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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Board minutes - Oct. 19, 2021Town of Danby Planning Board Minutes of Regular Meeting October 19, 2021 PRESENT: Ed Bergman Collen Cowan Scott Davis Kelly Maher Elana Maragni Jody Scriber (Chair) ABSENT: Kathy Jett OTHER ATTENDEES: Town Planner David West Town Board Liaison Leslie Connors (Town Board member) Recording Secretary Alyssa de Villiers Public Meghan Anderer, Michael Barnoski, Bill Furniss, Joel Gagnon (Town Supervisor), Sean Greany, Katharine Hunter, Christine Lemonda, Jake McNamara, Cameron Neuhoff, Ronda Roaring, Dan This meeting was conducted virtually on the Zoom platform. The meeting was opened at 7:01 p.m. (1) CALL TO ORDER/AGENDA REVIEW Planner West suggested adding a report from Norbut Solar on the progress of their project; this was added as agenda item number seven, before adjournment. (2) PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR No comments were made during privilege of the floor. (3) APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  MOTION: Approve the September 21st minutes Moved by Davis, seconded by Bergman The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Davis, Maragni, Scriber Abstain: Cowan Absent: Maher (4) TOWN BOARD LIAISON REPORT Leslie Connors (Town Board member) shared the following information: • The Town Board is working on the 2022 budget. Her guess is they will exceed the tax cap; they have not done so since 2016. • The Town Board will be working on the environmental review for the Norbut Solar farm. • There is now an open spot on the Board of Zoning Appeals. • There will be a Trunk-or-Treat at Dotson Park on Halloween. You can attend or supply a trunk. Katharine Hunter is the contact person. • Colleen Cowan is now a member of the Planning Board. (5) DEVELOPMENT REVIEW SUP–2021-2 349 Durfee Hill Rd/100 Howard Rd. Parcel: 13.-1-3.2 Applicant: Jacob McNamara on behalf of William Furniss, Jr. Anticipated Board action(s) this month: Application Review, Schedule Public Hearing Proposal: Amend previous Special Use Permit to allow second dwelling unit permanently (previous SUP was for temporary use) Applicant’s Description Jake McNamara, representing Bill Furniss, explained they put forth a special permit application for a permanent structure at 349 Durfee Hill Rd/100 Howard Rd. A doublewide manufactured home has been in place for 15 years. It was originally put in place subject to a temporary permit, and they are seeking permanent recognition of that structure and nullification of any prior resolutions for the structure being temporary. It has not been bothering anyone and has become part of the community. Mr. Furniss is looking to sell the property and move down south in retirement. The original 2005 resolution is included in the submitted materials, and the property is available for inspection. Planner West said he was not sure if another permanent structure was allowed at that time, but today it is; they have the spacing and area to apply for a special permit for a second dwelling. Granting a new one would override the previous one. 2  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  Board Questions and Discussion Scott Davis asked what granting a temporary permit meant at the time it was granted. Planner West explained that before many towns allowed second dwelling units, they adopted provisions that would allow you to temporarily have one, allowing people to house relatives, etc. Those kinds of provisions are relatively common and often require the structure to be removed when the person passes. He assumed that was the case when the special permit was granted on a temporary basis, but now the zoning is more flexible in allowing a second dwelling if you have the space. Kelly Maher clarified that it was being reviewed because it was not permitted as permanent the first time. Planner West said yes, but also it would still require review because a second dwelling unit is not by right but by special permit; however, usually the Board would review it before it existed. MOTION: Schedule a public hearing for 349 Durfee Hill Rd. at the next meeting, November 16, 2021 Moved by Maher, seconded by Bergman The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Cowan, Davis, Maher, Maragni, Scriber SUB-2021-01.1 Hornbrook Rd. Subdivision Amendment Parcel: 6.-1-18.25 Applicant: Christine Lemonda Anticipated Board action(s) this month: Application review, Schedule Public Hearing Proposal: Amend Subdivision Plat to include No Build and Restricted Build Areas. Applicant’s Description Meghan Anderer explained that she and Christine Lemonda are planning to build a single-family residence of approximately 1500 sq. ft. They are proposing a plat amendment, and the proposed build site and driveway are in a buildable zone. Ms. Lemonda added that they have provided resource mapping that shows their proposed build site would not interrupt any of the no-build or restricted-build areas. Planner West said that this parcel was part of a three-lot subdivision on Hornbrook Rd. Three lots triggers an additional layer of review, including the creation of a resource map that identifies restricted and no-build areas. At the time subdivision approval was granted, the analysis was only done for one of the three parcels, and the subdivision was allowed with the condition that the other two lots would need that analysis when they were sold. That is why this is before the Board. Board Questions and Discussion Elana Maragni asked about the sketch provided. She thought it was clear they were putting the house and infrastructure on buildable land, but the sketch was rougher than what they usually see. She asked if that was okay because they were only interested in seeing the provided resource mapping. West said that yes, 3  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  this was because it is not a site plan review, it is only a review of the resource map and the platting. The resource map limits where on the lot they can build and includes steep slopes, buffers from streams and wetlands, and areas of forest. He said “woodland areas” is broad, so that can be tricky to define. The analysis was done through aerial photography, and he felt confident they were siting to minimize tree loss. Maragni added that it seemed they were entering from Durfee Hill Rd., which was scrubby. Ms. Anderer said that was correct; their intention was to find the area that would least damage the woodlands. Ed Bergman said it looked like the applicants had done everything the Board had asked when they approved the subdivision. MOTION: Schedule a public hearing for the next meeting, November 16, 2021 Moved by Bergman, seconded by Maragni The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Cowan, Davis, Maher, Maragni, Scriber SPR-2021-4 1435 Danby Rd. Gospel Church of Ithaca Parcel: 2.-1-47 Applicant: Michael Barnoski on behalf of Dan Grigoryev Anticipated Board action(s) this month: Application review, Schedule Public Hearing Proposal: Build new church on site of previous church – improve parking access. Applicant’s Description Michael Barnoski said this is the former site of the Gospel Church. The church burned down in the last two years, and they are in the planning stages for rebuilding the church on the site. He shared plans and visualizations of the building. The building will be slightly larger to accommodate more program space. They will reduce the existing two curb cuts to one and provide two lanes for entry and exit. This will be much safer, centered in the site, and legal for fire truck access. He said the fire department feels comfortable getting a truck in. The service is expected to be about 50 people on a weekly basis. There will be an assembly hall, banquet hall, and classrooms, and these are not envisioned to be in use at the same time. They have 13 parking spots to support 52 patrons, and the lawn will provide overflow parking. A few times a year there will be larger services. He said he hoped the Board would be excited about the overall building design, and they tried to follow the Town’s design guidelines. They took inspiration from traditional church forms in the area and have a lot of windows on the road façade. They have coordinated a new septic system, they have a stormwater plan, although they are under one acre, and they have begun coordinating with the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) for the new curb cut. Board Questions and Discussion Maher asked, in terms of overflow parking, if the septic system would be able to be driven over or if it would need a barrier. Mr. Barnoski said the septic is below the overflow parking, and they plan to have a berm and downward slope to distinguish the two. 4  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  Davis asked about the number of parking spots. Mr. Barnoski said there are 13 paved spaces and 15 in the lawn, for 28 total. This gets them to 112 for big event occupancy. Davis did not think you would average 4 people per car. Mr. Barnoski said that was the Town’s parking metric from the Zoning Ordinance: one parking space per four patrons. Davis thought many people might drive by themselves and questioned if that would be enough. Maher noted their previous parking lot was half the size. Mr. Barnoski said Dan, his client, reviewed the parking and was comfortable with it. He did not think the building greatly expands their congregation, rather it provides additional program spaces. MOTION: Schedule a public hearing for the next meeting, November 16, 2021 Moved by Maher, seconded by Maragni The motion passed. In favor: Bergman, Cowan, Davis, Maher, Maragni, Scriber (6) PLANNER REPORT ANNEX-2021-2 239 Nelson Rd Parcel: 4.-1-32.21 Action: Administrative approval for annexation of approximately 17’x287’ sliver of Parcel 4-1-32.22 to benefit parcel 4-1-32.21 on October 5, 2021 Planner West said the zoning code authorizes the planner to approve annexations. Annexations are when a small amount of land is moved from one parcel to another that shares a border, In this case, the applicant wanted to move a piece including the driveway, garage, and shed from the neighboring parcel. They wanted to make sure everything was on one parcel as they were getting ready to sell. The remaining lots meet the zoning. West said he is required to notify the Board that this happened. It is not a discretionary action—if they meet the requirements, they get approved. Zoning Update Maher asked about progress on the overall zoning update. West said yesterday was the monthly zoning update meeting before the Town Board. They gave him the go-ahead to take into account the comments that had been received. They did not want to change any of the main points and wanted to proceed to a second draft to get final feedback from the community. They are still on track for wrapping it up in December. (7) NORBUT SOLAR UPDATE Sean Greany updated the Planning Board that the Town Board public hearing is open. He said their objectives are to move toward closing the public hearing and transitioning to State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) consideration and planned development zone (PDZ) adoption. He said he believes they will ask to be on the Planning Board’s November agenda with a request for a public hearing on site 5  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  6  PLANNING BOARD MINUTES  plan and subdivision for the December meeting. He said general engineering reviews are passing back and forth between their engineers, Passero, and the Town’s, T.G. Miller. They are paying particular attention to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and getting reports to the Town as well as working on modifications to include an area to collect water on the site. The Board did not have any questions. Planner West reminded the Planning Board that the Town Board is the lead agency for SEQR and are just starting that process to review the Town’s concerns, look at impacts and determine substantiality, and require those impacts be mitigated. After SEQR is done and if the PDZ is approved, the project will come back to the Planning Board for site plan review and subdivision. Without the PDZ, the Planning Board would have to deny their application because it is not allowed under the current zoning. (8) ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. (moved by Maher, seconded by Davis) ___________________________________________ Alyssa de Villiers – Recording Secretary