Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 9, 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. Jake Dumesnil ABSENT: Mr. Mark DeFruscio ALSO PRESENT: Ms. Melissa Ashline-Heil, City Planner CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 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 July 12th, 2010 meeting. Member Dumesnil made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 12th meeting. 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 Jake Dumesnil X Sharon Gariepy X CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT TO CONSTRUCT A SECONDARY GARAGE AT 120 CANVASS STREET Chris Knite owns a vacant lot at 120 Canvass Street. Several years ago a three family building stood on the property, which was demolished as an unsafe structure. Mr. Knite purchased the vacant land to keep it looking nice and as green space for the adjacent property he owns at 141 Mohawk Street. However, the vacant lot attracts litter so he would like to build a structure on the property. After reviewing the potential uses he proposed a secondary garage on the property. He owns a three bay garage adjacent to the lot which he uses for personal storage. He proposes another three bay garage for 120 Canvass Street. Each pre-made bay would measure 10X20. Chairman Moloughney asked how many apartments the building at 141 Mohawk Street contains. Mr. Knite indicated he has four single units. The tenants park on the street. Nevertheless, the proposed garage would be used for storage, not for tenant parking. He would like to work on a hot rod within the proposed pre-fab structure. Member Carboni asked the lot size. Mr. Knite described the vacant land as 32’ wide and 52’ deep. Member Carboni then asked how far back the garages would set. Mr. Knite planned to place the garages 10’ from the front. Member Dumesnil questioned the exterior on the existing garages. Mr. Knite described the exterior as tumbled concrete blocks painted red. Chairman Moloughney asked the purpose of the proposed garages. Mr. Knite intends to use the garages for his own storage. Chairman Moloughney pointed out that storage is a different use than garages. Member Gariepy questioned whether the Board should be concerned about usage. Chairman Moloughney explained that the code provides for certain permitted uses. Any other proposed use is prohibited. Member Carboni added that the size of the units seem more like pre-fabricated storage units found on Oliver Street and on Saratoga Street. Chairman Moloughney expressed the need for more details and greater clarification from the applicant. He also pointed out that the application needs historic board approval. The applicant agreed to provide greater detail for the next meeting. As a result, Member Carboni moved to table the proposal. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF AN EXISTING ABOVE GROUND POOL AT 13 BROADWAY Karen MacPherson owns property at 13 Broadway. She recently installed a temporary pool that is 4’ deep and 18’ in diameter. During an inspection, Code Enforcement notified her that she needs the appropriate permits to install a pool. She promptly applied for both the building permit and the special use permit. However, her plot plan approximated distances and setbacks. City records indicate the property is 37.5’ X 128’. The pool is 18’ wide. Therefore, only 19.5’ remain for the required 10’ side setbacks. The Planning Board asked the applicant to take accurate measurements of the setbacks and apply for a variance for the discrepancy. Member Gariepy moved to approve the proposal conditioned on gaining a variance. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Jake Dumesnil X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR A MIXED USE BUILDING AT 10 VLIET STREET Mr. Muhammed applied several months ago for a site plan review of 10 Vliet Street. He proposed a first floor grocery and upstairs apartment. The Planning Board had asked for additional plans during previous meetings. However, at this time, Mr. Muhammed sought a decision without further submission. Member Dumesnil asked about ownership of the rear lot. The seller, Ed Haddad, attended the meeting to ensure buyer’s obligations were met. He explained that the trustee would sell the rear parcel along with the lot known as 10 Vliet Street subject to approvals. The current owner would have the parcel annexed to 10 Vliet Street at no extra cost. Member Carboni expressed concern that the Board did not receive a site plan. Member Gariepy also questioned whether the conditions discussed during previous meetings would be included in the approval. Member Dumesnil added that the Historic Board would need to approve the proposal as well. Chairman Moloughney referred to previous meeting’s discussions concerning potential conditions and requirements. The Board received a pending resolution in meeting packet that the applicant is asking the Board to vote on. Member Gariepy moved to pass the resolution. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion and the Board denied the application unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Sharon Gariepy X Jake Dumesnil X DISCUSSION OF KELMAN’S RECYCLING PROPOSED ADDITION Nathan Kelman attended the meeting with his contractor, Tim Olin of Mele Contracting. Mr. Olin described the group of professionals who would be developing the plans for the proposed addition. The Kelmans hired Joe Bianchine from ABD Engineering to handle the floodplain issues, Tim Riley as Architect for the building design, and Nick Costra of Sipperly and Associates for the survey. Mr. Olin also emphasized his close relationship with the neighboring property owner and his desire to ease tensions between the two properties. Chairman Moloughney reiterated the need to discuss consistency of appearance, engineering of floodplain and gaps under the fence. Mr. Olin agreed the group would address all concerns. He also described the proposed addition as insulated to reduce noise and other nuisances. Vice Chairman Badgley made a motion to adjourn at 7:15pm. Member Carboni seconded the motion. Roll of call was taken and the motion passed unanimously.