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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board Minutes - September 15, 2020Town of Danby Planning Board Minutes of Regular Meeting September 15, 2020 PRESENT: Ed Bergman Scott Davis Kathy Jett Elana Maragni Bruce Richards Jody Scriber Jim Rundle (Chair) OTHER ATTENDEES: Town Planner Jason Haremza Town Board Liaison Leslie Connors (Town Board member) Recording Secretary Alyssa de Villiers Public Ted Crane, Joel Gagnon (Town Supervisor), Katharine Hunter, Nigel Martin, Reina Martin, Ralph Nash, Kim Nitchman, Russ Nitchman, Mark Pruce This meeting was conducted virtually on the Zoom platform. The meeting was opened at 7:04pm. (1) MEETING WITH STAFF As this was Planner Haremza’s last meeting with the Planning Board, Chair Rundle asked Supervisor Gagnon what the meetings would look like going forward. Gagnon said he hoped Planner Haremza could get permission from his new employer to provide support to the Town during its transition to a new planner. The Town has reposted the position, with replies due by September 25th. Former interim planner John Czamanske has agreed to work with the Town if Haremza is not able to. (2) CALL TO ORDER / AGENDA REVIEW Nothing was added to the agenda. (3) PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR No comments were made during privilege of the floor. 1  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  (4) APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Approve the August 18th minutes Moved by Richards, seconded by Bergman The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Jett, Maragni, Richards, Scriber, Rundle Absent: Davis (5) TOWN BOARD LIAISON REPORT Leslie Connors (Town Board member) shared the following information: • The Town Board voted to pass the tax relief program (created by the tax policy working group of the Planning Group) on to the State Legislature, following the recommendation of the Planning Board (and CAC) to leave off the five-year easement option and public access item. Rundle asked whether the Town Board included a requirement for review, which the Planning Board had also recommended. Connors said that, if approved, this will come back to the Town, and the Town can then enact a law. At this time, the Town can put in a periodic review. Planner Haremza added that right now it is a request to add Danby to the four towns in NY that have already been approved; the State does not care about the review, but the Town does. • The Town Board voted to support White Hawk’s efforts to secure community housing development funds to offset construction costs and allow for four to six lower-income houses. • The Town Board amended the Zoning Ordinance to eliminate the “other uses” sentences, as recommended by the Planning Board. Planner Haremza added that they have not finalized the environmental review (SEQR), which is required for local laws, and they will do that at the next Town Board meeting. • The Town Board voted to enable the Town to override the tax cap if necessary. She hoped the Town would not need to this year, but this way they would at least have the option. • Speeding on the roads has been a major concern for a lot of residents. They are starting a group to look at traffic calming efforts, including asking for a uniform Town speed limit that is reasonable and advocating for the ability for the Town to set its own speed limits. The Town Board voted to ask the State to reduce the speed limit on Troy Rd. and in the three developments in central Danby, Fieldstone Circle, Beardsley Lane, and Olde Town Village. (6) PRIOR BUSINESS – WHITE HAWK ECOVILLAGE In July 2019, the Planning Board granted Site Plan Approval to White Hawk Ecovillage with this condition: Acceptance by the Planning Board of a commitment by White Hawk Ecovillage to address any deficiencies of the storm water management system from what was designed and originally 2  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  approved by the Planning Board in 2007. This commitment is to be in the form of a written letter from White Hawk Ecovillage which is to include and be based on a written report by a certified stormwater management engineer regarding construction of the storm water management system as designed, its current maintenance status, recommendations to address deferred maintenance, and recommendations for future maintenance as further described below. This commitment and accompanying report shall be submitted to the Planning Board no later than six (6) months from this conditional approval. This submittal will be reviewed by the Town Planning Board and the Town Stormwater Management Officer, and at a duly scheduled meeting of the Planning Board with White Hawk Ecovillage, the board will discuss the commitment and its accompanying report. Changes to the commitment and/or report may be agreed to through this review and discussion. The board may engage the services of a peer reviewer as provided in the Zoning Ordinance and Town Fee Schedule. Following this review and discussion, and based on any subsequent changes to the commitment and/or the report, the board will consider final acceptance of the commitment from White Hawk Ecovillage to maintain the stormwater system in perpetuity and thereby consider this condition fully satisfied. White Hawk Ecovillage has submitted a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, General Compliance Site Inspection, dated October 2019 (attached) and a Hydrologic and Hydraulic Assessment for Storm Control Ponds 1 and 2 dated February 2020. Chair Rundle asked Planner Haremza to go over the prepared draft resolution with the Board. Haremza said it borrows heavily from the original resolution passed in July 2019. He said at that time White Hawk was asked to submit a written report regarding the stormwater management system as designed within six months. He said they began contacting him in early 2020, but then COVID-19 hit, so there have been delays; he thanked the people from White Hawk for their diligence in doing their part to bring this before the Board. He said the Board can accept the documents prepared by White Hawk, hold their decision until the following meeting, or request further information. The question is, has the condition been met to the Planning Board’s satisfaction? Bruce Richards said it looked like White Hawk had an engineer look at the as-built stormwater structures, and they were declared adequate. He said in his visit he saw one culvert that was undersized had been removed. He said a concern last time was lack of maintenance and the removal of woody plants from the drainage channels and retention ponds. As it is still overgrown, he thought they needed to address the maintenance component. He said he did not want to hold them to a different standard than they would anyone else and was concerned about people saying things versus doing them. Mark Pruce of White Hawk responded to Richards’ comments. He agreed the engineer did not find any issues besides maintenance. He disagreed that they had not done more work than removing the culvert and explained that some woody debris is too much for their tractor, so they have got an estimate from a landscaping company. They have begun draining the ponds and rented a long-reach excavator. He felt they have been working hard, and although setback by COVID, have kept their word with what they promised they would do. 3  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  Ed Bergman said the Board set high standards, and White Hawk tried to honor the work. He noted that it is not possible to get things done in the same way and timeframe as usual due to COVID. He said he supports the mission and suggested approving the resolution. Jody Scriber agreed White Hawk had done due diligence and felt they had explained why the maintenance piece was not yet done. She felt their intention to get it done was clear. She asked if it was possible to approve conditional site approval but have a report next month on anything that needs to be finished. Haremza asked Mr. Pruce if one month would be enough to complete the maintenance work. Pruce said that the original condition was not that they would complete the work but that they would have an engineer review the site, identify any major problems, and identify a list of regular maintenance. He said they have met that condition and the regular maintenance will now happen yearly. He felt the engineer had shown they are not doing anything that would damage anyone else’s property or the Town. Rundle said the engineer identified things that needed to be done and asked how soon White Hawk anticipated being able to. Mr. Pruce said the pond would be dredged in a week, and he hoped the drainage ditches would be cleared at the same time, but he noted contractors are not always reliable on timelines. He posed the question, property owners are responsible for maintaining their property, and unless there was a reason to think someone else would be affected, why would they continue to need oversight? He felt the engineer’s review indicated no additional oversight was needed by the Town and the rest is just regular maintenance. Elana Maragni said it was good to hear Richard’s observations. She thought it was good to have an idea of the timeline, but the Board was deciding if White Hawk was doing their job, and they did have an engineer come in and tell them it was okay. She said she was trusting that and thought they Board should move forward. Kathy Jett agreed the Board should move forward. MOTION: Approve Res. #18 of 2020 Moved by Bergman, seconded by Jett The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Jett, Maragni, Richards, Scriber, Rundle Abstain: Davis (7) PRELIMINARY REVIEWS a) Minor Subdivision Location: 986 Steam Mill Road (Route 96B frontage), Tax parcel 14.-1-22.2 Zoning: Low Density (LD) Residential Zone/Aquifer High Vulnerability (AHV) Overlay Zone (partial) Applicant: Ralph Nash 4  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  Proposal: Subdivide a 141 +/- acre parcel into Parcel A (16 +/- acres) for a proposed dwelling. Parcel B (125 +/-acres) will retain the existing dwelling. The proposed new parcel meets the minimum requirements of the LD District. SEQR: Unlisted action, Planning Board is Lead Agency Ag District: Tompkins County Ag District #1 County 239 referral: pending Ralph Nash said he was representing the owners, the Nitchmans, who were present. He noted that the prospective purchasers of the property, the Martins, were also present. Planner Haremza said the ~143- acre parcel has a Steam Mill Rd. address, but the 16-acre subdivision they are discussing fronts on 96B. The Board looked at the map of the parcel. Next month will be a public hearing and Board decision. b) Special Permit Location: 133 Jersey Hill Road, Tax parcel 8.-1-4.2 Zoning: Low Density (LD) Residential Zone Applicant: Satya Stainton Proposal: Establish a second dwelling on a 56 +/- acre parcel by converting 480 sf of an existing 1200 sf the barn into a single family dwelling. The remaining 720 sf of the barn will continue to be used for storage. A new well and septic system will be installed. The existing single family dwelling will remain. SEQR: Type 2 action, no further environmental review is required Ag District: NA County 239 referral: NA The applicant was not present. The Board looked at the map of the parcel. Planner Haremza said this is not a subdivision and noted there is no minimum size on dwellings. He said he has been getting a number of calls regarding subdividing and building a new house or putting a second house on properties. (8) OTHER BUSINESS – RE-ZONING RECOMMENDATION TO TOWN BOARD Location: 31 Comfort Road, Tax parcels 2.-1-8.2 and 2.-1-8.3 Zoning: Commercial Zone B (current)/Low Density Residential (proposed) Applicant: Ted Gardner Proposal: Change the zoning designation of these two parcels from commercial to residential. The front parcel (.89 acres) contains a single family dwelling and the rear, landlocked parcel (.82 acres), is vacant. The commercial zoning designation appears to be a legacy of when these two parcels were owned by the same owner as the adjacent commercial property to the east (1230 Danby Road). Re-zoning to a residential designation reflects the current status of the property and corrects this historical anomaly. SEQR: Unlisted Action; Town Board is Lead Agency Ag District: NA County 239 referral: pending Planner Haremza showed a map of the parcels requesting rezoning; they are next to the former Oasis Dance Club, which has now been demolished. He said the owner at 31 Comfort Rd. requested rezoning for 5  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  that parcel and the landlocked one behind it to reflect the situation on the ground; it is a single-family dwelling. Haremza did not anticipate problems as this would be moving the parcels into a more restrictive zoning district. No one on the Board saw a problem with the rezoning. Bergman asked about the owner combining the parcels and suggested at least letting them know they can if they want to. There was a brief discussion about the history and future of the landlocked parcel. MOTION: Recommend to the Town Board that the zoning of the two lots be changed to Low Density Residential (Res. #19 of 2020) Moved by Richards, seconded by Davis The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Davis, Jett, Maragni, Richards, Scriber, Rundle (9) PLANNING GROUP UPDATE Tax Working Group Gagnon reported that the Town Board had a good discussion regarding the proposal. They accepted the recommendations of the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and Planning Board to drop the short-term easement and the public access provision, therefore asking for the same legislation as has been approved for four other towns in NY. This passed. He reported the Town Board discussed a means test as a condition of eligibility as there was substantial concern about the use of easements to allow well- off people get out of the responsibility of contributing to taxes based on assessed value. It was agreed they would revisit this when given permission from the State to pass a local law, as they can then craft the local law to suit Danby. Ted Crane said it is his belief that the houses are much more valuable than the land. Conservation Working Group Gagnon said that Leslie Connors had suggested a road tour on Nelson Rd. between Steam Mill Rd. and Makarainen Rd. as this area is representative of development types seen in Danby. This is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on September 26th. He said the pattern of development Danby has is lots created along the roads. If the preference is not to have that development, what is the Town willing to do to inhibit it or reduce the impacts. He said there is a tension between aesthetic and ecological impacts; houses set further back are less visible from the road, but they have more of an environmental impact. Haremza reported that this working group is moving forward on the draft environmental protection overlay district language for water resources. He felt they were solid on the riparian/stream corridor definition, he has gotten more information from County Planning on how wetlands can be defined, and they are hitting a dead-end about flood-prone areas. Hamlet Working Group 6  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  Planner Haremza said, regarding the municipal housing affordability grant, the consultant is back on track to do a revised contract so the scope of services will be within the $10,000 grant. In addition, Haremza is committing to a draft of the central hamlet zoning before he leaves. Outreach Working Group Planner Haremza said this working group has no new progress. One volunteer will be working on developing a photo contest., which he thought was a nice idea to build community spirit in a socially distanced way. (10) SITE PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE Planner Haremza said he hopes not to disappear completely, so he will be available for questions regarding this committee’s work. He will be summarizing what was discussed at the first meeting in a written document. There had not been a meeting since the last Planning Board meeting. (11) PLANNER’S REPORT Planner Haremza reported the following: • In terms of drainage on Beardsley Lane, he and Laura Shawley believe the parcels that will be part of the drainage infrastructure have been transferred from the County to the Town, so the Town can now move forward with a report from T.G. Miller that will lay out the tasks of the drainage district and the costs of ongoing maintenance. Leslie Connors asked if there have been any meetings with the residents. Haremza said there have not, but he thought it would be a good idea to reach out, possibly through a mailing or hand-delivery of information. • Regarding the Howland Rd. hemp operation, he visited in person on September 9th. He said there was a lot of dirt being moved around, and he issued a stop-work order and a notice of violation of the Stormwater Law in that the property owner had not submitted a notice of ground disturbance. They may also need to submit a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The owner’s attorney said they will be submitting something soon. A brief discussion about the general difficulties of enforcement followed. Haremza concluded that the future planner, the Town Board, and the code enforcement officer should get together for a strategic review to figure out how enforcement should be done, including at what level the Town Board desires enforcement to occur and who actually does it. (12) ADJOURNMENT Bruce Richards said he wanted to thank Planner Haremza. He felt the Planning Board had been much more effective and gotten much more done thanks to Haremza’s guidance. 7  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  8  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  MOTION: The Planning Board of Danby has appreciated the efforts, guidance, professionalism, and insight of Planner Haremza, has learned a lot from him, and has deep appreciation and thanks for everything he’s done. Moved by Richards, seconded by Scriber The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. ___________________________________________ Alyssa de Villiers – Recording Secretary