Varick Planning board minutes
November 18, 2021
Present: Linda Mastellar (chair), April Freier, Lauren Burling, Rich Olsen, Frankie Long, Thomas Björkman (Secty).
Absent Hershey Sensenig.
Guests: Mark Lin, Jason McCormack, Cindy Lont, Celia Flynn, Harriet Haynes
Minutes for October (by Burling).
Moved Freier. Second Mastellar. Approved 6-0
County Planning Department update.
Introduced Celia Flynn. New Planner with Seneca County Planning Department.
Harriet Haines (Senior Planner with Seneca County) discussed the Memorandum of Understanding with the county which is based on NYS General Municipal Law.
A few things have been changed for the next round
§ Many cases of farms being divided into house and fields. Fewer of these subdivisions need to go to county.
§ SPR for short-term rental. Local inspections often call for adequate water, sewer and parking.
§ Need to submit 8 days before their meeting. (Need first Wednesday of month.)
Senior Planner Haynes provided additional information.
The County Planning Board needs to fill some vacancies. There was no quorum at last County Planning Board meeting due to those vacancies. One at-large seat is vacant (ex. Waterloo). Seats are designated for various roles in community as well as town of residence.
A reminder regarding notifications.
After we take final action on a subdivision or special use, notice should go to county planning.
Notification of our public hearings for actions within 500 ft of the town line should go directly to the Fayette or Romulus clerks in addition to the notices published in the newspaper.
Resolution:
The Varick Planning Board encourages the Town Board to sign the memorandum of understanding with the County Planning Board.
Moved by Björkman, Second by Long. Passed 6-0
There will be a public hearing on Seneca County’s Agriculture Plan in January.
Most of Varick is an Agricultural District and is affected by this plan and associated regulations. The boundaries of the Agricultural Districts used to cross parcel lines. Now whole tax parcels are in or out of Ag Districts, so some boundaries may have changed from years past. This change is particularly significant with large parcels near the lakes that include substantial non-agricultural uses and the residual land may or may not be in agricultural use. This Planning Board is mainly affected because an Agricultural Data Statement needed for actions within 500 feet of an active agricultural operation.
We should get a copy of the current ag district map from Harriet.
The county strives to remove “inactive agriculture” from the district (while also encouraging agriculture to thrive.)
Lafferty Subdivision
The Varick Planning Board accepted a preliminary plat to Divide parcel 10-3-26 of 4.274 ac at 714 Deal Rd. into two parcels, retaining a corner of 1.8 ac. The narrowest point is 175 ft. Applicant provided a SEQR EAF and Ag Data Statement and a detailed survey map.
Moved by Björkman, Second by Burling. Passed 6-0.
We will schedule a public hearing.
Backlund property project
Prospective buyer Mark Lin and Engineer Jason McCormack discussed an updated plan to get planning board thoughts.
The current version would have townhouses while keeping the parcel intact. Full build out would have three sets of townhouses with each set comprising four three-dwelling structures (36 dwellings total). The landscape would be improved and managed by the property manager.
This design would allow for substantial septic facilities. Engineer McCormack designs many septic systems in challenging sites in the county, and thinks this site is highly suitable.
The private road serving the town homes would be built to town-road specifications so that emergency vehicle access is good, maintenance is effective and—while not envisioned—it could become a Town-owned or Town-maintained road at a future date.
Celia Flynn offered to review our code with this project in mind. It would be subject to Site Plan Review at a minimum since it doesn’t fit precisely into an existing category but is also not prohibited.
The project could be done in phases as buyers are identified, but under a single use permit.
For something like this, a non-completion bond would likely be a requirement in case of an unexpected suspension of activity.
Trainings. Upcoming trainings cover Solar energy and Site Plan Review. There was one on Short Term Rentals that Mastellar participated in last Saturday.
State Department of State is keen to help with trainings.
Short-term Rental Subcommittee. The subcommittee consists of Cindy Lont, Lauren Burling and Linda Mastellar, and more may be added. They will meet approximately weekly to develop a proposal.
The meetings will be open, but they will not take public input during those meetings. They may invite resource people to participate.
The committee can be reached at a custom email address: STR@varicknewyork.com
Adjournment moved by Burling, second by Björkman. Passed 6-0.
Adjourned at 9:17 pm