Town of Otsego Planning Board
Minutes – October 7, 2008

PUBLIC HEARING
Mary Lou Votypka/John Mitchell Realty/Reid Nagelschmidt – Site plan review, special permitted use, barber shop – State Highway 28, Fly Creek (#114.05-1-37.00)
Chairman Paul Lord called the public hearing to order at 7:32 PM, and asked if there was anyone present with questions or comments about the application, but no one responded. Lord noted that a neighbor letter to the Fly Creek Fire District was returned to sender. Donna Borgstrom moved to close the public hearing. John Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

REGULAR MEETING
Chairman Paul Lord called the monthly meeting of the Town of Otsego Planning Board to order at 7:33 PM, and roll call was taken by Planning Board Clerk Bill Deane. Members present were Lord, Donna Borgstrom (Vice-Chairman), Joe Galati, Doug Greene, John Phillips, and Wes Ciampo. Steve Purcell was absent. Zoning Enforcement Officer John Stucin and Planning Board Attorney Jim Ferrari were also present.

The Board reviewed the minutes of September 2, 2008, mailed to the members. Borgstrom moved to approve the minutes as written. Greene seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Copies of Zoning Enforcement Officer Stucin’s report (filed) for September-October were distributed. It consisted of the meeting agendas for the Planning and Zoning Boards, and a list of four land use permits issued. Stucin, noting the reduction in new applications, suggested the Board resume work on potential Land Use Law revisions.

Chairman Lord reviewed correspondence received since the last meeting:

• The September/October 2008 issue of Talk of the Towns&Topics, distributed to members.
• A letter (filed) from N. Jean Scarzafava, apologizing for missing the September meeting, and saying that she and Jean Viek “will not renew our application for a first lot split.”
• sA survey from Cornell University, requesting its completion by a representative of the Board. Chairman Lord volunteered to take care of that if there were no objections, and there were none.

The Board moved on to applications.

APPLICATIONS
Edward Walker – Major subdivision – Browdy Mountain Road (#84.12-1-1.01)
Donna Borgstrom read aloud the minutes of September 2 relevant to the Edward Walker application. Paul Lord passed around relevant pieces of correspondence received:

• A 10/5/08 e-mail from Carol Akin, objecting to the application on various grounds.
• A 10/6/08 e-mail from Marilyn Bradshaw, objecting to the application on various grounds.
• A 9/3/08 e-mail from Phil Oltz, expressing objection to the application.
• A letter from Leon Kalmus, expressing objection to the application.
• A ten-page missive from the Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA), raising various questions and issues about the application.
• A bill from Town Engineer Wayne Bunn for his services.

All correspondence was reviewed and filed, and copies of the OCCA missive were distributed to members. Applicant Edward Walker presented a summary of the current status of the application, and a copy of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC’s) September 5 response to his storm-water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). Both were filed. The DEC listed 12 additional requirements which Walker and his engineer are working on. They are also working on a visual simulation for the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). With these matters unresolved, Walker had asked that the public hearing tentatively scheduled for tonight be postponed.

Walker requested that the “clock be stopped” on his application process while he pursues these matters. Borgstrom moved to stop the clock. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-0 (John Phillips had left the room to make copies). Afterward, Bill Deane asked whether the clock had ever actually started, since the application had been approved contingent on DEC approval, which had not yet been granted. Chairman Lord agreed that the clock had not really started.

Walker said he would return in November to discuss the progress on the DEC and SHPO requirements, but that he did not expect to be ready for the public hearing to be rescheduled before December.

Mary Lou Votypka/John Mitchell Realty/Reid Nagelschmidt – Site plan review, special permitted use, barber shop – State Highway 28, Fly Creek (#114.05-1-37.00)
Donna Borgstrom read aloud the minutes of September 2 relevant to the application. Property owner Mary Lou Votypka, John Mitchell Realty representative Dave LaDuke, and proposed business owner Reid Nagelschmidt were all present. The board reviewed the application and had LaDuke make some amendments.

Nagelschmidt submitted a copy of his barber license (filed). He said that construction would take about two weeks, and there would be no landscaping. His hours of operation will be 8 AM to 9:30 PM. He is trying to locate a barber pole. The Board discussed whether the pole would constitute a light or a sign. After discussion, the Board advised Nagelschmidt to return before them for site plan modification before putting up a barber pole. The Board agreed by consensus that neither a survey nor preliminary engineering plans were necessary/applicable.

Borgstrom moved to deem this a Type II action per New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Section 617.5(c)(7). Joe Galati seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Borgstrom moved to approve the site plan. John Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0. Doug Greene moved to approve the special permitted use (barber shop) with hours of 8 AM to 9:30 PM. Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Chairman Lord stamped the application “approved” and signed it. Bill Deane prepared the special permit, Lord signed it, and copies were distributed to Votypka, LaDuke, and Nagelschmidt.

Carolynn Abraham – Site plan review, replacement of structure in Canadarago Lakeshore protection area – 220 Bibik Road (#52.11-1-37.00)
Applicants Carolynn Abraham and her husband plan to raze an existing house 25 feet of Canadarago Lake, and replace it with a new house 42 feet from the Lake, and more centered on the lot. Requiring area variances due to proximity to property lines and the Lake, they went before the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on September 16. Bill Deane read aloud the minutes (not yet approved) of that meeting, during which that Board had deemed the application complete and scheduled a public hearing for October 21.

The Planning Board reviewed the Abrahams’ application and supporting documents, including a site plan, floor plan, and photos. Mr. Abraham said the new building would have the same number of bedrooms (2) and bathrooms (2) as the existing one, and would stand four or five feet higher. There would be no driveway. Chairman Lord suggested that landscaping on the Lake side of the house would mitigate runoff concerns created by increased use of the new property. Abraham then sketched Japanese barberry shrubs onto the site plan. He also sketched a floor plan of the existing building.

The Board determined that the Abrahams would need the following items:

• Specification of outside elevations.
• Surveys and/or deeds of his and the neighboring properties, showing the property lines in relation to the proposed new building.
• Topographic contours of the property.
• Exterior lighting denoted on the site plan.
• Description of the demolition of the existing building as part of the construction sequence.
• ZBA approval of the area variances.

Doug Greene moved to deem the application complete, contingent on the receipt of the above items by October 21, and to schedule a public hearing for November 11. Joe Galati seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Templeton Foundation (Russ Tilley) – Sketch plan conference, special permitted use, multi-family housing – State Highway 28 (#114.00-1-1.00)
John Phillips recused himself from this application and seated himself in the audience area. Donna Borgstrom read aloud the minutes of August 5 relevant to the application. Chairman Lord explained that, since then, he had spoken about the proposed project with Town Supervisor Tom Breiten. Breiten had suggested that the Planning Board work on amending the Land Use Law to include a multi-family dwelling as a special permitted use in the GB-2 district, and to modify its definition.

Templeton Foundation representative Russ Tilley presented his revised proposal. He said that he was working on getting a survey. Donna Borgstrom noted that Tilley had originally proposed 12 units, but is now proposing 24. The proposed development would encompass about 20,000 square feet, as compared to the 5,000 square feet allowed by the law for other facilities.

Chairman Lord asked Attorney Ferrari whether rewriting the law to accommodate this applicant would constitute spot-zoning, but Ferrari said it would not. Ferrari suggested that the Board establish specific definitions (e.g., inclusion of bathroom, living room, and kitchenette in each unit) to “set the bar high” for future developers who might take advantage of such a new law.

Doug Greene suggested that the proposed facility be called an “extended stay facility.” Chairman Lord began drafting a proposed Land Use Law change and said he would e-mail his draft to the members. Greene moved that the Board schedule a joint workshop with the Town Board to discuss this and other potential Land Use Law changes. Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-0. Lord said he would make the necessary contacts, aiming for the third or fourth Wednesday of the month.

On a few occasions, Phillips interjected with questions or comments. Chairman Lord advised him that he was either part of the Board on the application or he wasn’t; he couldn’t recuse himself and then participate in Board discussion. Lord later clarified this for Phillips. Phillips said he had recused himself because his wife works for Bassett Healthcare, served by the Templeton Foundation, though she would not be involved in the proposed project in any way. The consensus was that it was not necessary for Phillips to recuse himself for this reason.

Estate of Nicholas & Jean Viek – Lot line adjustment – Red House Hill Road (#69.00-1-9.01 & -10.00)
Attorney Ferrari presented a “housekeeping” item: Jean Viek needs a lot line adjustment before she can sell her property to Jean Scarzafava. The proposed adjustment was submitted to Ferrari, along with a check for $20 (delivered to the Town Clerk). As Ferrari wrote in an introductory e-mail, “Gozigian, Washburn & Clinton prepared the paperwork and delivered it to my office. I reviewed the deed establishing the boundary line between the Estate of Viek and Sylvia Viek Summers. Everything looks good to me. I looked up the parcel on the Otsego online tax mapping. The office of real property services already shows the parcel to include the adjustment contemplated in the deed. Apparently this is a housekeeping matter for the chain of title to clarify things. The deed refers to the survey map (Chairman Lord) left at my office recently. I don’t see a need for the parties to prepare another map.”

Doug Greene moved to approve the lot line adjustment as described in the application. Donna Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

OTHER BUSINESS
Chairman Lord reminded the Board about the July 21 letter from the Department of Health (DOH) regarding Jerry Miller’s Creekside Cottages project. The Board had approved the site plan/special permitted use contingent on County Planning Board approval. The County had subsequently approved Miller’s application conditional on his receiving a DOH permit. Thus, the Board’s approval is still in limbo three months later. Lord asked whether that bothered anyone on the Board, and whether they should consider time limits for conditional approvals. After discussion, Lord suggested that “contingent approvals” be added to the monthly agendas so that the Board wouldn’t lose track of them.

Bill Deane discussed the November 11 agenda, noting the revised date due to Election Day. Currently, the only applicants are Walker and Abraham, with a public hearing for the Abrahams, provided they submit their required documentation on time. Zoning Enforcement Officer Stucin said he expected another applicant.

With no further business, at 9:56 Wes Ciampo moved to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Deane

Planning Board Clerk