Planning Board
August 14, 2017
Attending: John Kincart, John Savoca, William LaScala, Richard Fon, Anthony Tripodi, Robert Garrigan
REGULAR SESSION
1. Hilltop Associates, Hilltop Drive
Mr. Capellini advised the board that the applicant has not been able to get an easement from any abutting properties for a sewer connection and is now polling residents on Hilltop Drive to see if they are interested in the applicant installing a public sewer line that would service the entire street.
Pending a resolution of the issue, the board granted a second 90-day extension.
2. Dubovsky site plan, Route 129
The board approved the first 1-year extension pending a review of a revised site plan. During the work session portion of the meeting, Mr. Dubovsky advised the board that the DOH and DEP want the septic fields relocated. To accomplish this, the parking will have to be modified but the location of the proposed main building will remain the same. Mr. Dubovsky will submit a revised plan.
3. Village Traditions, East Main Street, Mohegan Lake
Without any discussion, the board approved the first 1-year extension
4. Courtesy of the Floor
(In a departure from its regular procedure, the board opened Courtesy of the Floor after it closed the regular session and turned off the television camera and before staring the work session portion of the meeting.)
Hunterbrook Linear Park:
John Schroeder, speaking on behalf of the Yorktown Land Trust, the Open Space Committee and the Yorktown Trail Town Committee, explained that because the current members of the board were not on the board in the 1990s, he wanted to reacquaint them with the 1992 Hunterbrook Linear Park Study that had been developed by the Planning Department and which had the support of the then Town Board, Planning Board and Recreation Commission. Explaining that over the years as subdivisions in the area had been approved, some land had been set aside for the park, he called attention to how the Colangelo property currently before the board fit into the overall plan. He added that he had been in touch with the owner of the Colangelo propert6y about the potential for a trail that would link up to the existing trail network. He also gave each board member of a copy of the Yorktown Land Trust’s The Yorktown Walkbook. The board thanked Mr. Schroeder for this presentation.
Unicorn Contracting: Engineer Dan Ciarcia advised the board that the project’s traffic study was completed and that he looked forward to the board’s review of the plan at its September meeting.
The Weyant: (See work session discussion below.) Several people addressed this application. The homeowner who abuts the property expressed his frustration that he was not informed about the board’s site visit until about nine hours before the visit took place. In response, Mr. Fon explained that there were conflicts with the original date and that the visit had to be rescheduled at the last minute. One area resident was present at the site visit.
In response to the comments from other residents who questioned the process, especially when they would have an opportunity to comment on the specifics of the plan, Mr. Fon advised them that the time for public comment was at the Town Board’s public hearing when all comments would be on the record. The residents, however, said that they believed that by the time of the public hearing, the issues would all have been decided and that it would be too late to make changes in the plan. When Dan Strauss called the process flawed and asked if the approval was a “done deal,” Councilman Bernard, who attends the meetings as the Town Board’s liaison, said he took offense at the comment, adding that changes in the plan would/could be made based on input received at the public hearing.
(Note: The application before the Town Board is to rezone the property to a transitional zone. Under the Town Code, when the Town Board rezones a property to a transitional zone, it simultaneously approves the site plan which is part of the public hearing on the rezoning.)
WORK SESSION
5. Orchard View Subdivision, Sherry Drive
Stating the nothing has changed since the board granted the applicant preliminary approval, Mr. Zappi said he was ready to proceed to final subdivision approval. However, Mr. Tegeder said there were still some issues that needed to be ironed out, including easement notations on the plat, the inspection of drainage pipes to the abutting Pine Grove Court cul d’sac, the preparation of a maintenance agreement for the on site drainage basin between the developer and the town, and the extinguishing of a temporary easement for the turn around at the end of the existing road.
6. Community Housing Innovations, East Main Street
(See Planning Board 5-22-2017.) Withdrawn from agenda by applicant.
7. JCPC Holdings, Front Street
As required as a condition of approval, the applicant presented her construction drawings to the board. There were no issues and the board approved the plans.
8. Lowe’s
The applicant advised the board that the DEP will permit the demolition of the existing buildings on the site to be demolished before the stormwater plan is approved. Demolition is expected to begin by the end of the month.
The applicant advised the board that DOT approval is also very close to being finalized. One issue still under review is the proposed sidewalk, shoulder and grass strip beginning at Strang Blvd. The plan was designed to provide room for snow removal along the road. The applicant explained that in order to follow the plan, existing trees would have to be removed and an earthen bank flattened. As an alternative that he said would be more sensitive to the environment, the applicant suggested not beginning the shoulder until about 200 feet closer to the entrance ramp on to the parkway. This left open the question of whose responsibility it would be for snow removal on the sidewalk and mowing the grass; it was the consensus that based on town law, this would likely be the responsibility of the owner of the office park. Mr. Fon asked the applicant to check out whether the Americans With Disabilities law would permit a four foot sidewalk instead of the proposed five foot sidewalk.
Explaining that construction bids came in $1 million more than expected, the applicant wants to make some minor adjustments to the site plan in order to reduce costs. The board had no issue with the proposed modifications.
Another issue needing resolution was whether a portion of the water lines serving the site would be private or public lines. The applicant advised the board that the DOH wanted the lines to be public but board members said that in previous commercial developments, the lines were all private. The board advised the applicant to set up a conference call with town officials and the DOH to resolve the issue.
Based on the comments made during the site visit, Mr. DeVito showed the board two plans for handling the traffic flow from the Route 202/Hamblyn Street intersection into and out of the site. Based on the geometry of the area and the desire to avoid excessive signage in a resident neighborhood, there was a consensus on the preferred plan, with the one caveat that Mr. Fon asked that the area at the intersection of the two roads be squared off to a 90 degree angle, a request that he said had been made during the site visit.
10. Roberta property, Front Street
The site plan was referred to the board by the Town Board for more review. However, as neither the applicant or his engineer were present, there was no substantive discussion. In response to a question from the board, Mr. Tegeder said that the town attorney was still finalizing the details that would allow Mr. Roberta to incorporate the paper road into his plan. A fuller discussion of the plan, including its stormwater plan, are anticipated for the September meeting.
11. JV Mall & Sears
The teams from both the mall and Sears repeated the presentations they made the previous week to the Town Board. The board had no issues with the mall plan, but did express concern about the height of the pylon sign.
The plans presented by the Sears team incorporated architectural changes that the Town Board had requested. Still unresolved is the location of the dumpsters for the proposed restaurant in the former Sears auto shop. The applicant noted several site limitations on possible alternate locations but will take another look at the issue.
Mr. Kincart noted that he’d rather see a retail use instead of a gym which he believed would not help draw traffic to the mall.
The Planning Department will draft a memo that the board will review at its September meeting before it is sent to the Town Board prior to the September 19 public hearing.