The Regular Monthly Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Otsego were held on the 10th day of

Town of Otsego Planning Board

Minutes - May 2, 2006

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Joan Brady (Hans deWaal) - Site plan review, addition of bedroom above existing sun-room - 159 Marble Road (#52.10-1-1.00)

Chairman Jonathan Bass called the public hearings to order at 7:30 PM. Bass briefly described the Brady project, and asked if anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Paul Lord reiterated the question, but no one responded. Lord moved to close the public hearing. Donna Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

David Nash (Hans deWaal) - Site plan review, construction within 100 feet of Canadarago Lake - 2131 County Highway 22 (#38.20-1-18.00)

Chairman Bass briefly described the Nash project, and asked if anyone from the public had any comments or questions. Paul Lord reiterated the question, but no one responded. Lin Vincent moved to close the public hearing. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

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, Donna Borgstrom, Lin Vincent, and Wes Ciampo. Also present were Planning Board Attorney Margaret McGown, Zoning Enforcement Officer Mike Miller, and Planning Board clerk Bill Deane. Board member John Phillips was absent.

The Board referred to the minutes of the April 4, 2006 meeting, mailed to the members. Chairman Bass relayed a concern from Town Supervisor Tom Breiten, that the minutes involving the Brady and Nash applications were unclear. The consensus of the Planning Board was that the minutes were clear as written. Bill Deane noted that, in the minutes sent electronically, the word "these" on the top of page 5 was misspelled; this was corrected in the version mailed to members. John Stucin moved to approve the minutes as mailed. Donna Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Mike Miller reported on his last month's activity. In April he issued six permits, fielded two complaints, and referred one denial to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

Chairman Bass reviewed correspondence received since the last meeting:

a.. A notice (passed around to members) from SafetyComm Solutions, inviting Planning board members to attend a program on pipeline damage prevention training in Oneonta on May 15.
b.. A 4/10 letter (filed in general correspondence) from the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, offering to have a representative attend a Planning Board meeting to talk about concerns with wind-power development.
c.. A 4/3 memo from County Planning Board Director Terry Bliss, with guidelines on Planning and Zoning Referrals to the County. Bass asked Bill Deane to make copies for the members.
d.. A 4/3 memo from County Planning Board Director Terry Bliss, regarding Planning Boards and the Hazard Mitigation Plan. Bass asked Deane to make copies for the members.
e.. A 4/10 notice (filed) from the County Planning Board, regarding the Mark LaValley application. They determined that there would be no county-wide impacts, and remanded it back for local decision.
f.. A 4/24 letter (filed) from Thomas J. Fucillo of Menter, Rudin & Travelpeace, P.C., a firm representing Jim McNulty. It requested that the Planning Board consider several specific issues before voting on the LaValley application.
g.. An e-mail from Bill Bowers to Attorney McGown, asking to meet with her to discuss Planning Board procedures. McGown said she felt such a conference would be a conflict of interest.

Before moving on to applications, Chairman Bass reviewed what happened during the Frank Stabile application at the April 4 meeting. With two of the seven members absent and another abstaining, only four voted on the site plan approval motion. This constituted a quorum, but four votes were still necessary to pass any motion. Though three of the four voting were in favor, the motion failed (thus the application was denied) for failure to receive four votes. Bass and Attorney McGown reviewed the rules since then and agree that everything was done correctly. However, they cautioned the Board about abstentions: a member who chooses to abstain needs to do so from the beginning of the application process, not in the middle of a vote, and must have a reasonable excuse to abstain.

APPLICATIONS

Mark LaValley - Site plan review, special permitted use, service trade establishment - 515 Keating Road (#82.00-2-2.07)

Wes Ciampo announced that he was abstaining from the proceedings due to his living in proximity to the applicant and other personal issues. He seated himself with the public during this application.

Paul Lord read aloud the April 4 minutes relevant to this application. He asked Mark LaValley if there were any changes to the application. LaValley said there were not, but that he was considering changing the roof from steel to asphalt, unless that would require a new application.

Chairman Bass, who said he had visited the site, asked questions about the appearance and height of the building. LaValley said it would have 12-foot-high sidewalls, with the roof peaking at 25 feet. Bass offered landscaping suggestions, including more and taller trees, to improve the small buffer zone between LaValley and neighbors. Bass noted, however, that a neighbor had a barn quite close to the road.

In answer to Board members' questions, LaValley said that his "light fabrication" would consist of occasional repair of items such as stage parts; that he planned no outside storage; that he didn't anticipate expansion in the future; that he would add fill based on the recommendations of the Department of Environmental Conservation; and that there would be limited traffic, consisting of about two site visits per week from May through September, down to about one a month in the off-season.

John Stucin asked if there were any way LaValley could reduce the height of the building. LaValley said that the sidewalls of the building would have to be at least ten feet tall to accommodate his vehicle, and that the upstairs was needed for storage, since he had reduced the proposed size of the building by more than 30%. Stucin also noted that one picture shows a door on the south side of the building, but LaValley said that he no longer planned to have a door there.

Bass reminded the Board that they had three options when making a decision on an application: to deny it, to approve it, or to approve it with modifications.

LaValley said that his driveway permit expired on April 27, and that he plans to renew it. In the meantime, he asked that the "clock be stopped" on his application decision process, and that he be placed on the June agenda. No one from the Board expressed any objections to that. It was noted that, since the public hearing had been held 28 days ago, there were 34 days remaining for the Board to issue a decision, once the clock were restarted. If the Board did not take action within that period, the application would be approved by default.

LaValley later returned during the "other business" portion of the meeting. He expressed frustration at the Board's expensive, "eleventh-hour" suggested changes to his application, and wondered why this was happening at this stage of the process. Bass and Lord explained that these were due to the neighbors' concerns expressed during last month's public hearing, and that the Board may or may not add such modifications when voting on the site plan.

Joan Brady (Hans deWaal) - Site plan review, addition of bedroom above existing sun-room - 159 Marble Road (#52.10-1-1.00)

Paul Lord read aloud the April 4 minutes relevant to this application. Engineer Hans deWaal described the project for the benefit of Lin Vincent, since she missed the April meeting. deWaal submitted a $25 check in payment of the site plan application fee.

Chairman Bass asked if anyone had any questions or concerns, but none were raised. Donna Borgstrom moved to approve the site plan. Bass seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0. Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

David Nash (Hans deWaal) - Site plan review, construction within 100 feet of Canadarago Lake - 2131 County Highway 22 (#38.20-1-18.00)

Chairman Bass asked if anyone had any questions or concerns, but none were raised. Wes Ciampo moved to approve the site plan. Bass seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0. Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

Troy Brissard - Site plan review, special permitted use, Fly Creek Friesians - County Highway 26 (#82.00-2-7.00)

No one appeared on behalf of this application. Bill Deane noted that, during the April meeting, Troy Brissard had asked to be put on the May agenda, and been instructed to notify the Zoning Enforcement Officer if he would not be ready for that meeting.

Frank Stabile - Site plan review, addition of room to existing structure - 6773 State Highway 80 (#69.60-1-9.03)

Engineer Hans deWaal reviewed what had happened to his previous application for this project. He submitted a new application, which he said was identical to the old one, plus a $25 check in payment of the site plan application fee.

Paul Lord said that the survey showed the construction to be less than 100 feet from Otsego Lake, requiring a ZBA variance. After discussion and review of the survey, it was realized that the construction is 165 feet from the Lake.

Paul Lord moved to deem this a Type II application under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), requiring no further review. John Stucin seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0. Donna Borgstrom moved to deem the application complete. Stucin seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0. Borgstrom moved to waive the public hearing, due to two previous public hearings, and correspondence from neighbors already in the file. Stucin seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-1, with Lord opposed.

During discussion, Chairman Bass reread aloud a letter on file from neighbor Roy Ackman, expressing concerns about his obstructed view of the Lake. Lord expressed sympathy with that concern, while Lin Vincent noted that Ackman still had a view of the Lake. Lord stated that he didn't think the Board would be as eager to approve the application, or dismiss the neighbors' concerns, if the project hadn't already been completed before coming to the Board. Bass said that the Board had approved so many similar projects along the Lake, that a denial here would not hold up. Lord moved to disapprove the site plan, but Attorney McGown said that the initial motion should be "affirmative."

Stucin moved to approve the site plan. Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-1, with Lord opposed. Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

Robert & Marcia Ubner - Minor subdivision - 165 Tripp Hill Road (#83.00-1-28.01)

Robert Ubner described his plan to break off 22 acres from a 108-acre lot, ultimately dividing the smaller portion into three lots of 11.53, 5.25, and 5.18 acres, respectively. He submitted a map and a tentative application, which were examined by the Board.

Chairman Bass noted that there had been two previous splits since 1987 (when Ubner gave lots to each of his two children), thus that he could do only one more under the minor subdivision guidelines. A major subdivision could not be done at this time due to the moratorium in effect.

Following discussion, Ubner said he was inclined to wait until the moratorium is over before proceeding further. He will contact the Board when he is ready to be put back on the agenda.

Dan Evans - Minor subdivision - 258 Raymond Fish Road (#96.00-1-12.00)

Dan Evans submitted an aerial picture, survey map, and perc test for his proposed minor subdivision of a 28-acre lot into two parcels. Upon examination of
these, the consensus of the Board was that it constituted a first lot split. It was noted that each lot met the acreage and road frontage requirements in the Land Use Law.

Wes Ciampo moved to deem this a first lot split, requiring no further Planning Board review. Donna Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.
In absence of the original Mylar, Chairman Bass stamped and signed three copies of the site plan, noting that the County may require Evans to have the Mylar signed.

Mike & Ellen Weir - Sketch plan conference, construction of two barns - 111 Christian Hill Road (#113.00-1-44.02)

Mike Weir said he has owned a 35-acre lot in the residential-agricultural (RA-2) district for more than ten years, and submitted a tax map. There is no residence on the property. He and his wife, Ellen, grow marigolds on the property, then dry them elsewhere, put them into a jar with oil, and market the concoction as a lotion. Now, they want to build two barns on the property, one to dry the flowers, the other to store machinery (tractor, plow, etc.) used on the property.

There was considerable discussion about which Land Use Laws would apply to this enterprise. Chairman Bass read aloud the definition of "agricultural use." John Stucin said that he thinks what the Weirs plan to do falls within that definition, and Bass agreed. Paul Lord said that he thinks the processing of the flowers negates the agricultural use. Attorney McGown noted that there are ag & markets laws, and that some farmers can be exempt from Town laws. Ellen Weir said that the Board should
support small business ventures.

The consensus of the Board, with only Lord dissenting, was that this falls under permitted agricultural use, requiring no site plan review.

OTHER BUSINESS

Chairman Bass and Paul Lord reported on the "Preserve Our Pierstown" meeting held at the Pierstown Grange on April 13. They were among 40-50 people in attendance.

Bass said that the Otsego Lake Association would be meeting on June 17, and that someone ought to represent the Planning Board. He asked members to consider attending, and to discuss it at the June Planning Board meeting.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Miller asked the Board for recommendations on what he could do to better prepare Planning Board applicants. Bass told Miller he has been doing a fine job so far.

Bill Deane reminded the Board that the July meeting would be held on the second Tuesday of the month, due to the first falling on the July 4 holiday. He
will advertise the schedule change.

With no further business, at 9:54 Wes Ciampo moved to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Deane

Planning Board Clerk