MINUTES
OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF ELLICOTT PLANNING BOARD HELD AT THE
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 215 SOUTH WORK STREET, FALCONER, NY 14733 ON MAY 10,
2006 AT 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairman Dan Evans, Gary
Swanson, Dave Carlberg, Mike Mogenhan
Attorney William Wright, Code Enforcement Office Randy Woodbury and
Secretary Valerie Pierce.
ABSENT: Ron Calanni, Phyllis Belin
and Paul Shanahan
Chairman Evans could not open the meeting at 7:00 PM
since there was not a quorum. The Board
members decided to review some of the sketch plans since those are informal
review since a quorum was expected.
Mr. Evans said they would review the sketch plan for
Thomas Shelters. Randy told the Board Mr.
Shelters would need five minutes to go get his approved site plan since he did
not know he needed it.
Chairman Evans said they would review the plan for Hanson
Aggregates NY Inc., 2237 Allen Street Ext., Jamestown, NY 14701. Randy said that Hanson did have a site plan
but it was deficient in some regards.
Mr. Jeff Holley, operations manager for Hanson, and
Scott Wheaton, manager responsible for the operations at the Jamestown
location, asked
the Board to approve Site Plan for the erection of a 32’ x 44’ pre-engineered
wooden structure around the existing concrete plant that is on site.
Mr. Holley gave the Board a little history of the
site on the corner of Allen and Elam Streets.
This has been a ready mix concrete operation since the early sixties or
the late fifties, originally owned by Dunkirk Ready Mix Company. In the 1960’s
they were bought by the B R DeWitt family and in November of 1999 Hanson
Aggregates bought the DeWitt business.
Prior to the sale in1999 B R DeWitt came to the Planning Board and got
Site Plan approval to erect the concrete plant. In 1998 they put up a new sales
and dispatch office located on the property.
Mr. Holley said Hanson Aggregates is proposing to
finish where B R DeWitt left off. In 1999 they included a proposal to erect the
building around the new plant but because of the sale to Hanson Aggregates that
had been on hold until now. The company
would like to complete this project and be able to put the building around the
concrete plant so they can run the ready mix plant during the winter. They plan
to remove the original concrete plant.
The second part of their proposal would be to add a new cement steel
storage silo for extra cement storage capacity next to the existing silo on
site.
Over the last couple of years they have purchased
the property located on the corner of Allen and Elam Streets and three
residential homes along Allen Street. They have a permit to remove those houses
and intend to make that into parking area. The current plan is old and outdated
and in need of major repair. Because it is not worth repairing they need to put
a building around it and add an additional silo.
Mr. Holley told the Board:
1)
there
would be no changes in the operations or traffic patterns
2)
the
new parking area would be paved with concrete and would be an ongoing project
because they would use left over materials to pave
3)
the
ready mix batch plant blends the different products weighing them into a weigh
hopper and discharging those materials into a ready mix product
4)
the
silo that is there now is a split silo with two products - they need four products - the second silo will be a split silo – the
four silos at the old plant will come down
5)
there
will be no change in the loading and unloading or the truck traffic
6)
under
the regulations of NYS the ready mix operations are exempt from any of the air
quality standards and the permitting as long as they use the bag houses on the
side of the silos and they are functional - they do not have to apply for an
air permit to operate a ready mix concrete plant and do not need any permits
from any Federal or State Agency - they
do have a right to inspect the ready mix operation - they have a standard
operating procedure for bag house inspections that are done routinely and Mr.
Holley said to his knowledge they have never received a violation at this
operation or any other
7)
the
building would be complete before October of 2006 and the removal of the
concrete plant and houses would be complete before December 2006
8)
they
are proposing to replace the one hopper that is used to feed a conveyor with a
set of portable bins that do not require any foundation - they will feed
aggregates and materials up the conveyor and into this plant
9)
the
proposed block walls will not be permanent but will be made of pre-cast blocks
that will be stacked and will be removed
10)
they
plan to leave the three trees on the outside of the perimeter but would remove
the two trees inside the parking area
11)
they
are considering continuing the wall on Elam Street to Allen Street – Mr.
Wheaton said this was a safety issue and they want to get all the vehicles in
one place
Randy asked
if Hanson had gone through the 28 point check list that the Planning Board
would review with them because not only is there not a license architect or
engineers stamp but there is an exclusionary clause saying explicatively “not
to be used for engineering purposes”.
The Board told Mr. Holley and Mr. Wheaton they would
need:
1)
to
show the landscaping and buffers
2)
the
storm water management plan
3)
a
clearer plan if they are planning on putting parking where the houses are – they could show the stage development if
they are going to do it over time and a time commitment to when those things
would be done
4)
make
sure they have a stamped set of plans
5)
they
need to show the topography on the plans
The applicant will come back to the June meeting
with these additional items.
Mr. Tom Shelters, 2553 South Work St. Ext.,
Falconer, NY requested
a modification of his approved site plan.
The Board discussed Mr. Shelter’s plans noting:
1)
he
would like to use part of the approved storage buildings for office space and
get
permission to sell used cars.
2)
he
would not be doing any commercial repair work but just cleaning up the cars and
selling
them - if it worked out he would consider keeping some of the space open
for a small car
lot
3)
he
has done most of the drainage for the site except for adding a couple catch
basins
4)
he
has not paved but plans to blacktop a considerable amount this summer
5)
he
will be putting in a septic system and will in to meet the requirements of the
Chautauqua County Health Department - the cost of hooking up to the water and
sewer is not cost effective
Randy said phase I was complete and Mr. Shelters is
ready to do phase II. There have not been any complaints from his neighbors.
Chairman Evans said in order to expand Mr. Shelters
needs to complete what is on the current approved site plan. Discussion was held
on the time commitments for the completion of the paving. Randy said it would not make any sense to
pave areas where he would be excavating but he would need to modify the
building he has permission to build.
Chairman Evans said if Mr. Shelters has to put in a
well and septic system the current plan is almost nil until his engineer brings
in a plan for the water and septic. He
would not want to pave until that was complete. Mr. Shelters said he could park
cars on a septic system because he has talked to the County about that. The Board would need to see something from
the County if that is the case. Gary
Swanson said that the wording on the original approval was “the driving areas
would be paved before expansion beyond the first two buildings”. Mr. Evans
stated the drainage would have to be completed according to the engineer’s
plan.
Attorney Wright said Randy should to go there with
the Site Plan and with the Town engineer and certify to the Board everything
built so far is in accordance with the approved Site Plan. He thinks he needs to issue a “Stop Work
Order” on the building because Mr. Shelters is in violation of his original
Site Plan and should not be allowed to build until he is in compliance.
Mr. Shelters said that he would agree to pave. Attorney Wright said that the resolution of
the Board was that the paving would be completed prior to any building
expansion and that has not happened.
The plan shows a full pond and Mr. Shelters stated he had not built a
full pond. The Board also needs a plan
that shows the water and sewer connections.
Randy’s understanding was this Site Plan could be
modified to show a compliance schedule and the water and sewer for the new
plan. Mr. Shelters did not think this would be a whole new plan. He said as far
as the Stop Work Order was concerned he could not do that as the building is on the ground and he has a
lot of money laid out and part of the concrete work is done. Randy said he could give him an “order to
remedy” so he can bring the site up to the approved site plan. The original
plan called for it all to be fenced in and that has not been done. If Mr. Shelters were going to modify that,
he would have to show such on the plan otherwise he would have to finish the
paving and the fencing. Mr. Shelters stated he could not financially do all
that at this point. Mr. Shelters said he can get a modified plan showing the
water and septic. Attorney Wright said when Mr. Shelters comes back with a new
plan, he could get an engineer to redo the water calculations and convince the
Board the pond does not need to be expanded to its original size. The Board can
only go by the calculations done by the engineers.
Mr. Shelters will definitely start paving and will
come in to the next scheduled meeting.
Craig Hefright, 2663 Second Avenue, Falconer, NY presented a site plan for a
30’ x 70’ self-storage unit. He is only
seeking approval for phase I.
Chairman Evans officially opened the meeting at 7:55
PM with a quorum of four members.
Motion made by Dave Carlberg, seconded by Gary
Swanson to approve the minutes of the March 8, 2006 meeting.
Carried. Ayes-4 Noes-0 Absent-3
Mr. Hefright told the Board he is seeking approval
only for phase I. Mr, Hefright provided
images of what phase II and III would be so the Board knew what he planned for
long term.
Dan said that the Board had drainage issues at the
sketch plan conference. Randy told the
Board members it would appear that this is not a topographical plan because
there are no contour lines, however, the property is flat and there are no
contours. Highway Superintendent Shellhouse has plans to rebuild Second Avenue
this year. He does not know exactly where the receivers will be, but has told
the developer how high the road is going to be so he can set his finished floor
to match that. Mr. Erickson can’t design the connection to the storm drain
until Mr. Shellhouse has built the road. Mr. Hefright is requesting no paving
for phase I. The gravel can be used to help until they can engineer drainage to
fit the Town’s plan. No pavement would be temporary and the applicant would
have to create his own contours in order to flow the water to whatever receiver
system the Town builds.
Mr. Hefright provided the Board with a time
schedule. The completion date for the building is approximately August 4,
2006.
Dan asked if the Planning Board had received
anything in writing from the Highway Superintendent on the drainage. Attorney
Wright said the elevations are noted on the plans and they are less than one
foot across the entire property. He told the Board they have the authority to
waive that requirement. Given the minimum requirement under the code is
two-foot contour intervals and there is only one foot across the whole site it
is appropriate for the Board to waive it.
Mr. Hefright said there would be no utilities under
phase I. There is an existing fence on
the backside of the property and Mr. Hefright would immediately put a fence on
the south side. A neighbor suggested that.
This building will be for personal use and self-storage.
Randy stated there are no building code issues with
no utilities or night lighting for security. The hours for operation for phase
I would be restricted. It will be
written in the lease agreement that there would be daylight access only. In
phase II he can get into the drainage and utilities and has already talked to
Jamestown BPU about the electric hookup. There is no problem. Attorney Wright said there is a lot of
language in the code limiting lighting but none that requires lighting. Dan said he thought there would be a code
enforcement issue for security. Randy
stated there are no area lighting requirements for a commercial storage
building
Randy and the Board agreed that there should be some
lighting in the parking area. Mr.
Hefright said he would prefer to put lighting on the building with no on site
light on the pole so he would not annoy the neighbors. There are pole lights at
the intersection of Second and Delaware and Second and Lyndon.
The Board reviewed the site plan checklist noting:
1)
there
are no existing buildings
2)
the
property is a flat piece of land that does not vary over a foot from the front
to the back
3)
the
Planning Board can waive the storm water management plan but Mr. Hefright will
need that for phase II and phase III
4)
Mr.
Hefright cannot go unto phase II and III until he has paved phase I and the
storm drainage is taken care of – Mr. Hefright asked if he could have an
extended period of time to pave because of the construction in phase II and III
and he was not sure of the time frame for phase II and III – the code does have
a requirement that all surfaces to be paved within one year unless an engineer
has demonstrated some reason it should not be such as unstable ground that
needs to settle prior to paving – Mr. Hefright said he would pay more if the
paving is done in three phases – he would like 18 to 24 months to complete the
paving – he can bring in a paving plan with phase II and the Board could extend
the time if he needed – he asked if he could have about fifteen months – the
Board agreed that would be reasonable
5)
it
was recommended that he have a circular drive so people are not backing up –
there are two entrances off Second Avenue
6)
the
height of the building is 8’6” –
7)
there
is not enough space for outdoor storage – there is no safety issue if there is
not a fire code problem – Randy said that there might be some issues in phase
II and III
8)
there
is no pedestrian access
9)
there
are no dumpsters
10)
Mr.
Hefright has a personal trailer he will store there but the business plan does
not include rental of any space on the surface outside of the building – he
would like to have the option of that for phase II or III – Randy said under a new section of code,
that you are not allowed one unlicensed vehicle on a property, he would not be
able to have outdoor storage unless the people are going to store currently
registered and inspected vehicles – Randy thought they would have to look at
fencing if he has outdoor storage and there would be safety issues – Mr.
Hefright committed to no outdoor storage in phase I except for his personal
trailer
11)
if
Mr. Hefright wants to do additional fencing, he would have to come back for a
modification of his site plan
12)
fire
hydrant is noted on the plans
13)
Mr.
Hefright marked the location of his sign (which would be under 10 SF) on his plans
14)
there
will be no outside lighting on pole – lights will on the buildings and outlined
in phase II
The Board reviewed the EAF provided. Attorney Wright
stated this project will not exceed any type I threshold in 6NYCRR, Part 617.4
and will not receive coordinated review.
The Board noted:
1)
the
operation is restricted to daylight hours since no lighting will be used
2)
the
applicant may come back for phase II and III
3)
this
project will not have an impact on the environmental characteristics that would
cause the establishment of a critical environmental area
4)
the
proposed action will not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts
Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Dave
Carlberg making the declaration that this project will not result in any
adverse environmental impacts and authorizing Chairman Evans to sign the EAF on
behalf of the Planning Board.
Carried. Ayes – 4 Noes – 0 Absent – 3
Chairman Evans noted there were no neighbors in
attendance for this project.
Motion made by Mike Mogenhan, seconded by Gary
Swanson to approve the site plan for Craig Hefright at 2663 Second Avenue,
Falconer, NY, as presented with the following contingencies:
1)
the Planning Board will allow up to 15 months from the date of approval
for the paving
2)
the Board will waive the topol lines on the survey by reason that there
is just one foot elevation change across the entire property
3)
there will be no outdoor storage except for the owners own personal
trailer
Chairman Evans stamped and signed three copies of
the site plan.
Mike Jones, from Jones Carroll Inc., presented a
site plan for a recycling facility on Lodestro Lane, Falconer, NY.
Randy Woodbury told the Board the Town had received
a letter from the Deputy Director of Planning for Economic Development in
Chautauqua County that stated this project is not subject to county referral
since it does not affect property within 500 feet of the criteria listed under
General Municipal Law Section 239-m 3(b).
This property is located in an industrial park
zone.
Floyd Crandall, Vice President of the Falconer Rod
and Gun, said
that they just wanted to inform the owners of the building that they do have
three ranges and they will periodically hear gunfire. If they have any problems they would like them to contact the
club and they will try and rectify them.
They did have to shut their ranges down for a period of time when they
were constructing the sub-station.
Mr. Jones reviewed the site plan for the Board. He said all operations will be done inside
and there will be no outdoor storage.
The proposed facility consists of a 150’ by 120’ steel building with a
35’ x 35’ office attached on the west side of the building.
There is a 50-foot setback requirement in an
industrial park. Rose Wightman,
Deputy Director of Planning for Economic Development, said this property is
in Ellicott Industrial Zone III. When
the expansion was done for the Industrial Park the Town did not change the
zoning. Ms. Wightman pointed out on the
survey the expansion area of the park and Ellicott Industrial Zone III. She explained the mapping was done before
there was any development and was part of the analysis they did because they
had to do a full GEIS before they could do the expansion of the park. Attorney
Wright stated the requirement in an industrial zone is 10 feet.
The Board continued with the site plan checklist
noting:
1)
there
are no existing buildings
2)
the
storm water management is not required with less than one acre of disturbed
area – the property is only three feet difference from front to back - the GIES was approved for the whole project
and the Town has a copy
3)
parking
and driveways will be tar and chip on top of crushed stone
4)
there
might be roll out containers outside
5)
no
fences
6)
utilities
– City of Jamestown – National Fuel agreed to service the project
7)
there
will be one 4’ x 8’ sign on the west corner of the building – shown on plans
8)
lighting
– will be on the building
9)
no
retail sales
10)
planting
schedule – existing trees and green space area
11)
project
schedule – will start as soon as they have approval
12)
permit
required from NYS DEC for a registered recycling
13)
all
the materials will be covered
14)
commercial
deliveries will be made to the building – residential people will not be able
to bring recyclables
Gary Swanson complimented Jones Carroll on the way
the presented the 28 points of the checklist.
The Planning Board reviewed the short form EAF. Attorney Wright stated this action does not
exceed any Type I threshold in 6 NYCRR, Part 617.4 and will not receive
coordinated review. Rose Wightman stated the IDA did their own GEIS for the development
of the park and a short form unlisted for the pilot agreement on the
property.
The Planning Board reviewed Part II C noting:
1)
all
traffic projected for this project falls within the limits established in the
GEIS
2)
the
property is zoned industrial
3)
this
project will have no impact on the environmental characteristics that would
cause the establishment of a critical environmental area
4)
the
Town of Ellicott was provided with a copy of the GEIS
5)
there
is no or is there likely to be any controversy related to potential adverse
environmental impacts
6)
this
proposed action will not result in any significant adverse environmental
impacts
Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Dave
Carlberg making the declaration that this project will not result in any adverse
environmental impacts and authorize Chairman Evans to sign the EAF on behalf of
the Planning Board.
Carried. Ayes – 4 Noes – 0 Absent –3
Motion made by Dave Carlberg, seconded by Mike
Mogenhan to approve the site plan for Jones Carroll Inc. for a recycling
facility on Lodestro Lane as presented.
Carried. Ayes – 4 Noes – 0
Absent – 3
Chairman Evans stamped and signed three copies of
the site plan.
The Planning Board considered a request received
from the Town Board for a recommendation on the request from Nick Ferreri,
Tanglewood Manor, to rezone two parcels of property between Merlin and Gifford
Avenues.
Attorney Wright said that under Section 146-78B of
the Town code there is a requirement that unless the Planning Board initiates
the changes to the code the Town Board is required to submit the request to the
Planning Board for its review and recommendations and has 60 days to make a
recommendation to the Town Board and if it does not do so within 60 days the
Town Board can act without a report of the Planning Board. He said there are three different requests
being made.
Chairman Evans said, being on the committee that did
the rezoning on Fairmount Avenue, he wanted the Board to know the committee
walked all of Fairmount Avenue with maps taking months to complete the
process. They presented the plan to the
Town Board that voted to adopt the plan.
The plan created lines to allow commercial frontage on Fairmount Avenue
with the protection of the neighbors behind and divided some of the
properties. They tried to keep the
lines as straight as they could all the way down. They created industrial, commercial, neighborhood business and
professional office zones. While it was
not specifically stated in the Tow Code it was intended for the commercial,
professional office and neighborhood business not to be more than one layer deep. He believes that varying these lines would
confuse what they tried to do on Fairmount Avenue with the zones. If the Town Board sees a need for rezoning
it should appoint a committee to do a new evaluation. Zoning should not be done
on an individual basis. He said there are other avenues, such as going to the
Zoning Board or to South and Center Sewer District that they could pursue.
Brad Lawson, Tanglewood Manor, told the Board that there is
a sewer easement that goes to the edge of their property that they did not
realize was there. The building to that line will be approximately 25 feet
because the do not know exactly where that line is.
Attorney Stapleton, attorney for Tanglewood Manor, stated it is not just a line
but an easement area.
Mr. Evans asked if they could work with the sewer
district on this. Mr. Lawson said they
had not explored that yet. Mr.
Stapleton said if the building were to be moved 10 feet back to the back line
it would not be an issue. Dan said there are other ways to mitigate with sewer
district to come onto their property for any repairs. Mr. Lawson said they plan extensive landscaping to that
line. Mr. Stapleton said there is
nothing that will change as far as visual or buffers. The Zoning Board’s
decision was that the setbacks had to be determined by the district line rather
than the boundary line. Moving the building back 10 feet would leave a 55-foot
buffer rather then a 65-foot buffer. The building is still within the
neighborhood district and does not go into the residential zone.
Attorney Wright said he would recommend going to the
Zoning Board to explain why they need a modification and to tell them they
would keep the 55-foot setbacks and prove the sewer line is there. There are other options.
Mr. Lawson said they did make a lot of concessions on
the plan in order to keep the area variances to a minimum. There is 40 feet of property they cannot use
since they had to use the district line rather than the property line. They did
move the building on the southerly side 25 feet to be in compliance, and had
more than fifty feet from Merlin to be in compliance with the road
setbacks. Going back the Zoning Board
did not seem like an option because of all the concessions they had to make. This building and operation is so
residential in type that the only making
it commercial is the 4 car parking lot in the back.
Attorney Stapleton asked if the Planning Board would
recommend that the Zoning Board grant a greater variance. Chairman Evans said that is not within their
jurisdiction. Attorney Wright said
there is no provision in the code for the Planning Board to make
recommendations to the Zoning Board for variances. Attorney Stapleton said there is no definition in the code itself
that talks about the district line being the appropriate line to determine the
setback. It was an opinion and is a legal issue that was decided at the
time.
Mr. Stapleton said that there is a public hearing on
the rezoning next week. Attorney Wright
said the Town Board couldn’t act within 60 days if the Planning Board does not
make a recommendation. He asked the applicant if they wanted the Planning Board
to make a recommendation to the Town Board at this time. If the applicant does not request the
Planning Board table this request they must make a recommendation within 60
days or the Town Board has the authority to act without that
recommendation. If they do request to
table this and it takes longer than 60 days to get approval from the Zoning
Board then the Town Board is precluded from acting. If the Planning Board makes
a recommendation and the Town Board does not rezone, the applicant can reapply
to the Zoning Board. They must come back to the Planning Board for a
modification either way.
Attorney Stapleton asked to speak with this client.
Because they want to move this along as quickly as they can they are requesting
a recommendation tonight. They will discuss this with the Town Board next week
and will put an application in with the Zoning Board.
Motion made by Dan Evans, seconded by Dave Carlberg
that at the present time the Planning Board recommends not to rezone this
property for Nick Ferreri for the following reasons:
1)
the lines were created after an extensive study of a committee – the
committee walked the properties and reviewed maps and met for months – they
presented a plan that was voted on and adopted by the Town Board
2)
the plan created lines to allow commercial frontage on Fairmount Avenue
with the protection being established for safe quite neighborhoods to co-exist
3)
while not specifically stated in the code it was not intended for the
commercial, professional and neighborhood business elements to be more then one
layer in depth to protect to character of the neighborhoods – thus the
boundaries split some of the properties
4)
varying these lines would confuse the intentions of the plan
5)
if the Board see a need for rezoning of the Town’s current plan a
committee should be formed to look over the plan – it should not be done on an
individual basis
6)
the applicant has not explored any other avenues – either with the
Zoning Board or the South and Center Sewer District
Carried. Ayes- 4 Noes – 0 Absent –3
The second request was for the Town Board to allow
for the special use permit for Memory Gardens to have a renewal period that is
longer than two years. This is a Zoning
Board of Appeals provision for special use permits that makes all special use
permits renewable on a two-year basis.
The Board agreed that they were not opposed to the
change, provided that no extensions be
given until the first two-year renewal meeting to make sure they are in
compliance with the permit and that there are no complaints by neighbors. The Zoning Board should be given the
authority to extend beyond two years after the first renewal.
The
third request was for the establishment of overlay districts within the Town of
Ellicott where multiple-unit senior housing is allowed by right.
The Board said the Town Board should appoint a committee to examine the issue of senior housing. Attorney Wright said he would be willing to donate his time for such a committee. Brad Lawson expressed an interest in participating in an advisory capacity.
Chairman
Evans thanked Mike Mogenhan for his service to the Planning Board.
Motion
made by Dave Carlberg, seconded by Mike Mogenhan to adjourn the meeting at
10:15 PM.
Carried. Ayes – 4 Noes – 0 Absent – 3
__________________________________________
Valerie
Pierce, Secretary