Minutes - December 6, 2005

In absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, John Phillips called the public hearings to order at 7:34 PM.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Deborah Kantor - Site plan approval, Portabello's Too catering hall - State Highway 28 (#97.60-2-4.42)

Applicant Deborah Kantor used an easel to display drawings of the proposed project. She, along with architect Michael Haas and engineer Hans deWaal, described the project and answered questions. Don Huestis, neighbor to the north, expressed concerns about wastewater, lighting, traffic, and noise, and concluded that he simply didn't like the idea of the structure going up so close to his house. Paul Lord pointed out that the project adheres to the current Land Use Law, but said that the Board appreciated his concerns and his community involvement.

With no further speakers or correspondence related to the project, Donna Borgstrom moved to close the public hearing. John Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-0.

Sarah Kromhout - Site plan approval, construction within 100 feet of Canadarago Lake - 92 East Lake Road, Richfield Springs (#52.08-1-6.00)

Applicant Sarah Kromhout was present. Acting Chairman Paul Lord asked whether anyone from the public had questions or comments, but no one responded. Donna Borgstrom moved to close the public hearing. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-0.

REGULAR MEETING

Acting Chairman Paul Lord called the monthly Town of Otsego Planning Board meeting to order at 7:52 PM. Members present were Jonathan Bass (Chairman), Lord (Vice-Chairman), John Stucin, Wes Ciampo, Donna Borgstrom, and John Phillips. Lord had arrived during the Kantor public hearing, and Bass arrived after the beginning of the regular meeting. Also present were Zoning Enforcement Officer Sal Furnari and Planning Board clerk Bill Deane. Board member Lin Vincent was absent, as was Town Attorney Margaret McGown.

The Board referred to the minutes of the November 1 meeting, mailed to the members. Donna Borgstrom moved to approve them as written. John Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Chairman Bass asked whether Zoning Enforcement Officer Furnari had any report, but he said he did not.

Chairman Bass reviewed correspondence received since the last meeting:

a.. A letter from Attorney Les Sittler, pointing out an error in Bass's letter about the Timothy Weir lot split. Bass said that he would issue a corrected letter.
b.. A letter (filed) from Jerry Miller, enclosing documents related to his item on tonight's agenda, but saying that he would be unable to attend the meeting.
c.. A Holiday card from K. Wayne Bunn, with a letter (filed in "general correspondence") expressing his interest in continuing as Town Engineer for 2006.
d.. The Planning Board's notice about tonight's public hearing, addressed to applicant Sarah Kromhout, which was returned to sender. Bass handed the notice to Kromhout.
e.. An 11/22/05 package from Lamont Engineers, regarding residential sewage disposal systems in the Otsego Lake Watershed area. The cover letter said that they had been
inspecting existing systems, finding about a 50% non-compliance rate, often requiring homeowners to replace their entire septic systems. There are various design options,
but the current Land Use Law prohibits new construction within 100 feet of the Lake. Also included was a Memorandum of Agreement between the Town of Springfield and the
Watershed Supervisory Committee, showing how that Town addressed the situation. Bass said the Board would address this later in the meeting.
f.. A copy of Bass's letter (filed) to Robert Kukenberger, regarding his approved first lot splits and simple lot line adjustment.
g.. A copy of Bass's letter (filed) to Emily Wright, regarding her approved first lot split.
h.. An 11/21/05 notice (filed) from the County Planning Board, saying that they had no issue with the Kantor site plan application.
i.. A notice (filed) from the County Planning Board, saying that they had no issue with the Joslin-Hastings Trust site plan application.
j.. A letter, passed around to members, about an "Intersection of Environmental Justice and Local Land Use Planning and Zoning" workshop to be held on December 8.
k.. The November/December, 2005 issue of Talk of the Towns & Topics, copies of which were distributed to the members.
l.. A flier, passed around to members, about a "Visual Impact Analysis" program to be held on December 7. The registration deadline had already passed.
m.. A flier, passed around to members, about a seminar on "Zoning, Subdivision and Land Development Law" to be held in Latham, NY on January 17, 2006.
n.. A copy, passed around to members, of the Catskill Center News.
o.. An e-mail from Town Attorney McGown to Bill Deane, saying that she would be unable to attend tonight's meeting, but that she would be available for any questions
during the week of December 12. Bass said that, in light of McGown's resignation effective 12/31/05, he had mentioned to Town Supervisor Tom Breiten the idea of the
Planning Board's continuing to work with McGown even if the Town hired someone else.
p.. Notes from Marie Rudloff to Zoning Enforcement Officer Furnari, listing complaints about the work on Richard Votypka's site plan. Furnari said that he would discuss
these with Votypka. Furnari mentioned that Votypka had received his septic permit from the Department of Health, and also noted that, in addition to his special permit, his
Land Use (Zoning) permit needs to be signed by the Planning Board. Bass said that they would wait until Furnari was convinced that Votypka was in compliance.
With no further correspondence, the Board moved on to applications.

APPLICATIONS

Jerry Miller - Site plan modification, swing set at Jerry's Place, 6635 State Highway 28, Hartwick (#97.00-2-6.02)

As previously mentioned, the applicant was not present. He will be asked to come to the January meeting.

David Bertram - Lot line adjustment - Pierstown Road (#99.00-1-2.00)

No one was present on behalf of this application. Zoning Enforcement Officer Furnari said he had received no contact from Bertram.

George Hymas - Lot line adjustment - Vibbard Road (#54.00-2-3.00)

Paul Lord read aloud the minutes of the November 1 meeting relevant to this application. George Hymas submitted deeds for the original and proposed lots. The Board reviewed them, and advised him that his lawyer would have to prepare a deed, showing it as all one lot.

John Phillips moved to approve the lot line adjustment, contingent on the applicant's attorney submitting a new deed, and the Town Attorney approving it. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Sarah Kromhout - Site plan approval, construction within 100 feet of Canadarago Lake - 92 East Lake Road, Richfield Springs (#52.08-1-6.00)

Paul Lord read aloud the minutes of the November 1 meeting relevant to this application. The Board ascertained that there had been no written complaint about the project, and that Kromhout had made no changes to the application.

John Phillips moved to approve the site plan, authorizing the Chairman to stamp it thusly. John Stucin seconded the motion and it was approved 6-0. Chairman Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

Joslin-Hastings Trust - Site plan approval, addition to existing structure within 500 feet of Otsego Lake - State Highway 80, Cooperstown (#69.36-2-19.00)

Paul Lord read aloud the minutes of the November 1 meeting relevant to this application, and referred to the notice from the County read earlier. Engineer Hans deWaal submitted a check for $25 in payment of the land use permit fee.

Donna Borgstrom moved to approve the site plan. John Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved 6-0. Chairman Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

Barbara Petersen - Site plan approval, treated deck and staircase within 500 feet of Canadarago Lake - East Lake Road/County Highway 22, Richfield Springs (#39.00-2-2.01)

Engineer Hans deWaal submitted two checks for $25 each, one for the site plan application fee, the other for the land use permit fee. Chairman Bass read aloud Barbara Petersen's variance approval letter from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The Planning Board examined Petersen's documents, including a survey of the parcel, and reviewed the site plan requirements.

Paul Lord moved to deem the application a Type II action per State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) section 617.5, #10. Donna Borgstrom seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

Lord expressed concerns about erosion control, and deWaal answered them to his satisfaction. John Phillips moved to deem the application complete. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

deWaal asked that the public hearing be waived, in view of the ZBA having previously held one. Borgstrom moved to waive the public hearing, and Phillips seconded the motion. Lord said that he saw no reason to waive the public hearing. Bill Deane read the minutes of the ZBA's September 20 public hearing, during which there was no negative comment about the application. Borgstrom's motion was then approved, 5-1, with Lord opposed.

Lord moved to approve the site plan. Borgstrom seconded the motion, and it was approved, 6-0. Chairman Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed
it. Petersen expressed her appreciation with kisses all around.

Deborah Kantor - Site plan approval, Portabello's Too catering hall - State Highway 28 (#97.60-2-4.42)

Paul Lord read aloud the minutes of the November 1 meeting relevant to this application. Lord asked the applicants whether anything Don Huestis said during the public hearing would affect their plans. Josh Kantor said that the area between Huestis's property and the proposed building represented a large buffer zone, and would remain so. Engineer Hans deWaal remarked that a buffer zone between the properties should be more of a concern to the Kantors than to Huestis.

Lord reviewed the site plan requirements in the Land Use Law. Architect Michael Haas gave a status report on the various pending applications, including those with the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Board examined the latest version of the plans, dated 11/15/05. John Stucin asked when the Kantors would file a special permitted use application, and was told that it would probably be in March or April, 2006, keeping them on schedule to open the building by early July.

John Phillips moved to approve the site plan. Wes Ciampo seconded the motion, and it was approved, 6-0. Chairman Bass stamped the site plan "approved" and signed it.

Troy Brissard - Sketch plan conference, Fly Creek Friesians - County Highway 26 (#82.00-2-7.00)

John Stucin announced that he would abstain from proceedings on this application, saying that as a former owner of the property, he could not vote objectively. Stucin seated himself in the public area.

Applicant Troy Brissard explained what the "Fly Creek Friesians" are. He owns 30 Friesian horses and a team of mules, and wants to turn it into a commercial enterprise, offering carriage and trail rides and riding lessons. The rides would take place on two of his contiguous lots in the RA-2 district, one of about 10 acres, the other of about 342 acres.

Brissard showed an aerial-view picture, obtained from the County Office Building, of the properties. He said that no surveys were available, but that the riding trails were not near the property lines, and he would submit a map showing that. It was the consensus of the Board that Brissard should have the 10-acre parcel surveyed and submit that as his site plan.

Chairman Bass noted that there is a specially-permitted shale mine on the property. He said that the Board would need to know whether there are any conditions on the mine's permit.

Brissard was given copies of the site plan and special permit requirements from the Land Use Law. He said that he intended to use Porta-Potties to begin with, and that he didn't think that he would require lighting. Paul Lord recommended that Brissard discuss the project with his neighbors, as their input would be important in the Board's ultimate decision.

Sal Furnari - Lot line adjustment/lot split - Stone House Road (#98.00-1-38.00, -39.00, -42.00)

Sal Furnari showed a map of his three contiguous properties on Stone House and Bailey Roads, explaining his plan to adjust the line between two of them. He submitted deeds prepared by attorney Les Sittler. The Board examined the documents.

John Stucin moved to approve this as a simple lot line adjustment, contingent on the Town Attorney's approval of the deeds. Paul Lord seconded the motion and it was approved, 6-0.

OTHER BUSINESS

Chairman Bass announced that he had attended a meeting of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, and distributed to the members copies of Nan Stolzenburg's relevant e-mail. It said the committee wanted to meet with the Planning Board (along with other Boards and officials) at some time in January.

Bass announced that the proposed Land Use Law change to the definition of "service trade establishment" was going to public hearing on December 14. Bass said that Town Supervisor Breiten had made a change to the wording submitted by the Planning Board. Bass distributed copies of the new wording, which evoked considerable discussion from the Board. Bass recommended that members who had problems with the new wording attend and speak at the public hearing.

Bass revisited the correspondence from Lamont Engineers, saying that Town Supervisor Breiten had asked for recommendations about the septic system sheds. Considerable discussion followed. Paul Lord said that the structures were in violation of the wording of the Land Use Law, but fully within the intent of the law. It was the consensus of the Board to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), but require site plan review and public hearings for any such structures.

Bass discussed correspondence he received from David Carlson, who wants to do a "renegade subdivision" on his Sugar Hill property. Because the property is not on a Town road, Carlson wants the Planning Board to waive the subdivision requirements per Section 6.1 on page 20 of the Town's Land Subdivision Regulations. Bass said Carlson should be put on the Board's January agenda.

Lord distributed copies of his proposed lot line adjustment policy/form, discussed at the last meeting. The members reviewed it in contemplation of adding it to the Planning Board By-Laws. John Stucin moved to approve the document as written. Lord seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-1, with John Phillips opposed.

The Board discussed Town and Planning Board personnel. Their consensus was to retain all the current personnel for 2006, including Attorney Margaret McGown, Town Engineer K. Wayne Bunn, and Planning Board Clerk Bill Deane. Bass said he would relay this during the December 14 Town Board meeting. Stucin moved to retain Bass as Planning Board Chairman. Phillips seconded the motion and it was approved, 5-0, with Bass abstaining.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Furnari said that John Schallert wanted a letter from the Planning Board, permitting him to file his 1990 subdivision mentioned at recent meetings. Bass said he would phone Steve Childs about this.

With no further business, at 10:38 PM, John Phillips moved to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Deane

Planning Board Clerk