Planning Commission

Planning Commission Meeting June 24, 2019 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held on Monday evening, June 24, 2019 at Village Justice Courtroom, 350 North Main Street, Port Chester, NY at 7:00 p.m. with Chairman Anthony Baxter presiding. Present in addition to Chairman Baxter were Commissioners, Espinoza, Passarelli, Scarola and Summa. Also present was Village Attorney Anthony Cerreto, Planning Director Eric Zamft, Assistant Planner Adam Pisarkiewicz and Village Engineer Vincent Masucci. The meeting opened with a quorum at 7:00 p.m. _______________________________________ Constance R. Phillips Recording Secretary As presented to the Village Clerk: ________________________________ Vita Sileo Deputy Village Clerk Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 June 24, 2019 After the pledge of allegiance, the first item on the agenda was: Case #2018-0173 – Continued Public Hearing an application submitted by Liborio & Rosa Castillo/Michiel Boender, Architect, on property located at 110 North Main Street, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.23 Block 1, Lot 6.1 to consider request to: raise existing roof structure to provide habitable space. New 2nd floor to be used as an office, storage, private dining and service kitchen for private dining. The applicant has requested an adjournment of this matter to the June 24th meeting. No one from the Public spoke for or against this matter. On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Passarelli, the Public Hearing was reopened, Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x Michiel Boender represented the matter for the applicant. Mr. Boender began by saying over the past few months they have been going back and forth with the Village Manager’s office working out the license agreement for the dumpster enclosure. Mr. Boender provided the Commission with a copy of the dumpster containment area and the dumpster configurations in that area. All of the additional items that were suggested by the Board and agreed to by the applicant have all been denoted on the plan. The license agreement was vetted out with the Village Attorney and manager and was approved on Monday May 17th by the Board of Trustees. In addition there were some questions with regard to an elevator to the 2nd floor and having an elevator for accessibility. That matter was discussed with the applicant and has been included in the plan. The bar has been shifted to the back a little and the seating area has been rearranged to accommodate the elevator. Planning Director Eric Zamft said this matter had been adjourned for a number of months to work out the license agreement. This matter has now been resolved and there are no more issues from the Planning staff. Engineering and Traffic have already been satisfied. Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 June 24, 2019 No one from the public spoke for or against this matter On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Passarelli, the Public Hearing was closed. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x The Planning director was also directed to prepare resolutions for the next meeting. \ \ _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 June 24, 2019 Case #2019-0187 Continued Public Hearing an application submitted by Willett Avenue, LLC on property located at 528 Willett Avenue, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 136.63, Block 1, Lot(s) 72 to consider request to: Add an addition to existing snack shop to include: 2nd floor mezzanine level storage, office coolers in rear, ADA Restrooms, coffee stations & pre heated food station (no Kitchen) On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza, the Public Hearing was opened. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x J. B. Hernandez, architect represented this matter for the applicant. He began by saying that at last month’s meeting there were some questions from the neighbors regarding the parking in the rear. There is a total of 9 parking spaces on the site; 5 for the mechanic shop and 4 for the snack shop. The original plan was for 8 parking spaces. AKRF commented that the 9 parking spaces makes it difficult to access two of the parking spaces behind the fence. Otherwise the site plan remains the same. Village Engineer Vincent Masucci said that all of the issues he had previously raised have all been satisfactorily addressed. No one from the public spoke for or against this matter. Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 June 24, 2019 On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Passarelli, the Public Hearing was closed Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x Planning staff was directed to prepare resolutions for the July meeting. _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 6 June 24, 2019 Case #2019-0188 - Continued Public Hearing an application submitted by Luigi Demasi, Architect on behalf of Luis Cabrera dba Don Lucho Restaurant on property located at 201 Irving Avenue, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.22, Block 1, Lot(s) 38 to consider request to: Renovate the premises for a full service restaurant use On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza the Public Hearing was opened. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x John Colangelo Esq. along with Luigi DeMasi – architect represented this matter for the applicant. Mr. Colangelo began by saying that the3re were some comments raised last month. And he believe they have addressed those comments. He said there was also an easement issue and have determined that there is an easement on the Northerly alley which benefits the building behind this property. It does not affect access to the rear of the building ingress/egress nor does it interfere with the placement of the garbage. Mr. Demasi said that all of the plans were internal renovations and not external so therefore the plans were not updated. To reflect the easement etc. The matter of ADA accessibility will be addressed with the Building Department. Mr. Masucci said that since there is no change to the outside of the building by the applicant that his comments are no lnger relevant. No one from the public spoke for or against this matter. On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza, the Public Hearing was closed. Planning Commission Minutes Page 7 June 24, 2019 Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza, the Site Plan approval resolution was approved. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 8 June 24, 2019 Case No. 2018-0169 – Continued Public Meeting An application submitted by Pierre Sarrazin of Sarrazin Architecture on behalf of 66 Pearl Street Realty, LLC for property located at 66 Pearl Street, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.30, Block 1, Lot 75 to consider request to: demolish existing 2 story residential building, and an addition of existing car repair garage building with site upgrades and redesign of parking John Colangelo, Esq. along with Pierre Sarrazin Architect represented this matter for the applicant. Mr. Colangelo began by saying this matter was introduced to the Commission about a year ago and at time a public meeting was opened and the matter was directed to the Zoning Board for any necessary variances. In addition the applicant was directed to go to the Board of Trustees for a Special Exception Use for proposed auto body use on the site. A long time was spent at the Zoning Board because a interpretation was needed regarding the requirement of a use variance which ultimately was not needed because variances had been granted on the site thirty years ago. There was no expansion of an illegal use. Two minor setback variances were granted by the Zoning Board. There was already a variance granted for the rear yard and another was needed because of the new extension. A side yard variance was also needed because the new structure is going to the line. The site plan has not chang4d over the last year. The 2 family residence will be demolished from the property On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza A public Hearing was set for July 29, 2019 Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 9 June 24, 2019 Case #2018-0172 – Continued Public Meeting an application submitted by John Colangelo, Esq, on behalf of 305 Midland Avenue Realty Corp. on property located at 305 Midland Avenue, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.61, Block 1, Lot(s) 8 to consider request for: Renovation of existing one story repair shop; removal of existing service bays and construct convenience store with office; replace & relocate existing pumps & add 2 additional pumps. John Colangelo Esq. represented this matter for the applicant along with the architect Tom Abilama. Mr. Colangelo said last month when they appeared before the Commission they had numerous discussions about maneuvering on the site and some changes on the site to best make it work for the applicant and for the Village. A question was asked if the site would be partial self-service to which the applicant has responded that the site would be totally self- service. There will be two attendants on the site for the convenience store and the parking for these employees will be street parking. The premises will be open 24 hours per day. Diesel fuel will also be on the site. A revised site plan has been submitted to the Commission. Architect Tom Abilama took the next few minutes to review the changes that were made to the plans. Mr. Abilama said that at the last meeting there were concerns about having the entrance along with the open driveway and a concern for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. There was concern for the van being able to access the site. The building code in NYS requires a 9 ft. aisle. The issue is exempt for the van which can have an 8 ft. aisle. The plan shows a Another concern was the location of the Diesel pump which has now been moved. Turning radius have been provided or the cars in relationship to the site. The turning radius is 25ft. Village Engineer Vincent Masucci said that based on Mr. Abilama saying the sidewalk would be removed, it is not reflected on the plans. Mr. Masucci said that he has concerns with the ADA accessibility. There is also a concern of the loading over the Cultec units. This also needs to be shown on the plans. Mr. Masucci said that most of his concerns have been addressed. The Traffic Consultants AKRF made the following recommendations The updated site plan shows an identical gas pump layout to the previous May 21, 2019 revision, with a center drive aisle of 24 feet to allow space a passing lane between the central fueling locations. The westernmost fueling positions have a drive aisle of 10’-5” and the easternmost fueling positions have a drive aisle of 2’1”. The store entrance was relocated to the southwestern corner of the building structure, providing a small concrete curbing. AKRF recommends providing a 3-foot wide walkway at Planning Commission Minutes Page 10 June 24, 2019 the southern border of the building structure with an ADA-compliant curb ramp to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The parking spaces at the northern border and the southeastern corner of the site have not been relocated. The applicant provided car and truck turning diagrams demonstrating that these parking spaces will not conflict with vehicles or trucks entering and exiting the site. However, vehicles exiting the site at Midland Avenue may still have difficulty exiting due to the space constraint. Although the placement of these parking spaces is acceptable, it is not ideal. The following actions are recommended: 1. Provide a 3-foot wide walkway at the southern border of the building structure with an ADA- compliant curb ramp. Commission members entered a discussion regarding the traffic flow and their actual observations from visiting the site. The actual traffic flow is in opposition to what is denoted on the submitted site plan. There were suggestions mad to the applicant on how to make the site flow better and suggested sites to visit to see the flow in operation. Additional attention and thought should be given to making a better plan for entering and exiting the gas station. There are major concerns with the Fawcett Street driveway. The matter was adjourned to the July meeting _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 11 June 24, 2019 Case #2018-0175 - Continued Public Meeting an application submitted by Daniel Mayet, AIA on behalf of Luis Lopez for property located at 7 Willow Street, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 141.38, Block 2, Lot 47 to consider request to: convert existing space (formerly cabaret) into a new restaurant. Mario DeMarco Esq. represented the matter for the applicant. Mr. DeMarco began by saying that the last time they were before the Commission they were referred to Zoning to obtain the necessary variance and the variance was granted. The outstanding Traffic issues have been addressed via a memo. Architect Oscar Ovalle addressed the outstanding items Drainage – create a trench drain at the entry of the parking lot will be connected to a Cultec System Lighting – tree lamp posts will be on both sides of the parking lot (6000lumins) Handicap Access – there will be one ADA parking space out of the 13 proposed spaces with a painted path and signage. There will be a depressed curb at 7 Willow at the front of the restaurant. A traffic study is necessary for this site. AKRF provided the following insight ON-STREET PARKING ASSESSMENT Sam Schwartz Engineering conducted an on-street parking utilization assessment on two Saturday evenings in September 2018, including the following roadways: Willow Street, Boston Post Road, Main Street, Grace Church Street, and Purdy Avenue. The survey found that during the observed Saturday evening period, between 7:00 PM and 8:15 PM, 11 to 13 on-street parking spaces were available on the surveyed roadways. The Parking Assessment document also noted that the remaining demand could be accommodated on Main Street and Grace Church Street; however, these roadways were not surveyed for parking utilization. The Waterfront Plaza parking lot was also referenced as a potential off-site parking location for restaurant patrons, located approximately 625 feet from the Proposed Project, but would require a shared parking agreement between Waterfront Plaza and 7 Willow Street. PROPOSED PARKING LAYOUT The proposed layout of the parking lot at 10 Willow Street includes 10 perpendicular parking spaces including one handicap parking space, a 22-foot drive aisle, and three parallel parking spaces. The proposed perpendicular parking spaces are 9-feet wide by 18-feet long while the three parallel parking spaces are 9- feet wide by 22-feet long. The proposed handicap parking space is 9-feet wide by 18 feet long, with a 4- foot access aisle. The applicant should widen the handicap parking space to 11-feet wide with a 5-foot access aisle. With a single point of access and egress from the parking lot, vehicles that were parallel parked would need to reverse out of Planning Commission Minutes Page 12 June 24, 2019 the parking lot onto Willow Street given the limited maneuvering space in the lot with the proposed layout. Since the proposed 13-space parking lot would result in a shortfall of 17 parking spaces per the Village’s requirements, the applicant proposes to provide valet parking for patrons. The applicant should provide details on valet and parking operations, including: ion hours (will valet be provided throughout the day or only specific times). ements with other parking lots (if applicable). ADA ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS Based on field observations, the existing building does not provide ADA access. A review of the site plans indicate the existing entrance, with five steps, will not be modified to provide ADA access nor was there an indication for a new ADA access point. There is a proposed crosswalk between the parking lot and the restaurant with a curb ramp proposed in front of the restaurant. The proposed curb ramp will need to be investigated to determine if the existing sidewalk provides adequate width to accommodate a pedestrian ramp. In addition, this would require the removal of an on-street parking space. KEY FINDINGS 1. The trip generation estimates during the AM and PM peak hour exceed the current traffic volumes along Willow Street. Therefore, a detailed traffic analysis is warranted and will be conducted by AKRF. 2. According to the Village’s off-street parking requirements, the proposed restaurant requires 30 parking spaces. The proposed parking lot at 10 Willow Street will provide 13 parking spaces, resulting in a shortfall of 17 parking spaces. In addition, the applicant proposes to provide valet parking for patrons. 3. In the proposed parking lot at 10 Willow Street, the applicant should widen the handicap parking space to 11-feet wide with a 5-foot access aisle. 4. With a single point of access and egress from the parking lot, vehicles that were parallel parked would need to reverse out of the parking lot onto Willow Street given the limited maneuvering space in the lot with the proposed layout. 5. The on-street parking assessment conducted by Sam Schwartz Engineering in September 2018 concluded that the parking shortfall could be accommodated by on-street parking along Willow Street, Boston Post Road, and Purdy Avenue. In addition, parking may also be available on Grace Church Street, Main Street, and the Waterfront Plaza parking lot. 6. The applicant should provide details on valet and parking operations, including: o Valet operation hours (will valet be provided throughout the day or only specific times). o Where the valet kiosk will be located for drop off and pick up. o Where valet attendants will park vehicles when the 10 Willow Street lot is full. o Information on parking agreements with other parking lots (if applicable). o Digital CAD files of the parking lot. 7. A review of the site plans indicate the existing entrance, with five steps, will not be modified to provide ADA access nor was there an indication for a new ADA access point. Planning Commission Minutes Page 13 June 24, 2019 8. The Applicant plans to provide a midblock crosswalk and curb ramps between the proposed 10 Willow Street parking lot and 7 Willow Street. The proposed curb ramp will need to be investigated to determine if the existing sidewalk provides adequate width to accommodate a pedestrian ramp. 9. The proposed crosswalk and curb ramps would require the removal of an on-street parking space Engineering – more detailed sheets needed regarding the demolition The matter was adjourned to the July meeting. _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 14 June 24, 2019 Case #2018-0183 – Continued Public Meeting An application submitted by John C. Armentano of Farrell Fritz, PC of behalf of Home Depot for property located at 150 Midland Avenue, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.61, Block 1, Lot 2 to consider a request for an amendment to Site Plan for seasonal and permanent outdoor storage of materials John Armentano represented this matter for the applicant. Mr. Armentano began by saying they have been before the Commission several times and have reviewed the staff reports and have modified the site in a useful way. Home Depot is modifying outdoor staging of materials to the far North section of the property. The outdoor garden center has been moved to a different location where it will be fenced in to protect pedestrians from the use. The Penske truck rental has been moved to the North side of the site. The center raised island in the middle is going to be removed and the area will be striped. The fire lanes have been cleaned and cleared and consideration has been given t the necessary turning radius. The plans have been revised to accommodate the suggestions of the Commission. The actual site circulation and deliver has been redesigned to accommodate modern day trucks (some parking spaces have been removed along the east side of the property to better allow for the trucks turning). The plans were also revised to accommodate the appropriate sized fire trucks. Improvements have also been made to the entrance to the site On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza A public Hearing was set for July 29, 2019 Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x Planning Commission Minutes Page 15 June 24, 2019 Case # 2019-0191 – Continued Public Meeting an application submitted by Cepeda Properties on property located at 40 Grace Church Street, Port Chester, NY known and designated as Section 142.38, Block 2, Lot(s) 36 to consider request to: Legalize take-out” section of existing restaurant The applicant has requested an indefinite adjournment of this matter. _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 16 June 24, 2019 Planning Updates & Staff Discussions  Form Based Workshop  125 No9rth Main Street  200 Irving Avenue _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 17 June 24, 2019 Adjourn Meeting On the motion of Commissioner Summa, which was seconded by Commissioner Espinoza the meeting was adjourned to July 29, 2019 Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x x Wallach x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 18 June 24, 2019