Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.12.2011 Planning Board MinutesMeeting #17 Planning Board January 12, 2011 Page 1 Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board Meeting #17 Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Marcham Hall – 7:00pm Minutes Present: Chair Harms, G. Gillespie, F. Cowett, M. Morris, Alternate S. Cunningham Absent: H. Richardson Others: VCH Consultant G. Frantz, VCH Engineer B. Cross, Attorney E. Flash, VCH Trustee B. Szekely, VCH Clerk M. Mills Guests: M. Macenas, J. Condino, J. Rusten, C. Rusten, A. Watkins Item 1 - Call to order by Chair Harms at 7:03 pm Item 2 - Approval of Minutes from December 10, 2010 meeting -- these minutes are not yet available and approval will be tabled until the February 16, 2011 meeting. Discussion – Chair Harms suggested changing the Planning Board meetings from the Wednesday following the Board of Trustee meeting to be the 3rd Monday of the month; or the 3rd Wednesday of the month. This would allow a week between the Board of Trustees meeting and the Planning Board meeting and allow Clerk Mills to appropriately prepare for both meetings. It would also allow VCH Engineer B. Cross to attend more Planning Board meetings. The Planning Board members will advise Chair Harms of individual schedules in the hopes of finding a mutually acceptable day. Item 3 – Public Comment – none Item 4 – Upland Road Residential Development – Final Plat Plan Approval (Mecenas, Condino, Cross) Discussion – B. Cross gave a review of prior project history and stated his approval of project plans after extensive discussion with Mr. Mecenas and Mr. Condino pending delineation of any wetlands on site. John Condino, an engineer hired by Mr. Mecenas specifically to deal with the wetlands question raised at the November meeting, stated that any wetlands to be delineated on site could not be delineated at present because it is winter and the vegetation survey used for such delineation is not possible until spring. However, he generally agreed with a delineation previously made by the engineer of record for the project, Lawrence Fabbroni, PE, also retained by Mr. Mecenas. He believed that wetlands boundaries from a delineation to be made in the spring would not substantially differ from the boundaries already indicated and that any changes to these boundaries would not substantially impact the project plat. Mr. Condino also noted that any Meeting #17 Planning Board January 12, 2011 Page 2 wetlands lost to project construction, such as in construction of the stormwater pond, would need to be mitigated either on site or off site in the same watershed and indicated on a map provided to Planning Board members where such mitigation might occur on site on lots 7 & 8. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) typically requires a 2 to 1 ratio to replace wetlands lost to development. Mr. Condino also mentioned either moving or reconfiguring the stormwater pond if necessary based on the pending delineation and need for mitigation. A question was asked if, were mitigation wetlands to be located on lots 7 & 8, would deed restrictions on construction to be placed on these lots? The reply was, yes, that deed restrictions would apply to these lots, as well as any lots on which delineated wetlands were found to exist. The USACE would want any wetlands on lots to be monitored over a five year period with the landowner being responsible to do the monitoring. There will be a requirement placed on all homeowners in the homeowners association to maintain the reporting and monitoring of wetlands on their property; this requirement will need to be in place before any of the lots would transfer. Attorney Flash was in agreement with this provision. A question was asked about wetland buffers and the difference between federal and NYS wetlands. Wetlands delineated by the USACE (i.e. federal wetlands) do not have setback buffers. Wetlands delineated by the NYSDEC do have 100 foot buffers where construction is not permitted. The wetlands on this site have not been delineated by the NYSDEC and therefore would not be subject to the 100 foot buffer requirement. From the map provided the wetlands have been identified. The question before the Planning Board is if it is willing to approve allowing Mr. Mecenas to move forward, with the condition that construction will not begin without USACE stamp of approval. A question was asked regarding whether DEC approval is required of the stormwater plan? B. Cross’ answered that the developer submits notice of intent to proceed which includes approval of the stormwater plan by the Village Engineer; in this case no action would be taken by the DEC other than a paper review. Chair Harms asked B. Cross to work with Attorney Flash to draft a resolution for the next Planning Board meeting, February 16, 2011, indicating final plat approval conditioned upon the delineation of wetlands on site, and wetland mitigation and changes to the stormwater plan, if necessary. A resolution should only be drafted if Planning Board members were comfortable with the sufficiency of information so far provided, but should not be drafted if Planning Board members wished to see the results of any future wetland delineation before granting final plat approval. A question was asked as to what would happen if final approval is given pending the wetland delineation and results from the delination then require changes in lot boundary lines? If lot boundary lines needed to be redrawn, Mr. Mecenas will need to reappear before the Planning Board and request changes to the plat. Meeting #17 Planning Board January 12, 2011 Page 3 Planning Board members were polled and a majority of the members stated that they were comfortable with the sufficiency of information provided by Mr. Mecenas to allow a resolution of approval to be drafted for a vote at the next meeting. A resolution with conditions outlined and a site plan approval for lots will be provided at the February 16, 2011 meeting of the Planning Board. As Village Engineer Cross will be away for the February meeting, and the Board felt it necessary to have Engineer Cross present for the potentially final deliberation of the resolution of approval, Mr. Mecenas consented to the resolution extension to the March 9, 2011 Planning Board meeting. Item 5 – Comprehensive Plan Chair Harms transitioned the meeting to Mr. Frantz and the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Frantz mentioned a piece of history: Hayts Chapel and Schoolhouse date back to 1850 and have ties to the underground railroad. Discussion: Mr. Frantz reviewed the changes, additions, and deletions made to the Comprehensive Plan based on the December meeting. The Planning Board and Mr. Frantz addressed these items further and provided more recommendations to be implemented into the final stages of the Comprehensive Plan. Discussion: Changes to the timeline for the Comprehensive Plan were proposed and it was decided that a new timeline will be considered at the February meeting. Item 6 – Other Business Chair Harms indicated he will not be present for the February or March 2011 meetings and suggested appointing a member to fill in as acting chair for these two months. Motion: Mr. Morris Second: Mr. Cowett RESOLUTION No. 55 – Appointing Acting Chair Resolve, to appoint Graham Gillespie as acting Chair for the months of February and March, 2011. All in favor – Aye None opposed Motion: Mr. Gillespie Second: Mr. Morris RESOLUTION No. 56 – Adjourn Meeting Resolve, that this meeting was adjourned at 10:10 PM. Meeting #17 Planning Board January 12, 2011 Page 4 All in favor – Aye None opposed (revised 2/8/2011) Meeting #17 Planning Board January 12, 2011 Page 5