Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON JUNE 14, 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 Mr. Mark DeFruscio Mr. Jake Dumesnil ALSO PRESENT: Ms. Melissa Ashline-Heil, City Planner CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 10, 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 May 10th, 2010 meeting. Member Gariepy asked for two changes: the second paragraph on page two requires approval of a minor subdivision, not a sign; and the last agenda item was tabled, not approved. Member Gariepy made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 10th meeting as conditioned. Member Carboni seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio ABSTAIN CONSIDERATION OF A POOL AT 245 CONGRESS STREET Mr. Blakely proposed installing a 16’X48’ above ground pool in the backyard of 245 Congress Street. Chairman Moloughney commented that the pool meets setback requirements. Member DeFruscio asked if the applicant would install a fence or if the pool has a removable ladder. The applicant confirmed that the 4’ deep pool uses a removable ladder. Member Carboni asked if the property owner is okay with installation of the pool so long as it is listed on the renter’s insurance. The applicant confirmed the pool is listed on the renter’s insurance. The City Planner confirmed that the owner is aware of the pool and submitted notice in writing that she accepts the pool so long as it is listed on the renter’s insurance. Member Carboni moved to approve the special use permit. 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 X  CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT AT 6 OXFORD CIRCLE The Sunkes propose an 18’X52” above ground pool behind 6 Oxford Circle. The applicants submitted a drawing indicating the pool would meet setbacks. Chairman Moloughney asked if the applicants own land beyond the existing fence. The Sunkes confirmed they own to the ravine. Member Gariepy moved to approve the special use permit for a pool. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A MINOR SUBDIVISION OF 9 SURPRENANT WAY Danielle Massariello and Robert Wattsman submitted a minor subdivision of 9 Surprenant Way. The division would create one buildable lot of vacant land 59’ wide by 232’ deep. In addition, the lot created for their existing home would also meet zoning requirements at 60’ wide and over 100’ deep. Chairman Moloughney asked if the couple has plans for the vacant lot. Mr. Wattsman indicated not at this time. Therefore, Member DeFruscio 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 X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR 10 VLIET STREET Current owner of the property, Edward Haddad, submitted photos of the potential buyer’s work in Troy. As the seller he feels confident that the potential buyer, Akhtan Muhammed, would improve the neighborhood by rehabilitating the structure and occupying what is currently a vacant building. He commented on the number of problems the building has had while vacant: someone stole the copper pipes and it has become an eyesore. Member Gariepy asked how many parking spaces are needed for the proposed uses. The contractor replied that the one apartment would need two parking spaces which are available behind the building. Member Dumesnil pointed out that the retail space is listed at 939 sq ft in the assessor’s database. Chairman Moloughney asked that contractor’s drawings be submitted to calculate parking needs. At this time, the applicant is relying on a municipal lot on the corner of Willow and Vliet Streets. Chairman Moloughney asked that the applicant submit a site plan and that the Board discuss the concept this month without making any definitive decisions. He also asked about the garbage plan which should include both the dumpster and a garbage can in front of the building, while Vice Chairman Badgley asked about signage, and lighting. Mr. Muhammed indicated that the dumpster would remain at the rear of the building. He would also use the existing fixtures to install a perpendicular sign the same size as the previous. The owner indicated that there is lighting at the rear for the parking and dumpster. Chairman Moloughney instructed the applicant to obtain historic board approval of the sign and façade changes prior to site plan approval. He also explained that the Planning Board has the discretion to require the applicant to provide support for maintenance of the municipal lot. He suggested perhaps striping the lot or creating a crosswalk. Member Gariepy suggested car stops since it is adjacent to the sidewalk. Chairman Moloughney asked for guidance from DPW on the matter. Council Member April Kennedy complimented the Planning Board on requesting a site plan because the area in question was built before cars; therefore there is insufficient parking for residents. The City of Cohoes built the municipal lot to assuage the residents’ parking problems. Adding a retail use would exacerbate the problem. She pointed out the high volume of business and traffic generated by Vliet Street Market down the street, which has sufficient parking. Member Gariepy asked the applicant if he would consider striping the parking lot, which he confirmed he would. She also asked the hours of operation of the store he rehabilitated in Troy. Mr. Muhammed answered that the store operates between 7am and 12 midnight. Chairman Moloughney reiterated the need for Historic Board review for signage and façade changes. The Mr. Haddad asked if the board agreed conceptually with the plan. Chairman Moloughney confirmed he tends to favor the proposal. Member Gariepy also approves of the proposal so long as the written documentation matches what was agreed to verbally at tonight’s meeting. CONSIDERATION OF A MULTI-FAMILY STRUCTURE AT 21 OLIVER STREET Jeff Myers submitted an updated site plan for a 7 unit apartment building at 21 Oliver Street. He explained that he demolished a dilapidated structure from the property in order to make improvements. Member Carboni asked if the 9 outdoor parking spaces were mistakenly listed at 9X18 since the City code requires 9x20 spaces. Member Gariepy asked how the fencing will appear. Mr. Myers explained that the first 30’ would be split rail fencing, followed by 8’ privacy fencing from that point until the end of the outdoor parking lot. He would then install split rail fencing so as not to obstruct the neighbors’ view of the river. Mrs. Clasby commented that she would prefer 6’ privacy fencing from her home to the river. Mr. Myers agreed to do so. Chairman Moloughney reiterated from last meeting concerns about garbage collection times. Member Carboni asked about the lights on the building. Mr. Myers explained that the lights would be downcast. He pointed to the detail notes on the plans which indicate three downcast lights on the side of the building. Council member Ralph Signoracci asked about parking on the east side of Oliver Street since the road is narrow. Chairman Moloughney reiterated from last meeting that the applicant agreed to include a lease clause restricting the tenants to parking on site and prohibiting on street parking. Otherwise, the Traffic Commission would be the only body that could restrict on street parking. Member Carboni moved to declare lead agency. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio X Member DeFruscio moved to make a negative declaration for SEQR purposes. 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 X Chairman Moloughney summarized the conditions as follows: 1) the lease clause restricting tenants to parking on site; 2) 9X20 parking spaces; 3) split rail fencing for the first 30’ and 6’ privacy fencing from there to the River; and 4) garbage collection at 8am at the earliest. Vice Chairman Badgley moved to approve the site plan. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR AN ICE CREAM WINDOW AT 211 COLUMBIA STREET John Onyon proposes splitting the existing building into two retail spaces. Half would contain the current use: an antique store. The other half would house an ice cream window. Chairman Moloughney explained that parking is an issue. He described the high volume of customers who visit other walk up ice cream windows such as Guptils in Latham, and explained that the intersection of Mann Ave and Columbia Street cannot support that amount of traffic. In addition, the existing parking lot would not be able to accommodate the customers on site. Mr. Onyon explained that he is proposing a walk up service for the neighborhood, not a driving destination. Member Dumesnil rejoined that the children’s safety would be in jeopardy as they stood in line waiting for ice cream due to the configuration of the parking lot. Traffic would be pulling in and out onto a busy street and there are no clear demarcations for pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. Mr. Onyon proposed blocking off two spaces to accommodate customers waiting in line. Member DeFruscio countered that the site needs a walkway for the customer to reach the window. That will shorten the length of the parking spaces which are already too short and block the sidewalk. Member Carboni pointed out the proposal does not meet current code. Chairman Moloughney added that the request does not neatly fit the code except for the section that grants the planning board discretion to determine required parking for uses other than those listed. Member Dumesnil asked about the availability of on street parking in the area. According to Council Representative Diane Nolin the parking lot for the site takes up a few on street parking spaces, and then there is a stretch where property owners do not have driveways. Member DeFruscio asked the applicant the square footage for each use. Mr. Onyon stated that the ice cream shop would take up 300 sq ft while the antique store would occupy the remaining 300 sq ft. Chairman Moloughney countered that the code does not fit because an ice cream window has more than one customer at a time while the code permits only one parking space for retail or service use given the square footage. Therefore, Chairman Moloughney finds that the proposed use does not work in the given space. Member Carboni added that the existing lot is unsafe. Member Gariepy agreed that the location is not conducive to an ice cream window. Member DeFruscio would like to see a plan with measurements and distances. As a result, Vice Chairman Badgley moved to table the proposal. Member Gariepy seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio X  CONSIDERATION OF A MIXED USE BUILDING AT 2 NORTH MOHAWK STREET Sue McCann updated the Board on the recent activity for the project proposed at 2 North Mohawk Street. Community Builders (CB) met with Uri Kaufman who owns the property adjacent to the proposal. He agreed to permit CB to connect to Front Street across his property. The proposal received Traffic Commission, Historic Board and Zoning Board final approvals. Member DeFruscio commented that the plan looks great. Chairman Moloughney did not feel the landscaping fit the building. However, Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board approved the landscaping. In addition, CB receives points for DHCR grant purposes for green practices such as plantings. Member Gariepy moved to grant final approval of the site plan. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Mark DeFruscio X Member Carboni made a motion to adjourn at 8:20pm. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously.