Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON MAY 10, 2010 AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Edward Carboni Vice-Chairman Clarence Badgley Chairman Joseph Moloughney Ms. Sharon Gariepy ABSENT: Mr. Mark DeFruscio Mr. Jake Dumesnil ALSO PRESENT: Ms. Melissa Ashline-Heil, City Planner CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 12, 2010 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 April 12th, 2010 meeting. Member Carboni made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 12th meeting. Member Gariepy seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF A POOL AT 169 LANCASTER STREET Kevin Dixon proposed installing at most a 15’ circular above ground pool in the backyard of 169 Lancaster Street. Chairman Moloughney asked the width of the back yard. Mr. Dixon indicated the yard is 36’ wide and that with a 15’ pool the setbacks to the side and rear would be at least 10’. Member Carboni wondered how far the pool would be from the garage. Mr. Dixon explained that the pool would be 5’ from the corner of the garage. Member Gariepy moved to approve the special use permit. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF A MINOR SUBDIVISION AT 201 BERKLEY AVENUE Mr. and Mrs. LePage had received a minor subdivision to create four lots. However, the LePages decided to make one large lot in front and two smaller lots in the rear with 70’ minimum frontage each. Member Carboni moved to approve the minor subdivision. Member Gariepy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF A MIXED USE BUILDING AT 2 NORTH MOHAWK STREET Dave Sadowsky, architect for the project, explained that the Historic Board gave an informal approval of the most recent rendering of the proposed new construction at 2 North Mohawk Street. Community Builders removed the dormers and added chimneys which mimic neighboring properties. The organization also made the façade flush, moved the entrance to the Front Street side, and placed parking in the rear. Member Carboni asked if the brick on the chimney would be the same product used on the building. Mr. Sadowsky confirmed that would be the case. He also added that the brick will match the adjoining properties as closely as possible. Since the visual impact has been mitigated, Vice Chairman Badgley moved to make a negative declaration for SEQR purposes. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT Chairman Moloughney pointed out that the site plan shows 10 parking spaces and the building requires 13 under City Code. In addition, the plans require HPARB final approval and Traffic Commission approval. Chairman Moloughney prefers the project not use the alleyway. However, the board can issue a preliminary site plan approval with the aforementioned contingencies. Therefore, Member Carboni moved to approve the preliminary site plan. Member Gariepy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF A MULTI-FAMILY STRUCTURE AT 21 OLIVER STREET Jeff Myers of ShelterTherm proposes a seven unit multi-family structure at 21 Oliver Street. The apartments would have indoor spaces and outdoor parking spaces totaling three spaces per apartment. The building would be 72X52 or roughly 7,000 sq ft. Board members asked for site plan details such as proposed lighting, landscaping, snow storage, car stops, fencing, and erosion and sediment control during construction. Mr. Myers explained that he submitted plans for a building permit as he did not know he needed planning board approval. Chairman Moloughney added that the project is an unlisted SEQR action which requires submission of a short form and the requisite 30 days to notify other interested agencies prior to declaring lead agency for review purposes. In the interim, neighbors of the project were in attendance with questions and concerns. The Board also questioned how the proposal will impact neighbors. Mr. Myers described Oliver Street as a mixture of industrial, commercial, single family, multi-family residential spanning about 600’. Mr. Myers also described the downcast lighting for the parking lot as not affecting neighboring properties. He is proposing five two-bedroom apartments and two one-bedroom apartments at market rate. Rental fees will range from $850 to $1250, which includes the parking garage and outdoor spaces and storage areas. Mr. Myers is targeting young childless adults or empty nesters. John Breton of 16 Oliver Street described on street parking problems which stop traffic. Winter weather exacerbates the problem. Mr. Breton argued that tenants may use the garages as storage and park in the street. Mr. Myers commented that each tenant is given a storage area and three parking spaces. Chairman Moloughney asked Mr. Breton what parking is like on Oliver Street. Do the property owners have driveways? Mr. Breton explained that when anyone has company everyone parks in the street. However, for the most part property owners have driveways. Mrs. Klasby, who adjoins the proposal on the right, suggested that Mr. Myers add a parking restriction in the lease so tenants do not park on the street. Mr. Myers agreed to do so to encourage tenants to use the offered spaces. Mrs. Clasby also questioned how many workers would be on the construction site and where those workers would park. Mr. Myers replied that the parking lot would be constructed first since the workers will not want to carry their tools too far. Mrs. Clasby then asked if the applicant would be willing to install a privacy fence. She has small children and is concerned about quality of life as well as safety. Mr. Myers agreed to install either a fence or landscaping that would block the visual impact of a multi-family. Mrs. Clasby then inquired about lighting and whether the lights would affect her property. Mr. Myers described the parking lot lights as downcast so as to avoid creating a nuisance in neighboring yards. Lastly, Mrs. Clasby asked about placement of the dumpster and time of pick-up. Mr. Myers has proposed it be placed on the industrial side of his property opposite Mrs. Clasby’s lot. He is also willing to condition any approvals on later pick-up times. Wayne LaJeunesse of 35 Oliver Street averred that the sewers back-up when the river is up. He also stated that cars will park on both sides of Oliver Street, making it impossible for traffic to pass through. Mr. Myers pointed out that the first floor of living space in his proposal is 5’ above the floodplain. The garages are on the first floor. Another resident asked why the applicant chose to build seven units. Chairman Moloughney clarified that it is a permitted use in that mixed-use waterfront district. However, Chairman Moloughney commented that the Board cannot take action until next month. In the interim he would like the City Engineer to provide details on the sewers, water supply, pipe size and water pressure. Chairman Moloughney asked that the applicant provide lighting, fencing and landscaping details at the next meeting. He also asked if the applicant would provide interior sprinkling for the units. Mr. Myers confirmed that was the case. Member Gariepy moved to declare intent to act as lead agency. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A POOL AT 81 YOUNGLOVE AVENUE, 7 SUPRENANT WAY and STORAGE UNITS at 169 ONTARIO STREET The applicants for these items did not appear, therefore the board decided to table the items until the applicants could attend. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSENT Member Carboni made a motion to adjourn at 7:45pm. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously.