Planning Board Agendas and Minutes

MINUTES OF THE COHOES PLANNING BOARD MEETING HELD ON APRIL 13, 2015 AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Edward Carboni Mr. Joseph Nadeau Chairman Mark DeFruscio Vice Chairman Clarence Badgley ALSO PRESENT: Melissa Cherubino, Director of Building and Planning CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 9th, 2015 MEETING Chairman DeFruscio opened the meeting at 6:30pm and asked the recording secretary to take roll call. Member Carboni moved to approve the minutes conditioned on removal of the proposed café at 211 Columbia Street which was not discussed. Member Nadeau seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Joseph Nadeau X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A POOL AT 28 LINCOLN AVE Krista Peterson and Scott Santelli own property at 28 Lincoln Avenue and propose installing a 15’ round above ground pool between the house and barn. The proposed pool replaces an previously existing pool and attaches to an existing deck in the same location. Chairman DeFruscio asked where water drains. Mr. Santelli explained that water drains to the George Street Park which abuts the rear property line of the property. The proposed pool will sit 10’ from the south property line; 80’ to the north line; 60’ from the curb; 80’ to the park at the rear property line; 30’ to the house; and 1’ from the barn. Member Nadeau asked if the existing deck is elevated to the height of the pool, which Mr. Santelli confirmed. Member Carboni asked if the electric is still in place for the previous pool. Mr. Santelli confirmed the electric is still in place. Chairman DeFruscio advised the applicant will still need a building permit and should confirm the adequacy of the existing electric. Member Nadeau moved to approve the pool per plans submitted. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Joseph Nadeau X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A TWO_FAMILY AT 235 VLIET BLVD Lillian Herrington proposes converting her home to a two family. The work was completed for an in-law apartment. Located in the R-2 residential zoning district the City of Cohoes zoning code requires a special use permit to convert to a two-family. Mrs. Herrington submitted a drawing showing four parking spaces as required by code. Member Carboni asked if the applicant owns the west side vacant lot, which Mrs. Herrington confirmed. As a result, Member Nadeau moved to approve the special use permit. Vice Chairman Badgley seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Joseph Nadeau X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF SEQR REGARDING SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR A MULTI- FAMILY PROPOSAL AT 24 AMITY STREET Thomas Keaney of CK2 Properties reduced the proposed renovation of 24 Amity Street to 14 units with 28 off-street parking spaces. Mr. Keaney also submitted preliminary drawings with greater detail for the instant meeting. The renovations will involve SHPO approval for historic preservation tax credits. Therefore, the development is subject to SHPO approval. However, the developer had previously proposed installing an opaque finish (etching or a film) on windows to preserve neighbors’ privacy, which he is still willing to do. Any other changes to the windows are subject to SHPO approval. In all, renovations will cost 1.25-1.4 million dollars. Chairman DeFruscio had asked that preliminary drawings address snow storage, lighting, parking space size, landscaping, and garbage storage. He summarized neighborhood concerns from previous applications: parking, traffic, privacy and lighting. The applicant intends to remove two storage buildings to expand the parking lot and install an interior ventilated garbage room to preserve space for parking on the exterior property. The applicant hired Dan Herschberg to design the site. Mr. Hershberg reclaimed some greenspace on the site along the northern side of the building and property as well as the western edge of the property. In addition to water infiltration, the greenspaces will provide room for snow storage and shrubs proposed at the north property line. As to the 28 parking spaces, four of those are proposed as banked. Although blocked in by other spaces, Mr. Keaney suggests that the banked spaces will be allotted to tenants with two vehicles. Banking parking retains the greenspace until the actual parking needs are ascertained. Chairman DeFruscio has concerns about the enforcement of parking due to the constraints on Amity Street. As a result he asked for an opinion from the ZBA. The southern lot contains seven angled spaces and a narrow aisle width. Currently cars back out onto Amity Street. The Traffic Commission Chairman has suggested that the applicant angle spaces in the other direction. The City Planner recommended shrinking the spaces by two feet and designating the spots for compact cars and motorcycles. The western end of the south lot contains a triangular piece of land for snow storage. The south side does not contain any green space. In addition, Mr. Keaney proposes removing two storage units and creating greenspace to accommodate snow storage. In all, Mr. Hershberg quantified the lot as 70% impervious whereas it is currently 100% impervious. The applicant hires a company to plow the parking lots and has given orders to cart excess snow off the site during extreme winter conditions defined as more than 6”. Mr. Hershberg explained that runoff will drain to the street due to the topography of the land. Neighbors disputed that claim. Mr. Hershberg added that the additional greenspace should also help prevent any salt, snow or water from seeping to neighboring properties. Member Carboni asked the applicant to install concrete wheel stops on the south side, which Mr. Keaney agreed to install. Member Nadeau asked about lighting. Mr. Keaney would only install a light over the one main entrance door because he has concerns about creating glare in the residential neighborhood. Member Carboni asked about the emergency exit at the rear of the building. Mr. Keaney proposes a motion sensor light at that location. Councilwoman Diane Nolin represents the Fourth Ward. She summarized neighbors’ concerns as snow storage, parking, traffic, lighting and privacy. She added that the lack of setbacks from neighbors impairs privacy. She hopes the applicant restricts tenants from housing pets given the lack of green space. She also questioned snow storage on a lot that is covered with the building footprint and parking lot. Tim Ryan neighbors the proposal. He expressed concerns regarding snow storage, parking, and traffic. He would rather see 10 units in the building. Vice Chairman Badgley moved to declare lead agency. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Joseph Nadeau X Mark DeFruscio X Chairman DeFruscio described the applicant’s response to neighbors’ concerns: Mr. Keaney reduced the number of units to 14 from 16. He also created 28 parking spaces, which meets the zoning code. In addition, the applicant has provided additional snow storage and agreed to cart excess snow off-site. Neighbors questioned whether the removal would be enforced. Member Nadeau pointed out that it would be in the owner’s interest to remove snow to make adequate off- street parking for residents. Finally the applicant has agreed to provide privacy within the constraints permitted by SHPO. As a result, Member Nadeau moved to make a negative declaration for SEQR purposes. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Chris Briggs X Mark DeFruscio X CONSIDERATION OF A SITE PLAN FOR A MULTI-FAMILY AT 9 AND 11 SURPRENANT WAY The applicant did not show for the meeting. Therefore, the Board gave neighbors an opportunity to speak. Tom Surprenant described flooding of driveways at existing homes in the neighborhood under current conditions. Additional pavement would exacerbate the current conditions. Furthermore cars speed along that stretch of the road and another driveway entrance would be unsafe. Councilwoman Nolin added that the proposal includes too many units. Since the applicant did not show the application was postponed to the May 11th 2015 meeting. Vice Chairman Badgley moved to table the application. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously. YES NO Leo Badgley X Edward Carboni X Chris Briggs X Mark DeFruscio X Vice Chairman Badgley moved to adjourn at 8:30pm. Member Carboni seconded the motion which passed unanimously.