Town of Huron Planning Board Minutes - subject to approval.
Regular Meeting - April 6, 2009
Call to Order: Larry Lockwood called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Members present: Larry Lockwood, Joe Snyder, Chris Kenyon, Charles Boorgaard and Jack McGuire
Other Officials present: Laurie Crane - Town Supervisor and Roger Gallant - Building Inspector
Correspondence:
Larry received a flyer about training which would take place at the Burgundy Basin Inn on May 15th, 2009. This is a full day of training. He said that if members were interested they should contact Shirley Eygnor to get the registration approved by the Town Board.
Approval of Minutes: Joe Snyder moved, seconded by Chris Kenyon to accept the minutes of March 2, 2009 as written.
Old Business:
1. Revised Draft for Regulating Outdoor Woodburning Furnaces - Joe Snyder
Joe handed out the revised draft to board members and guests. He reviewed the changes that he had made in the draft after discussion at the last board meeting.
In section § 119-3 he added the definition of an adjacent residence:
ADJACENT RESIDENCE (Adj Residence) - - As used in Table 1 and Table 1A shall mean a residential or commercial structure located on the property adjacent to or across from the outdoor furnace.
In section § 119-8 the section on opacity under Suspension of Permit was removed.
In that same section he added the following:
B. Notwithstanding the above, the town shall not suspend operations of a permitted outdoor furnace during the period between October 1st and May 1st provided the outdoor furnace is operated in accordance with manufacturer recommendations.
Discussion:
Supervisor Laurie Crane found a typographical error on page 1. In the definition for Outdoor Furnace, the word healing should be changed to heating.
Laurie asked about the opacity section.
Joe explained that at the last meeting the board had decided that if opacity is used in the regulation, then the town may have to purchase an opacity meter which could be costly to purchase and maintain. The board agreed that it would be best to remove any reference to opacity.
Jack asked for an explanation of unrestricted operation.
Joe explained that unrestricted operation meant that it could be operated 12 months a year. The months of operation affects the setback distance from adjacent residences or commercial property. If a person wants to only operate from October to May, they have a shorter setback distance.
Laurie asked about § 119-7. She thought that any complaint about an Outdoor Furnace should be investigated, not just complaints about non-conforming outdoor furnace.
Joe agreed and it was decided to remove the words non-conforming from that section.
Laurie also asked about section § 119-9 Variance. She questioned the part that talked about the Board of Health denying a variance.
Joe said that Board of Health should have been changed to Zoning Board of Appeals.
Jack moved, seconded by Charles that the draft be given to the Town Attorney to review and make representation that this draft is acceptable to the Planning Board.
All in favor - none opposed. Motion was carried.
Chris asked Roger if he already had a permit that could be given for the Outdoor Furnaces.
Roger replied that he does have a permit for that; the computer program that they use allows them to create different types of permits.
2. Tax Issues for Townhouses and Condominiums
Roger asked if the board members had the information from Alan which included the proposed law.
Everyone had the information. At last month's meeting, the board had suggested that the proposed law needed to include a definition of converted condominium.
Joe wondered if the Planning Board should even be involved in the crafting of this law. It seems to him that the best people to work with Alan on this would be the Assessors, who understand what is needed to insure that properties are taxed equitably. He noted that Dave Scudder has attended the last few Planning Board meetings trying to explain in depth what the issues are. In Joe's opinion, the assessors have a much better understanding than the board.
Supervisor Crane said that it was felt by some people that it was not the job of the Assessor's office to come up with town law and that it might be seen as overstepping their bounds.
Jack thought that a step could be eliminated if the Planning Board was bypassed.
Joe agreed that there is a need for the law but in his opinion, it should come from the Assessors.
Roger asked if the board wanted to turn it over to the Assessors to work with Alan to present something to the Town Board without the Planning Board's input.
Charles said that the Assessors and Alan could construct the law and bring it to the Planning Board to be discussed.
Joe said that it could happen that way or completely bypass the Planning Board.
Jack said that he could not recall the Planning Board being involved with tax issues in the past and he said that the Planning Board is not the only vehicle for passing laws in the town.
Joe asked Laurie if she thought the Planning Board needed to stay involved.
Laurie said that she would talk to Alan.
Roger thought that since the Assessors felt it was important to move forward on this issue, bypassing the Planning Board would speed up the process.
Laurie will discuss it with Alan and the Assessors. She thought that the idea to bring it before the Planning Board may have come from the Attorney's office.
3. Keyholing (Keyhole Development)
Larry said that the county had sent him some information but he was not able to access it so he would have to ask them to resend the information for the next meeting.
Joe's concern with adopting something for Keyholing was that the board may then have to deal with all the Right of Ways that exist in the area, many of which do not have identified owners.
Roger said that's an existing issue and it wouldn't happen in the future - that it could be prevented through zoning. He said that the only place that a real issue may exist is East Bay and there's not a lot big enough to build on there. Roger feels that the board really needs to look forward and decide if Keyholing is the way to go in the future.
Joe reiterated that he thinks that if the board takes on Keyholing, the board will get tangled up in this issue of existing Right of Ways where the owners are unknown.
Roger said that the board would have to stay away from what already exists in dealing with Keyholing. In East Bay, some of the Right of Ways have been built on or disappeared.
Jack said the same thing has happened on the Sand Bar.
Roger said it also exists on LeRoy Island.
Roger said that the board needs to decide if they want to prevent Keyholing. Preventing it may take away a lot of premium building lots and thus prevent increasing the tax base for the town.
Larry said that those were some of the same questions that he had come up with last month while researching the topic - about the negative effect on the area - tourism, etc.
Joe brought up the Virts case where he has the inland lots and wants to provide water access. It would increase the tax base if he were to develop those lots.
Chris said that you have to look at what already exists on the bays and then you want to plan for the new that might come in.
Charles said that the look of the bay should be considered also - do we want to have non-stop housing around the bays to increase the tax base or do we want to keep some of our shores tree-lined and natural. He said he's not totally against the development but feels that it needs to be controlled.
Larry said that in researching other areas where Keyholing had been regulated, it seemed that there needed to be public access points to the water provided by the towns.
Roger said that the public access that exists is not under the town's control except for one in East Bay.
Roger feels that care must be taken when a town looks at regulating something like Keyholing because he has seen towns with so many restrictions that it ends up hurting them.
Larry asked Roger about the example of Keyholing that he said existed in Webster.
Roger said that it is located on Bay Rd. and has condos and patio homes. He feels it has some similarities to what Virts is developing. Roger said that while you may want to have some restrictions on Keyholing, if the lots stay empty then the tax base is impacted.
Roger said that there are not many of these types of applications now but he reminded the board that at the end of the year, there will be access to water throughout the town and water is always the key to further development in an area.
Jack asked about the Harbor Management Plan - didn't that address how much the bay could handle?
Chris said he was on that committee and it provides a guideline but really doesn't have any "teeth."
Larry and Charles will both look for some more information on Keyholing for the next meeting.
4. Recreational Trails
Chris said he talked to the County Highway Dept and they will give him an estimate for expansion of one side of the highway.
Chris then brought up the booklet that Trailworks, Inc., a nonprofit group, has produced in conjunction with Wegman's to promote area trails. (Supervisor Crane provided everyone with the booklet) Chris will look into the Huron area to see if we have other trails that could be used. He thinks that if there are more local trails that could become part of the program, there may be some maintenance required on our part. We would need to check for grants, etc.
Charles wondered if any of the area snowmobile trails could be used for hiking trails.
Chris said that the snowmobile trails are part of a NY State system; Chris said he could look into it.
Larry said that some of the snowmobile trails may go through some working orchards or farm fields which would be a problem for hiking season.
Larry also told Chris that the town's Comprehensive Plan includes a section on biking trails.
Charles said that another possible thing to look into would be kayaking trails. He also said that Seth Burgess, who is involved with Trailworks is his cousin and Charles will let him know of the board's interest in working with Trailworks.
5. Amending burning law for controlled burn - Roger Gallant
Roger said that he has been contacted by contractors who are interested in doing controlled burns to get rid of some houses in the town that need to be removed. It has become very costly for contractors to tear down and take the debris to a landfill.
Larry said that after the burn issue was brought up at the last meeting, he had attended a battalion meeting with area fire companies and asked for their opinions. Some companies were still doing the burns, some weren't. He said that there are many new regulations involved when doing a burn and that's why many companies are reluctant to do them. Larry said that even before they burn, the premises have to be inspected for asbestos, etc. He also said that it has to be a legitimate training exercise.
Joe said that the town and the public at large have an interest in trying to remove or dispose of these abandoned buildings. In looking at options, he said that one option is to tear them down and truck the debris away, but that's expensive. Another is to do a controlled burn but the reception to that by the fire companies has been mixed. He asked if, regardless of which option was chosen, an inspection was still required.
Roger replied that in order to do a demolition, it requires a demolition permit and Roger has to do an inspection. He has to check for asbestos, oil tanks, etc., make sure there is nothing to harm the environment, roofing material has to go and certain sidings have to go. So, in theory, he said that by the time you strip the house down, it may be cheaper to haul it to a landfill.
Larry shared that some of the fire companies have gotten into trouble for some of the burns they have done. Larry also said that some companies felt that while they were saving the homeowner thousands of dollars, the fire company may only get $200. He did say that if it is a legitimate training site, where they can do interior and ladder work, it is worth a lot to the company.
Roger said that after the discussion tonight, the controlled burn doesn't seem to be a viable option.
Supervisor Crane said that it was her understanding that it would be legal if it was a legitimate training exercise. Since one of the buildings is in the Wolcott Fire District and they will not do a burn, she said she had wondered if another fire company could come in and do the burn with Wolcott's permission. She was told that Wolcott would probably not agree to that since that district would still be liable.
Jack wondered if there was any grant money or stimulus money to help with the removal.
Roger said that we could look into that.
Laurie asked if insurance companies pay the owner for removal.
Charles said that he has to pay for that clause to be included in his insurance.
Laurie said that the town's hands are tied. There have been so many complaints but it's so hard to get something done.
Roger said that he and Laurie will have to discuss the issue further.
Larry suggested that Roger talk to Gary Lockwood who is the Deputy Coordinator for the County. Larry thought he would be able to give them good information on the regulations involved.
New Business:
1. County Planning Board Monthly Report
Larry reported that there was nothing of note for Huron at the last meeting.
He talked about the training that the County had put on. Larry thought the training was excellent, very informative. Chris, Charles and Larry attended that training.
2. New Cell Tower
Roger said that there is a proposal for a new cell tower and that he should have the plans within the next week or so. He wondered what the board wanted him to do.
Jack asked for the location.
Roger said it would be on Lummisville Road, in an A5A district, in the middle of a 60 acre plot.
Joe said that he thought the Planning Board should review it and then comment to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
When asked, Roger said that it was AT&T who wants to construct the tower.
Supervisor Crane wanted the board to know that the County is getting a new emergency radio system for 911 and will be looking for a cell tower to put a repeater on. She said that this may come up in connection with this tower.
Joe said that he thought the Planning Board should be actively involved in commenting to the Zoning Board of Appeals on the tower.
Roger wondered if the board thought they could review it in one night.
Joe thought that they could probably derive comments to be forwarded on to the Zoning Board in one meeting.
Roger thought it would probably take 3 meetings before the Zoning Board made a decision, so if the board needed more time to comment, it would be fine. Roger said he would make sure that those who present the plan to the board will be prepared with a good site plan and their intentions for the tower.
Joe said the board would want to know what other options the company has looked at, what their other existing facilities are and why they aren't sufficient to meet their needs, and why they have to have a new tower as opposed to occupying existing structures.
Adjournment: Jack moved, seconded by Chris to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 PM.
Email communications
During the month of March the following emails were received:
3/5/09 - from Roger Gallant - converted condominium definition
3/6/09 - from Joe Snyder - revised - proposed outdoor furnace regulations
3/15/09 - from Joe Snyder - article on Marila, a town that ended tax break for patio homes
3/21/09 - from Charles Boorgaard - forwarded email from Seth Burgess on Wayne County Trails
Passport sample with replies from Joe Snyder and Seth Burgess
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Grandjean, clerk
