis and other members agreed this is why they added this condition. l
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Ms . Chiuten noted that due to this Mr. Kehoe should not be doing any work on the
property. He does not have final Site Plan approval . Mr. Rachun will not issue a permit.
Ms . Chiuten stated there are valid concerns, regarding the signature and bedrock. In the
ideal situation we would have received these concerns prior to making a SEQR decision.
The Board would have noted and reviewed the bedrock, etc items and could have
mitigated these in the resolution.
Ms . Simon stated that because of the miscommunication this did not happen, thus in the
future they need to establish a procedure so this does not happen.
Ms . Chiuten stated the Town of Ithaca requires 35 copies be distributed, if information is
not received the packet is not accepted as complete and the 30 day requirement is reset.
Mr. Coogan stated the better way to handle this, he feels, is to send the information out
regardless of the size . Once this procedure becomes routine to the agencies receiving
these packets it will aide in the communication process . He did note this was the Board ' s
first coordinated review . They have made phone calls but never made a coordinated
review . The Town is changing enough that they need to get away from the rural , relaxed
view . He is not sure they have the actual names of who is the appropriate contacts at each }
agency r i
Mr. Means stated so the procedure should be send the information, follow up with a
phone call, to acknowledge they have the information. The premise of no news is good
news does not seem to be acceptable.
Ms . Chiuten stated that once the pattern is established, the agencies will realize the Board
is expecting a response . Her personal experience has been these agencies are willing to
work with you because they view themselves as all being in the same situation.
Mr. Wertis stated the letter indicates Jodi Allen has not made contact.
Ms . Chiuten stated that is correct, the way she feels to deal with this is the letter has
already been forwarded to Jamie and Jodi . She would like to have the Town draft a letter
to Jamie and Jodi and advise them the applicant has not complied with, as the applicant is
is up to them to deal with the issues with the Health Department. There is a level of trust
as and as the engineer Mr. Allen should know this. She does feel bad they missed several
issues such as the bedrock outcroppings and the water table, where the manure actually
goes. It was noted Mr. Kehoe had stated he would be using the manure onsight for
fertilizing the landscaping.
Mr. Wertis asked if the Board had access to the soil maps Mr. Anderson is referring to . '
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Mr. Coogan stated at the Town Hall, he would doubt it.
Mr. Wertis stated then the comment that the Board should have known this is
questionable . They do not have the tool yet they should be aware of this information.
Mr. Coogan stated the comment about the streams is questionable they used the USGS
classification and it did not indicate this .
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Ms . Chiuten stated she thinks he is referring to the DEC list.
Mr. Coogan stated the Town Hall went wireless, they do have the laptop and projector so
this information could be accessed during the meetings .
Mr. Wertis asked if Alex had issued a stop work order.
Mr. Coogan stated there are no permits issued, Mr. Anderson will have to issue a
certificate for sanitary waste . Alex will go down as building inspector and fire inspector
to inspect the property. He will not issue any permit until the criteria has been met.
Mr. Rachun wrote a letter to the Planning Board, he is the appointed SEQR agent,
addressing this issue.
Ms . Chiuten noted that Mr. Rachun ' s letter indicates that the issues would have been
resolved if the information had been received prior to the SEQR determination.
Mr. Coogan affirmed this and noted that if the Health Department does not clear Mr.
Kehoe a C of O will not be issued .
Mr. Means asked if these are not issued can he or can ' t he use the existing buildings .
Mr. Chiuten noted in the Department of Health letter the permit for use expired in 1996 .
Technically he should not be using these buildings at all .
Mr. Coogan stated that is correct however he is, that would fall into the Health
Department jurisdiction . He stated he has used them for parties-the Health Department
could notify Mr. Rachun the property should be condemned but it is their decision.
Ms . Carlisle Peck asked if he could use the property as a private residence .
Mr. Coogan stated he could use this as a private residence and have private parties.
Unless there is evidence that money exchanged hands it can be classified as a family get
together.
Ms . Chiuten asked if Mr. Anderson is aware Mr. Kehoe is using the premises without a
permit.
Mr. Coogan stated Mr. Anderson is aware of this, if any action is taken it is up to him .
Mr. Coogan stated the Town Board has taken up the Zoning issues at a slow rate. He
asked if there were anything the Planning Board would like changed in the subdivision.
Ms . Chiuten stated inconsistencies regarding the Sketch Plat vs . the Plan would be good .
Mr. Wertis stated clarification regarding the three different types of subdivision is not
clear, also what is the specific role the Planning Board is supposed to take with the
various types of subdivisions .
II Mr. Coogan stated for simple subdivisions the rational was to make the Board aware of
the actions being taken in the town .
Mr. Wertis acknowledged that is nice, however they are not mind readers and it does not
state this in the code. They would appreciate specific actions to be taken in the code.
Ms . Chiuten stated part of the problem in the subdivision regulations is it is geared
towards the assumption people are not just creating lots . It is creating lots and plans for
cluster subdivision, i . e. there are utilities required vs . I want to give my son a piece of
land. She does not know what the better language would be .
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Ms. Simon offered maybe it would be better to have a classification that indicates
subdivision of lots and subdivision with development. Then have specific requirements
for subdivision' s that have plans for building. If they had to review the case that came up
tonight due it being on a collector road it would have been a complete waste of time.
When the property is being built on is the time to review it .
Ms . Chiuten stated the City or the Town has a classification that allows lot line
adjustments. It is not reviewed but the applicant can be approved . She appreciates that an
applicant could come in with a weird, strange change and that would have to be
approved.
Mr. Coogan stated that the lots have to be legal and conforming in order to be approved .
Ms . Chiuten asked how the meeting with Ken Zeserson was concluded.
Mr. Coogan indicated Mr. Zeserson had stated he would be willing to be the Chairperson.
The Town Board has to appoint him, the Planning Board has to appoint a Vice
Chairperson, there are a number of things the Planning Board could start to due . One of
these is codify rules for the Board, whoever is Chairperson usually does this . There are
funds available for Mr. Zeserson to attend the Association of Town ' s course for Planning
Board training. It is an 18 hours course, Mr. Zeserson has stated he is willing to go . He
stated they are hoping to do more of this type of informal training in the Town.
Mr. Coogan stated they have received information the Ithaca Antiques Mall would be
changing into a food terminal , the Sleeping Bear Futon building would become a
Montessori Nursery School. There are some interesting implications because the
industrial district also allows adult entertainment. These cannot be within certain feet of
an adult entertainment yet town ' s are required to provide areas these can be established .
The Town of Ithaca is acquiring Babcock property, the County and the Finger Lakes
Land Trust is purchasing property close to 34 near Eddydale Farms going East out of
Ithaca, this had been the Town of Ithaca' s designated adult entertainment area.
Ms . Simon stated then around the perimeter of the school there should not be any adult
entertainment within certain parameters .
Mr. Coogan stated that was correct, he added Trumansburg High School classifies itself
as a Drug Free Zone, this indicates that no drugs or alcohol are allowed in the
Fairgrounds . It is a major offense to have any of these items within this zone .
Mr. Wertis asked if this group would be willing to discuss and develop a resolution that
the Town Board adopting the DNA ' s .
Ms . Carlisle Peck stated the Planning Board had already done this as part of the zoning
changes they requested.
Mr. Coogan stated in addition the Natural Features Focus Group is coming on line . He is
on the County Planning Advisory Board, they have asked the County to develop
guidelines , that is why nobody has adopted the UNA ' s .
Ms . Chiuten stated the Village of Lansing has, all it really forces them to do is obtain a l'
special permit or Site Plan, she could not remember, in order to build within a UNA.
Mr. Coogan stated there is a really nasty one, the bluffs in the Village of Lansing, it is
one of the most UNA in the state . There is all kinds of wildlife and it is going right up to
the edge with a subdivision. He has asked the Town Board to send a letter to the Village
of Lansing cluster them away from the lot and leave it as open space.
Mr. Wertis stated he did not think there were 3 or 4 in Town of Ulysses .
Mr. Coogan stated he thinks there are more, there are 6 or 7 that make the Scenic list .
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They have gone through and determined a methodology to determine this list, most of
Ulysses ' are already protected . One of the things the inventory lists is the absorption
factor from nothing to a cityscape . Now they have to figure out the guidelines, you have a
UNA what do they want to do -not touch it, make it buildable, they do not care-do Site
Plan, that is the next phase. The County cannot issue any land use regulations, the Free
Press stated the Natural Features Focus areas would be protected under the County, that
is not correct. It is up to the Town do determine what they will do .
Ms . Chiuten stated it could be requiring Site Plan or special permit. The flora/fauna on
the property could require protecting .
Mr. Coogan stated a specific area in Ulysses is the lakeshore, the Stormwater Committee
has defined where the slopes start, it could be an overlay district or its own zone . The odd
thing is the Town Board is making changes to the Zoning, the Comprehensive Plan
Committee is revising the Comprehensive Plan, the Stormwater Committee is working on
areas . He is going to push the Stormwater Committee do the overlay for this area for the
Comprehensive Plan.
Ms . Chiuten stated another restriction could be the maximum amount of clearing.
Mr. Coogan stated another item could be anything removed would have to be replanted,
the scenic committee is going to develop preservation techniques . He stated the Town is
also doing a corridor access plan, the only ones not on board is the City of Ithaca, it
would extend on Route 96 from the city bridges to the north end of the county.
Mr. Wertis asked what a corridor access plan is .
Mr. Coogan explained DOT would come in and review curb cuts, nodes ; it would stretch
where nodes should be and where to minimize curb cuts . The Board would have a
reference to use in determining curb cuts, it would give the Board teeth to use during Site
Plan. The Town Board would have to adopt this regulation, the funds have just been put
into the budget, a consultant has not been hired to do the project . Another area that has
been budgeted is the Town, County and City of Ithaca are being asked to allocate 3 days
of their highway crew to do some clearing on the Black Diamond Trail, to give the
appearance it is moving forward for the state ' s review . The Town Board has to approve
this as it is out of the area of the town highways. He stated Ed Marx is coordinating the
different municipalities as the contact person .
Mr. Wertis asked what a food terminal is .
Mr. Coogan replied it is a distribution terminal, that is all he knows .
Mr. Means stated that is what Regional Access is classified as, another term would be
warehouse, distribution center etc .
Mr. Coogan stated there were several Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board
members at the training session at the Library.
Mr. Wertis stated some people had the impression there would be break out sessions of
their specific areas vs . a sit down listen session. He did not know where they got this
impression.
Mr. Coogan stated it was the standard state training session.
Ms . Chiuten asked if they were on for the next meeting scheduled for December 19th
Mr. Coogan stated he did not know if there was anything on the agenda. They could
make a determination later.
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Ms . Chiuten stated they will schedule and notify members if there is a cancellation.
Ms . Simon and Mr. Means indicated they would appreciate a notice by Monday due to
being away for the day on Tuesday. They will not have any way of being notified if the
meeting is cancelled.
Ms . Chiuten agreed they would send the notice out by Monday if it is cancelled .
Mr. Coogan asked if they would be having the meetings the usual days .
Ms. Chiuten stated at this point in time it would be the 1st and 3 '( week unless it is
changed once the new Chairperson is on board.
Mr. Wertis asked about the minutes from November 15th, some members had not read the
minutes and were not comfortable moving forward until they had done so .
The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 30 pm, the next scheduled meeting is December 19th, at
7 : 30 pm, Town Hall .
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Carlisle Peck
Secretary
12/ 10/06
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