CLERMONT PLANNING BOARD
NOVEMBER 12, 2014
The Clermont Planning Board held their regular meeting and public hearings on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at 7:30 P.M. Those in attendance were Chairman Laurence Saulpaugh, Thomas Jantzen, Clayton Andrus, Mary Howard, Jennifer Phillips and Robert Queirolo. Aldo Dusman was absent. Also in attendance were Patrick Prendergast, engineer for Ray Tousey, Ray Tousey, Thomas Mueller, Nan Leonard, Maura DeKaser, Sarolta Takacs, Lyle and Deborah Wasylchak, Kris Gildersleeve, Robert Desmond, Andy Howard, Town Attorney and George Schmitt, Town Engineer.
Chairman Saulpaugh opened the meeting.
MINUTES: A motion was made to accept the minutes of the October meeting by Tom Jantzen, seconded by Jennifer Phillips. All in favor. So carried.
A motion was made by Jennifer Phillips to close the regular meeting and open the public hearing, seconded by Mary Howard. All in favor. So carried.
PUBLIC HEARING:
THOMAS MUELLER – 86 Commons Road – Tax Map ID#192-1-92 and 192-1-7.111
The applicant is requesting a boundary line change to increase a two-acre lot to 2.805 acres and decrease a five-acre lot to 4.195 acres. The five-acre parcel’s road frontage was increased with this line change. Robert Queirolo asked how the utilities would be run to the five-acre lot. There is currently an easement at the rear of the property or they could be underground. Robert asked about Board of Health approval on the five-acre lot. The lots were previously approved as stated in a letter from the Columbia County BOH and it is stated on the map. The applicant has submitted signed letters of notification and receipts of certified mailings and deed descriptions. A motion was made by Clayton Andrus to close the public hearing, seconded by Mary Howard. All in favor. So carried.
SEQRA: The Chairman reviewed the application. A motion was made to declare a negative declaration by Jennifer Phillips, seconded by Clayton Andrus. All in favor. So carried.
Tom Jantzen recused himself as he has an interest in this application. A motion was made to approve the boundary line change by Mary Howard, seconded by Clayton Andrus. All in favor. So carried.
A motion was made by Clayton Andrus to reopen the public hearing of Ray Tousey, seconded by Mary Howard. All in favor. So carried.
RAY TOUSEY – 1783 Route 9 – Tax Map ID#181.3-1-6.110
Patrick Prendergast, engineer for Ray Tousey, submitted new maps for the use of old tin barn for weddings and other gatherings. The septic has been installed and approved by the BOH. DOT is looking for the standard commercial entryway. The proposed uses for the building are for town use, wine tasting, family reunions, parties, weddings and meetings from April 1 to November 25.
Lighting: Wall pack type – primarily shines down, you would not see the actual lightbulb. The light contours are decided by telling the designer the distance from the fixture to the ground. The light fixtures would be approximately ten feet up with a canopy above. There could be temporary lighting in the parking lot run on small generators, rather than light poles. Jennifer said it was suggested to have something in the corner of the parking lot. Jennifer asked if the temporary lights is something that could be set up for an event. George Schmitt asked if there is an example sheet that he could show them. Robert asked if there are safety requirements for parking lot lighting. George said that 1 foot candle is standard. Mary reminded that this is a commercial venue. Most of the neighbors would not want light poles in the parking lot.
Electric: Mary Howard asked about the power to run these events. There is a 100-amp service from his residence, which should be sufficient.
Fire Escape: Larry asked about the fire escape. The fire escape exits towards the parking lot to the east towards Route 9. This should be noted on the map.
Employee Parking: Jennifer asked to clarify where the employees would park. They would not be encouraged to park in the vicinity of the building but out in the lot.
Maximum Occupancy: Jennifer asked if the use of the upstairs is an implication of having more people, because there is a maximum occupancy. Andy Howard explained that this would not change the occupancy. Jennifer said we do not have an engineer’s approval for upstairs. Mr. Tousey would have to speak to the Building Inspector. This can be stated on the approval of the application. Andy thinks that if he is planning to use the upstairs, then the board could ask for an engineer’s approval. This also depends on what the use would be. Ms. DeKaser asked what the occupancy is based on. It is on the square footage of the building. She asked if this number could be increased if a tent is added. The number of occupants is limited to 150 people based on the septic approval.
Music/Noise: Ms. DeKaser asked if there is a certain time for noise to cease in the zoning. Robert Desmond said there is generalized discussion in the code.
This can be addressed in SEQRA and something for the board to consider.
Robert asked if we could request the hours that would be best for the town. Andy said that the sound could be measured but the board could agree with the applicant on something reasonable. Duration and frequency is the way to deal with the sound. Decide on a cutoff time, balancing with the public comment. This can be a condition of the approval in the resolution.
Ms. Takacs asked for an explanation of what lumens are. The lumens are the amount of light, which is dispersed from the light. A 60-watt bulb is 7620 lumens. Andy Howard explained how the board would be looking at foot-candles. The neighbors don’t seem to want poles in the parking lot.
Ms. DeKaser asked how many events are going to be held. It is not feasible that it would exceed 60 events per year because that would be 4 events per week. The health department set the amount of events at 60 maximum. She would like to know what is the environmental impact of the cars using the parking lot, because she is worried about storm runoff if the grass gets worn from these events. The engineer recommended putting in dry wells on either side of the entrance for any run-off. The lowest part of the lot is near the driveway location. If there were a problem, Ray would have to put in gravel or do something else. Bob Desmond suggested having graveled areas for smaller events.
There is a product that can be put out over grass to protect it called grass paved two. This gives strength to the grass.
Jennifer asked if this can this be reassessed in time after it is used for some events. Andy said there has to be a balance on safety. A condition of approval could be to put gravel in certain areas if it has been degraded. The code enforcement officer could require that in 60 or 90 days if there has been degradation that the area is repaired. Mary said that there is an annual inspection by code enforcement. Larry said that most places doing this run only about 12-15 events per year. Robert thinks that Mr. Tousey does want to make this a success and he thinks that Mr. Tousey does want to keep the property in good condition. Robert’s concern is the neighbors and coming to an agreement that all can live with. Mr. Tousey does have the right to do this by zoning. This affects Ms.DeKaser because the parking lot is directly behind her house. She can hear hammers and backhoes now from her house. She wants to know how many events, what hours, etc.
This will not exceed 60 events maximum, Seasonal use, April l to November 25 – Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 P.M. Friday and Saturday to 11:00 P.M.
At the last meeting, the neighbors agreed to l0:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Deborah Wasylchak noted that if the music stops at 10:00 it would probably be 11:00 before the guests move out. Tom and Jennifer are happy with 10:00 P.M.
Traffic: Lyle Wasylchak said there is a lot of heavy truck traffic and now more traffic coming out on Route 9, and he asked if DOT would want to put a traffic light up. George explained that these events would probably not be peak hours for traffic.
They hope that he is successful but that this is livable for the neighbors. Mr. Tousey does not want to change the character of the field or the building.
Jennifer asked about screening for Maura DeKaser, but she doesn’t know what type of screening could be used because her septic field is behind her house.
The issues to be resolved:
- Lighting cut sheets
- Generator cut sheets
- Noise – time to end the events on Friday and Saturday.
- Impact of second floor use
- Sub-surface or gravel for parking area.
- Fencing for town side of parking area.
The public hearing could be closed and SEQRA considered next month or it could be kept open and SEQRA considered next month. DOT is waiting on SEQRA to be complete before it acts.
The neighbors would like more time to review the maps.
A motion was made by Jennifer Phillips to continue the public hearing until next month, seconded by Tom Jantzen. All in favor. So carried.
A motion was made to adjourn by Clayton Andrus at 9:45 P.M., seconded by Mary Howard.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Helen Shannon
Planning Board Secretary