Planning Board

Village of Nyack Planning Board October 5, 2023 Members Present: Also Present:_______________________ Laura Rothschild - Chair present Dennis M. Michaels, Esq. Village Attorney Peter Voletsky – present Manny Carmona – Building Department Samuel Hart (Alternate) - present Bob Galvin – Village Planner Matthew Croussouloudis - present Jennifer Knarich -present Miguel Ortiz-Crane - absent Taylor Light (Alternate)- absent COVID-19 PANDEMIC STATUS~ IN PERSON. Meeting opened by the Chair at 7:01 pm. Conflict Check: The Chair polled the members of the Board regarding the issue of possible conflicts of interest regarding the application. None mentioned. Other Business: The Chair stated that the Minutes for the September 5th, 2023 meeting was distributed to Planning Board Members for their review prior to this meeting and at that time asked if there were any corrections. Hearing none, the Chair made a motion to accept the Minutes as presented. This was seconded by Peter Voletsky and passed with a vote of 3-0. Two members did not vote because they were not in attendance at the September 5 th meeting. 1. 35 South Broadway. Rockland County YMCA. Application for a tree removal. This application is being represented by Katina of the YMCA. She states that they are revamping their teen and youth program to allow more cultivating opportunities. They plan to have a garden where the tree in questions is located. The Chair reads from the Perfect Cut Arborist letter dated June 9, 2023 describing the tree as a Maple with large cavity and decaying roots. The Chair asks Katina if there is room to plant another tree. Katina thinks there may be. Village Planner This is an application to remove an invasive tree in the parking lot behind the YMCA. Access to the parking lot is off of Remsen Avenue. The YMCA would like to remove the tree to create space for a teen run garden behind the YMCA building. The certified arborist for the Tree Company (Perfect Cut Tree) James Mullen provided a report dated 6/9/23. The tree to be  Page -2- October 5, 2023 removed is a Maple/Acer DBH 17.10 inches. The tree has girdling roots with large cavity with decay at 10 feet. The tree has a codominant union with included bark and is recommended to be removed. SEQRA – The proposed action is a Type II action. LWRP – based on the Village Code, as a Type II action, this is consistent with LWRP policies. Peter Voletsky makes a motion to accept application with condition that applicant plant another tree if there is enough room to do so. Motion seconded by Jennifer Knarich. Vote passed 5-0. 2. 251 North Midland Avenue. Nyack Community Ambulance. Continuation of application for tree removal. William McDowell of the Nyack Ambulance Corp described the tree as a previously topped Mulberry covered in poison ivy that has become a hazard. They plan on planting either a Cherry tree or a Dogwood tree in other areas of the property. Village Planner This is an application by the William McDowell, President of the Nyack Community Ambulance Corp to remove a Mulberry tree behind the Ambulance building. The location is on the east side of the building, 150’ from the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Midland Avenue (note Tree # 3 on map). The certified arborist for O’Sullivan Tree Care (Bill O’Shea) provided a report dated 8/2/23. The arborist indicated in his report that the Mulberry tree had previously been topped with the growth coming out of the rotted area of the tree. The arborist recommended removing the tree in order to mitigate this situation as the Mulberry Tree has multiple targets including ambulance building. The work on the property also included pruning two trees on either side of the driveway along North Midland Avenue. This work did not require a tree permit from the Building Department. The work included pruning of the outside branches of the Tupelo tree (see Tree #1) and cutting bottom branches of the Weeping Cheery Tree (see Tree #2) so that the trucks do not hit the tree and provide more ambulance clearance. All of these trees are marked on the sketch map provided with the application. SEQRA – The proposed action is a Type II action. LWRP – based on the Village Code, as a Type II action, this is consistent with LWRP policies. 2  Page -3- October 5, 2023 Jennifer Knarich makes a motion to accept the application subject to the condition that they plant at least one Cherry or Dogwood tree with a minimum caliper of 2.5”. This is seconded by Samuel Hart. Vote passed 5-0. 3. 11 Central Avenue. Joe Martino. Application for tree removal. Joe Martino describes the two trees in question. One is a large Spruce from a neighboring property that is hanging over this house and the other is a large 12” Pine tree on his own property that is hanging over his garage. They are willing to plant an Arborvitae. The Chair references the Arborist letter from O’Sullivan Tree Care dated August 16, 2023 confirming the two trees that are hazardous as well as confirming that there is an agreement letter from the neighbor to take down his tree. Peter Voletsky makes motion to accept application as presented with the condition that two trees be planted. Either two arborvitae at a minimum of six feet in height or one arborvitae of at least six feet and one dogwood with a minimum caliper of 2.5”. Jennifer Knarich second this motion. Vote passed 5-0. 4. 42 Burd Street. Gisondi Properties. Continuation of Site Plan application for an addition and conversion from an office building to a 4-unit residential building. Dan Collins of Hudson Engineering was present. Says he has agreed and complied with everything Village Engineer had issue with. He was surprised and unaware that Mr. Swaby was not in agreement with Village Engineer. The Chair stated that Public Hearing will be held open until the next meeting on Monday, November 6th at 7:00 pm. Village Planner The draft resolution has been drafted by the Village Planner as requested by the Planning Board. Applicant’s Engineer, Dan Collins of Hudson Engineering indicated that they have addressed all of the Village Engineer’s concerns and are in agreement. “ What is not on the plans will be put on.” Hudson Engineering has provided the Sight Distance analysis shown in 4 new drawings that are included with the draft resolution. The Perc test and results will be provided to the Building Department and Village Engineer. 3  Page -4- October 5, 2023 The following conditions have been included in the draft resolution: 1. The Applicant shall obtain any required state, county and local permits and approvals prior to the issuance of a building permit. 2. All requirements of the Village Engineer not already complied with shall be satisfied. 3. In relation to the pre-existing 6-inch overhang on the east side of the site, the Applicant agrees to consult with the Building Department to arrive at a compromise solution satisfactory to the Building Department. No building plans indicating that during construction, six inches from the rear wall will be removed so that the rear wall will be on the boundary line. This can be verified with the As Built Drawings provided to the building department closing out the project. 4. After issuance of a building permit, the Applicant shall conduct a percolation test and provide the test results to the Chief Building Inspector and Village Engineer to confirm the viability of a cultic system at this location. 5. Prior to the issuance of a building permit, a Stormwater Management Agreement f or the stormwater management facilities related to the Multiple Dwelling conversion, in a form satisfactory to the Village Engineer and Village Attorney, shall be fully executed and submitted to the Chief Building Inspector/SMO with proof that the Agreement has been recorded in the Rockland County Clerk’s Office. 6. If the Applicant, during the course of construction, encounters such conditions as flood areas, underground water, soft or silty areas, improper drainage, insufficient sized piping or any other unusual circumstances or conditions that were not foreseen in the original planning, he shall report such conditions immediately to the Village Engineer. The developer may submit, if he so desires, his recommendations as to the special treatment to be given to alternate solutions to secure adequate, permanent, and satisfactory construction. The Village Engineer, without unnecessary delay, shall investigate the condition or conditions, and shall either approve the Applicant's recommendations to correct the conditions, order a modification thereof, or issue her own specifications for the correction of the conditions. 4  Page -5- October 5, 2023 5. 160 North Midland Avenue. Montefiore Nyack Hospital. Continuation of application for tree removal at Hospital Parking Lot on Rt 9W. Steve Apicella from Montefiore Nyack and Jeff Lambert from Wickes Arborists were present to represent this application. Steve Apicella explained that a large tree from the parking lot fell onto Village Gateway property and broke fence. The Hospital quickly had the tree removed and repaired the fence. They hired Wickes Arborists to do a safety assessment of the remaining trees. He also stated that the snowplow and bulldozer will be moved to the other side of the parking lot. Hospital has no intention of clear cutting the property and they will be replanting more significant sized trees. Jeff Lambert explains that the area in question are locust trees and will attack any new trees. The Chair wants to know what can be planted for screening purposes. She also asks about soil erosion. Jeff assures that will not be the case because of the amount of trees in place plus the new trees. Steve Apicella says the Hospital is very conscious of flooding due to the issue they had when their neighbor removed trees and the Hospital flooded quite badly. The Chair asks if there is any comment from the public, Joan Golden of 22 Village Gateway is glad to hear about replanting of trees but in winter they bring massive machinery. She says they don’t need Maple trees, they need Evergreens. Will machinery be kept there? When it snows they start at 4:30am. This goes on all winter. Stop pollution, stop eyesore, stop erosion. Planting leaf shedding trees will not help. We need arborvitaes, probably 10-12. Steve Apicella states that snow equipment is being moved closer to the Cemetery. Jeff Lambert states that the area would have to be clear cut for the arborvitae to grow and they are shallow rooted. Area is difficult to remediate because there are 20-30 locust trees. Green Giants need 8-10 hours of Sun per day. Arborvitae are very sensitive and die very easily. Hospital is amenable to planting Evergreens. Sean McNeer of 23 Village Gateway thanks the Hospital. He noticed large equipment has been removed. He is concerned about drainage. Brian Muni of 24 Village Gateway is a Board member. He thank the Hospital for willingness to work with us. Asked if this property is rented from the Cemetery. Steve Apicella states that this is Hospital property. 5  Page -6- October 5, 2023 Joan Golden is still concerned about litter, placement of vehicles, leaf cleanup. Wants a pollution barrier. Village Planner At the last meeting in September, the Planning Board requested a representative to attend to address several issues raised by the public regarding the screening and/or relocation of salt and equipment areas. Applicant’s arborist indicated that there are 8 trees in total which are in bad condition and cause a potential risk to people and cars. The trees are marked on the location plan provided by arborist. One tree is in upper level of parking lot, two are in middle section and five are located along the north side of the lot. These trees are invasive and attract Spotted Lantern Flies. The plan is to replace with Sugar Maple trees or Red Maples. Hospital asks if it can be seven instead of eight replacements. The Planning Board responded that they wanted 1 for 1 replacement for all 8 trees with a size of at least 3” caliper. The locations of the 8 trees are marked on the location map provided by the arborist which had been placed under the Planning Board agenda posted on the Village web site. Two trees (Oak and Tulip) are situated in the upper level of the parking lot; the Maple is in the middle of the lot and the remaining 5 trees are located along the north side of the lot. Following are the specific issues with each tree: 1. Oak-36" DBH-Uprooted, leaning on an adjacent tree, high risk to equipment, pedestrians, and cars, removal is the best way to mitigate the risk at this point. 2. Tulip-36" DBH-Trunk defects, history of failure, high risk to pedestrians and cars, removal is the best way to mitigate the risk at this point. 3. Maple-24" DBH-Dying, tree in poor condition, high risk to pedestrians and cars, removal is the best way to mitigate the risk at this point. 4 - 8. Ailanthus-12" DBH-(5) - lnvasive species trees creating stress on native plants and grass in the landscape, trees growing towards the sun over the parking lot, high risk to cars and pedestrians, removal is the best way to mitigate the risk at this point. Arborist Recommendation- Applicant proposes to replace trees in their place. All work will be performed to ANSI A300 and Z1331.1 standards and local laws/regulations. Applicant shall plant at least 3” caliper trees and use same or similar species that are being removed 6  Page -7- October 5, 2023 The Chair makes motion to close public comment. Peter Voletsky seconds the motion. Peter Voletsky makes motion to accept the application as presented with the condition that 8 maple trees and 4 evergreens are planted, each with a minimum caliper of 2.5”. This motion is seconded by Samuel Hart. Vote passed 5-0. Arborist Recommendation- Applicant proposes to replace trees in their place. All work will be performed to ANSI A300 and Z1331.1 standards and local laws/regulations. Applicant shall plant at least 3” caliper trees and use same or similar species that are being removed. SEQRA – The proposed action is a Type II action. LWRP – based on the Village Code, as a Type II action, this is consistent with LWRP policies. 6. 55 Catherine Street. Shaban Sinanaj. Application for subdivision for merger of two lots and the construction of two-family dwelling in the TFR zone. Thomas Haynes, architect is representing this application. He states that they are looking to merge the two lots and build a 3,600 sq ft two-family side-by-side dwelling in the TFR Zoning District. The left side will have 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths and 1 half bath. The right side will have 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 1 half bath. The house will have Hardi plank siding with bluestone stairs. There will be two parking spaces provided per unit. One inside each garage and one outside each garage. Sediment and erosion control along with stormwater have been addressed. No variances are required. Village Planner stated that step 1 in this process is that a Notice of Intent needs to be done to declare the Planning Board as lead agency. Peter Voletsky made a motion to accept, seconded by Jennifer Knarich. Passed with vote 5-0. Village Planner stated that we will need to have Eve Mancuso review and conduct an environmental review under SEQRA. The Short Form EAF needs to be signed and submitted by applicant as well as Coastal Assessment form. The Chair asks if anyone from the public would like to speak: Kathleen Hobner of 54 Catherine Street is very concerned about parking. She wants to make 7  Page -8- October 5, 2023 sure that cars can pull into driveway far enough so that cars will not be sticking out onto sidewalk. Tom Haynes show her site plan to show how much space there is. This application will remain open and public hearing will be continued on Monday, November 6th at 7:00pm. 7. 28 Route 59. Seth Marks d/b/a Treehouse Cannabis. Special Permit application to operate an adult-use retail Cannabis Dispensary with delivery only. Robert Silarski of S&Co Architects and Seth Marks of Treehouse Cannabis are representing this application. Rob Silarski states that this property is also known as Palisades Auto. The lower level will be used for Treehouse Cannabis. The only change being made is that the windows will be blocked out. The Special Permit is for delivery only. Retail will be at some future point. There will be 2 parking spaces dedicated for delivery vehicles. The Chair asks if windows face Rt 59. Answer is yes. The Chair wants to know where vehicles will park. Answer is western side of the site. Two spots will be designated for the delivery vehicles. Rockland County Planning talks about 8 parking spaces. This does not pertain to this application since it is not retail. The Chair is concerned about the number of cars since the car dealership is remaining. Are two uses allowed on one property? Jennifer Knarich states that the Planning Board reviewed the Cannabis ordinance. She does not recall discussing a separate delivery only vs. retail. Peter Voletsky wants clarification on County comments. Jennifer Knarich agrees. The Chair wants parking addressed since there are two uses. She also wants to talk about landscaping. Seth Marks – owner/operator clarifies that windows are on lower level. Black out windows are required with cage inside. Landscaping will be addressed. Parking will be on the east side of the building near the separate entrance. The State is offering delivery only since rollout has been so slow. The Chair asks for clarification to the confusion about location Peter Voletsky asks about parking. Answer is 2 parking spots will be designated for the 8  Page -9- October 5, 2023 delivery cars only. The Chair asks about fire personnel being able to access businesses with these cars there. Manny Carmona says there is enough room. Seth Marks states that the car business is slowly decreasing over time. Donny Moskovitz states that he opened a Medical Dispensary in Bardonia and one in Haverstraw. They want to start out slowly since this is brand new. Delivery will start out being Nyack area only. This is only temporary delivery location until we can rollout to retail. Once retail opens, delivery will move to another location. The Chair clarifies that there will be a security system. Seth states that there will not be any packaging. This will be storage and delivery only. Lighting will remain the same for now. Right now, operations will be 9am – 6pm. The Chair polls the Board. Jennifer Knarich asks if Applicant can include some planters in. Village Planner addresses the County letter. A lot of their points can be overridden because it is not retail. The Planning Board asks for resolution to be drafted. Signed copy of Resolution attached to these Minutes. Village Planner Applicant should be requested to provide a Narrative describing its compliance to the special permit conditions, the status of the license and what it covers, the configuration of the proposed building, and how the delivery component will work with the rest of the retail dispensary. The subject property is a one-story structure housing the former Palisades Auto Sales in the CC zone. There is still a line of automobiles along Route 59 that appears to be part of the auto sales business. Ask Applicant to address this question. The business to the north is a tire and auto service. To the south is the overpass for the NYS Thruway. The application indicates compliance with the special permit conditions, but several conditions were not noted. Applicant has provided color photographs of the site and the surrounding properties. A site plan with floor plans for the lower level and first floor. The Applicant also plans a new 6’ chain link trash enclosure in the south corner of the site near 9  Page -10- October 5, 2023 Rte. 59. We do not have any renderings of what the store will look like and no information on parking, lighting or landscaping. The Applicant’s architect has provided a Narrative describing the delivery system, addressing the special permit conditions and the NYS Temporary license which applicant has received. Peter Voletsky makes a motion to approve this expedited application to accommodate the owner because of the NYS deadline on 11/3/23 which would be before the next meeting. Samuel Hart seconds this motion. Vote passed 5-0. The Chair moves to close meeting at 9:07 pm. This is seconded by Jennifer Knarich. Attach final resolution 10