Town of Huron Planning Board Minutes - subject to approval.
Regular meeting - August 3, 2009
Call to Order: Larry Lockwood called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Members present: Larry Lockwood, Jack McGuire, Joe Snyder and Charles Boogaard. Chris Kenyon was absent.
Other Officials present: Laurie Crane - Town Supervisor, Dave Buisch - Councilmember and Roger Gallant - Building Inspector
Correspondence: Larry received the Town Topics magazine and the Planning Federation Newsletter.
Approval of Minutes: Jack McGuire moved, seconded by Joe Snyder to accept the minutes of July 6, 2009 as written. (The clerk noted that a note had been added to the minutes to clarify that a question from Joe Snyder was from his email since he was absent from the meeting).
Old Business:
1. AT&T Cell Tower
The board members had not received any further information from Mr. Prodonovich, the AT&T representative. Joe Snyder referred to an email that had been received from Supervisor Crane regarding the Planning Board's action on the cell tower. Laurie said that Roger had provided her with the criteria for cases being referred to the Planning Board. She said that her biggest problem was the amount of time it takes for these things. Joe Snyder asked about the list of concerns about the cell tower that he had sent to be addressed at last month's meeting. Joe was told that all his concerns had been shared and that Mr. Prodonovich still needed to provide the board with some information. Roger said that Mr. Prodonovich planned on having all the answers in time to appear before the Zoning Board. It was Joe's opinion that the application was incomplete. Since Joe was absent from the last meeting, there was discussion about what exactly had been addressed at that meeting. After discussion about the height of the tower, Joe felt that more information was needed as to why 195 ft was necessary. Joe said that one possible option that had not been discussed was the ability to build the tower such that more height could be added in the future to accommodate other occupants on the tower. Charles said that the other thing that was still needed was written proof that Verizon would not allow AT&T on their tower. Addressing the statement that the representative was not prepared at the first meeting, Dave Buisch said that at the meeting, Mr. Prodonovich said he was gauging the reaction of the board to the proposal before he put together a full presentation. Dave thought that at the last meeting, he had provided most of the necessary information except the refusal of Verizon. There was discussion about the fact that Verizon should be willing to accept the collocation according to the town's laws. It was felt that the language of the existing law needs to be clarified in order to require collocation by the cell tower owner. The board is in favor of increasing access to the internet for town residents. The case is on the agenda for the upcoming zoning board and the clerk will try to email the file to the Planning Board members so that they can formulate their comments and will email Mr. Prodonovich about providing the Verizon refusal for collocation. Laurie clarified that AT&T could still begin the process with the Zoning Board and Joe said that he thought that it should be concurrent but hoped that the Zoning Board would not make a decision without the comments from the Planning Board.
Joe said that he would attend the Zoning Board meeting if possible.
2. Outdoor Woodburning Furnaces
The Town Board had asked that the Planning Board look at the latest versions of the law and make comments on them. The town attorney, Alan Knauf sent two different drafts. In the discussion, Councilman Buisch stated that the Town Board worked with the second draft, not the first since it was less restrictive. The discussion centered on whether existing furnaces should at least meet the stack height requirements even though they didn't have to meet the setback requirements. The board seemed to agree that it was not unreasonable to ask for stack height compliance. However, in the discussion it was said that it may be difficult or costly to extend stacks on older furnaces. Another comment was that the older stoves may not burn efficiently with the taller stacks. The board was concerned with protecting neighbors from the health hazard that can be caused by the smoke and wondered if there were other protections for the neighbors provided in existing town laws. After discussion, the majority of the board felt that existing furnaces should be grandfathered and would not have to come into compliance with the new law.
The next part of the discussion dealt with new construction next to an existing permitted furnace. One of the issues discussed was that some manufacturers make recommendations that are not necessarily "required" and therefore cannot be enforced. Councilman Buisch stated that since the existing furnace would be a newer model, adjusting the stack height should not be difficult and therefore not unreasonable. It was also felt that if there were some reason that the furnace could not be brought into compliance, then the furnace owner still had the option to seek a variance. It was also stated that town law and DEC law both deal with smoke nuisance, but it was the consensus that enforcement is difficult. Councilman Buisch stated that there had been a long discussion at the town board meeting regarding the fact that this is largely an agricultural community and that there are certain things associated with farming - dust, smells, noises, etc. Anyone who buys property in the Town of Huron should be aware that some things are not going to change and it is their choice to buy or not.
Charles and Larry both agreed that the original language of the Planning Board on this issue was acceptable and not unreasonable since the option of seeking a variance was there.
Joe summarized what he thought the feelings of the board were: On the first part, furnaces that exist prior to the adoption of the law, should be allowed to exist as long as they are permitted, irrespective of stack height or setback. The second part was that if a new building was to arise, and the code officer finds that the furnace is not in compliance, then the furnace would have to be brought into compliance or a variance sought. It was discussed that information could be included in the actual permit for the furnace stating the fact that the furnace would have to be in compliance if someone were to build next to them in the future. The other issue raised by the attorney was the case of replacement of the furnaces that have been grandfathered. Discussion was whether the new furnace would have to meet code. The consensus of the board was that the replacement furnaces would need to meet the code for stack height.
Joe will put out a draft of the comments and send it to board members for comments and then forward to the town board for their meeting.
3. Recreational Trails
Chris was absent but will attend the Trail Works meeting on August 18th.
New Business:
1. County Planning Board Monthly Report
Larry reported that the County Board was going to begin working on regulations and guidelines for wind energy since more towns are becoming involved with wind projects.
2. Master Plan
Roger said he had not heard back from MRB about setting up a meeting on creating a new Master Plan.
Charles said that he had contacted various universities and had spoken with a professor from Cornell who was very interested in coming and speaking with the town. There would be a cost, but it would be cheaper to have it done by students. The board agreed that it was worth looking into. Charles will contact him and also continue to look at other universities.
Supervisor Crane said that she had been to a meeting with a company who does master plans for towns interested in wind energy. The company does feasibility studies for towns. Laurie stated that they also look at companies within the town to see if creating their own energy is feasible.
3. Shared Services
Joe asked about a shared services meeting. Laurie and Dave said that the meeting was cancelled when no one showed up.
Adjournment: Charles Boogaard moved, seconded by Jack McGuire to adjourn the meeting at 9:35.
Email communications
During the month of July the following emails were received:
7/4/09 - from Joe Snyder regarding questions for the cell tower applicant since he cannot attend the meeting
7/8/09 - from Laurie Crane regarding the cell tower application being held up in Planning before going to
the Zoning Board with responses from Jack McGuire and Joe Snyder on 7/9/09
7/24/09 - from Jack McGuire containing a website on Parks & Trails
7/28/09 - from Charles Boogaard containing a message from Seth Burgess about the August Trail Works
meeting with response from Chris Kenyon stating that he will attend.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Grandjean, clerk
