Planning Board

PLANNING BOARD MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012 7:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL ROOM PRESENT: Clifford Van Wagner, Chair; Tom L Lewis, Vice Chairman; Amy Durland; Philip Klein; Dan Gaba; Mariesa Coppola ABSENT: Howard Pinsley STAFF: Kate Maynard, Principal Planner, City of Saratoga Springs Bradley Birge, Administrator, Planning and Economic Development Mark Schachner, Counsel to the Planning Board CALL TO ORDER: SALUTE TO THE FLAG: ANNOUNCEMENT OF RECORDING OF PROCEEDING: Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman stated the proceedings of this meeting are being taped for the benefit of the secretary. Because the minutes are not a verbatim record of the proceedings, the minutes are not a word-for-word transcript of the recording. ANNOUNCEMENT OF ADJOURNED PROJECTS ADJOURNED AT APPLICANT'S REQUEST: -11.022 181 PHILA NEIGHBORHOOD ROOMING HOUSE, 181 Phila Street, public hearing for special use permit for neighborhood rooming house in the Urban Residential-3 District. -11.002 BUFF ROAD SUBDIVISION, BUFF ROAD AND ROUTE 9N, public hearing for a final 15 lot subdivision in the Urban Residential-1 and Rural Residential-1 Districts. AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNED: 1. 12.018 SUBDIVISION LANDS OF MARK LUCIANI, 22 Doten Avenue, southeast Corner of Doten Avenue and Penn Street, public hearing for a two lot subdivision in the Urban Residential-2 District Adjourned to June 27, 2012. 3. 11.039 MOSELEY SILVICULTURE PROJECT, Meadowbrook Road, soil and sediment control plan in the Rural Residential-1 District. Adjourned to June 27, 2012. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR: UPCOMING PLANNING BOARD MEETINGS/AGENDA WORKSHOPS: Planning Board Caravan, Monday June 25, 2012 at 4:00 P.M. Planning Board Workshop, Monday, June 25, 2012 at 5:00 P.M. Planning Board Meeting, Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Opportunity to allow citizens to address planning issues not on the scheduled agenda. None heard. APPLICATIONS: 2. 12.016 31 MYRTLE STREET (AMIN MEDICAL OFFICE), 31 Myrtle Street, site plan review of medical office in the Office/Medical/Hospital/Business District. Request for site plan to make some small modifications to the building. The applicant has requested to put a small addition on and a façade. The applicant has provided some additional drawings per the request of the City Engineer. SEQRA: Action appears to be an unlisted action. Agent: John Muse, Architect. Applicant: Dr. Hetal Amin. Mr. Muse stated we are proposing a 600 square foot addition, removing a very awkward front entrance, which is not handicapped accessible and the access to parking is very awkward. We are creating a new reception area, keeping the same amount of exam rooms but they will be more easily accessible making the building more user friendly. No additional parking proposed. Even with increase in required parking, the amount of parking on-site exceeds parking requirement by 20%. No sidewalks currently exist along property's frontage. Current sidewalk ends north of subject parcel. Sidewalks will be provided along the property frontage. We have added two Sternberg Lights and two street trees. Re-seeding of the property will be done following construction. The applicant is agreeable to escrowing $5,000 for future signalization and sidewalks at the intersection of Church and Myrtle Streets. Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman asked if there was any one in the audience who wished to comment on this application. None heard. Discussion ensued regarding Letter of Credit versus Escrow Account for proposed sidewalks to the south and possible signalization in the future. Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman asked if there was any further discussion by the Board. None heard City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Minutes – June 13, 2012 - Page 2 of 4 Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman stated the applicant has agreed to two trees which will be verified with staff as approved trees on the City's listing. Sidewalks will be placed on the property frontage as shown. Two Sternberg Lights will be installed per City standard. The applicant has agreed escrow not more than $5,000 for future signalization of the intersection at Church and Myrtle Streets and sidewalk connection going south at a later date with a five years sunset clause. The parking will remain as currently exists today. Tom Lewis made a motion in the matter of 31 Myrtle Street Amin Medical Office, with all the conditions as listed by the Chairman. Seconded by Dan Gaba. VOTE: Philip Klein, in favor; Amy Durland, in favor; Dan Gaba, in favor; Mariesa Coppola, in favor; Tom L Lewis, Vice Chairman, in favor; Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman, in favor MOTION PASSES: 6-0. The Board Recessed at 7:35 P.M. The Board Reconvened at 7:40 P.M. 4. 12.019 PROPOSED REVISIONS TO ZONING ORDINANCE, CITY CODE, AND SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS: Advisory Opinion request from City Council Kate Maynard, Principal Planner addressed the Board reviewing the makeup of the new document. The 11 new articles, the tracking sheet which was designed to provide guidance as you go through the document in terms of what has been relocated, what has been added, what has been deleted. You do have the guide sheet for each section which provides a summary of the changes within that section and also a reference typically. The new section where you see the proposed language and then formally where that section came from. All of this is provided to guide you as you look through the changes. We sent out a rough schedule to look through the changes over the next three meetings. Tonight hopefully we will review the new Articles 1 – VI, for review. The entire revised document is available online. Bradley Birge, Administrator Planning and Economic Development City of Saratoga Springs, stated this is document that the staff has been working on for the last three years. It updates the language, and the logical flow of this whole document. The intent is not to make any policy changes within this but to make the document more consistent with the state statutes and better organized and clearer to understand. Tracy Millis, President of the Maple Avenue, Maple Dell, and Marion Avenue Homeowners Association stated he was upset with the delay in having the document available as well as why the taxpayers were not included in the revision for input. It isn't right. We should have been in on the ground floor. All members of the Board encouraged Mr. Millis to stay and listen to the presentation. Mark Schachner, Counsel to the Planning Board, stated you might not be understanding the limitation of this exercise. The proposed revisions in no way in any manner shape or way does this change the zoning in any way, change the comprehensive planning goal of any property or any area of the City and include no substantive zoning changes at all. You are at the ground floor to be honest. This is the ground floor. While I am sensing even some of the Board members are feeling some rush to justice here actually there are public workshops already scheduled for City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Minutes – June 13, 2012 - Page 3 of 4 June 18th, 2012 and for June 28th, 2012. There is at least one City Council Public Hearing scheduled for July 3, 2012. There are in total almost a dozen public meetings already scheduled at which these proposed amendments will be discussed. You are at the ground floor. Kate Maynard, Principal Planner, City of Saratoga Springs, stated as we discussed on the telephone Mr. Millis there is reorganization, this is the first time we have taken a look at the document as a whole since 1990. I would recommend coming to the workshops. We are going to spend a lot of time going through these items and then absolutely comments are welcomed. You can make them on line, in person. It is meant to be a very public, transparent process, therefore the many multiple public meetings. Mr. Millis stated thank you very much, however he reiterated they were willing to be part of the process from the get go. We are surprised to see this. We should have been included from the beginning. Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman stated the difference is what you are speaking of is a Comprehensive Plan, and this is a legal document. There needs to be preliminary work done which the staff has done and this has draft written over every page of this. It is not set in concrete. We needed staff to suggest and to clarify. We needed something to start with. That is what we are giving you. You are on the very first step of this. just like we are. This is ground level zero and this is going to take the next two months. The time for public comment is now. Mr. Millis did stay and listened to the review of the documents. Mr. Wally Berger stated he was concerned with leaving things out in the simplification process. The Board continued to review Articles I – V. The Board did make some recommendations to the Zoning Ordinance Committee. They were so noted by the members of the Committee for discussion and possible inclusion in the revisions. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of meeting minutes was deferred until the next Planning Board Meeting on June 27, 2012. MOTION TO ADJOURN: There being no further business, Clifford Van Wagner, Chairman adjourned the meeting at 10:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Diane M. Buzanowski Recording Secretary Approved: 6/27/12 City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Minutes – June 13, 2012 - Page 4 of 4