Planning Board, 4-11-2016

The board okayed the special permit for outdoor seating in the rear patio and added that a notation should be added to the site plan indicating that it was the Town Board that approved the tables and chairs on the sidewalk. Because the sidewalk is town property, the applicant is working with the town attorney on a license for the use.

The applicant is requesting a special permit for an outdoor patio seating area in the rear of the property.  Justin Fagan, the Café owner, explained that the seating area was created last year before he knew that a permit was required.  The area will have tables and 29 chairs, but can actually accommodate 34 with seating on an existing retaining wall.  The café has inside seating for , plus some outside tables on the sidewalk.

Explaining why the additional seating would not generate the need for additional parking spacaes, Mr. Fagan said the patrons would be coming off the Trailway and that the stops would be relatively short in duration.

In response to Mr. Flynn’s comments that the seating area might be considered an expansion of a non conforming use, Mr. Tegeder suggested that the building inspector be asked to comment on the issue, adding that because the redevelopment of the site was grandfathered, it did not have to meet current parking requirements.

Mr. Fagan also talked about the general lack of parking for other businesses in the area and the fact that without adequate parking, some of the businesses were losing customers. He said that the lot by the highway garage was always filled with employees from the highway department and Yorktown Auto Body.

The board was generally favorable to the request and Mr. Fagan was advised to submit a formal application for a special permit and related required documents.

The board authorized the supervisor to sign a license agreement with the café to permit chairs on the sidewalk which is town property, and also to allow an awning over the entrance that will overhang the sidewalk. The board considered the awning more a desirable sign than one on the building.

See earlier discussion below.

With the use for one of the two buildings involved in this proposed project resolved, the issue before the board was how to legalize the use of one of the buildings that appears to have existed for decades but which does not meet current parking requirements: According to the Building Department , there are no records that explain how the use the existing two story garage evolved over the years to permit retail or office use on the lower level and residential use on the upper level. For that reason, the Building Department advised the property owner to seek a variance that would pave the way for the proposed ice cream parlor/café with seven fewer parking spaces than would be required under current C-2R zoning.

After reviewing existing street parking along Kear Street, as well as the commuter lot across the street and public parking adjacent to the Yorktown Glass site, as well as the Comprehensive Plan’s goal of encouraging walking in the hamlet, the board agreed to notify the ZBA that it supported the variance request.

In supporting the reduced parking requirement for this applicant, the board was cognizant of the need for consistency in applying a flexible parking approach to other proposed projects in the area, especially as there is a small vacant parcel abutting the proposed site. It was noted, for example, that when another building on Commerce Street came in for site plan approval for office use about two years ago, the board supported a reduction in the number of required spaces, even though it was said at the time that visitors to a medical office were not likely to walk from a nearby parking lot. (See Summary of Developments, 2008-2010, Fertucci Site Plan.)