MINUTES
OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF ELLICOTT PLANNING BOARD HELD AT THE
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 215 SOUTH WORK STREET, FALCONER, NY 14733 ON APRIL 11,
2007 AT 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairman Dan Evans, Gary Swanson,
Ron Calanni, Phyllis Belin, Paul Shanahan, Attorney William Wright, Code
Enforcement Office Randy Woodbury and Secretary Valerie Pierce
ABSENT: Dave Carlberg and Bob Thomas
Chairman Evans opened the meeting at 7:10 PM.
Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Ron Calanni
to approve the minutes of the February 21, 2007 meeting.
Jerry Erickson, PE for Thomas Shelters, presented changes to the
site plan for 2553 South Work Street Ext., Falconer, NY.
Discussion followed on:
1)
septic
system – has been approved by Chautauqua County
2)
gate
or perimeter fence – Mr. Shelters does not want a perimeter fence - the privacy
fence is already up
3)
outdoor
storage – Mr. Shelters will not have any storage outdoors
4)
water
well – will supply water to this facility
5)
DI’s have not changed - the soil is very pervious – Mr. Burgun’s
property has changed because he has a permit from NYS DEC to mine the gravel
but Mr. Shelter’s property contours are the same
6)
there are two new buildings existing from the original plan and there
is one new 20’ x 80’ building on the original plan that has not been built –
Mr. Shelters has another proposed building on this plan
7)
blacktopping – last year’s season was over before Mr. Shelters could
get the blacktopping done – he has a contract to finish the blacktopping as
soon as this season starts – he has to get the building up before he can finish
the blacktopping
8)
lighting – no changes
9)
no outdoor storage for vehicles except for the used cars
10)
signage – no change
11)
no neighbors were present and no correspondence was received by the
Town – Randy talked to the Becker’s (immediate neighbors) and they are
generally happy with the project
12)
hours of operation – Mr. Shelters does not limit the hours that the
renters can come in so there are no hours of operation – Mr. Shelters said that
he did not think people were in there at night - there have been no police
incidents on the property
13)
water and detention basin – not built to the original specifications –
Mr. Erickson explained the drainage and the extra detention basin shown on the
plans – his figures are based on 100 year storm – the extra detention basin is
to increase from 3380 cubic feet to 5760 cubic feet – the Board suggested eave
troughs on the building or to swale the blacktop on that side – Mr. Erickson
said he could put a pipe in so there would be four places for down spouts to
drain into a pipe rather then into the pond
14)
security fence – will be around the pond and the extension – Mr.
Erickson has placed it on the plans so the fence could go over the wall of the
building so it could be part of the fence or there could be a separate fence
along the building – no part of the fence in being eliminated
15)
the new proposed building is about 2’ or 3’ from the privacy fence –
the doorways on the new 20 foot buildings are only on one side of the
building
16)
there are 10 proposed spaces for cars that won’t be blacktopped – the
Board suggested Mr. Shelters blacktop up to the fence – Mr. Shelters stated he
would do that
17)
Mr. Shelters said he would not
be doing any repair work on the vehicles
18)
the privacy fence – cannot see through it - it is 8 feet high so you
can’t see over it
19)
there will be no security fence around the site – they are eliminating
any outdoor storage
The Board reviewed the site plan checklist noting:
1)
plans
were stamped by a NYS licensed engineer
2)
north arrow is on the original plans
3)
boundaries are plotted to scale
4)
the existing buildings are shown
5)
drainage plan – contours are on the original plans – water will all
stay on site
6)
no watercourses
7)
storm water management plan – Mr. Erickson provided the calculations -
the elevation of the new building will be the same elevation as all the
other buildings
8)
the location, design and type of construction and exterior dimensions
of all buildings were on plans
9)
all paved areas are shown on plans except the northwest corner that
will be paved all the way to the fence area – all parking surfaces will be
bituminous surfaced
10)
no pedestrian access
11)
no outdoor storage
12)
modification on the site plan – the perimeter fence will be removed
from the original plan – the existing privacy fence will remain – there will be
a modification to the fence to go around the expansion of the detention basin
13)
sewage disposal – has been
approval by the Chautauqua County Health Department
14)
there is a proposed well
15)
fire hydrants
16)
all utilities are the same – the electric for the office will come in
underground from the power pole that is already there
17)
signs – Mr. Shelters will comply with the regulations in the Code
18)
buffer areas
19)
outdoor lighting – no changes
20)
retail sales – used cars
21)
planting schedule
22)
construction schedule – detention pond will be done right away - the
new buildings will be constructed after the paving is finished
23)
permit required from Chautauqua County Health Department
24)
no other permits required
25)
no easements
26)
no aerial map required
27)
contours were on the original plan
28)
Board did not require anything else
Chairman Evans noted some things that were of
concern:
1)
the
Board would like to see eave troughs on the new proposed 20’ x 100’
building - any drainage should be kept
on site
2)
they
want the northwest corner paved all the way to the privacy fence
3)
Mr. Shelters would have to go to the Zoning Board to get a variance for
a sign on the building for the car sales – he could expand the existing ground
sign without a variance – Mr. Shelters told the Board he would increase the
ground sign and not have a wall sign
4)
the
time frame for the completed project – Mr. Shelters said it would probably take
two
years to complete – the pond and paving will be complete within one year
– Dan said the
only thing in the execution of the project that might go over a year
would be the new
proposed building - Mr. Shelters told the Board he would have to put up
the one of the new
buildings in order to pave up to it
The Board gave Mr. Erickson time to fill out the
SEQR form.
Chairman Evans stated the Town Board had requested a
recommendation from the Planning Board for rezoning on North Main Street
Extension.
Mr. and Mrs. Jim Carlson requested their 33.8 acres
on North Main Street Ext. be rezoned to Mercantile. Approximately 20 acres are
currently zoned Mercantile and the balance (13.8A) of the property is zoned
Residential-Agricultural.
Randy Woodbury provided a map for the Board to
review showing the mercantile zone and the proposed rezoning. Randy said that
the 100-year flood plain is mapped by FEMA on the County GIS. Discussion
followed. Mr. Carlson told the Board members:
1)
FEMA
will determine the actual flood plain – Mr. Carlson said they give each owner
an opportunity to have their land surveyed
2)
three
developers that want to purchase and develop the total 33.8 acres have
approached the Carlsons – it would be helpful not to be left with property that
would not be of any use to the property owners
3)
there
has been no farming in the area for over fifty years – when they leased the
land about twelve years ago there was some cattle on the land but there has
been nothing for over 10 years
4)
Mr.
Carlson asked the Board to consider rezoning at least the to owners’ property
lines
5)
when
this area was rezoned it was with the contour of the road and is 750 feet deep
6)
the
developer will do all surveying, engineering work and environmental studies –
they need the total 33.8 A to do what they want to do
7)
because
Mr. Carlson is requesting not just his own property be rezoned but also
properties further north, the notification for this meeting was done 500 feet
from the entire proposed zoning line
A letter was received from Rosalie Strachan, 33
Manchester Dr., Basking Ridge, NJ. She
stated that she owns property at 2703 Horton Rd., Jamestown, NY and is
opposed to the rezoning of North Main St., Ext., Jamestown. She has concerns about changing the scenic
approach to Jamestown, the effect on Moonbrook with the increased road run-off
tars, PCBs, etc., which in turn affects birds, and other wildlife as well as
drinking water. She suggested regional planning that would prevent sprawl from
spreading into what open country left and protect businesses in the city proper
from the resulting effects.
Randy Woodbury introduced Mr. Ted Card, Fire
Chief for the Fluvanna Fire District. He owns 300 acres in the area
but said his primary reason for being at this meeting is because of the fire
district. He explained as the
mercantile area develops the fire district is required to keep up with
equipment to protect those properties.
The fire department has to look at their budget and funding for a ladder
truck (possibly $1,000,000). If a large
development goes into this area the fire department will have to start
budgeting money for larger equipment.
Gary Swanson asked what would happen it they were not able to do that
because they are a volunteer department.
Mrs. Carlson said sometimes the large development companies are willing
to donate some money toward fire equipment. Mr. Card asked that the Fire
District be kept informed. The do have mutual aid equipment but not the
equipment they would need themselves.
Phyllis Belin asked if the new fire station would be built large enough
to hold any new equipment and if they had funding for the building. Mrs.
Carlson said that Moonbrook Country Club was not opposed to this rezoning.
Dan asked Attorney Wright to bring the Planning
Board up to speed on the progress of the Zoning Commission. The Board was aware
of the letter they sent to the Town Board concerning rezoning.
Mr. Wright said at the last Zoning Commission
meeting there were several functions that were assigned for the next meeting
that is scheduled for April 19th.
There will be a request sent out for proposals for revising the Town’s
comprehensive master plan. There was
also a task assigned to write letters to various elected representatives to get
funds for the master plan. The Village
of Falconer and Village of Celoron are on board with a joint effort and part of
the request for proposals will be to get dollar figures with and without the
Villages. It is not yet definitive the comprehensive plan will happen yet
because the funds are not in place. Dan Evans said there is also a plan that if
the comprehensive plan does not happen the Zoning Commission will go ahead with
a review of all the Zoning in the Town.
Chairman Evans said with the situation the Town is in, he feels the
Planning Board has to stand with the letter they sent to the Town Board and
“stick with the process”.
Paul Shanahan stated one of the reasons the Board
suggested no rezoning be recommended on the previous project on Fairmount Ave.
was because it was an excessive rezoning request and they could probably
achieve their objective on a scaled back proposal through variances. The Town does not have a moratorium in place
so he did not feel there should be an indefinite hold on development, which
would not be good for the Town. Paul
said he knew there were grants at the State level and with having the two
villages on board there might be additional grants. He asked when the funds
would become available and based on availability of funds how far away a
comprehensive plan might be.
Randy Woodbury said they did not know that but are
trying to work as fast as they can. He
said that some of the shared services grants were targeted to come out of the
State budget. The Zoning Commission is
asking every representative to help in anyway they can. The grant cycles are
staggered throughout the year. Once the funding is in place the comprehensive
plan, request for proposals and actual doing of the work would take
approximately 20 months. The funding
might take up to 6 months so they are probably looking at 26 months.
Mr. Carlson asked for an explanation of the letter
the Planning Board drafted back in December to the Town Board. He said most of that pertained to the
Fairmount Ave. project but the second part of the letter spoke about outside of
the Fairmount area. It said the Board would be able to move forward on
decisions regarding rezoning without a comprehensive plan. Chairman Evans said there were provisions in
the letter to go forward if it looked like there could not be a comprehensive
plan in place.
Mr. Carlson told the Board the developers have
implied that they have a time frame of less then two years for their projects.
Therefore, his concern would be that there would be a loss of interest based on
the length of time being 26 months. Mrs. Carlson said the stores have their
money in place and want to progress in this area. Mr. Carlson said he has entered into a contract with the
developers but he is not able to disclose who they are. They are a large New York State
developer.
Randy said that he thought the intent of the letter
was that the Planning Board thought having a comprehensive plan was a good idea
and was highly supported. Chairman
Evans said he did not want to go ahead with something that would be wrong with
the comprehensive plan or for the Town.
Gary Swanson stated he does not want to stop
development for over two years. He thought that North Main Street was an ideal
place for such a project and there was not much opposition to the rezoning. He said the developer would not even begin
the process until they know that the rezoning is in place.
Dan said he did not think a developer of a
multi-square footage building in a time frame that can say time is of the
essence. They can enter into a contract
and by the time they close on the property and do the environmental it will be
over a year.
Attorney Wright asked for a clarification of Mr. and
Mrs. Carlson’s request. The letter
received from the Town Board said they were looking at rezoning of 13.8 acres
of the Carlson’s property. The Carlsons
came before the Board and requested rezoning for 80 to 100 acres. Mr. Carlson said his request is primarily
for their property but felt it should be fair to the other individuals. When the rezoning on North Main Street Ext.
was done they did not take into consideration they were dividing owners’
properties.
Attorney Wright suggested the Board take the advice
of council and go into executive session for this request after they finished
the EAF for Tom Shelters.
The Board continued with the short form EAF for
Thomas Shelters. Attorney Wright stated
this action does not exceed any type I threshold in 6 NYCRR, Part 617.4 and
would not receive coordinated review.
The Board continued with Part II noting:
1)
the
existing drainage pond will be expanded
2)
this
property is zoned mercantile
3)
this
project will not have any impact on the environmental characteristics that
would cause a critical environmental area
4)
there
is no, nor likely to be any controversy related to potential environmental
impacts
Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Paul
Shanahan declaring this project will not result in any significant adverse
environmental impacts and have Chairman Evans sign the EAF on behalf of the
Planning Board.
Carried. Ayes – 5 Noes – 0 Absent – 2
Motion made by Ron Calanni, seconded by Gary Swanson
to approve the modified site plan for Thomas Shelters, 2553 South Work Street
Ext., Falconer, NY with the following stipulations:
1)
gutters will be placed on 20’ by 100’ building
2)
underneath the northwest area, where there will be parking for 5 cars,
it will be paved
3)
signage – Mr. Shelters will enlarge the existing ground sign and not
put up a wall sign
4)
the perimeter fence will be eliminated and the existing privacy fence
will remain
5)
within one year the paving, pond and the 20’ by 180’ building will be
completed – the 20’ by 100’ building will be completed within two years
Carried.
Ayes – 5 Noes – 0 Absent – 2
Gary Swanson asked Mr. Shelters to finish the
required items in order.
Chairman Evans signed and dated three copies of the
approved site plan for Mr. Shelters.
It was explained to Mr. Carlson the Planning Board
could not make any recommendation to the Zoning Commission. If the Town were unable to do a
comprehensive plan the Planning Board would make their recommendation for
rezoning. Mr. Carlson asked the Board
to consider “grandfathering” his request.
Chairman
Evans reconvened the meeting at 9:15 PM.
Mr. Carlson showed the Board the proposal he had received from the developer. There would be 3 big box stores and would need 30 to 35 acres. Two of the stores would be over 140,000 SF and the third would be 200,000 SF.
Randy said the developer would have to mitigate almost all of the flood plain within the Carlson’s property. Discussion followed on the environmental requirements. The Carlsons will sell the land and the developer will do all the environmental work. Mr. Carlson said they would encourage the developer to help get the fire equipment in place.
Motion made by Ron Calanni, seconded by Phyllis Belin
to table this request for rezoning by Mr. and Mrs. Carlson on North Main Street
Ext. to get additional information.
Carried. Ayes – 5 Noes – 0 Absent – 2
Randy Woodbury said if the Board wanted any additional information he would prefer that the request go through Chairman Evans so that he is aware of all the requests.
Attorney Wright asked if the minimum number of acres was written into the contract. Mr. Carlson said the number is to be determined by the outcome of their request. Mr. Carlson stated the 20 acres is not enough for the developers to do what they want on this property.
Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Phyllis Belin
to adjourn the meeting at 9:35 PM.
Carried. Ayes – 5 Noes – 0 Absent – 2
_____________________________
Valerie Pierce, Secretary