Planning Commission

Planning Commission Meeting December 5, 2019 A meeting of the Planning Commission was held on Thursday evening, December 5, 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: Coperine, Montesano, Passarelli, Scarola and Robinson Also present was Village Attorney Anthony Cerreto, Planning Director Eric Zamft, Planner Adam Pisarkiewicz, Village Engineer Vincent Masucci and Assistant Planning Director Curt Lavalla. 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 December 5, 2019 After the pledge of allegiance, the first item on the agenda was: Minutes September 30, 2019 October 28, 2019 Prior to the roll call for the minutes Chairman Baxter took a few minutes to introduce the newest member to the Planning Commission, Jack Robinson. Mr. Robinson will serve as the alternate member of the Commission. On the motion of Commissioner Coperine, which was seconded by Commissioner Montesano, the Minutes of the September and October 2019 meetings were approved. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x x Espinoza x Montesano x x Passarelli x Scarola x Summa x Robinson x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 December 5, 2019 Case #2018-0175 – Continued Public Hearing 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. On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Coperine, the Public Hearing was reopened. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x Mario DeMarco represented this matter for the applicant. Mr. DeMarco stated that he would like to adjourn the hearing before the Commission tonight to the January 2020 meeting so they can make a more comprehensive and perhaps final presentation. No one from the public spoke for or against this application On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Coperine, the Public Hearing was adjourned to January 7, 2020. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 December 5, 2019 Case # 2018-0172 – Continued Public Hearing 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. On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Coperine, the Public Hearing was reopened. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x John Colangelo, Esq. represented this matter for the applicant along wit Tom Abilama, Architect for the project. Mr. Colangelo began by saying this application has been before the Planning Commission every month for the last year or so and are hoping to bring this to finality in the near future. There have been many permutations of the plan and the needed variances have been obtained. The last plan submitted is probably the one that works best although it is not perfect. The location is a tough site and the building is approximately 80 or 90 years old. If the applicant is unable to make the needed improvements the alternative is to leave the site in its current state and configuration. It’s a large expe4nse to renovate the site, there are parking problems and also traffic problems but the applicant hopes that they can remedy some of those concerns however they will not be the perfect solution. It’s a very busy area and has gotten even busier with Home Depot in the area. Mr Colangelo cited some of the changes before in preparation for Mr. Abilama to present the additional changes.. some of those changes included Alignment of three pumps in a row A non-conforming use is being removed (auto repair shop) A legal use will be established in lieu of the auto repair shop (convenient store) The southernmost driveway has been removed Mike Beattie of AKRF offered the following with respect to the newly submitted plans In the revised site plan dated November 3, 2019, the layout of the gas three gas pumps have been adjusted to be “in-line,” parallel with the convenience store. The proposed layout allows for two lanes of traffic at the pumps, and sufficient space for vehicles to maneuver into and out of the fueling positions. Left turns entering the site from southbound Midland Avenue and exiting the site from the Midland Avenue and Fawcett Street driveways are prohibited. Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 December 5, 2019 AKRF agrees with the left turn restrictions. Vehicles traveling southbound on Midland Avenue may access the site by turning left onto Fawcett Street. The traffic circulation plan also shows sufficient space for vehicles and fuel trucks to exit the site. The traffic circulation plan should be updated to show vehicles and fuel trucks entering at the left side of the driveway. Although the proposed layout allows for better circulation within the site compared to the initial proposed layout, the placement of the southernmost pump reduces space for vehicles to queue at the site. This may cause vehicles entering the gas station to queue along Fawcett Street. An intense detailed question and answer session concluded with a request for the applicant to meet with AKRF to devise a monitoring plan for traffic on the site and a workable solution to the large number of concerns regarding circulation and traffic flow. On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Robinson, the Public Hearing was adjourned to the January 27th meeting. Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 6 December 5, 2019 Planning Updates & Staff Discussions  11-13 Riverdale Avenue The Commission and the Planning staff determined that a re-use of the building can be handled by the Planning Staff  Form Based Code DGEIS Referral Follow up from the workshop that was held on the 20th. A draft referral resolution was prepared for Planning Commission On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Coperine, the referral resolution regarding the DGEIS was approved Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman Planning Commission Minutes Page 7 December 5, 2019 Adjourn Meeting On the motion of Commissioner Scarola, which was seconded by Commissioner Robinson, the meeting was adjourned to January 7th, 2020 Roll Call Member Motion Second Yes No Abstain Absent Baxter x Coperine x Espinoza x Montesano x Passarelli x Scarola x x Summa x Robinson x x _________________________ Anthony Baxter, Chairman