Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON APRIL 8, 2013 AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice-Chairman Clarence Badgley Chairman Joseph Moloughney Mr. Mark DeFruscio Mr. Edward Carboni ABSENT: Mr. Jake Dumesnil Ms. Sharon Gariepy ALSO PRESENT: Melissa Ashline-Heil, Director of Building and Planning CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 11th, 2013 MEETING Member DeFruscio moved to approve the minutes. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed three to one. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni ABSTAIN Jake Dumesnil ABSENT Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW FOR 339 SARATOGA STREET The applicant proposes a car detailing shop with minor car repairs at 339 Saratoga Street. Chairman Moloughney informed the applicant he needs a use variance prior to planning board site plan review. At that time the Board would consider parking lot layout, lighting, landscaping and snow storage. The special use permit for the MU-1 zone covers neighborhood gas stations, which the proposed use does not meet. As a result, Member Carboni moved to table the request and send it to the Zoning Board of Appeals first. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Jake Dumesnil ABSENT Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SUBDIVISION AT 161 MASTEN AVENUE Luigi Polesci, design engineer, represented Krug Builders for the proposed five lot subdivision with four duplexes and a single family home all built slab on grade. Each residential unit will have a two car garage and a four car driveway. Mr. Polesci also explained the parcel is one acre; however the ravine portion of it will remain forever wild. The contractor will connect to the existing water line on Masten Avenue as the line has acceptable flows. However, the developer will need to extend the sewer line which ends at Washington Street. Each home will have its own sewer lateral connecting to the extended sewer line. The newly installed sewer main will be installed on the property to separate the line from the water main. After construction Krug will convey the sanitary sewer line to the City with an easement across the properties. Member Carboni asked how the developer will handle stormwater. Mr. Polesci explained the City installed a line. The minimum separation requires placement of the sanitary line on the property. Member Carboni also asked if the single family would like like the duplex homes which Mr. Polesci confirmed. Finally Member Carboni asked if the developer conducted soil testing in the ravine. Mr. Polesci found 6’ of fill on top of virgin soil. The developer will submit a geotechnical report of the findings. Mr. Polesci offered that the developer will construct a hammer head at the end of the street for emergency vehicle turn-around. The street will extend an additional 65’ from the current end. One of the neighbors asked if the developer purchased the property. Jeremy Krug explained the property is under contract with the closing tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 11th, 2013. Neighbors sought a timeframe for construction. Dan Lill described site work on the first three properties this spring. After clearing and leveling the sites the developer would construct two to three foundations. Construction of the first building would commence immediately as a model home. The builder will be available to remedy any issues that arise. Neighbors expressed concerns about the density, number of vehicles and increased traffic. Chairman Moloughney explained that the lots created by subdivision meet the zoning code requirements. Should the lots be sold off individually, five individuals could construct homes without planning board review. The developer is undergoing site plan review which provides an opportunity for neighbors to participate in the planning process. For example, the Chairman would like the developer to install a sidewalk. However, the concerns relayed by neighbors so far are items the developer has kept within the City Code guidelines. Neighbors countered that the former owner, Vincent Santoro, created four lots from the property during a subdivision applied for in 2010. However, Chairman Moloughney pointed out the subdivision was never filed with the County and is therefore voided. The proposal provides 10.5’ side setbacks, which is less dense than many existing homes on the street and meets the code requirement. Furthermore, extension of the sewer line creates an additional expense that requires construction of nine units to recoup the costs. Member Carboni asked the number of bedrooms in each unit. Mr. Polesci described two to three bedroom homes with 16-1700 sq ft per unit. Each two story home would have two and a half baths. Mr. Lill added that each lot meets the 50% greenspace and provides 50 parking spaces to serve the homes. Neighbors vocalized concern the units would be purchased for the purpose of renting to tenants occupying the premises. Mr. Lill explained that an investor would not be able to recoup the homes’ cost of $200,000. Chairman Moloughney added that no one can control whether any home on the street is purchased as investment property with transient tenants. Neighbors asked for sidewalks and continued to express concerns about density and the additional cars. They also reiterated concerns about the construction schedule. One neighbor asked if it would be continuous construction over years. Jerry Krug explained that the economy dictated the construction schedule for Eagle’s Nest Ravine. At this time the economy supports sale of the duplex home(s). Therefore Mr. Lill predicts construction will be done within two years. Neighbors would like a cul-de-sac at the end of Masten Avenue rather than the hammerhead. However, the ravine precludes construction of a cul-de-sac. Neighbors argue that removing the last units would create enough space for the cul-de-sac. The builders reiterated that the costs of extending the sewer line require building nine units as the code permits in order to recoup costs. One neighbor questioned access along the back alley. He pointed out fire trucks may need to traverse the paper alley for safety reasons. If cars park in the alley it may impeded access. Mr. Lill explained it is a paper alley used for drainage. Only an off-road vehicle could use the paper alley due to the foliage and terrain. Another neighbor asked about the electrical wiring – whether it would be buried underground or run overhead. Mr. Krug explained that National Grid dictates how lines are run. However they will not even consider reviewing the site until the project receives approvals. Mr. Polesci asked when the public hearing will take place. The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for May 13th, 2013. At this time the Board decided to declare an intent to act as lead agency. Member DeFruscio moved to declare that intent. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Jake Dumesnil ABSENT Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW FOR 94 COLUMBIA STREET Tom Lewis submitted updated plans of the addition for Stewarts located at 94 Columbia Street. The updated plans reflect restoration of the curb and installation of landscaping at the corner of Columbia Street and Central Avenue. Member Carboni moved to grant final approval to the proposal. Member DeFruscio seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Joseph Moloughney X Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Jake Dumesnil ABSENT Sharon Gariepy ABSENT Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR 65 CONGRESS STREET Dan O’Neill sought final site plan approval for assembly use at 65 Congress Street. He submitted written responses to the potential nuisances described at last month’s meeting. In that document he described his intention to sound proof the building to reduce noise impact. However, the maximum noise created while blasting a sound system resulted in decibel levels between average neighborhood (60) and traffic noises (80). He also agreed to notify the City for any events with over 400 people through a special use permit application. He will also notify the police chief of such events and arrange for additional patrol as well as his own security personnel. Vice Chairman Badgley also requested that he direct his customer to use the municipal lots during all events. Mr. O’Neill agreed. In fact he intends to have people directing traffic during events. Chairman Moloughney asked about making contributions to pay for improvements to municipal lots. Mr. O’Neill agreed to provide striping and signage for two lots initially – starting with the Lancaster Street lot. Vice Chairman Badgley pointed out Lancaster Street also needs a sign showing it is a municipal parking lot which Mr. O’Neill agreed to provide. He will work with Commissioner Kenneth Radliff to order the signs. With each event of 400+ people he will charge $1 per ticket which he will give to the City escrow account for further maintenance of the municipal parking lots. He also offered his facility for any charity fundraising events to raise additional funds for that purpose. Chairman Moloughney asked for any additional comments. Council woman Diane Nolin of the fourth ward expressed concerns about the impact to the neighborhood when 400 people leave the facility at midnight. She also pointed out that the parking needs of employees, caterers will add to the mix. As a result, Chairman Moloughney moved to approve the conditioned site plan. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed three to one with one abstention. CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR RETAIL AT 45 WHITE STREET The applicant asked to use the first floor of 45 White Street as a small grocery and deli. The space was previously used for commercial purposes. Therefore the Board did not need to review the application. CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR 98 JOHNSTON AVENUE Tom Brennan proposes installing a parking lot and privacy fencing encasing the vacant lot at 98 Johnston Avenue. He would park his tow trucks for his company, TNT Towing. Chairman Moloughney pointed out that the application requires a use variance prior to Planning Board review. Mr. Brennan explained he would like feedback on the feasibility of the application before applying for the use variance. Mr. Brennan described the neighborhood as predominantly multi-family homes. He owns two properties nearby where he stores vehicles. Those lots are in the multi-family residential (MFR) and mixed use (MU-1) zones. Member DeFruscio asked what improvements Mr. Brennan intended to make to the property. Mr. Brennan described removing the trees, paving the lot and installing privacy fencing with a gate on Johnston Avenue. He does not intend to travel through the neighborhood. Chairman Moloughney expressed concerns about the aesthetics of a parking lot full of tow trucks in an otherwise residential neighborhood. Attorney Caroline Guerez stated that maintaining the property has created an extreme hardship for the owner because neighbors use the vacant lot to dump garbage. The owner has not been able to sell the property since parking is an issue for even a single or two-family home. Furthermore, although the parcel is located in the R-2 residential district it is adjacent to the MFR and MU-1 districts. Therefore she does not see the proposed use as altering the character of the neighborhood. Chairman Moloughney countered that given the lot size using it for parking tow trucks could create nuisances. The proposal requires a use variance. Furthermore he would rather see the proposal presented as well as possible. For example, what type of fencing is the applicant proposing? Mr. Brennan would like to install white vinyl. Vice Chairman asked about lighting, but the applicant stated sufficient existing lighting would keep the facility safe. Member DeFruscio moved to adjourn at 8:15pm. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Please note the next meeting will take place May 13th, 2012.