MINUTES
OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF ELLICOTT ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HELD AT
THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 215 SOUTH WORK STREET, FALCONER, NY 14733 ON
OCTOBER 30, 2006 AT 6:30 PM.
PRESENT: Chairman
Steve Hoglin, John
Merchant, David Remington, Angelo Cimo, Pat Martonis, Kathy Hedstrand, Attorney
William Wright, Code Enforcement Officer Randy Woodbury, and Secretary Valerie
Pierce
ABSENT: Richard
Keefer
Chairman
Hoglin opened the meeting at 6:30 PM and Secretary Pierce called the roll.
Motion made by
Ang Cimo, seconded by Pat Martonis to approve the minutes of the Sept. 11 and
25, 2006 meetings.
Carried. Ayes – 6 Noes – 0 Absent – 1
Attorney Wright
swore in all present that would be giving testimony at this public hearing.
Chairman
Hoglin opened continuance of the public hearing for Dawn Thompson, 3710 Ross
Mills Rd, Falconer NY for a Special Use Permit to operate a dog kennel.
We hired a Certified Residential Appraiser to give us an evaluation of the possible impact of this kennel on neighborhood property values. He concluded these kennels would not have an adverse effect on the neighborhood real estate values.
Mrs.
Thompson’s objective is to keep the average number of dogs to 35 or below. That is about half as many dogs as she
handled last year.
Atty. Goodell has written opinions from two experts
on kennels, to understand if this facility is appropriate for handling that
number of dogs. Dale Smith, who
formerly operated Sunny Side Kennels, Townline Rd., Gerry NY, and Fluvanna Ave.
in Jamestown, feels it is not a problem for one person to handle that many
dogs.
Atty. Goodell also received a letter from Dr. Robert
Rappole, a licensed NYS Veterinarian who operates Moonbrook Veterinary
Hospital. He advised Atty. Goodell that
they typically average about 50 dogs and he has one person that works part time
to maintain them. He feels it would not
be a problem for one person to handle 35 dogs.
A sound engineer, John Tilhaber, was contacted. He works for Harrington and Sandberg
Architects. He states that sound is not
directly related to the number of dogs.
It is logarithmic between energy, distance and sound. The level of sound will not be affected
whether you have 20, 25 or 35 dogs.
The County Health Dept. was contacted regarding
sanitary conditions. The soil is gravel
and has excellent drainage. They stated
there is no environmental impact. The
dogs are about 3 times further away from the nearest well than they require.
Atty.
Wright: What is the status of the
real estate swap?
Atty. Goodell: We
are working with Atty. Doug Spoto to put together the deed description. Last week, Atty. Goodell got a copy of them
from Steve Swanson.
Mrs. Thompson: The number
of dogs I keep can depend on their sizes.
I try to deplete my numbers for winter. I will keep them together in one
kennel mostly because they have been together previously. I have 8 volunteers that will come as often
as I need. Some come every weekend, two
will come daily if necessary and 6 will come every weekend if needed.
Ang Cimo: I have a
question on the bark collars. Is this
method approved by any veterinarian? If
the dogs learn not to bark because of shocks, isn’t that inhumane if they don’t
respond?
Dr. Inkly: I have 3
dogs with bark collars and I don’t consider the use of the collars as inhumane.
Mrs. Thompson: I
have twelve dogs that wear the collars, that are the predominate barkers. I can’t control the amount of shock they
get. The collars are on no more than
about 12 hours a day.
Atty. Goodell: Dawn
doesn’t charge when a dog is brought in from a Town of Ellicott resident or the
Dog Control Officer. The Humane Society
does charge, thus the rescue operation is saving the residents of the Town of
Ellicott an estimated $12,000 a year.
Mrs. Thompson: The average turn around time for a dog under nine
months of age is about two weeks. With
older dogs there is a slower turn around.
It has never happened that an older healthy dog hasn’t been adopted
out.
Mrs. White: I am not
against what Dawn is doing. I am here
to strictly talk about property values, quality of life, and noise. We feel the number of dogs should be kept in
the 20 range. A lot of dogs are kept in
the house and a lot in the yard. I can
see dogs that have been tied up for a long period of time. I look at it every single morning. I have had dogs housed in my garage because
they were cold and crying. I have tried
to help her. I am five hundred and some
feet away and I hear dogs barking, even in the fence. We want her to have a nice, happy, safe, warm rescue and we are
trying to help her with this. We have
offered to pay for all the deed work regarding transfer of property plus we
have offered her $1,000 and my husband has offered to dig a ditch for the
electric service. I am thrilled that
Dawn is doing this. I commend her and
Wayne. They have cleaned up the area
behind the barns and it looks great, things are starting to happen. It is just hard to watch the animals out in
the elements every day.
Adrienne Rounds: Dawn
has cleaned things up tremendously.
This has changed dramatically and I am thrilled. We still hear dogs though and feel 20 should
be the limit.
Atty. Goodell: We
cannot implement our proposal without the Zoning and Planning Boards
approval. So, there are still dogs in
the open.
Pat Martonis: How often
does the Health Dept. inspect?
Mrs. Thompson: They
inspect any time anyone who comes to her house and complains. When my vet comes to give shots, she would
tell me or call the Health Dept. if she saw anything abnormal. There are no yearly inspections required by
either the Health Dept. or Dept. of Ag.
Any complaints should be given to the Dog Control Officer.
Steve Hoglin: If Dawn is
granted this variance, she would still have to come back to this board every
two years to renew. Also, if there is a
violation within this two-year period, you can come before the board and explain.
Mrs. White: We are
exchanging land with Dawn because we realized the dogs were being cared for on
our land. We were concerned about
liability issues. We are giving her
that same piece of land she had the dogs on.
I did not want to give her the entire amount that she now has, but we
decided to do it if Dawn promised to keep the area neat. The area behind the barn was agreed to be an
animal free zone. No igloos, no tie
downs or no housing of animals. She can
walk or exercise the dogs just no housing.
No animals are to be housed from our property side to the fence. This will be put into the deed.
Atty. Goodell: We
have done everything reasonable and practical to mitigate the sound. We are here with a proposal that puts these
dogs inside a sound insulated fence, inside a building, with bark collars, on
the far side of the barns. We are not
talking about last year or last week.
Mrs. White: I want to
make it clear that we are supportive of Dawn and her kennel. We commend her for what she is attempting to
do and her effort to change things for the betterment of the community. She is excited about this whole new project
that is going on. I am asking that the
noise quality in my community will get better.
A tape (taken by Randy Woodbury) of Dawn’s kennels
and the area around them was shown at the meeting. Mr. Woodbury was accompanied by Mr. Hoglin and Atty. Wright at
the time the video was taken.
Mrs. Thompson: The
hardest and most expensive insulation is on the doors. You can’t put that insulation on the
farthest side because it creates a bouncing effect of noise. A different type of insulation will be used
there. The free area, where they run,
will have no insulation. Usually, two
dogs run at a time. I usually let one
kennel of dogs run at a time in the free area.
Mr. Woodbury:
Has specs for sound proofing material. The product Dawn is using is used in shelters in other
areas. The average sound reduction is
27%. Frequencies cause this percentage
to vary.
Mr. Inkley: The
conditions at Dawn’s are far from perfect, but at the same time some breeders’
kennels are in worse shape than some of the worse cases that Dawn brings
in. She is on top of all of our rescue
groups as far as the effort she puts in and the animals she brings us.
Atty. Goodell: We
are working with Jerry Erickson, a licensed engineer, to help us with the roof
design.
Atty. Wright: What is the
assurance to this board, that when the kennel operation isn’t full, if dogs
become your dogs, how will it be distinguishable and enforceable in the future
as to what dogs are part of your rescue operation and what dogs are your dogs.
Mrs. Thompson: I have four dogs that are sick, that no one
ever sees. I have two rottwellers that
I am treating for heartworm and a poodle.
I only adopt those that are going to die. The restrictions that we went over with Mrs. White will apply to
my own dogs. My dogs have a fence on
the outside of my home.
Mrs. Young: My one
concern is the number of dogs, including her own personal dogs. The area has to be completely closed or
moved to another area, where they can’t see me as I walk out my door. I am also concerned about the value of my
property because a broker told me the kennels would definitely lower the value
of my home.
Mrs. Thompson:
There will be insulation with barn board. It will be like an insulated barn. The dogs won’t be able to see Mrs. Young’s house.
Allison Rounds: Is
this roof going to be insulated, or just a piece of tin? Tin will get very hot in the summer. I am concerned how warm or cold it will get
in there. There needs to be a hard
number of limits on the number of dogs.
Mrs. Thompson: The
insulation will be whatever I can produce to cut down noise.
Atty. Goodell: The
roof is going to be designed for ventilation and to provide protection in the
winter.
Mrs. Young: Are you
going to have lights in this area, isn’t it going to be awfully dark?
Mrs. Thompson: Yes,
we are trying to get underground service from the garage. I have received a $10,000 grant, which I
will loose part of because the roof won’t be built in time. By the time this is done, I will have spent
about $14,000.00 of my own money. I have
a Business Certificate because the board had suggested it. I am non-profit.
Atty. Goodell: You
are required to get a Business Certificate if you use and assumed name. That means if you are using a name other
than your own personal name.
Motion by Ang Cimo and seconded by John Merchant to
go into executive session to seek legal counsel from our board attorney.
Carried. Ayes
–6 Noes – 0 Absent –1
Kathy Hedstrand: One
of the concerns of your neighbors is the numbers of dogs you will kennel, the
dogs you have had in the past and the number you are housing right now. On your own merits and your word, would you
be willing to minimize the number of dogs when possible.
Mrs. Thompson: I
never plan on getting over 50 dogs, I don’t want to exceed that.
Mr. Woodbury noted that by changing the location of the kennels,
the surface drainage would now be to the southwest instead of the west.
Mr. Hoglin: Noise level
is to be mitigated or reduced by sound barrier materials, relocation of kennels
and roof over kennels. Tarps are coming
down. The position of the fence and kennels
are designed to improve aesthetic character.
Motion made by Pat Martonis, seconded by Dave
Remington to accept the conditions set by the Zoning Board of Appeals for the
kennels, that the project will not have a significant adverse environmental
impact.
Carried. Ayes
–6 Noes – 0 Absent –1
Motion made by Pat Martonis, seconded by Dave
Remington to approve a kennel for rescue dogs for Dawn Thompson at 3710 Ross
Mills Rd. with the following conditions.
First condition is that the land agreement (as identified on the map by
Steven Carlson, licensed land surveyor) between Margaret Young, Mr. & Mrs.
David White and Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Thompson goes through. Second that the Planning Board session goes
on. The drainage issue is to be
addressed. Third is that the roofed
kennels contain all of the rescue animals.
Fourth the quarantine area is to be enclosed as agreed upon so it will
be out of the neighbors view. Fifth the
animal free zone agreed upon by the neighbors and Dawn Thompson (as shown on
the Steven A. Carlson map) be maintained as a animal free zone. No dogs will be housed on it or kennels
built on it. Sixth is that the sound
proofing in the fenced in walls, which has been stated to be on three sides is
to be completed. This will be granted
for one year only. At that point, the
Zoning Board will assess it again.
Seventh is that if one or both of the barns (which are site barriers)
were to be torn down or burned down another barn would be constructed in a
timely fashion.
Carried. Ayes –6 Noes –0 Absent –1
Chairman Hoglin reopened the Public Hearing for
Harley Davidson of Jamestown NY for Sign Variances at 1951 East Main Street,
Falconer NY.
I’m David Reed from Falconer Enterprises and Harley
Davidson. We are not going to put up a
pole sign and are requesting the signage for two identical one hundred thirteen
square foot Harley Davidson trademark signs and an 82.3 square foot Harley
Davidson of Jamestown sign to be put on the building. The large signs are both illuminated. The Harley Davidson sign is backlighted. We also need a variance because the top of
the circle is 40 feet from the floor level.
The building is 36,000 square feet so it should handle that square
footage of signage. The sign on the
north side is critical because it is most visible from the I-86. A single sign is permitted and can’t be over
30 feet if it is a ground sign. A
ground sign can’t be over 100 feet.
Harley Davidson is allowed to have roughly 270 sq.
ft. of wall sign and they are asking for 308.3 sq. ft. and splitting it up with
three signs. The variance would be about 38.3 extra of total sq. footage. They do have some smaller signs, but due to
the size of the building, he didn’t feel it would look good on such a large
building.
We need an area variance from one sign to three
signs and the increase in square footage.
The height of this building exists because the Zoning Board allowed
it. It is on the record that if the
height of these towers is being used for the purpose of putting signage on them
then the board is not inclined to grant the height of the towers.
Ang Cimo: For a
building that large, the signage looks very appropriate.
Motion by Ang Cimo, seconded by David Remington to
approve variance for three signs from the allowed one sign. Total square footage not to exceed 308.3 sq.
ft. and at a height not to exceed 40 feet for Harley Davidson of Jamestown for 1951 E Main St., Falconer NY.
Motion to adjourn by Pat Martonis, seconded by John
Merchant at PM.
_____________________________________
Valerie Pierce, Secretary