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TOWN OF STERLING PLANNING BOARD MEETING February 29, 2016 A Special meeting of the Town of Sterling Planning Board was held on Monday February 29, 2016 at the Sterling Town Hall at 7:00 pm with the following members present: June Ouellette ~ Chairman Sue Allen ~ Member Scott Crawford~ Member Excused: Members Vernon Bishop and Susan Lemon. Also Present: David Haskins, Robert Brenner and Robert Williams from Nixon Peabody for Verizon Wireless, Virginia Fichera, Adam Smith, Robert Willson, and Joan Kelley. Chairman Ouellette called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. PUBLIC HEARING David Haskins Chairman Ouellette read the notice into the record and opened the Hearing at 7:02 pm. Notice is hereby given that the Planning Board of the Town of Sterling will hold a Special Meeting for a Public Hearing on Thursday February 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sterling Town Hall, 1290 State Route 104A, Sterling, NY 13156. An Application for a Special Use Permit by David Haskins will be heard regarding the proposed Boarding Kennel on property located at 14014 Craine Road, Sterling, NY 13156; Tax Map # 11.00-1-37.2. All those wishing to be heard in favor of or in opposition of said application may appear in person or by other representation at said time and place. By order of the Planning Board; Lisa Somers, Clerk Chairman Ouellette asked the applicant to explain his request for the audience present at tonight’s meeting. David Haskins stated that he had an old barn on his property that he would like to preserve and felt that he could use part of the barn to board dogs – an interest he has had for many years. He plans to have 10 indoor kennels and 10 outside runs with two additional cages for cats. Maximum occupancy for each kennel would be 2 for large breeds and 3 for smaller breeds. He had presented a narrative to the Board members detailing the business which the Board had found adequate at the last meeting. The site plan had also been reviewed and accepted at the last meeting, and with no further questions from the Board, the Hearing was opened for public comments as follows: 1. Virginia Fichera – Asked the distance to the closest neighbor – ½ mile. Asked about the waste management plan because of proximity to a nearby stream (within ¼ mile). Mr. Haskins replied that the dog feces would be bagged and placed into trash cans and disposed of as any other household waste. 2. Adam Smith – A neighboring property owner was concerned about noise and asked questions regarding inside and outside use and how many dogs total. Mr. Haskins replied that the dogs would be inside most of the time but would have outside runs that the dogs could be placed in for some hours in the morning and again in the afternoon provided that the weather was good. He doesn’t plan on hiring help therefore he would be transferring the dogs from inside to outside and back again by himself. If the dogs were barking a lot he would keep them inside the barn which would greatly reduce the noise. If all cages were filled to capacity he would have 30 dogs boarded amongst 10 inside kennels. ---PAGE BREAK--- 3. Joan Kelley - Asked many questions to clarify the business parameters. Mr. Haskins clarified that the daytime runs were outside and not connected to the inside runs and that the dogs would be outside only during daytime hours – weather and behavior permitting. The business was to be for short term boarding only with a probable maximum of two weeks but expecting most stays to be under a week’s time. The business would not be a shelter – dogs would be licensed pets of clients. The expense involved with a rescue dog can be extensive and the idea of a boarding kennel was borne from intentions to save a timber framed barn that has existed for years on the property he recently purchased, therefore the idea of a rescue dog would be only one at a time when finances could support it. 4. William Vaughn – An email had been received by the clerk and was read aloud by chairman Ouellette for the record. Mr. Vaughn is a neighboring property owner and would not support the request because of a concern for noise. A completed short form EAF for SEQR was reviewed by the Board, a few corrections were noted and initialed on the form, and the action was determined to have no adverse environmental impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. 5. Adam Smith – Stated that he didn’t have a problem with the business as it was presented but wanted to know what recourse he would have to address a noise problem should it ever occur. The Board explained that the Code Enforcement Officer would have authority to take action on any complaints filed in his office. The approval from the Board could contain conditions that would assist the CEO to enforce solutions to foreseeable problems. Mr. Haskins further stated that he would hope that any of the neighbors would contact him first because he would be very willing to work out a solution such as limiting daytime hours even eliminating them if the case needed it. He would even be willing to insulate the walls of the area where the dogs would be housed to help control the noise. The Board members stated that the discussion of the noise issue at the Hearing would be clearly identified in the minutes and provide awareness to the possibility of a noise problem in the future. In an effort to control noise the applicant, David Haskins, has agreed to work with the neighbors and eliminate any future noise issues by limiting daytime outside hours or even eliminating them; and insulating the building. He is also aware that the public has recourse by filing a complaint with the Sterling CEO. A motion to close the Hearing at 7:41 pm was moved by Member Allen and seconded by Member Crawford, all were in favor and the motion carried. A motion to accept the requested Special Use permit for a dog boarding kennel in accordance with the narrative and site plan dated Feb 29, 2016, with condition to control noise, was moved by Member Crawford and seconded by Member Allen, all were in favor without further discussion and the motion carried. Resolution 2016-02 BE IT RESOLVED, by the Planning Board for the Town of Sterling, upon the facts presented and the determination made, that the application for a Special Permit to allow the operation of a boarding kennel business, per submitted site plan and narrative dated February 29, 2016, on property owned by David Haskins and located at 14014 Craine Road, Sterling, NY 13156; Tax map #11.00-1-37.2 is hereby GRANTED upon the following express conditions: ---PAGE BREAK--- In an effort to control the potential for noise from the dogs barking the applicant will insulate the building where dogs will be kept; and utilize daytime hours only for dogs to be placed outside. If necessary the daytime hours would be further limited. A roll call vote was taken: Chairman Ouellette Aye Member Allen Aye Member Crawford Aye Member Lemon Absent Member Bishop Absent 3 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 0 Abstentions - APPROVED PUBLIC HEARING Verizon Wireless Chairman Ouellette read the notice into the record and opened the Hearing at 7:03 pm Notice is hereby given that the Planning Board of the Town of Sterling will hold a Public Hearing on Monday February 29, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Sterling Town Hall, 1290 State Route 104A, Sterling, NY 13156. An Application for a Special Permit by Verizon Wireless will be heard regarding the proposed collation of a wireless facility on an existing telecommunications tower on property owned by Dorothy Batrack and located at 14223Acre Road Sterling, NY 13156; Tax Map # 11.00-1-34.1. All those wishing to be heard in favor of or in opposition of said application may appear in person or by other representation at said time and place. By order of the Planning Board; Lisa Somers, Clerk Chairman Ouellette stated that the Board had decided to process the project as a Special Use Permit application on the advice of Town Attorney Kevin Cox, and not declare the project exempt from zoning review because of Essential Services designation and the Middle Class Tax Relief Act as the applicants had requested at the last meeting. Rob Brenner proceeded to hand out an addendum to his original package to include a 12’x30’ equipment shelter in the same location as the originally proposed deck. Verizon wireless proposes to collocate an antenna array on an existing telecommunications tower located on Acre Road. The Planning Board had questions regarding the existing towers conformance to zoning and found that the original tower owner SBA Inc had received ZBA approval in 2000 to erect the 185’ tower. The Board members had no further questions at this time and the Hearing was opened for public comments as follows: 1. David Haskins asked where the tower was located. Acre Road. He stated that cell coverage is not good around the Fair Haven line and thinks the project would be beneficial. 2. Adam Smith asked how this would affect the Sterling Station tower and if that one would be decommissioned. Mr. Brenner replied that he was unsure if Verizon was the owner and that it could have a third party owner as often is the case. However if Verizon did own it and found it to be inconsequential and without other leasees then they would decommission it. 3. Virginia Fichera – Many questions… The SEQR generated by the EAF Mapper shows question 12b to be affirmative for archaeological significance and the form completed by Verizon has a no checked. A discussion ensued that the project site was disturbed when the original tower was built ---PAGE BREAK--- therefore any archaeological importance was long ago decided and not relevant to this application. The original application had a negative declaration determination for the project SEQR review which still applies to the physical project site. Ms. Fichera also questioned the information relayed on two maps (Attachment 5 and Exhibit 2 in the file) she felt that the coverages shown had larger gaps and would therefore not necessarily create better cell service. Mr Brenner answered by explaining that the collocation is to enhance the already designed system with two towers named Red Creek and Martville (not yet turned on) along with the existing towers of Wolcott, Hannibal and Sterling Creek – a honeycomb grid is formed which creates coverage overlaps which is a critical design element to eliminate calls getting dropped. Overcapacity of the current in-place system is why the collocation was proposed, to alleviate the strain from overuse and provide a seamless and reliable network of towers. Ms. Fichera was unconvinced and felt that the maps were inconsistent with projections from a project of Verizon a year ago. A motion to close the Hearing at 8:15 pm was moved by Member Crawford and seconded by Member Allen, all were in favor and the motion carried. The Board reviewed the short form EAF and had the following questions: ~ question #3 – 0.009 acres refers to area where 12’x30’ enclosure will sit. ~ question #12b – archaeological significance should be yes according to the EAF Mapper. Verizon agrees to submit letters from SHHPO to the Town stating that the project will not disturb an archaeological sensitive area; and that it will be a condition of approval. ~ question #13 - The project is located near wetlands; but was disturbed 16 years ago without intrusion onto wetland areas – this project exists within previous project parameters. The SEQR review was completed by the Board with a Negative Declaration determination for impacts on the surrounding environment. A motion was moved by Member Allen to approve the Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review request by Verizon for the collocation of an antenna arrayas submitted this date with condition of SHPPO documentation regarding archaeological sensitivity of the project site. The motion was seconded by Member Crawford, all were in favor without further discussion and the motion carried. Resolution 2016-03 BE IT RESOLVED, by the Planning Board for the Town of Sterling, upon the facts presented and the determination made, that the application for Site Plan Review and approval of requested Special Permit for the collocation and operation of a wireless facility on an existing wireless telecommunications tower, plan drawings dated September 21, 2015 with equipment shelter, on property owned by Dorothy Batrack and located at 14223 Acre Road Sterling, NY 13156; tax map #11.00-1-34.1 is hereby GRANTED upon the following express conditions: Town of Sterling is to receive letters from State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) documenting that the project will not disturb an archaeological sensitive area. A roll call vote was taken: Chairman Ouellette Aye Member Allen Aye Member Crawford Aye ---PAGE BREAK--- Member Lemon Absent Member Bishop Absent 3 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 0 Abstentions - APPROVED BUSINESS Gene Sova – Sketch Plan Conference The clerk received an application for subdivision Review in the mail from a resident currently out of town. The Board reviewed the paperwork and included survey map and found no issues. The clerk will contact Mr. Sova to determine date for Public Hearing. MINUTES Meeting minutes for February 1, 2016 were approved by a motion moved by Chairman Ouellette and seconded by Member Allen. All were in favor without further discussion and the motion passed. ADJOURN On a motion by Member Allen and seconded by Chairman Ouellette, the meeting was adjourned at 9:13 PM. Approved Minutes, Respectfully submitted, Lisa Somers, Planning Board Clerk