Regular Meeting
Town of Watertown Planning Board
June 5, 2018
Members Present: Tom Boxberger, Co-Chair
Pam Desormo, Co-Chair
Jim Smith
Randy Vaas
Members Excused: Terry MacAdam
Mr. Boxberger called the regular meeting of the Town of Watertown Planning Board to order at 7:00 p.m.
Motion 31-18: Motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Vaas to accept the minutes of the May 7, 2018 meeting as written and distributed.
Ayes All: Motion Carried.
LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT
Kelly Filkins – Tax Map #82.20-2-86.91/John & Vicki Bulger – Tax Map #82.20-2-48/Burr Morris – Tax Map #82.20-2-50 – Lot Line Adjustment.
Kelly Filkins – Tax Map #82.20-2-86.91 would like to convey property to two neighboring property owners. John & Vicki Bulger – 21790 Sunset Ridge – Tax Map #82.20-2-48 would acquire .22 acre to be assembled to their existing lot. Burr Morris – 19193 Woodside Drive – Tax Map 82.20-2-50 would acquire .36 acre to be assembled to his existing lot.
Vicki Bulger and Burr Morris submitted proposed plans for lot line adjustments.
All adjacent property owners need to be shown on the plans. An inset of the entire parcels needs to be cited on the plans.
Motion 32-18: Motion by Mr. Boxberger, seconded by Mr. Smith to schedule a special meeting of the Town of Watertown Planning Board for Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.
Ayes All: Motion Carried.
Mrs. Bulger will obtain the updated information requested and appear at the special meeting scheduled for June 14, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.
SITE PLAN
Tom Compo – 18941 US Route 11 – Tax Map #91.05-1-67.1 – Site Plan for a 18′ x 30′ addition.
Tom Compo submitted a completed application and proposed plans for a 18′ x 30′ addition at 18941 US Route 11. The addition will be used to wash and vacuum cars. The proposed plans include elevations. The color of the building will be consistent with the existing building. Discussion followed.
All adjacent property owners need to be cited on the plans.
Motion 33-18: Motion by Mr. Boxberger, seconded by Mrs. Desormo to reschedule the regular July meeting of the Town of Watertown Planning Board to Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. due to the 4th of July holiday.
Ayes All: Motion Carried.
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Motion 34-18: Motion by Mr. Boxberger, seconded by Mr. Vaas to schedule a public hearing on Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. for Tom Compo, 18941 US Route 11 for site plan for a 18’x 30′ addition.
Ayes All: Motion Carried.
This proposed project will be referred to the Jefferson County Department of Planning for their review.
PUBLIC HEARING – SITE PLAN
Lundy Development & Property Management, LLC – Lot #2B in the Jefferson County Industrial Park – Bus Garage Project.
Legal notice was posted in the newspaper.
Mr. Boxberger addressed a letter from Jan Kublick, McMahon, Kublick & Smith, P.C., dated 6/5/18, asking that the public hearing not be held tonight because the applicant has not submitted an updated EAF for the project and it has not been submitted to the County Planning Board for review (Attachment #1).
Mr. Boxberger stated that he has evidence that both of these concerns have been met.
The public hearing was opened at 7:22 p.m.
1. Jan Kublick, McMahon, Kublick & Smith, P.C. made the following comments:
He apologized about not receiving the most recent EAF which was the basis for the letter he sent dated 6/5/18.
He also stated that his letter also speaks about a complete application and
SEQRA. He noted that details of this project have been arriving late and that a completed application was not in front of the board when the public hearing was scheduled.
He does not believe that the project meets the criteria for the Neighborhood/Commercial District that it is in.
He believes that the board is looking at this project as a public or semi-public facility. He does not believe that is correct.
He urges the board to refer this project to the Town of Watertown Zoning Board of Appeal to allow them to interpret whether or not this proposed project follows the criteria for the Neighborhood/Commercial District.
He stated it is not clear how a privately leased facility that happens to be maintaining, repairing, and storing buses used for public schools becomes a public or semi-public facility.
He does not believe the project meets the Town’s criteria for the district. It also does not meet the JCIDA’s criteria who has a set of very specific restrictive covenants that somewhat creates its own zoning standards within the park.
This board and the board’s forms require that the applicant explain whether or not the proposed project is subject to any restrictive covenants which
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The application failed to list when, in fact, this proposed project has an elaborate set of covenants that were not taken into consideration.
He believes that the board needs to take into consideration the neighborhood of the park and whether this project’s use is allowed.
Traffic concerns need to be addressed.
The SWPPP was not in place when the public hearing was scheduled, and there is construction taking place on the site now. Mr. Kublick urges the board to contact the Town’s Zoning Officer to issue a Stop Work Order immediately.
SEQRA, traffic issues, and the SWPPP are key components that the public should be entitled to review prior to a public hearing.
In summary, this proposed project is underway on site and should be stopped immediately. The application is not yet deemed complete nor should it have been. The matter should not be a permitted use in the park and should be referred to the Town of Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals to interpret whether use is allowed in a Neighborhood/Commercial District.
2. Brian Sinsabaugh, Curtain Law Firm, on behalf of OPAL Development, made the following comments:
He stated that he is in full support of all of Mr. Kublick’s comments.
He further stated that the covenants need to be taken into account when reviewing the application.
The public has not had the opportunity to review the completed application, which, he believes is very significant.
He advised the board to seek advisement from the Town of Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals with regards to what the definition of use is in a Neighborhood/Commercial District.
3. Daniel Samann, on behalf of Car-Freshner, asked if the board has received a letter from Kathleen Bennett, Bond Schoenick & King, dated 6/5/18 in opposition to the site plan application for the bus garage.
The board stated that they are in receipt of the letter (Attachment #2). They are also in receipt of a traffic engineering review dated 6/4/18 from Gordon T. Stansbury, GTS Consulting (Attachment #3) also submitted by Kathleen Bennett. The board received these letters late this afternoon and have not had a chance to review them. Discussion followed.
The board will leave the public hearing open and adjourned it until Thursday, June 14, 2018 at l:00 p.m. to allow time for the board members to review all new correspondence submitted late this afternoon.
If anyone has anything new to contribute, it can be submitted in writing or attend the special meeting on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at l:00 p.m.
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SITE PLAN
Lundy Development & Property Management, LLC – Lot #2B in the Jefferson County Industrial Park – Addition to the bus garage.
Mr. Boxberger entered into record the Jefferson County Department of Planning’s review of this proposed project signed by Sara Freda, dated 5/31/18 (Attachment #4).
Mr. Boxberger also stated that a number of issues were raised by the Town’s Engineer, Mickey Lehman, Bernier Carr regarding this proposed project.
Mr. Lundy stated that he put together a detailed reply packet that addresses each item on the list and submitted it to the Town’s Engineer for review. A copy was also submitted to the Town of Watertown Planning Board.
Mr. Lundy stated that the most significant issue is in regards to the SWPPP. The original approval in January was based on the SWPPP from the now completed Penski Project. Now that MS4 regulations are in place, a new SWPPP has been submitted which meets MS4 requirements. A copy of the new SWPPP has been submitted to both the Board and the Town’s Engineer for review.
Mr. Lundy also stated that he has stabilized the majority of the property. Less than 1 acre is left disturbed.
All other information such as lighting, county highway permit,
agricultural district information, etc. has been address in the detailed packet. Discussion followed.
Mr. Boxberger thanked Mike Alteri, who was present on behalf of the Town’s Engineer, Bernier Carr for being present tonight. Mr. Alteri stated that he believes a response can be ready by the special meeting on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at l:00 p.m. with regards to the SWPPP and new information submitted from Mr. Lundy.
Mrs. Desormo entered into record an email submitted by Sara Freda, from the Jefferson County Department of Planning dated 6/1/18 (Attachment #5) regarding correspondence with NYSDOT, Jefferson County Highway Department, & the City Engineering Office stating that based on verbal discussions there were no concerns with traffic under normal circumstances from any of these agencies.
Mr. Boxberger also stated that he conducted a visual observance of the current bus garage weeks ago and agrees that due to the staggering of buses coming and going he feels there is no significant traffic concerns.
Mr. Boxberger checked the status of the following:
Mr. Vaas stated that he has the SEQRA and is in the process of reviewing the paperwork. He will report at the special meeting on 6/14/18.
The board will hold off on addressing SEQRA until Mr. Vaas has completed his review.
All board members will review the correspondence submitted late this afternoon by Kathleen Bennett, Bond Schoeneck & King and have feedback at the special meeting on 6/14/18.
The consensus of the board is that they are satisfied with the proposed landscaping plans and dark sky compliant lighting plans.
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As for compatibility with the JCIDA, the boards stands by the opinion of the JCIDA that this business does not violate the covenants.
Motion 35-18: Motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mrs. Desormo to adjourn the meeting at 7:57 p.m.
Ayes All: Motion Carried.
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Susan Burdick
Secretary