Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Date of Meeting: April 30th, 2009
Meeting called to order at 7:05pm by Chairman Bill Squires
Attendees: Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda
Masteller, Susan Ottenweller , Bill Squires, Kevin Swartley
Absent: Thomas Bjorkman
Also attending : All members of the Town of Varick Board, and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Code Enforcement Officer Paul Conroy
New Business:
This meeting was a working session with the Town Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals on the draft changes to the Town of Varick Zoning Code that the Planning Board has been working on for several months. The goal of this meeting was to go through the proposed changes and address any concerns and questions
Concerns:
Page 12 Boat Hoists: Bob Hayssen asked for clarification on wording that said that “walls” were not allowed on boat hoists. What was a wall? His concern was that vertical skirting from the roof down was not allowed and would not allow a boat to be properly protected from the elements. Would canvas side curtains be allowed?
Bill Squires said the reason for no walls was so a neighbors lake view would not be blocked . It was suggested that it be left to the discretion of the ZBA.
Annie Bachman of the ZBA said the ZBA needed definitions and intent to be able to rule effectively.
Bill Squires suggested a compromise might be to allow for side walls or cutains coming down from the roof to a certain height measured form the surface of the dock.
It was agreed this would be discussed further by the Planning Board.
Dock Size: John Saeli thought the 850 square foot dock size was too small pointing out safety issues if the walkway was too narrow. Discussion followed of the history of this issue and the several changes to allow increased size for docks. Bob Taylor and the ZBA said that 850square feet should be adequate. It was decided to leave 850 as the number.
Mean High Water Mark: Bob Hayssen thought a definition should be added. This will be done.
Use Tables:
Discussion of Home Worship and Places of Worship
Bill Squires pointed out the changes to the Use Tables and Definitions clarifying these two items.
The Conditional usage will be outlined in paragraph 310.23. This paragraph was referenced but did not exist. This will be corrected.
John Saeli wondered why a Church or Place of Worship was not allowed in the Conservation and Green Energy Zone. It was decided to allow this use in this zone as a conditional use.
John Saeli questioned that Agricultue was “not permitted” in the Hamlet district. No Farm animals were allowed. What is a farm animal? Decided no change, but will look at farm animal definition.
Canned Hunting:
John wondered why Canned hunting was allowed in the Ag and Rural Residential district. It was “not permitted” anywhere else in the Town. It was a strong opinion from Town residents to not allow canned hunts in the Town of Varick. Kevin Swartley discussed the definition of Canned Hunting and the difference in a “For Profit” hunting farm business. It was agreed that there may be a place for the for profit hunting but that the definitions of both Canned Hunting and the for profit business need to be worked on further.
Equipment Rentals: Town Board members wondered why “Boat and canoe Rentals” were not allowed in the Lakeshore Residential District? It seemed like the logical place for such a business. Linda Masteller from the Planning Board responded that there were many concerns about noise, traffic, parking, lights, etc. that many members of the public had raised during information meetings held in both lake roads. It was agreed that there may be places where this type of business may be appropriate on Rt. 89, but may not be for East lake Rd. on Seneca lake because of the housing density. This will be discussed further.
Typing errors
Page 18- Fix “310.7” in CRE to “310.17”
311.15, 311.17 move to end of Special Uses section
Residential/In Home Care: Page19 Discussed the changes to the definitions and permitted usage of in home care providers. Three levels are outlined defined by the numbers of patients served. 1-4 are permitted in all zones except CRE , 5-9 will be permitted in all zones except CRE( this is a change as it was not permitted in Lakeshore residential, 10 or more will be permitted only in the business park and institutional zone. It was noted that titles of the usages and definitions need to be finalized. The State has specific definitions and conditions for the operation of such facilities.
Veterinary in Lakeshore Residential : Art Sherman wondered why this use was not allowed in LR and was a permitted use in the Hamlet Residential zone. The type of facility and size could be controlled by definition and conditions and in his opinion would be an asset to the community. It was agreed that this will be looked at and changed to conditional in lakeshore residential zone.
Winery tasting room in Small Business Park Zone: Dick Peterson wondered why a Winery tasting room would not be a good use in the Small Business park Zone. He noted that there has been interest in several Wineries collaborating for such a use and in his opinion would be a good fit for the SB and Institutional Zone. It was agreed to further discuss and change to permitted.
WareHousing not permitted : The only place warehousing is permitted is in the Small Business and Institutional Zone. Several people thought this should be discussed for other zones such as the Ag District where barns could be used fro “seasonal storage” for added income. It was agreed to better define warehousing and discuss further.
Home Schooling : language needs to be discussed and added
Bulk Table Changes:
Grandfathering existing lots from a certain date(?)
Non-Conforming – Went over wording and came up with; “Can rebuild on same footprint and same type of house if damaged beyond repair by fire.
Development features should be left in the Zoning Code until the SubDivision Code is updated then move to Sub Division Code.
Page 22- 12 feet above centerline east of rt. 89 – Think about if this is reasonable
309.2- A Needs rewording
Page 24 Drainage- Add language to reference drainage plan on page 44
Sign sizes need to be harmonized or at least looked at again for reasonableness.(page29)
Page 45 typo- C-1 “A design Plan(t)
Next Regular Meeting Date: May 28th, 2009 Varick Firehouse at 7:00pm.
Meeting adjourned: at 9:50 PM
Minutes Submitted By: Bill Larzelere (Secretary)