Triglia & Rezi Subdivision

Several area homeowners raised a series of concerns about the proposed plan, including their long standing concern about drainage in the area and the plan to pave a portion of Baker Highway which would involve what they said was taking portions of their property.  They also advised the board of numerous instances where, in their opinion, the developer had violated the terms of the building permit for the first house and also his unresponsiveness after work he had done created serious problems in the road for area residents that had to be repaired by the Highway Department.  The residents have retained their own engineer to review the drainage issue. 

In general, while understanding that they can’t stop development, the residents felt that their properties and privacy were being compromised so that a single property owner could make a larger profit.

 Citing what he called a “laundry list” of issues raised by the residents as well as from town staff that need answers, the board adjourned the hearing pending the receipt of more information from town staff and the residents’ engineer.

The applicant has agreed to pave 200 feet of Baker Highway to a width of 18 feet.  (Although town road specs require a 24 foot road, the Planning Board has the flexibility to reduce the requirement; the paved portion of Baker that ends at Christine is 18feet.) The road will be pitched so that runoff will be directed to a swale that will discharge into the existing catch basin at Baker and Christine. The road will have curbing on one side and a shoulder on the other.  Once paved, it will be up to the Town Board to accept the road as a town orad.

When the property owner who will be affected by the new road advised the board that the road or shoulder will be on her property, Mr. Tegeder explained that the road will be in the right of way, not her property; you may be using the property, he said, but it’s not yours.

A second resident noted that after the applicant paved 200 feet of Baker Highway, about 100 feet would be left unpaved and that it made sense to pave that remaining portion. It was suggested that the town pick up the tab for this extra paving.

The board asked the applicant to review and possibly modify some of the stormwater provisions.

A public hearing will be scheduled for September 26 and Mr. Tegeder advised the surrounding residents who attended the meeting that they could submit written comments to the board anytime before that date and also speak at the public hearing.

The Planning Board is firm in its desire that Baker Highway – for its entire length – be paved and brought up to an acceptable standard that could be less than the regular town standard for roads in new subdivisions. What those standards might be was left for a future discussion. Mr. Fon explained that the board was looking beyond Mr. Triglia’s 2-lot subdivision and had to provide for the health and safety of the area in the event the Kelderhouse-Dornach property was developed. The board rejected Mr. Triglia’s plan to pave only a small portion of Christine.

At issue is how wide the road can and should be. The applicant’s engineer said that because of existing telephone poles, the road could only be 12’ wide; Mr. Tegeder disagreed and said that if the engineer looked on the west side, the road could possibly be closer to 18’, He asked the engineer to take a second look. Mr. Triglia was not happy with the paving requirement, calling it too costly, Mr. Trigilia. It was suggested the Mr. Triglia research the cost of bringing the road up to a standard that would be acceptable to the board.

Also to be clarified is who will do what to follow through on the plan discussed during a site visit for the drainage and catch basin at the corner of Christine and Baker. With nothing in writing, one possibility was that the highway department would supply the piping and the applicant would do the construction.   

Planning Board, 3-28-2016

The issue before the Town Board was whether or not to support the Planning Board’s preliminary decision to require the applicant to pave 100 feet of Baker Highway.

Several area residents advised the board that they preferred the dirt road as keeping in character with the neighborhood and did not want it paved. Instead, they said they were more concerned about drainage in the area. Mr. Tegeder, however, said that he had heard from other residents who wanted the road paved and suggested that all the affected residents be queried. He also explained the long range implications of keeping Baker unpaved if the abutting property was developed.

After considerable back and forth, and after it became apparent that the Town Board was listening to the homeowners and that Highway Superintendent Paganelli thought that drainage was more important than 100 feet of paved road, Supervisor Grace suggested that in lieu of the paving, Mr.Triglia provide some additional drainage improvements.  He also said that as part of the Planning Board’s approval there needed to be a maintenance agreement relating to Baker Highway. (The road is currently plowed by an area homeowner, with neighbors providing him with a sum of money.)

Almost as an afterthought, and in connection with differing opinions of how wide any changes to Baker Highway should be, Mr. Tegeder said the 2-lot subdivision could be processed under the town’s Flexibility Standards that allows for narrower roads. What followed, without any discussion, was a board vote authorizing the Planning Board to consider using Flexibility.

Mr. Tegeder expressed concern that the board failed to adopt a policy that would provide guidance to the Planning Board regarding approving future subdivision requests involving  substandard, ie., unpaved roads. While he said the lack of a policy left the Planning Board with a “willy nilly” approach, Supervisor Grace said he preferred not to adopt a hard and fast rule.

Mr. Fon reported on the site visit that included several department heads as well as Planning Board members. 

For the Board, the key issue remained looking at the overall neighborhood and just not at the proposed 2 lot subdivision.  The Board also seemed unanimous in not wanting to create a second legal lot (the first lot with the house already built got a variance for being on a substandard road, i.e., a private road.  While Mr. Triglia expressed concern that he was being held up while the Board looked at the broader neighborhood, Mr. Tegeder reminded him that he created his own problem by building the first house prior to getting approval for the two lot subdivision.  And even though Mr. Triglia said access to the second lot could be from Christine, not Baker, the Board advised him to consider paving Baker to town standards up to the lot line that would separate the two lots; this would leave the fate of the remaining  section of Baker up in the air, possibly pending the future  development of the lots off Turus. If that is done, it woujld then be up to the Town Board to accept the upgraded portion of Baker which would then allow the Highway Department to plow that portion of the road.

There was a brief discussion of whether the existing residents who now pay for private maintenance of the road, would want to create a special district that would float a bond to pay for the upgrade of the road.  (Although some area homeowners were present at the meeting, because it was as work session, they were not able to address the board.)

A memo from the Water Department noted that the water line that had been put in for the first house did not meet town code.

The applicant’s engineer has prepared a SWPP (stormwater pollution prevention plan) that he explained will not create any additional runoff on existing properties. Mr. Barber said the plan was generally acceptable but  made some suggested changes. Under the plan, the applicant would make provision to widen Baker Highway but the road would remain an unpaved private road.

A “monkey wrench” was thrown into the discussion when  Mr. Tegeder advised the board that because the owner of several vacant parcels off Turus Lane (a private road that feeds into Baker Highway) has expressed interest in constructing at least house on the road, with the possibility that three or four additional houses could be built in the future, the board should look at the broader picture of the road network in the area before approving the Triglia 2 lot subdivision. While the board realized that this might hold up Mr. Triglia, it concerned that if it approved subdivisions on private roads on a piecemeal basis, it could end up with “a mess.”

When Mr. Triglia expressed concern that his subdivision would be held up (he said he already had buyers for the two houses), he was reminded that he created part of the problem himself by getting a building permit for one house, putting in a foundation,  and then applying for the subdivision.

The board will make a site visit to the location before proceeding.  One of the issues to be considered is whether the current residents of the area want their roads to remain private or have them brought up to town standards are become part of the town’s official road network.

Having reviewed drainage in the area with Highway Superintendent Paganelli and the town engineer, the applicant said that the culvert at the corner of Christine and Baker could accommodate piped runoff from the 2-lot subdivision.  He added, though, that the receiving catch basin may have to be cleaned out.  His revised plan eliminates the swale along Baker Road but retains a swale between the two properties although he considered the latter swale optional at the discretion of the board. He also plans underground retention on the first lot.  The board said it wants to see the applicant’s storm water plan (SWPP) with all the calculations, before approving any plan.

The board also discussed the feasibility, as well as the pros and cons of having the applicant pave Baker Road up to town standards and having the town take over the road. It was noted that while paving the road would be an improvement, at previous meetings area residents have indicated that they preferred the dirt road.  Mr. Tegeder said it was up to the board to decide which approach was best.

The applicant said he would hold off with any sale of the first house (under construction) until the subdivision plan, which would involve stormwater for both lots, was decided.