Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 10, 2009 AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Mark DeFruscio Mr. Edward Carboni Mr. Jake Dumesnil Vice-Chairman Clarence Badgley Chairman Joseph Moloughney ABSENT: Ms. Sharon Gariepy ALSO PRESENT: Ms. Melissa Ashline-Heil, Planner CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 13, 2009 MEETING Chairman Moloughney called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Chairman asked the planner to take attendance call. Chairman asked the Board to decide whether to approve the minutes from the July 13, 2009 meeting. Chairman Moloughney indicated that the most up to date version was not submitted to the Board. Therefore, Vice Chairman Badgley made a motion to table the minutes of the July 13th, 2009 meeting. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Mark DeFruscio X Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A POOL AT 20 MAZURKI COURT William LeBlanc proposed approval of an inground pool in the backyard of 20 Mazurki Court. The pool would be setback at least 12’ from the corner line jutting into the property. The pool will meet setbacks from the rear and side property lines. Member Carboni asked how far the pool would lie from the house. The applicant indicated it would be 20’ from the house. Chairman Moloughney asked if the corner had a fence or marker on the lot line. The applicant indicated that the area was fenced in because of the lot’s awkward shape. Member Carboni made a motion to approve the special use permit. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Mark DeFruscio X Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF A MINOR SUBDIVISION OF 99 WESTERN AVENUE Christine Grasso and Nancy Peck proposed dividing over 11 acres of land into four parcels, three of which would be 1 acre a piece. Chairman Moloughney asked if the land and proposed lots were surveyed. The applicants confirmed that Fred Metzger surveyed the property and proposed parcels. Chairman Moloughney questioned the zoning district. He determined it is in the Land Conservation District. He asked the applicant if they planned on selling the land off as property for single family homes. The applicants confirmed that was the case. Chairman Moloughney added that the new lots could not be used as farms. Member DeFruscio made a motion to approve the minor subdivision. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Mark DeFruscio X Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW for a HOME OCCUPATION AT 138 VAN SCHAICK AVENUE John Feeley owns a four bay garage at 138 Van Schaick Avenue next door to his residence. He received a conditioned special use permit from the Planning Board at its July 13th, 2009 meeting to conduct a car detailing home occupation at the garage. Part of the condition on the approval included submitting an application for site plan review, which the owner brings before the Board at its August 10th meeting. The applicant indicated that John Wocjk will connect the floor drain for the garage to the City’s system. He provided details on other interior changes he proposes for the garage. As mentioned during last month’s meeting, he intends to install a heating system. Chairman Moloughney focused on the restrictions for the business since it could disrupt an R-2 residential neighborhood if left unchecked. The applicant is willing to restrict the noise to the hours of 9am to 5pm as requested by Member DeFruscio. He may enter the garage as early as 7am, but would not use the vacuum or any other equipment until 9am. He offered that the lights could become a nuisance in the winter when it is dark by 4pm. The applicant would be willing to install shades to protect neighbors. Chairman Moloughney then required that hours of operation be limited to weekdays. The applicant agreed that he would only operate the equipment Monday through Friday. However, he added that sometimes he would return a car on a Saturday. The Board perceives the act of driving a car as common to a residential district. Member DeFruscio added that work should be prohibited on holidays as well as weekends. The applicant agreed to that caveat. Mr. Feeley then asked about signage. Although he agreed at the last meeting to not post signage, he wondered if a small sign would be allowed so that business owners could find his property. Chairman Moloughney indicated that the code permits a 2 sq ft sign for a home occupation. The sign must be at least 10’ from any property line. However, placing such a sign does not require a building permit. Chairman Moloughney wondered aloud how to limit the number of vehicles per week or at one time in order to prevent traffic congestion. The applicant suggested that all cars could be kept in the garage, which only fits two vehicles. Chairman Moloughney suggested prohibiting outside work. The applicant then pointed out that occasionally a truck or boat will not fit in the garage. He was willing to turn away business if the Board prohibited large trucks from occupying the driveway. Instead, Member DeFruscio suggested limiting outside work to normal business hours of 9am to 5pm. Member Dumesnil asked if the same work would be performed outside as is proposed in the garage. The applicant confirmed that would be the case. Member Dumesnil questioned whether runoff would be a problem. The applicant replied that he uses a pressure washer on the larger vehicles that do not fit in his current garage in Albany. However, once he moves his operation he will take large vehicles to another car wash and do only detailing work at his Cohoes address. Chairman Moloughney reiterated the conditions of approval: 1) detailing operations can only take place weekdays between 9am and 5pm; 2) outside work is limited by the ability to fit a vehicle into the garage; only one oversized vehicle can be parked outside at any time; oversized vehicles can only park on the property during the regular business hours of 9am to 5pm.; and no run-off of chemicals is permitted from oversized vehicles. Member Dumesnil made a motion to approve the conditioned site plan. Member Carboni seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Mark DeFruscio X Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW for a CAFE AT 211 COLUMBIA STREET Mr. David DuFresne submitted an application for site plan review of his parking lot at 211 Columbia Street. The parking lot currently serves a woodstove shop. He proposes converting the business to a Café. Since it is a change in use, Chairman Moloughney commented that the parking plan would have to meet the City’s newest code passed in 2006. Section 285-82A, entitled Applicability, states that any change in use requires off street parking that meets the current code. As such, Member Carboni pointed out that the size of the spaces meets the current code requirement of 9’X20’. However, the layout of the parking spaces and the parking plan are subject to a full site plan review. The Board has concerns about the safety of the current parking lot for a use that will attract far more vehicles than a woodstove shop. The Zoning Code section 285-88I requires 12 spaces per 1,000 square feet for low turnover restaurants focused on the evening peak and 15 per 1,000 square feet for high turnover focused on the mid day peak. The applicant did not specify proposed hours of operation or the types of meals that would be its specialty (breakfast, lunch or dinner). In fact, there are no details on the type of café the applicant hopes to open. Chairman Moloughney commented that the applicant must submit professional grade plans that provide a scale. The application should include a full site plan that includes dumpster placement, shielding of the dumpster, hours of pickup, hours for deliveries, landscaping proposed, turn radii on the entrance and exit, aisle width, parking space size, and car stops. The submitted drawing also omits the second garage attached to the building. If he intends to propose the funeral home as overflow parking, then the Board needs details on the parking availability in that lot. In addition, if the funeral home is busy, what other options exist? Member Dumesnil suggested that the current entrance/exit on Columbia Street is not only dangerous but against code. The entrance or exit should not be within 50’ of the point of intersection. He suggested that the only entrance and exit should be on Mann Avenue which is far less congested. Chairman Moloughney concluded by pointing out that the submitted parking plan leaves cars vulnerable because it forces drivers to back up onto City streets in order to exit the lot. The parking spaces block the front door, making handicapped accessibility impossible. In addition, possibility of on street parking will make an already congested area dangerous. CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW for a PARKING LOT AT 77 MOHAWK STREET Michael Schafer of Schafer Engineering submitted a site plan for a parking lot at 77 Mohawk Street that would serve 55 Mohawk Street. The proposal received a preliminary site plan approval from the Planning Board during its February 2nd, 2008 meeting. At that time the Planning Board required a number of items: 1. the applicant property owner will install stop signs at each exit of the parking lots serving Cohoes Commons, whether existing or proposed. This includes, but is not limited to, exits onto Oneida Street from the Cohoes Commons parking lot, and the proposed parking lot exit at 77 Mohawk Street. 2. evaluate the provision of adequate lighting as per section 285-89C of the Cohoes City Code 3. sidewalk improvements as appropriate  4. evaluate relocating the entrance to comply with section 285-89H of the Cohoes City Code 5. incorporate the use of stormwater filtration or other alternative practices to meet the intent of NYSDEC Stormwater Design Manual (catch basin details and infiltration of stormwater) 6. better landscaping and fencing 7. development of snow storage plans and how runoff will be handled during spring The applicant provided most of these on the recently submitted final site plan. However, lighting was omitted since the applicant chose to rely on the neighbors’ lighting. Chairman Moloughney pointed out that the neighbor may discontinue his parking and the lighting in which case the lot at 77 Mohawk Street would be in the dark. Therefore he asks that the design engineer attend next month’s meeting ready to discuss lighting. Chairman Moloughney then questioned whether the catch basin on Mohawk Street discharges to a combined sewer system (CSO). The plans indicate the Mohawk Street catch basin would receive the lots’ stormwater runoff. If it is a CSO, he would prefer that the owner discharge to the separated system they created for 55 Mohawk Street. Finally, Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) reviewed the plans during the SEQR process. CDTA found that the proposed curb cut with street parking would interfere with existing bus stops. In addition, the McDonald Tower bus stop has an accident history. Therefore, CDTA proposes consolidating the bus stops to 60’ west on Cayuga Street from Mohawk Street. The new stop will be on the west side of the path leading from McDonald Tower’s doorway. The estimated cost of the concrete pad, shelter and installation is $14,000. It is asked that the developer place the money in escrow for CDTA to purchase the new bus stop facility. Member DeFruscio made a motion to adjourn at 8pm. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Mark DeFruscio X Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Jake Dumesnil X