January 25, 2007
The Varick Town Planning Board met January 25, 2007 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. Attending the meeting were Chairman Thomas Bjorkman, Larry Peterson, Kevin Swartley and Bill Larzelere. Absent were Frankie Long, Bob Kayser, and Anne Bachman. Barb Wells also attended the meeting.
Minutes. Chairman Bjorkman passed out the minutes of the last meeting which was November 16, 2006. Bill Larzelere made a motion they be approved. Kevin Swartley seconded the motion and it was carried.
Discussion items. Chairman Bjorkman passed out information relative to a requirement by the state that each member of the Varick Planning Board and the Varick Zoning Board of Appeals must complete a minimum of four hours per year of training. The town board needs to enact a local law to establish training requirements. The planning board agreed that its members should be reimbursed up to $75 for this training and for up to 100 miles of travel. It was decided that the town clerk should keep track of this training since she now keeps track of our terms. Chairman Bjorkman is going to forward a copy of our suggestions to the town board and a copy to the town attorney since he will have to write the local law.
Old business. We discussed the Use Table for the Agricultural and Rural Residential column. We got about halfway through it and stopped to discuss the new Biofuels plant on the depot. Kevin Swartley had maps and much information on the plant. Barb Wells also had information and questions and comments on it since she is secretary of the Seneca County Federation of Sportsman Clubs.
The proposed site of the Biofuels plant will be in the Town of Romulus but it will be within 500 feet of the town of Varick so Varick was asked to make comments on the Romulus Special Use Permit application.
New business. The Varick Planning Board concluded that the Biofuels plant will be a benefit to the area in many respects. Our main concerns were related to traffic, noise, appearance and odor control.
The board voted 3-0 (Swartley abstained) to have Chairman Bjorkman will present the following concerns to the Romulus planning board.
Odor: Require odor controls so that they don’t impact Varick residents.
Traffic: Encourage transportation of distillers grain, logs and ethanol by rail rather than truck when it is practical.
Appearance: Design the gate on Rt 96A so that trucks waiting to enter are off the highway.
The Seneca County IDA is also lead agency for SEQR for a larger scope of development of the ethanol and biofuel facility. We also have the opportunity to provide input into the SEQR process.
The board voted 3-0 (Swartley abstained) to have Chairman Bjorkman will present the following concerns to the Seneca County IDA.
Item 7. Air quality. Require odor controls so that they don’t impact Varick residents.
Item 9. Non-threatened species. Require a wildlife management plan, with appropriate mitigation to preserve the habitat for birds that justified listing the property as an Important Bird Area, and habitat to maintain the white deer herd.
Item 13. Open space and recreational opportunities. Include provisions for ecotourism, hiking, wildlife watching and hunting.
Item 15. Existing transportation systems. Encourage transportation of distillers grain, logs and ethanol by rail rather than truck when it is practical.
Item 20. Potential controversy. We expect controversy regarding the well-being of white deer and opportunities to see them.
The meeting was finally adjourned at 10:30 PM.
Respectfully,
Larry Peterson
Secretary
Approved February 22, 2007
One response to “Varick Planning Board January 2007”
Here is the text of the Varick Planning Board’s January 29, 2007 comment to the Seneca County IDA on the SEQR for Empire Green Biofuels:
“I am writing to comment on the State Environmental Quality Review of the proposed Green Biofuels Center at the Seneca Army Depot.
The full project includes several hundred acres in the Town of Varick, the main industrial development is immediately adjacent to the Varick Town Line, and many of the potential environmental impacts would be realized in the Town of Varick. The Varick Planning Board met on January 25, 2007 to discuss the Environmental Assessment Form provided by SCIDA as prepared by Malcolm Pirnie on behalf of Empire Green Biofuels. The board voted unanimously to support making the remarks below. (Board member Kevin Swartley abstained because he is a principal in Empire Green Biofuels.)
We note that the adopted local land use plans (Part A, Item 6) affecting the proposal area include the Varick Comprehensive Plan, adopted in December, 2005. That plan includes green energy as a desired use if it is compatible with other values and uses described in the plan. We recommend consulting that plan for further details when SCIDA evaluates Item 19 in Part 2.
We believe that there is potential for major environmental impact if the development occurs to the maximum extent described in the proposal on several items in Part 2 of the Environmental Assessment Form. We encourage SCIDA to check box 2 on these items and to provide a detailed response in Part 3. In doing so, please investigate carefully whether the impact can be mitigated, and develop a plan that assure such mitigation.
Item 7. Will Proposed Action affect air quality?
The plant may generate odor that would impact the quality of life in Varick. Such odor impacts have been a significant source of concern in Varick in the recent past. A mitigation procedure for reducing odor should become a problem, and a method for assessing whether the odor is having a negative impact on quality of life that can be used to determine whether the mitigation is sufficient.
Item 9. Will Proposed Action substantially affect non-threatened or non-endangered species?
The proposal to convert 3416 acres, representing all of the grassland and meadows and much of the woodland, to energy crops would have a large impact on wildlife. Such conversion would eliminate much of the deer habitat. The population of white deer on the property is recognized by the community as an important wildlife resource. The proposal area also includes bird habitat that has justified the Depot’s designation as an Important Bird Area by Audubon. A wildlife study is needed to identify the habitat areas within the project area, and to develop a management plan that allows retention of the essential properties of that habitat in combination with the proposed energy crop plantings. Mitigation could be achieved through such a management plan.
Item 13. Will the Proposed Action impact the quantity or quality of existing or future open spaces or recreational opportunities?
The proposed action could represent foreclosure of desirable and anticipated recreational opportunities. Recreational opportunities that have been anticipated by the community include hiking and trails, wildlife watching, and hunting. A specific recreation proposal has been made to develop ecotourism on the site. Whether the proposed action is compatible with these recreational opportunities will depend on the exact implementation.
Item 15. Will there be an effect to existing transportation systems.
The proposed action will results in a substantial increase in the amount of truck traffic through Varick. An increase in truck traffic in recent years on State Route 89 has been the source of many complaints by residents, for whom the level has risen enough to become a substantial negative impact. Noting that the proposed traffic load on Rt 96A will be comparable to the problematic level on Rt 89, a negative impact may occur there as well. We therefore encourage the use of rail for transporting distillers grain, ethanol and logs to the extent that it is practical.
Item 17, Will there be objectionable odors, nose or vibration as a result of the Proposed Action?
Please see comments to Item 7.
Item 20. Is there, or is there likely to be, public controversy related to potential adverse environmental impacts?
We believe that there may be public controversy regarding the impact on the white deer population and access thereto.
We support the development in the Proposed Action, and also support a rigorous consideration of the potential environmental impacts that results in an implementation to retain the other desirable qualities of the project area and the Town of Varick.”