Planning Board

March 12, 2018

 

Attending: John Kincart, Robert Garrigan, William LaScala, Rich Fon, Anthony Tripodi

 

REGULAR SESSION

 

1. Ianuzzi subdivision, Baptist Church Road

The board approved a second 90-day extension while the applicant finalizes legal issues. (The first 90-day extension was retroactive; this one was current and going forward.)

 

2. Fiore Minor Subdivision, Carr Court/Public Information Hearing

(See Planning Board 1/22/2018 & 2/12/2018.) A resident from Strang Blvd, downhill of the site, advised the board that she and three other Strang properties experienced flooding after the applicant cut down trees on his property without a permit, adding that if the retaining wall that the town made the applicant build after he cut down the trees also has to be removed, flooding will continue.  “Who will pay for our drainage?” she asked.  Responding to the concern, Mr. Riina said that the proposed underground stormwater retention system would deal with the stormwater. When a resident asked about the maintenance requirements for the stormwater system, Mr. Riina explained that it had to be cleaned out periodically and that maintenance reports would have to be submitted.  Another resident questioned the proposed location of the sewer manhole connection.

 

The board closed the hearing, noting that it would take the public’s comments under consideration.

 

3. Hearthstone Minor Subdivision, Hearthstone Street/Public Hearing

The board rejected the suggestion from Grace Siciliano that an alternate access to the site should be from converting Hearthstone Road from a paper road to an actual road instead of extending the private Hearthstone Street. Mr. Fon explained that the alternate access was more intrusive and would require removing a wooded area.  The board also dismissed the concerns of residents from Hearthstone Court, aka the “cow path,” explaining that there was no connection between the proposed site and their street so there was no way they would be impacted by the two new houses. The board did advise the applicant that he would have to develop a construction plan so that construction vehicles working on Hearthstone Street would not block access to the road for the existing houses.

 

The applicant will develop a maintenance plan for the private road; if the existing homeowners do not participate, then maintaining the road will become the responsibility of the two new developed parcels.

 

The new 8” sewer line will include stubs for the two existing houses to hook up to the sewer system if and when they wish.

 

The hearing was closed and a 10 day written comment period left open.

 

4. Sandvoss Minor Subdivision/ Hanover Street/ Adjourned Public Hearing

Responding point by point to a Conservation Board memo that the Planning Board had just received that afternoon that recommended that the application be denied, Mr. Riina and Mr. Miller dismissed each of the advisory board’s concerns, including the need for the wetland delineation to be reviewed by the town, an inadequate mitigation plan and erosion control plan, the proposed 5.4 acre conservation easement, and concern about the maintenance of the stormwater retention system. Mr. Riina advised the board that after a February meeting with the Conservation Board, he believed the board had no issue with the application and was surprised by its comments. But Tim Glass, a resident of the area who attended the meeting, said he came away with an entirely different impression.  Mr. Glass also expressed concern about the failure of different town entities to communicate about the application.

 

Citing her work with wildlife on the site, Patricia Johnson advised the board that a more detailed wildlife habit study should be done.

 

Mr. Riina advised the board that he had responded to the town engineer’s earlier memos but there was no discussion of either memo. Mr. Fon said that these issues, as well as the residents’ concerns would be reviewed in a follow up work session format. He advised the residents that while they would not be able to address the board during the work sessions, they should attend the meetings and send in written comments that will become part of the record.

 

Mr. Fon advised the public that in addition to the town’s review and approval, the plan would also have to be approved by the DEC and the DEP, adding that the latter agency has stricter stormwater

 

WORK SESSION

 

5. Lowes

In an item not on the agenda, the board agreed to sign the site plan even though the maintenance agreement with the town regarding the water system has not been approved by the Town Board.  The general consensus was that the town’s approval was expected soon and that as long as the applicant was already doing work on the site, it made sense to sign the site plan.

 

6. 3667 Hill Boulevard Dinner

In a referral from the Building Department, the board was asked to consider the parking requirements for the proposed 24/7 diner that would fill the vacant space formerly occupied by A&S Pork next door to Frankie & Augies.  Because the town code requires more parking spaces for a restaurant than a retail store, the existing number of parking spaces falls short of the anticipated required number of spaces.  There is no room on the site to expand the existing spaces.  Although the town code allows for a 25% reduction in the number parking spaces if there are alternate spaces available, the site still comes up short even with this reduction. 

 

The discussion considered the parking requirements of the other tenants in the building, many of which are closed during the evening or don’t open up until after the diner’s potential breakfast crowd. The main concern appeared to be on Friday evenings when Frank & Augies is busy.  The discussion also looked at the parking situation at the abutting building that houses a Carvel and a Chinese restaurant.

 

At the board’s request, the applicant’s architect will conduct a traffic count on a Friday evening.

 

The applicant is the owner of the Somers Diner in Lincolndale.

 

7. Town Board referrals

The board had no objection to any of the following referrals from the Town Board.

n  DEP wetlands permit to remove invasive species from the Croton Reservoir

n  Alienation  of town owned parkland on  Illington Road

n  Wetlands permit for a trailway extension to FDR Park

n  Wetlands permit for Journey’s End Road