Kelderhouse-Dornach subdivision

Town Board, 4-28-2017

As the property has relocated the planned house on the property and will no longer need a wetlands permit, the board voted to no longer consider the wetlands permit application  However, the applicant will still need a Tree Permit and a Stormwater Permit. Although the threshold for soil removal for the latter permit would normally make the Town Board the approving authority for the permit, on the suggestion of the town engineer, the board voted to let the engineer issue the permit. This led to a discussion of whether the Town Code should be changed to allow the engineer to issue permits for single family houses, leaving other applications to the Town Board.

Reason for the wetlands permit: It was explained that the property owner granted the town an easement many years ago for the installation of a stormwater pipe from Judy Rd. Because of where he wants to situate the house on the lot, he wants to move the pipe about 100 feet of the pipe into the wetland buffer. Flows from the pipe will not change.  The existing pipe will have to be videoed.

Residents from the surrounding area expressed concern about existing drainage problems in their neighborhood and their fear that a new house will exacerbate the problem. They were especially concerned about the possibility that the water and sewer lines that will service the new house will involve the removal of trees along  Priest Lane, a paper road, which will further exacerbate drainage problems. Their request to the board was to look at the overall picture and develop a solution to their drainage problems.

In response, Supervisor Grace said that the application dealt only with the relocation of the stormwater pipe and that the applicant could not be expected to solve problems that have existed for many years. He did say though that he would have town staff push for a more global solution to the neighborhood drainage issue.   Stormwater coming the site (sheet flow) would be addressed at the building permit stage.

A related issue was the proposed size of the sewer line that would serve the house. The applicant was proposing a 4’ line but the town engineer suggested an 8’ line that could serve future development in the area and avoid a proliferation of small but long “spaghetti” lines.. (It was not clear how many additional houses could be built in the area; it appeared to be only a few.)  Supervisor Grace said that if Priest is used for the utility lines, the disturbance should be minimized.

The hearing was closed. No decision was made.

Planning Board, 12-19-2016

Mr. Quinn expressed concern about the proposed 1,000 foot length of the sewer connection for a single house and suggested that town might be able to work on a joint plan with the applicant to install a larger pipe with the town possibly supplying the material and the applicant installing it.  The larger pipe would address the board’s concerns about future development in the area and avoid what it considers a proliferation of “spaghetti” utility lines.  Mr. Quinn also said that more information was needed about the route for the proposed water line that appeared to involve removing trees that were located in a paper road. As the impact of the proposed single lot had a minimal impact on the wetlands buffer, the board had no issues with the permit.

Land donation and parkland designation
The board declared five parcels in the Mohegan Lake area near Turus Lane totaling 3.5 acres as parkland. The land was donated to the town by Dornach Development.

Planning Board, 4-11-2016

Mr. Fon advised the applicant that the board did not have sufficient information to continue processing the application. Adding that the board was concerned about the health, safety and welfare of the current as well as future residents of the area, he explained that the board was concerned about infrastructure issues and the “chopped up” aspect of the applicant’s total parcel.  Mr. Flynn noted that the board was not familiar with many of the issues involving older subdivisions and paper roads; this original subdivision dates back to 1947.

Not happy with the delay, the applicant said he was only before the board for a single lot and repeated that he had earlier indicated a willingness to donate a portion of the parcel to the town.

The board will conduct a site visit, along with other appropriate town staff.

The applicant was before the board to approve combining two substandard sized lots to form one lot for one single family house; the applicant already has a variance from the ZBA because the lot would not meet the frontage requirements. (The lots are part of a larger subdivision approved many years ago but never built.)

The applicant, who owns abutting property, also explained his preliminary thoughts for the balance of the property he owns, a discussion that involved a variety of legal issues surrounding the ownership of “paper roads” that were part of the original subdivision, as well as several planning issues, including access for the one currently proposed house and whether other lots in the area could eventually be subdivided and how that would affect road access and stormwater issues involving neighboring Judy Road.

The applicant advised the board that in the past he had offered to donate a portion of his property to the town, but there appeared not to be any interest.

In recognition of the fact that, as Mr. Fon noted, there were “too many moving pieces” to the issue, the board went into executive session at the end of the meeting to consult with the board’s attorney.