Planning Board

June 25, 2012

Attending; Rich Fon, John Savoca, John Flynn, John Kincart, Ann Kutter

1. PEG Realty (Hill Blvd.)

For a description of the project, which was approved in December, 2009, see Prior Development Summaries on the Home Page.)

The Board went into special session to approve a resolution that will change extinguish an easement on the site plan map approved in December, 2009 with a new notation for a cross easement that will permit cars using the PEG Realty site and the abutting bowling alley to park in each others lots.  The board agreed with the applicant that the cross easement is cleaner and simpler approach to parking on both sites than the original plan. No other changes to the original site plan were made.

2. Fieldhome temporary sales office

Joe Riina of Site Design Consultants presented a more detailed plan for the location of the proposed   50’ x 60’ temporary sales office. In order to save three trees in parking area, the number of parking spaces has been reduced to 14 from 16. The engineer will also make every effort to protect a fourth tree, a 26” spruce that is close to the proposed building. Some grading and a 2-3’ retaining wall will be required.

According to Fieldhome CEO John Ahearn, the temporary structure will likely be needed for three years. He was hoping to start construction in the fall. There was some discussion but not conclusion as to whether there should be some restrictions on how long a temporary structure should be allowed to exist. Citing the example of the ‘temporary” sales office at Trump Park, some board members suggested  one year permits that would be subject to renewal.

When it became clear that the board did not have a copy of a proposed amendments to the existing Zoning Ordinance regulating temporary building permits that were referred to the Planning last week by the Town Board, it fell to  Fieldhome attorney Al Capellini to explain to the Planning Board that the amendment was necessa4ry because the current code allowed for a maximum structure of 1,500 sq ft.  whereas the planned sales office wold be 3,000 sq. ft.  The proposed amendment, which will be subject of a public hearing on July 17 would eliminate the size restriction and permit the Town Board to grant the temporary building permit on a case by case basis.

In response to Mr. Flynn’s expressed concern about the aesthetics of the building, Planning Board attorney Karen Wager suggested that the applicant bring renderings  of the proposed building to the July 17 public hearing. And in response to  Mr. Flynn’s concerns about noise and dust when the existing structure will be demolished to make room for the new sales office, Mr. Riina said that he didn’t foresee any problems in that area and that he would have to meet any conditions set by the Buildiong Department when Dieldhome applied for a demolition peremit.

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The Planning Department will send a memo to the Town Board indicating that it has no problem with the temporary structure.

3. IBM Helistop

Two representatives from IBM presented plans for a 100 foot helistop on the lawn immediately in front of the building.  They explained that they had worked with the IBM pilot to review existing topography, trees and the presence of nearby homes before deciding exactly where to locate the helistop and what the projected flight path would be. They said they anticipated about 6-7 landings a year, with a likely maximum of 10, with each landing and takeoff lasting only a few minutes.

In response to questions from Planning Board members, it was decided that IBM would have the pilot attend the next meeting, scheduled for July 16 as he would be the best person to answer questions relating to noise, decent procedures, and other technical information.  The applicant will also provide decibel readings at three locations on the site and in the immediate area.

When IBM said that it was hoping to begin construction in August so that it could plant the new grass covering over the helistop in September, Planning Board members said that while they didn’t want to hold up an important property owner, they also had a responsibility to make sure that they did their due diligence concerning issues of concern to other property owners.   Planning Director Tegeder also told the applicant that the plans needed to be forwarded for review to Westchester County, DEP and New Castle and Ossining.  IBM said it has already been in touch with the Fire Department. Chairman Fon advised the representatives to meet with Planning Director Tegeder prior to the July 16 meeting to make sure the board had the requested information by July 16. He also suggested that IBM touch base with the Building Department regarding code issues.