Minutes - March 1, 2005

REGULAR MEETING

Chairman Jonathan Bass called the monthly Town of Otsego Planning Board
meeting to order at 7:31 PM. Board members present were Bass, Paul Lord
(vice chairman), John Stucin, John Phillips, Lin Vincent, and Donna
Borgstrom. Also present was Planning Board clerk Bill Deane. Board member
Wes Ciampo and Town Attorney Margaret McGown were absent. It was noted that
McGown had not attended a Planning Board meeting since November.

The Board reviewed the minutes of the February 1 meeting,
prepared by Bill Deane and mailed to the members. Chairman Bass recommended
two corrections: on page 2, paragraph 5, the first six words of the last
sentence should be replaced by "Signs, by themselves, do not necessarily";
and on the next-to-last line of the same page, "dry-wall" should be
"dry-well." John Phillips noted that he was mistakenly omitted from the
listing of Board members present on page 1. John Stucin moved to approve
the minutes as amended. John Phillips seconded the motion, and it was
carried, 6-0.

The Board discussed the status of the vacant Zoning Enforcement
Officer position. The Town Board plans to interview several applicants, but
in the meantime applications are likely to back up. John Stucin pointed out
that the Planning Board is empowered to appoint its own application intake
person(s). Chairman Bass will bring up the issue at the March 9 Town Board
meeting, if the position has not been filled by then.

Chairman Bass reviewed correspondence received since the last
meeting:

a.. A February 14 notice from the County Clerk's office, regarding the
filing of the Margaret Clark subdivision plat (filed).
b.. A February 1 notice from the Town Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA),
regarding the granting of an area variance to Portabello's Restaurant
(filed).
c.. A letter from the Department of the Army, regarding an inspection of
property owned by Mark LaValley (put into a pertinent ZBA file).
d.. A flier about the Mohawk Valley Leatherstocking Agricultural Region's
"Community Leadership Conference," to be held at Herkimer Community College
on March 22.

Chairman Bass moved on to agenda applications.

AGENDA APPLICATIONS

K. Wayne Bunn - Sketch plan conference, replacement of camp within 500 feet
of Otsego Lake - 6739 State Highway 80 (#69.68-1-5.00)

Wayne Bunn, who is the Town Engineer, first introduced himself
to Board members he had not met. He then "changed hats" and described his
proposed project regarding an existing camp located on State Highway 80.
Bunn had received a building permit to add a second floor and new foundation
to the camp in 2003 but, due to problems with contractors, he never acted on
it and it expired. He now plans to replace the entire 800-square-foot camp
within the existing footprint. He displayed detailed architectural drawings
and photos, and answered questions, particularly about water runoff into the
Lake. Bunn said he plans to start construction in the fall, and that he
anticipates no changes to the plans, pending his ZBA application (he goes
before that Board for an area variance on March 15). He may remove three
trees, and plans no changes to the driveway. The consensus of the Board was
to await the ZBA's decision before deeming the application complete. The
Planning Board asked Bunn to return on April 5, but did not ask for any
additional documents.

Joe Siracusa - Site plan review, improvement to NYSHA fishing camp within
500 feet of Otsego Lake - 800 Lake Road, Cooperstown (#115.00-1-4.00)

Paul Lord read aloud the minutes of February 1 relevant to this
application. Joe Siracusa presented drawings and notes that engineer Hans
deWaal had prepared since then. They showed that the build-up of the
foundation will consist of one foot of gravel under the camp.

Chairman Bass reviewed aloud the site plan requirements in
Section 8.04 (page 32) of the Land Use Law. He then reviewed aloud the site
plan regulations in section 617.5 (page 10) of the New York State
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Handbook. Bass noted that the
project seems to fit under several definitions of a Type II action.

Donna Borgstrom moved to deem the application a Type II action
under SEQRA, section 617-5 (C). John Phillips seconded the motion, and it
was approved, 6-0.

John Stucin asked about erosion and sedimentary control
measures; these were covered in the original application. Siracusa was
advised that he needed to provide the names and addresses of neighbors
within 200 feet of the property by March 15.

Paul Lord moved to deem the application complete, contingent on
the addresses being provided, and to schedule a public hearing for April 5.
Lin Vincent seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

APPLICATIONS ADDED TO AGENDA

Peter Cullum & Esther Dunbar-Cullum - Lot line change, County Highway 28
(99.00-1-2.00 & 99.00-1-18.00)

Attorney Ed Gozigian represented the applicants, and described
the proposed lot line change on property on Pierstown Road, AKA County
Highway 28. He presented a map and deeds showing the proposed change.
Gozigian said that the change would neither increase nor create
non-comformity.

Lin Vincent moved to deem it a simple lot line adjustment, and
authorize the Chairman to generate and sign an approval letter, pending
review of the deed descriptions by Town Attorney Margaret McGown. John
Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Joyce Clark - Major subdivision, Parslow Road (#97.00-1-3.01)

Joyce Clark explained her proposal to split off part of her lot
into parcels of 3.18, 3.14, and 3.13 acres, respectively. Her husband Barry
had formulated the plan before his death last year. She presented
preliminary plats showing the proposed split, and named the project the
Barry Clark Subdivision.

The Board listed additional items and documents that would be
needed, and suggested that she consult with Hans deWaal or another engineer
to help her in gathering these. At Mrs. Clark's request, Bill Deane and
Chairman Bass wrote the list down for her:

· Topography map of the properties, showing contour lines.

· Percs for each property.

· Survey of entire property, if available (may not need to be
re-surveyed).

· Wetland delineation.

· Easements/rights of way.

· Delineation of tree boundaries.

· Description of first lot sold to Quality Automotive.

· Existing house, septic, and well locations.

Mrs. Clark was asked to return for the April 5 meeting.

OTHER BUSINESS

Paul Lord submitted his draft of recommended changes to the Land
Use Law, concerning a description of the "General Business-2" (GB-2)
district, and rules governing storage units. He put them in the form of
motions, to appease the Town Board. Discussion followed, with other
Planning Board members consulting the Town map and offering constructive
criticism. Lord and other members agreed to "go back to the drawing board"
and revisit this during the April 5 meeting. Chairman Bass said he would
inform the Town Board that the Planning Board is working on Land Use Law
changes, and also recommend that they redo the Town map, using tax map
numbers to delineate district borders.

Bass announced that George Casey and the Army Corps of Engineers
would be giving a fancy presentation for the benefit of the Town Board,
Planning Board, and ZBA on March 24 at 7 PM. He asked Bill Deane to prepare
a legal ad announcing the event, but said that no minutes would need to be
taken.

Bill Deane brought up the subject of Planning Board agendas. He
prepares them between one and two weeks before each meeting, but there are
invariably last-minute additions made after they are mailed out. This
defeats the purpose of an agenda. The consensus of the Board was to
establish a cut-off: no new applications will be added to the agenda less
than eight days before the scheduled meeting, except in rare cases at the
Chairman's discretion.

Deane noted that Wayne Bunn's address was incorrectly listed on
the 2005 Planning Board directory he prepared and mailed; it should be 141
Birch Lane.

Several Board members expressed interest in attending the
Community Leadership Conference on March 22. Chairman Bass will seek
approval from the Town Board for this.

At 9:57 PM, John Phillips moved to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully
submitted,

Bill
Deane

Planning
Board Clerk