1994-03-31 SP
"~
QUEENSBURY PLANNING BOARD MEETING
SPECIAL MEETING
MARCH 31ST, 1994
INDEX
ROUTE 149 CORRIDOR STUDY 1.
Discussion of Aviation Mall Sand Hauling Schedule
34.
THESE ARE NOT OFFICIALLY ADOPTED MINUTES AND ARE SUBJECT TO BOARD
AND STAFF REVISIONS. REVISIONS WILL APPEAR ON THE FOLLOWING MONTHS
MINUTES (IF ANY) AND WILL STATE SUCH APPROVAL OF SAID MINUTES.
QUEENSBURY PLANNING BOARD MEETING
SPECIAL MEETING
MARCH 31ST, 1994
7:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
TIMOTHY BREWER, CHAIRMAN
GEORGE STARK, SECRETARY
CRAIG MACEWAN
CATHERINE LABOMBARD
JAMES OBERMAYER
ROBERT PALING
ROGER RUEL
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR-JAMES MARTIN
PLANNER-SCOTT HARLICKER
STENOGRAPHER-MARIA GAGLIARDI
ROUTE 149 CORRIDOR STUDY
MR. BREWER-The way the meeting will run, Scott's going to give us
a short presentation, get everybody up to speed, then we'll take
public comment, then we'll have comment from the Board. I would
just like to ask that comments be limited to five minutes the first
time around, because there are a lot of people here, and I'm sure
that everybody wants to speak, and then we'll go around a second
time, but to keep it as short as possible, I'd please like to limit
the comments to five minutes the first time around. Okay, Scott.
MR. HARLICKER-Okay. The Town requested that the Planning
Department do a study of Route 149, chiefly because there were a
number of requests for re-zonings, an increased concern about
traffic and other concerns that residents of the area raised. Last
year the Planning Department initiated the Study and examined the
following. One of the things we looked at were existing
conditions, development patterns, things such as building permits
issued, variances issued, site plans and subdivision approval s,
just wherever along the route these permits were issued. The
second items we looked at related to environmental factors, things
such as wetlands and water resources, slope, soil types, as it
relates to permeability, depth to bedrock, and high water table.
These environmental factors do have an impact on what sort of
development can take place along the highway. It restricts it
somewhat. Land use patterns were also looked at. As you can see
from the maps, existing zoning, more than 75 percent of the Route
is currently zoned residential, whether it be Rural Residential
Three acre or Five acre, or Suburban Residential One Acre.
Approximately 50 percent of the parcels along the Route are
actually used as residences. Also, a large amount of the land is
vacant or currently not developed to its capacity. Traffic was the
fourth item that we looked at. DOT supplied us with accident
counts for their highway. We also received some rudimentary
traffic counts from various agencies. It's difficult to do a
detailed traffic study because valid, up to data is lacking on the
road right now. There was also public participation. A survey was
sent out to all the property owners. Approximately 36 percent
returned the surveys, and there was also two public hearings held
last year. On the table up here were a summary of the
recommendations that were a result of the Study, and I'd just like
to go over several of the key recommendations, and then open the,
for public comment. The first recommendation I'd like to go over
briefly is a recommendation of a creation of a new Rural Commercial
zone. This would take the place of the existing Highway Commercial
zone at the intersections of Bay Road and Ridge Road. It would be
an enlarged zone. The minimum lot size would be one acre, with
5,000 square feet of commercial development per acre. The second
was creation of a new residential zone, Rural Residential One Acre.
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This new Rural Residential Acre would function along the same lines
as the existing Rural Residential Three Acres, only allowing one
acre minimum lot sizes. The area that was re-zoned for this is
primarily between Ox Bow Hill and Bay Road. Currently this
property is zoned Rural Residential Three Acre. There is also a
zone change of the existing Rural Residential Five Acre, between
Bay Road and the Golf Course property, from Five Acre to a minimum
lot size of Three Acre. There's also a suggestion that the Town
insti tute a Town wide minor subdivision regulations for
subdivisions of four lots or less. This would cut down the process
somewhat. Currently a subdivision has to go through three phases,
Sketch Plan, Preliminary, and Final Subdivision approvals. This
would means that lots of four lots or less would go through a one
step approval process. Clustering is also recommended where
environmental constraints limit development. The main impact on
this would be, probably, in the Rural Residential One Acre zone.
There's also a suggestion of the adoption of a definition for Home
Occupation, Rural. Rural Home Occupation would be similar to the
existing Home Occupation. It would allow development at a slightly
more intense scale than what's currently allowed in Home
Occupation. It would allow use of existing property for Home
Occupation up to 800 square feet or 40 percent of the Gross Floor
Area of the existing principal dwelling. It would allow some
signage, up to nine square feet, and uses would include small scale
crafters, sewry and woodworking and art-work, small scale repair
work, such as appliance, bicycle, tool sharpening, and individual
instructions, such as musical and dance. As most people, I think,
are aware of, there are also plans for reconstruction of the
roadway. On the table up here are a copy of DOT right-of-way maps
that DOT supplied to us. We don't have enough copies to hand out
to everybody. There's one copy of each map and it covers the
entire length of the road, from Route 149 out to Ridge Road.
Currently, the reconstruction plans include 12 foot wide travel
lanes, 8 foot wide shoulders, and up to a 30 foot clear zone on
either side of the roadway. We have some information here
regarding a time frame for this reconstruction. Sqoping would be
taking place this year, '94/'95. Preliminary engineering and some
right-of-way information would be taking place in '95/'96. Design
and right-of-way, I don't know if it would be acquisition or just
checking out just to see what sort of right-of-ways would be needed
in ' 96 and ' 97 . Then actual construction would be during the
'97/'98 season. Along with this reconstruction, we'd like to see
the ability to construct a bike path along Route 149, not
necessarily the actual construction, but leave enough room for the
construction of a bike path along the road. One other primary
suggestion or key recommendation would be the utilization of a PUD
designation, which is a Planned Unit Development. This would allow
a mixed use type of development, both commercial and residential.
An appropriate zone, we believe, might be the quarry area at the
eastern end of the corridor that is currently zoned Land
Conservation 10 Acre. That's a brief overview of the key
recommendations. Like I said, there's sheets up here. There were
18 of them that were included in the plan, and I'd just like to
open up the floor for public comment.
MR. MARTIN-And we also have some letters that were received also.
MR. BREWER-Right. Maybe we should read those in first. I've got
one from Mr. Whelan and Mr. Aronson. I also received one from Jim
Weller. Okay, George.
MR. STARK-Okay. There's a letter to Mr. Tim Brewer, Planning Board
Chairman, "Dear Mr. Brewer: I've received the "Addendum To The
Route 149 Corridor Planning Study" and offer the following concerns
and comments for your consideration. Page 43, third and fourth
paragraph. If a dimensional buffer is incorporated into the
regulations it needs to be defined in detail. The BUilding
Department, for projects not requiring site plan review, and the
Planning Board, for projects requiring review, should not be left
to interpret an ambiguous regulation. The terminology for the
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buffer should be consistent. Currently it's referred to as
"dimensional buffer" and as "screened buffer". The buffer will
impose a hardship on commercial enterprise since most businesses do
best when they are visible from the highway. The character of the
corridor can be maintained and enhanced with appropriate setbacks
and landscaping without the use of buffers or screens. The
placement of parking behind buildings is not a good idea. Parking
should be allowed wherever it best suits the utilization of the
property. Parking behind buildings, in many cases, necessitates
additional paving and a reduction of green area to gain access to
the parking areas. Generally the main entrance to a commercial
bUilding is located with visibility from the parking area. With
main entrances on the rear of the buildings the view from the
highway will be the back of the buildings. Many additional
suggestions on this page are ambiguous and, as such, should be
clearly defined so that compliance and enforcement does not become
arbitrary and inconsistent. Page 44, second and third paragraph.
Cluster provisions should be an alternative, and not a requirement
for development of a subdivision. The definition of cluster
development should include Townhouses, Condominiums and Mul tifamily
type structures. Page 45 The first paragraph reads in part "By
providing access by a means other than directly from Rt. 149 a
developer could earn a density bonus". This appears to be a
reasonable provision, however, it needs to be defined with a
formula and incorporated into the proposed regulation on Page 52.
Page 46; 1, Policies - Item b Preservation of the agricultural
character is inconsistent with the proposed residential and
commercial development. I suggest the following. Preservation of
the rural character of the corridor consistent with residential and
commercial development. Page 46;2 - Strategies - Item c I don't
understand the meaning of "Residences should front directly on off-
site streets". What are off-site streets? Page 47;3 - Strategies
- Item h. The provision is ambiguous and arbitrary. The limits of
the building envelope should be defined in the regulations. The
decision of "suitable areas" should be left to the developer
consistent with the regulations. Page 47;4 - Strategies - Item b
Same response as for Page 43, third and four paragraph. Page 47;4
- Strategies - Item d. Suggestions for architectural design are a
good idea, but they should remain just that. Architectural design
should not be a regulation imposed by the Building Department or
the Planning Board. Page 47; 4 Strategies Item f. Same
response as for Page 43, third and fourth paragraph. Page 48
Recommendations - Item 5 I don't understand how it was determined
that a new highway parallel to Rt. 149 is a "severe environmental
impact on the region". Before such a recommendation is made, an
Environmental Impact Study should be undertaken to fully understand
the impact of various alternatives. Page 48 Recommendations - Item
10 Seeking architectural appropriateness is a good idea however it
should remain just that. Architectural appropriateness and design
should not be a regulation imposed by the Building Department or
the Planning Board. Page 49, Recommendations Item 18.
Construction of a bike path along Rt. 149 is a good idea. However
who is going to develop and implement such a plan? Has its
feasibility been investigated? I would suggest that the
regulations on Page 52, 53, 54, and 55 be rewritten in
consideration of the above comments and additionally that
consideration be given to the fOllowing: Page 52 Nonenclosed
decks should be limited in size to a percentage of the size of the
principal structure and should be allowed as an accessory use for
all permitted and site plan review uses. Page 53 The number of
units for a Motel/Hotel use should be limited only by the building
area limitations of 5000 S.F. per acre. Page 54 - A Clustering
should not be required, it should be encouraged and permitted.
Page 54 - D(l) Permitted uses should include Duplex Residential
Dwelling. Page 54 - D (3) Site Plan Review Uses should include
Cluster Residential Dwellings. Thank you for the opportunity to
comment on this important study. Sincerely, James M. Weller, P.E."
MR. BREWER-Okay, George, there is a
received in the mail, dated the 30th.
follow up letter that I
Just read that. It's kind
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of short.
MR. STARK-Mr. Tim Brewer, Planning Board Chairman, "Dear Mr.
Brewer: My letter of March 25th, 1994 was a technical review of
the "Addendum To The Route 149 Corridor Planning Study", and as
such does not express my support for the concept of the proposed
plan. I'm a lifelong resident of the corridor and own several
parcels of property of both commercial and residential land within
the corridor. I have lived at my present location on Rt. 149 for
the past 29 years and I have invested significantly in my various
properties always following the constraints of the zoning
regulations. I am 100 percent supporter of the proposed re-zoning
plan and as such am opposed to any commercial development within
the proposed residential zones. I ask that you give consideration
only to technical revisions that I and others might suggest, and
that you adopt a plan, generally, as currently proposed. Thank you
for giving consideration to my concerns. Sincerely, James M.
Weller, P.E."
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you. Cathy, do you want to read the next
two?
MRS. LABOMBARD-This letter's from John Whalen on the Farm-to-
Market-Road, Lake George, NY, to Tim Brewer, Planning Board
Chairman, clo Planning Office, Queensbury, NY "As a property owner
of 70 acres along Route 149, between Bay and Ridge roads, I would
like to comment in regard to the March 31st, 1994 meeting on the
Route 149 Corridor Study. In the proposed rezoning, quite a few
large parcels of land west of Bay Road which are currently zoned
RR-3A, have been rezoned to RR-1A. However, my property, which is
currently zoned RR-3, has ~ been increased in density to RR-1A.
I request that my lands also be rezoned to RR-1A. A study of the
data in the Route 149 Study covering depth to bedrock, percolation
rates, water table, and slope show that most of my land has a high
to moderate suitability for development, and should have few
constraints going to an RR-1A zoning. DATA Depth to Bedrock -
greater than 60". - High SUitability for development. Percolation
Rate - 0.6" to 2". - Moderate suitability for development. Water
Table - greater than 72". - High suitability for development.
Slope - 30 to 80, 80 to 150 High to moderate suitability for
development. Sincerely, John Whalen" And this letter is from
Benjamin Aronson, on Star Route, Queensbury, to the attention of
the Queensbury Town Planning Board "Any effort to rezone Rt. 149
that would increase its present use or add more exit-entrance would
be detrimental to anyone using this already overburdened roadway.
Al though I do not reside on 149 I am close enough to hear the
constant sirens of rescue vehicles & have witnessed much misery due
to this road's inadequacy & overuse. Personal interviews with Law
Enforcement Personnel state they hate to even patrol this road &
avoid it when possible. Improvements will only cause higher speeds
& more severe accidents. The logical solution to alleviate the
load here and also the congestion on Rt. 9 between Exit 20 & 149
would be to start from scratch & come off Exit 17 with a 4 Lane
Northway type road & meet the Vermont Turnpike going possibly along
the Barge Canal & there abouts. This would also relieve another
death trap Rt. 4! Roads are for getting from one place to another.
I would hope that logic would prevail over politics & greed. Ben
L. Aronson"
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you. George made a suggestion. When you
come up, please state your name and, if you would, please give us
the zone that you are currently zoned, and the zone that's proposed
for your land.
MR. HARLICKER-I'd just like to make one note, before we start with
the public comment. The actual implementation of recommendations
of the study will be done by the Town Board, not the Planning
Board. Tonight is just, the Planning Board is here to adopt the
resolution, either as is, or with modifications, or decide not to
adopt it. It will be the responsibility of the Town Board to
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implement any of the suggestions found in the plan.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Would anyone care to speak?
GEORGE RYAN
MR. RYAN-I've got one comment. I like the bicycle path, but
unfortunately I work all day. So I'd like to put lights in it so
I could ride my bike at night. That's one thing. The next thing
is, I'd like to see this whole thrown right out the window. We're
putting the cart before the road. Lets let the road get in, then
rezone it. They're going to take 30 feet, some places aren't ~
going to be there! I might be one of them. So why are we studying
this now? Lets let the new road come through, see where we wind
up, and go with it. I'd say that we throw the whole thing out the
window, quit while we're ahead. Maybe we should take a vote of the
people, and see what the people say.
MR. MARTIN-I just have one question for Mr. Ryan.
with your SR-1A zoning?
Are you happy
MR. RYAN-No, because I'm on a commercial road. My kids can't play
in the front yard, they'll get run over by tractor trailers. They
can't play in the backyard, they'll get hit with golf balls.
MR. MARTIN-So, George, the short answer is, no.
MR. RYAN-I've been there for 20 years, and I've been doing okay.
What the hell's another 10, until they fix this road? I don't
foresee it's going to happen.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Who's next?
MAC COFFIN
MR. COFFIN-Mac Coffin. What the zoning is, I think they've done a
real good job in trying to make this thing.
MR. BREWER-What zone are you in now, Mac?
MR. COFFIN-RR-5. They want to change it to, anyway, they're going
to border us with this new Rural Commercial. This is all a good
idea, but you're bumping a Rural Commercial up against the
Residential in an arbitrary position, as far as my personal one is
concerned. You have to stop it some place. That would be my only
major gripe, but I agree with George. This traffic study, we're
using old studies that were done in off seasons, for usage of that
highway. Anybody who's lived on that highway, which Jim Martin is
one, knows that the highway is a disaster. The first thing they've
got to do is fix this highway, before we even consider any more
commercial development on it, and once the commercial development
is considered, I think it should be more restricted to areas on
those intersections and not drifting off arbitrarily on different
intersections and ignoring some. I guess that's all of mine. I'll
give the rest of my time to the Martindales.
ROBERT MARTINDALE
MR. MARTINDALE-I'm Robert Martindale. I'm currently in an RR-3A
zone. They're changing it to RR-1A. When this study first came
about, I thought the original intent was to give the people what
they wanted, and the questionnaire they sent out was very vague.
I think that the main issue here is if the people want
commercialism on this road or if they don't want commercialism on
thi s road. I think you should send out one more survey to
everybody and ask direct questions rather than very vague
questions. It leaves a lot of gray area. Just ask the specific
question is, do you think that commercialism should be allowed on
the whole road, and not segregate different areas. Just come out
and ask it, and then you could take a count and everyone will know
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what they want. Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you.
PAT BALDWIN
MS. BALDWIN-My name is Pat Baldwin, and I'm here on behalf of
Torrington Industries. They're currently bi- zoned in the one
parcel that they do own, and there's a concern with that, because
the tax assessment has it assessed as commercial property, yet
they're currently zoned as Highway Commercial and SR-1A. The
proposal would make them a tri-zoned parcel, and what they're
asking is that you reconsider the boundary to the zoning, in
particular, to make it more consistent with their ownership of that
whole parcel. Do you know which parcel it is? It's the one right
on the corner of Ridge and 149, on the south western corner. Part
of it is Highway Commercial and part of it is SR-1A.
MR. BREWER-Okay. So, if they changed that to RuC-1A, it's going to
be part RuC-1A and SR-1A.
MS. BALDWIN-Right, and the Highway Commercial is being done away
with, probably, is what you're saying?
MR. BREWER-Correct.
MS. BALDWIN-Okay. They would like to preserve the commercial,
because it is an industry. It's a commercial owner. They're
interested in preserving the commercial use of that property.
MR. BREWER-So they'd like to stay Highway Commercial?
MS. BALDWIN-Yes.
MR., BREWER-Rather than the Rural Commercial.
MS. BALDWIN-Yes.
MR. BREWER-Have they looked at the Rural Commercial uses?
MS. BALDWIN-Yes. It doesn't really suit their purposes, when they
purchased the land, and it's my understanding that there's an
active landfill, an active mine, that are adjacent to it, across
the bridge. So it's not inconsistent with the present uses.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you very much. Anyone else?
FRANK ROLLO
MR. ROLLO-I'm Frank Rollo. I have Highway Commercial One Acre,
adjacent to Len and Peg's, and it wants to be changed to Rural One
Acre. This discussion has been centered around 149 becoming all
more commercial. I was wondering what the reasoning was behind
taking one commercial area and devaluating it with the Rural
Commercial. I don't know exactly what the further restrictions
would be, but I understand that it is more restrictive.
MR. BREWER-It eliminates some of the uses that are in Highway
Commercial, is basically what it does.
MR. ROLLO-Right, and as such, potentially, will reduce the value of
the property that I, the vacant property that I own there. So my
request would be for the existing Highway Commercial to stay
Highway Commercial.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you. Anyone else?
CHRIS SCHUH
MR. SCHUH-I just have a question, more than a comment, on the,
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Chris Schuh. I just had a question on your Town wide change in
your Minor Subdivision Regulations that you propose for
subdivisions of four lots or less. Is there a Statute of
Limitations in the framing of those four lots? If you have a 100
acre piece and you cut it into four lots, and I'm left with a 50
acre piece, can I re-cut those four lots in some time period? Does
that go on forever?
MR. MACEWAN-That was a question that I had, too.
MR. MARTIN-Go ahead, Tim, and we'll get an answer.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
DICK KILMARTIN
MR. KILMARTIN-I'd like to know whatever happened to government of
the people, by the people, and for the people, Q.y the people?
Whatever happened to that? All of a sudden it's two or three
people wanting to do it. I want to know what happened to the
government of the people, for the people, and by the people?
MR. BREWER-Dick, I think what happened here is some people came in
to the Planning Office or to the Town Board and asked for their
land to be rezoned, okay. So our planners, with the goodwill of
the Town Board, were asked to come up with a plan, okay. They came
up with a plan. This is the plan that's in front of everybody.
We're here to take input, to make changes, to not do it, to do it,
to make changes for what the people want. They sent surveys out.
A lot of the people did send them in, a lot of people didn't send
them in. They're doing the best they can. That's all I can tell
you. I mean, nobody's perfect, Dick. I mean, we're trying to do
the best we can for the people that live on that road, that own
property on that road. Just because this is proposed in front of
us doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be that way. That's what
we're here for. I mean, everybody's in here, or some people are in
here ready to cut out head's off, and we didn't do anything. We're
asking for input.
MR. KILMARTIN-I agree with you, but wait a minute. George Ryan had
the right idea. Let the highway get built first, and then do
something.
MR. BREWER-Okay, and then what happens if the highway doesn't get
buil t, Dick? And then what happens if you want to sell your
property and you want to build something commercial on it and the
Town doesn't like it and you come in here screaming and hOllering
because we won't let you do what you want to do?
MR. KILMARTIN-They've got me tied up right now so I can't do
anything.
MR. BREWER-Well, we're trying to help you.
MR. KILMARTIN-I've been trying to sell a lot for over a year, and
this Town has got me tied right up so I can't do it, and if some of
these people that knew, that sit up here, not necessarily you
people, right there, but some of them are in the audience, right
now. If they knew how to read a deed, and a survey, they would
understand where I'm coming from.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I understand, but.
MR. KILMARTIN-These people have got to be schooled.
know how to read a deed. ~ can read a deed.
They don't
MR. BREWER-Okay, Dick, we're trying to help you. Lets work
together. Lets not argue, and I don't mean to get mad and raise my
voice, but, lets try to work together and get the thing done the
way the people want it. That's what we're here for, and I don't
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think we should take a lot of abuse because we're volunteers trying
to help you people, and I'm speaking for everybody. I think you
should try to help us, not try to argue with us, no matter who
comes up, okay.
MR. KILMARTIN-I hear you, but what I'm trying to say is, now, I've
got a lot of property over there. You know I do. One of my
neighbors, two of my neighbors, three of my neighbors, or a guy
across the road, he's still a neighbor, no matter how you look at
it. If I try to do something, they're all up here trying to stop
me, and I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I bought this property 35
years ago for a retirement purpose. Lo and behold, I've still got
it. I can't sell one acre off from it. I can't sell 10 acres off
from it, because of the way it's set up. The Town done it. I was
working nights, and they were holding all these meetings, dammit,
they never sent me any notice they were holding all these meetings
on the rezoning and all this stuff, and what could be, I've got
five sons I can't even one of my sons a building lot. Now, imagine
that. Isn't that something?
MR. BREWER-I understand that, Dick.
all, or not?
Does this plan help you at
MR. KILMARTIN-I haven't seen the new plan that you've got out, yet.
I haven't seen it.
MR. BREWER-Then how can you sit there and bitch about it?
MR. KILMARTIN-I'm bitching about it because of what I read in the
paper.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
and look at it.
Well, don't read what's in the paper. Come here
I don't mean to raise my voice at you.
MR. KILMARTIN-No. You're doing the same thing that I always do.
I get upset about it, and I do, but anyhow, what I'm trying to say
is you guys are up here. You're supposed to be doing a job, or
you're trying.
MR. MARTIN-Dick, the plan is the same as the old one you saw last
year. It's taking a piece of your property that's on 149, giving
it a commercial zoning, and it's taking your density down from five
acre to three acre, like it did before, all right, that's what it
does over your property.
MR. KILMARTIN-All right.
MR. MACEWAN-Is that beneficial to you?
MR. KILMARTIN-Sure it is. It could be ~ beneficial. You can't
satisfy everybody. I know you're not going to satisfy everybody.
I can't, you can't, nobody can.
MR. MACEWAN-We'll try.
MR. KILMARTIN-That RR-3 that he's talking about, there's a lot of
wetlands in there, but there's still some good building spots in
there. You cut it down to RR-3, now, you're still, there's over
100 acre in that piece of property. They cut it down to 30 lots,
that's RR-3.
MR. OBERMAYER-What would you like to see it?
MR. KILMARTIN-What would I like to see it? I'd like to see it one
acre lots, because there is a lot of wetlands in there, and you
can't build on the wetlands. You know that as well as I do.
MR. COFFIN-Can't he cluster it, though?
MR. BREWER-Yes, he can.
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MR. KILMARTIN-Yes, but 30 lots, out of 100 acres, that's not very
many lots.
MR. BREWER-I know it isn't.
MR. MARTIN-How much of the 100 acres would you say is wetlands,
ball park?
MR. KILMARTIN-Right off the top?
wetlands.
There probably is 50 percent
MR. MARTIN-All right.
MR. BREWER-So you couldn't build 100 lots anyway.
MR. KILMARTIN-No. I know that, Tim.
where I'm coming from anyhow.
I know that, but you know
MR. BREWER-All right. Lets stick to this thing here, and I don't
mean to shut you off, but I said everybody five minutes the first
time around. Lets give everybody a chance to speak, okay.
MR. KILMARTIN-Okay. I appreciate it.
MR. BREWER-Thank you.
MR. MARTIN-To answer the other gentleman's question, the only
provision would be that you'd have to go through a full subdivision
process, a major subdivision on any other subdivision.
MR. BREWER-He doesn't live on 149.
MR. MACEWAN-So he could do it once, if he had 100 acres, he could
do 100 acres, cut them into four 25 acre lots, then if he wanted to
take 25 or 50 of the acres and subdivide that, then he's got to go
through the full subdivision process.
MR. MARTIN-Right, but there's no time limitation or anything like
that.
MR. SCHUH-Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Is there anyone else that would like to speak?
LOUIE MAYER
MR. MAYER-Louie Mayer. I have a couple of pieces of property on
149, and right now, everybody knows the traffic's real bad. By
making the road better, it's going to be worse. It stops right in
front of my house five hours a day, and if you don't do anything,
the Lake George Road will be there forever, and ever. You'll never
solve the problem by just fixing 149 and not doing anything to the
Lake George Road, and making that commercial's even going to make
it worse. Putting a bike path down isn't going to kill anybody
anyway because they go 90 miles an hour now. I mean, I don't care
if you have cops down there, they come, I live in the valley there,
just down from George's Boats, 60, 70, 80 miles an hour. I've been
hi t twice, and another thing is, what's going to happen to all
these houses if you're taking all this land away from everybody,
which you'll take by right of domain, and don't want to give
nothing for it. and then the God Damn, the road's going to be right
up to your doorstep. What's going to happen then? Half these
people are going to lose their house, and a lot of these people
that live on the road now are not going to be living there a few
more years if you build this road. You should build it somewhere
else. I mean, leave us alone.
MR. BREWER-Let me explain something to you, sir. The Town of
Queensbury's not going to build this road. The State of New York
is.
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MR. MAYER-I realize that, but they said that 30 years ago when I
moved there. I've been there since '48, and they surveyed that 25
years ago, and was going to do a road then. That's when they
should have done it. Now they've got all these houses on there,
and most houses aren't 40 feet away from the road. A lot of them
are only 30. So if you take 12 feet in shoulders, and then you
want 30 feet. You'd be right up to your doorstep. You won't be
able to have a house there, and it's so bad now it's unbelievable.
I mean, in the ski time, it's five hours on Sunday, and Friday
night it's all night, and during the summer, it's all day and all
night, and in making that road a super highway across there will
straighten it out, not only are you going to take a lot of property
and homes out of there, you're going to have the rest of us, if
none of you people live there, you don't realize how bad it is, but
now, you're going to rebuild the highway, right? So, then you're
going to have more cars on there, and they're going to be going a
lot faster than they are now, and we're having a lot of accidents.
We've had several killed in the pond there, drowned right in front
of my house, and nine major accidents in two or three years.
MR. BREWER-One of them was a good friend of mine.
MR. MAYER-That's right, and the point is, you know what I'm saying,
once you widen the road, you're going to take a lot of homes, and
you're going to force people to, you're going to force them right
out of their homes, and the ones that are left, now you've got the
road widened and you want so many feet that nothing can go on, so
on and so fprth. Everybody's house is going to be, it won't be
worth a nickel. You'll have all these people and all this, you
know, and I think that we missed the boat here.
MR. BREWER-So what you're saying is, you'd like to see it stay as
it is?
MR. MAYER-No. I think you should put a road elsewhere. You
should. You should put a super road somewhere else that goes over
onto 4 somewhere, or you should come off of 20, come right off of
Exit 20 and go straight across, and skip Lake George Road.
MR. BREWER-And then what would happen with 149? We should leave it
like it is?
MR. MAYER-No. The point is.
MR. BREWER-I understand exactly what you're saying, sir.
MR. MAYER-You're going to eliminate most of us. You don't live on
149, none of you do, so you don't care what happens to our house,
or how much traffic.
MR. MACEWAN-That's not true.
MR. BREWER-It's not fair to say that we don't care.
MR. MAYER-I mean, the point is, where's the traffic going to go?
You've rebuilt 149 now, and you made a great highway. Now it still
stops in front of my house for five hours a day because you've got
a ~ed light at the top of the hill and nowhere's for the car to go.
Lake George Road is solid all day long. I don't even go Lake
George any more, I go Bay Road. I go the other way, because I
can't get out of my yard going towards Lake George. You can't get
out. They will not let you out. I mean, I get out of the car and
call them.. .move and everything else, and once in awhile somebody
will let me out of the yard. That's the truth. I mean, every
single weekend it's over Ox Bow Hill, and for hours, four, five
hours a day, and so building 149 over is not going to eliminate
your traffic problems. It's just going to make a better road.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Well, I guess my question is to you, sir, what
should we do with 149, shut it down?
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MR. MAYER-I don't know what you should do with it. I mean, if
you'd have thought of that 20 years ago, and fixed it then.
MR. BREWER-I wasn't up here 20 years ago.
MR. MAYER-Well, I know, but we had a Board here, and we had a Town
here, and they should have done that before it got so populated and
you've got so many people living on there, and when you came up
with an Exit, Exit 20, and you realized that that was going to be
the main route to Vermont, that's when they should have done
something right there, but, no. nobody wanted to do anything then,
and now you're going to wipe half of us off the road. A lot of
houses, and the ones that are going to be left, the traffic is
going to be even worse, and they're going to be closer to your
house. You won't hardly get a car in front of your house, to park.
Do you think that rebuilding, do you seriously think that
rebuilding 149 is going to help the Lake George Road or eliminate
that problem that you've got up there now? No, absolutely not, and
you could never tell me that it will. Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you.
JAN COFFIN
MRS. COFFIN-Hi. Jan Coffin. It seems like the traffic on 149 is
the greatest concern for a lot of us that live on that road, and
what I'm concerned about is that the Planning Department has told
us, they've been very honest about it, that data they have is
inadequate for the traffic. They don't know what's going on, as
far as traffic is concerned. We do. We live there. We listen to
the tractor trailers go back and forth all night long. What I
would like to suggest is that before anything gets implemented,
they do a detailed traffic study, and they also study what the
impact is going to be on the traffic by further commercialization
or subdivision, how much is that going to increase the traffic.
Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Thank you.
DICK MEAD
MR. MEAD-I'm Dick Mead. I didn't intend to make any comments, but
I own property across the road from John Whelan, and I'd love to
see the road stay rural, as it is, with no more commercial than is
necessary. However, if you do go to one acre zoning, mine is three
(lost word) to go to one acre zoning.
MR. BREWER-Whereabouts is your property, Dick?
MR. MEAD-It's probably right here.
MR. BREWER-You're?
MR. MEAD-West of the Country Club. I have no quarrel with the
three acre zoning, if everyone else stays three acre, but if
everyone else is going to go one acre, then I think I should be,
too. I would actually prefer to stay all three.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Scott, is there a particular reason you didn't
choose to change that?
MR. HARLICKER-Isn't that five acre right now?
MR. MEAD-It's three.
MR. HARLICKER-It's three acre, and it
remember right, is there a wetlands
environmental constraints? I believe
leaving those, that area in there.
stayed three. Yes,
on your property,
that was the reason
if I
some
for
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MR. MEAD-There are wetlands right in here.
MR. BREWER-On Whelan's property, also?
MR. HARLICKER-Which one is his?
MR. BREWER-His is directly across the street.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes. Because of the environmental constraints in
there. That's why that wasn't reduced down to a one acre.
MR. MEAD-I think John also owns the land adjacent to mine, on the
north side of the road. I think. Some people were going to buy
it, about five years ago, and they apparently, by the time they got
all the approvals and went through two or three different
moratoriums, then they couldn't get the financing, and that was set
up for three acres, and it does very nice, but if everyone else is
going to be one, I don't think I want to stay three.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
comment?
Thank you.
Is there anyone else who'd like to
BILL MELLON
MR. MELLON-I'm Bill Mellon. I live on top of Ox Bow Hill. I'd
just like to say that I'm in the three acre zoning, and I'd
appreciate going to the one acre zoning, but I think some of these
people have a very valid argument when it comes to the road. I've
worked on the road a long time. I know how many accidents there
have probably been between the fire department, the rescue squad,
and being a deputy sheriff, I've investigated a lot of them, and I
feel that is a big problem. I've probably done more duty privately
there than I had when I was working, but that's all I would like to
say. I do think maybe it might be a good idea to see what the road
is doing. Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like
to speak?
CAROLYN MARTINDALE
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. Fran and Carol Martindale. We are presently
zoned RR-3 Acres, and it will be zoned RR-1 Acre, and we are the
Martindales that kind of instituted this whole Corridor Study.
We're guilty of that. First of all, I would like to say, I would
agree with George Ryan. I would agree with Mr. Kilmartin. The
road right now probably shouldn't be even considered for anything
other than as is. The traffic on the road is horrendous. The Town
admits that it's winding roads, or whatever. They're not listening
to the residents, or to the landowners, with this new zone that
they're trying to put through the way they are right now. I've
made a note of all the comments of the people that applied. I
found seven people saying residential, other than Jimmy Weller. He
had six properties that were considered. So that would make it
twelve, thirteen, one of those was a summer home. People don't
even live in the area. So naturally, they're going to want to keep
it residential only. According to constitutional law, under
zoning, the highest use for a road, for a use on the properties is
residential, but when that becomes excessive, which 149 is, the
highest use is not residential. It becomes commercial. The
complaints you hear before you tonight from the property owners is
heavy traffic, not only heavy residential, traffic going through
the road, but truck traffic as well. This is why it's a State road
designated to become a Federal road. The comments that I would
like to say here, too, on the commercial uses, people have said,
keep farming, keep agricultural, highway commercial, leave rural,
commercial maintained as is. Lets see, highway commercial is
appropriate, commercial or residential, take pressure off Route 9,
residential inappropriate, commercial, no restrictions. I could
give you the tax map numbers on each of these.
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MR. BREWER-No. I think we have them right here.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. The highway will govern everything, reroute
the traffic, kill the million dollar stretch, put a safe sensible
four lane, again, handle the killer traffic, all commercial uses as
long as properties are kept attractive, 149 is a major highway,
appropriate, 1,000 foot wide commercial use from the Route 9
Corridor to the City line, or County Line, someone' s pipe dream
that this route will be a lovely County Route. It will get worse.
Ag with commercial uses, limit to locations adjacent to a major
highway, along with residents and recreational, residences
commercial, let Martindales do what they want as long as it's done
by Code. You find all kinds of comments, and the people that did
say residential also, the majority of them said commercial, other
than the thirteen that I commented on. I don't think the Town has
even taken that into consideration. March 4th meeting last year,
people commented on smelly dumps caused from Finch Pruyn. They
commented on the heavy traffic on the road. People commented on,
don't let children near the road, they're going to get killed.
Now, a bike trail, how much common sense is that on a maj or
arterial? Heavy truck traffic. You're going to count your
blessings that somebody doesn't get killed just from that being the
major highway that it is, and the winding road that's stated by the
Town Planners. On Page 7 of the March 25th meeting, Scott
Harlicker said, we felt there would be a need for some sort of
enlarged commercial area at the intersections. It was our beliefs
that the commercial zones should be concentrated at the three main
intersections. It was the Town Planners belief. They're not
listening to what the people were saying here on these little
questionnaires that we got.
MR. BREWER-Carolyn, the first thing that you said when you came up
here. You said you agree with George Ryan. It should stay as it
is. So now what are you saying?
MRS. MARTINDALE-I'm saying that if it's not going to stay as it is,
I'm giving my reasons why the Town isn't listening to the people.
Like Mr. Kilmartin says, a government of the people, by the people,
and for the people, and they're not listening.
MR. BREWER-I guess what I'm asking is what are you saying, you
think it should change?
MRS. MARTINDALE-I think it should be commercial all the way through
because it's not, the way the traffic is, the highest use is not
residential. You're getting all your complaints from residents.
If you're not going to leave it as it is, the whole road, 500 feet
in, should be zoned Rural Commercial. In fact, that's essentially
what the (lost word) is doing. I'll get into it with the Rural
Home Occupations. People today don't understand zoning. The
average person, and I never did, quite honestly, until 1991/1992,
when we were hit hard by this Town. It had never effected me
whatsoever. Scott Harlicker, on Page 14 of the 149 Corridor Study
says, the increase in the number of curb cuts would negatively
effect traffic flow in an area that has a history of accidents.
They're going to concentrate, the way they have right now, they're
concentrating the rural commercial in areas where the heaviest
accidents already occur. If you were to spread that out a little
bit, we certainly wouldn't have as many accidents, because it would
be more of a gentle flow all along the Route. They are totally
keeping our petition for the zone change completely out of site.
I'd like to bring our Study in that, with the, right here. When we
applied for our zoning change, and we finally, I mean, after eleven
months trying to get before you, the Planning Board, last November
23rd, almost the end of the year, Betty Monahan and Nick Caimano
apparently.
MR. BREWER-Please, lets stick with this.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That's the two that voted against it. I'm speaking
- 13 -
on this zoning change, which effects what I'm going to say here.
On Page 14 of it, it says, the increase in the number of curb cuts
would negatively effect traffic flow in an area that has a history
of accidents.
MR. BREWER-Right.
MRS. MARTINDALE-The property was included in a recently completed
Corridor Study. There's been a lot of changes since that Corridor
Study was supposedly completed, with the addendum that's now been
proposed.
FRAN MARTINDALE
MR. MARTINDALE-While she's looking, I have a few comments. It says
in the Master Plan they want to keep a rural character of that
corridor. Can you people tell me anything that's more rural than
maple syrup and pancakes?
MR. BREWER-Francis, you're talking about a specific piece of
property.
MR. MARTINDALE-That's right. I am.
MR. BREWER-Lets talk about the whole thing. I don't want to get
into an argument with you and I don't want to get into an hour
conversation about your piece of property.
MR. MARTINDALE-I asked you a question. What is more rural? Is
houses made out of plastic rural in character, houses put up with
more kids going to school? You're putting a thousand houses,
easily, on that road, without any trouble by going to one acre
zoning. Is that going to add to pollution? Is that going to add
to the expense? This is a commercial road from one end to the
other.
MR. BREWER-Why is it a commercial road, because commercial vehicles
use it?
MR. MARTINDALE-There's so much traffic and if you want to call it
a residential road, wouldn't you find that the people in the
immediate area of that residential area would be using the highway
the most? If you lived on that road or worked on that road, you
would see that you've got more cars from Vermont, New Jersey, and
Connecticut on that road than you've got New York State cars.
MR. BREWER-I agree with you. Nobody's disagreeing with you.
MR. MARTINDALE-That's why I'm saying, you asked why I would say it
should be a commercial road.
MR. BREWER-The most intensive use on that road is houses. There's
more houses on that road than there are anything, Fran, and that's
what they're saying. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's
what we're saying. The most intensive use on that road is houses,
because there's more houses on that road than there are businesses.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Because they couldn't put the businesses there. If
it was zoned differently, if it was zoned commercial, you'd find
that road was commercial.
MR. BREWER-You're probably right.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That's why there's residences there and not
commercial enterprises.
MR. BREWER-Okay. So what we're asking you is comments on this
Study right here, not your particularly piece of property.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It is part of, that's why, there's residents, and
- 14 -
that's why you have to allow those comments.
MR. BREWER-We are allowing comments. I've been to three meetings
listening to comments.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. Lets go in to this addendum to the Route 149
Corridor Study. Lets go to the Rural Home Occupation.
MR. BREWER-What page are you on?
MR. MARTINDALE-54.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Rural Home Occupation is the last page, 55. Do you
know what a possible 800 square foot, a 20 by 40 building could
bring in a residential zone, all along 149, where there's homes?
That is, essentially, zoning it commercial, and it's exclusionary
zoning, when they're eliminating.
MR. BREWER-Certain uses.
MRS. MARTINDALE-No. It's exclusionary when you're allowing nothing
on vacant land, according to the new.
MR. BREWER-Home Occupation is specific uses.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And it's discrimination.
MR. MARTINDALE-And without site plan.
MRS. MhRTINDALE-And without site plan. Hypothetically, right
across the road from our farm, there are five, one and two bedroom
apartments. Jim Martin stated in December 1993, when thi s was
brought before the Town Board, that these tenants, and lets take
into consideration there's two bedrooms. So, they could have
children. You've got ten adults in the apartment. They could have
separate businesses. You've got the owners of the property.
MR. BREWER-Provided they have room for it. Do they have room for
it?
MRS. MARTINDALE-It's allowable, along with this Rural Home
Occupation, it's a permitted use.
MR. MARTINDALE-It's allowable.
nothing to say over it.
You, as a Planning Board, have
MRS. MARTINDALE-And you didn't say anything over it.
MR. BREWER-If we don't have a right to say anything over it, how
can we say anything over it?
MRS. MARTINDALE-You passed that in December. You passed the Rural
Home Occupation, in November, when it came before your Board. You
recommended to the Town Board that it be passed, your
recommendations. Do you recall it coming before you on November
23rd, 1993? The same night that we were before you for our CR
zoning change, that same evening you had Rural Home Occupation.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And you recommended to the Town Board that it be
passed.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I'm not doubting your word.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Did you take into consideration that a 20 by 40
with 12 people, at the maximum, the traffic that would.
MR. BREWER-In the whole Town, that's the maximum?
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MRS. MARTINDALE-No.
MR. BREWER-That's what's proposed for the 149 Corridor. That's not
what was proposed that night.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That ~ proposed that night.
MR. BREWER-Eight hundred square feet?
MRS. MARTINDALE-Yes.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And I'm just trying to explain, are you as a
Planning Board thinking, or are you just saying, the Town Planner's
(lost word) here so we'll agree with it? Have you given thought to
it?
MR. BREWER-Probably at that time, yes, we did.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And you think that 10 people, 12 people on one
site, where there's children involved, with two family apartments,
where there's two bedroom apartments, and you think that 800 square
feet of no site plan review, isn't that heavy traffic, heavy
commercial, with no site plan review, on a corner that you can't
even see around the bend?
MR. BREWER-You're talking about a specific place.
talk about.
I don't want to
MR. MARTINDALE-All right. Take it in general.
thing, every home, every home is entitled to
occupation, okay.
Take the whole
residential home
MR. BREWER-You're right.
MR. MARTINDALE-That's commercialism. That is commercialism for the
fullest extent and you, as a Planning Board, will come to a
business and say, Mr. Businessman, in order for you to open up, you
have to have handicapped parking. You have to have your garbage
hidden. You've got to hide your parking lot. You've got all of
these stipulations, but yet you're opening up a can of worms.
You're allowing everybody on that road that desires to have a home
occupation without any policing. You don't know how many people
are going to, they can say I'm only hiring one person. You don't
know that. You don't know how many people are coming in there. Is
there anything.
MR. BREWER-Home Occupation doesn't have employees, I believe.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Yes.
MR. MARTINDALE-It allows one employee.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Did you read your rule book?
MR. BREWER-No. I'm not here to discuss Home Occupation.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It's going to be recommendations.
this Corridor Study.
It's part of
MR. BREWER-Okay, up to a percentage, up to 800 is the maximum.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Right.
MR. BREWER-So do you think everybody is going to have a house big
enough to have 800 square feet?
MR. MARTINDALE-We're not talking just about one house.
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MRS. MARTINDALE-We're talking about the whole road.
MR. MARTINDALE-Everyone of those people are entitled to have?
MR. BREWER-Are they all big enough to have 800 square feet?
MR. MARTINDALE-It doesn't have to be 800, it's a business. It is
a business.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-With no site plan review. Originally, back before
this addendum came through, it was site plan review, and that's
where it should remain, if they're going to have it, because you
have accidents ready to happen on a killer road.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Now, when we came before you, November 23rd, you
said you as a Planning Board, there were four members that night,
Corinne Tarana, she's not a member anymore. You, Tim Brewer, said
we had a lovely, wonderful idea for our property, and now is the
time for you as a Board, this is what you said to us.
MR. BREWER-Carolyn, you're not talking about this. You're talking
about a year ago.
MRS. MARTINDALE-But I am.
MR. BREWER-But you're not, and I'm not going to sit here and argue
with you all night long about what you want to do. I know exactly
what you want to do. We're here to talk about this Study.
MRS. MARTINDALE-You're here to make a recommendation.
MR. BREWER-Right. We're not going to' make a recommendation
tonight. I can tell you that right now.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. Mr. Brewer says, if this thing is approved,
and it's not in stone yet, come here, I'll show you. Your
property's here, okay, RuC ends here. There's several owners.
They're all your neighbors. If they extended that down to this
Mobile Home Overlay Zone, there's nothing so obtrusive in here
that's going to create that much commercialism as the zone you're
asking for now. So, if you ask the Town, say, gee, this zone is
right here, a stone's throw from our land, why can't you extend
that? There's deed restrictions. We can't subdivide the land.
Include us in the RuC. Don't think anybody's against you, Fran.
You've asked all the wrong people because Scott can't tell you what
we want to do any more than we can tell the Town Board what we want
to do. We make the recommendation. This is quoting from you, at
the November 23rd. You have that opportunity now, tonight, to make
a recommendation for this zoning, to include that as your
recommendation to the Town. I know there's some new members on
this Board that haven't seen our conceptual drawing. It includes
a pancake house.
MR. BREWER-I know exactly what it includes. I'm not going to make
a recommendation on a Study that goes from the Fort Ann line to
Route 9 because you want me to recommend your pancake house. I
have to take everything that's in here, not just your piece of
property. That's not fair.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That's not what I'm asking you. You specifically
said for us to take it before the Town Board.
MR. BREWER-Right. Is this the Town Board?
MRS. MARTINDALE-Tim, you are here, tonight, for a public hearing to
listen to the people who own property on the road and to take their
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..-..
recommendations into consideration and to, hopefully, if you're not
even possibly leave this the way it is. So, if you listen to the
people on the road, the people, according to what I started to show
you here, did not say, don't let the Martindales have their Rural
Commercial.
MR. BREWER-No. Everybody that's come up here so far has said they
either want to leave it like it is or reduce their zoning. I've
written down what people have said.
MRS. ~ARTINDALE-They have not said, don't let the Martindales have
their.
MR. BREWER-No. Nobody has said let them have it either.
MRS. MARTINDALE-They have.
MR. BREWER-Not a person up here tonight has said let them have it.
MRS. MARTINDALE-They have said it at the March 3rd and March 25th.
MR. BREWER-All right. Lets not argue about your property, please.
MRS. MARTINDALE-But anyway, what I'm saying is.
MR. BREWER-Lets not argue about your project. Give me comments on
this, and then we'll be done. Okay. We're going nowhere.
MRS. MARTINDALE-I did want some of these things explained, because
like I said, the average person, until they go to use their land,
don't know what they're getting into, and they do want the
government off the backs of the people, and under Rural Commercial,
E., non enclosed decks for restaurant, club, tavern or bar
purposes, Page 52, under Rural Commercial. In a Rural area that we
want to keep beautiful, why are we even thinking about having
tavern or bar purposes, a deck for tavern or bar purposes. That
shouldn't even be considered on a killer road.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-You shouldn't even allow anything that would
promote drinking.
MR. BREWER-Okay. There happens to be a bar on one of the corners,
though, two of the corners.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Fine, but this is also making it accessory use, not
even site plan. I mean, a lot of things should be taken into
consideration if you're a planner. Site Plan Review Uses, on Page
53. Originally, they had agricultural use in there, now they've
taken it out. Why not allow agriculture in a rural area? That's
what agricultural is agricultural. Why did they take it out?
MR. BREWER-They're calling it Rural Commercial.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Right, and they're not allowing an agricultural use
in a Rural Commercial zone. What's the reason for taking out a
totally agricultural use that was there from Day One, before the
road was even in or anything, and we started as a cow patch on 149.
Why even consider taking it out?
MR. BREWER-I don't know. I didn't write it. We'll put it down.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It was in the original one, back in March of 1993,
and they've taken it out. Lets go to Page 54, Rural Residential
zones. Again, that H should go back to site plan review uses. I
think we all know the reasons why we're going to have terrible,
there already are, Bay Road and Ridge Road, that's where all the
accidents, the majority of the accidents happen. That is an APA,
where APA is supposed to be more restrictive. The rest of the
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property from, lets say, possibly, where Jim Weller's architectural
buildings are, you go towards Route 9, beyond there, that's not
APA, and if they're going to commercialize anything, it should~
commercialized where it's not APA, where the uses should be more
restricti ve. There's not Town water or Town sewer there, and
there's no reason for promoting it in the areas where there's
already the heaviest accident count.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I've got your comment.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Under Site Plan Review Uses, what is a Planned Unit
Development, what could be considered a Planned Unit Development,
please explain for everybody here, in a Rural Residential zone?
MR. BREWER-It's exactly what it says, it's a Planned Unit
Development.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Well, could you give us some hypothetical cases or
some examples, so we could understand?
MR. BREWER-Hudson Pointe is a Planned
Mountain's a Planned Unit Development.
Unit Developers.
Unit Development. West
Hiland Park is a Planned
MRS. MARTINDALE-And they put grocery stores in.
MR. BREWER-Sure.
MR. MARTINDALE-They put commercialism in that Planned Unit
Development.
MR. BREWER-Yes.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. Lets deal a little more heavily on this
Rural Home Occupation. I'd like some detail on it from the
planners. There are people here that don't even understand zoning,
like I said, and I think that we have Jim Martin here, and we have
Scott Harlicker. I think that people should know, so maybe if they
have some more time coming up, let them give their comments,
because they don't understand planning and zoning.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-In addition to other Home Occupations in Rural
Residential and Land Conservation zones, a Home Occupation is also
defined as an accessory use to a customary farming operation. What
is a customary farming operation, please define it.
MR. HARLICKER-It's a farm.
MRS. MARTINDALE-So, like if a parcel of land is zoned Rural
Commercial, and without site plan review, under Article, let me
just name it exactly, I., on Page 53, Home Occupation, Rural, is
defined, is placed there without site plan, you're allowing a
customary farming operation without site plan, is that right?
Shouldn't that be taken out, and shouldn't it become.
MR. BREWER-Say that again to me?
MRS. MARTINDALE-I'm saying, on Page 53, without site plan, once
again, you are allowing, under I., Home Occupation, Rural, an
accessory use.
MR. HARLICKER-If a person owns a house, and it happens to be in the
Rural Commercial zone, they're allowed to put a Home Occupation in
it. That's what that means.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Without site plan review.
MR. HARLICKER-Without site plan review, just like they're allowed
- 19 -
to, currently, put in a Home Occupation.
MR. BREWER-No, it's not saying agricultural.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Yes, it does.
MR. BREWER-It says, Home Occupation, Rural.
MRS. MARTINDALE-But that's, under the definition of
Occupation, Rural, you can a customary farming operation,
includes fish, cows, lamb sheep.
Home
which
MR. BREWER-Different types of farms.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Customary farming operation, anything that is a
customary farming operation, this is what I'm asking.
MR. HARLICKER-It already has to be there. You can't.
MRS. MARTINDALE-No, no. I'm just saying, under accessory use, it
does not have to be there. You're allowing it without site plan
review. That's what you're saying.
MR. HARLICKER-As an accessory use to an existing farming operation,
or an existing house.
MRS. MARTINDALE-No. If you have a house there.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes, you have a house there.
Occupation in it, either Rural or under.
You can have a Home
MRS. MARTINDALE-Without site plan review.
MR. HARLICKER-Correct.
MRS. MARTINDALE-So you can bring in kids. You can bring in cows.
MR. HARLICKER-That's not listed as a Home Occupation. Home
Occupations are defined at the bottom of the Definition, as what's
considered a Home Occupation.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Scott, look at the top of Page 52.
MR. HARLICKER-Accessory use ~ a customary farming operation, not
~ a customary farming operation. If you currently have a farm,
you're allowed to put a Home Occupation in there, along with your
existing farming operation. That's what that means.
MRS. MARTINDALE-So you're saying that somebody that doesn't have
pigs there now, or something, then they can't put them on there?
MR. HARLICKER-Correct.
MR. BREWER-Correct. Here's the definition of a Home Occupation, if
you want to read it. Would you I ike to read it? A dome stic
service or activity carried on by members of a family residing on
the premises, but excluding bed & breakfasts, beauty shops, barber
shops, music schools, (lost word) or nursing homes, tourist homes,
massage or other establishments offering services to the general
public provided there are no signs or no display that will be
indicated from the exterior of the building that is being utilized
in whole or in part, for any purpose other than that of a dwelling,
provided also that there is no stock in trade sold upon the
premises on a regular basis, not more than one person is employed,
who is other than a member of the family residing on the premises,
and no mechanical equipment is used accept such as customary for
purely domestic or household purposes. The keeping of not more
than two roomers or borders shall be considered a permitted Home
Occupation, also small scale crafters, such as knitting, sewing,
woodworking, and art-work shall be appropriate uses. That's the
- 20 -
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-....?
new Home Occupation definition in our Zoning Ordinance. That's in
the Ordinance right now.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Tim, that is H.
MR. HARLICKER-That's currently in effect, and will remain in
effect, regardless of what happens with this Study.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That is Item H. on Page 53. Now, Item I.
MR. BREWER-That is not H. on Page 53.
Ordinance.
That is in our Zoning
MR. HARLICKER-Of the Study, Tim. She's referring to the numbers in
the Study.
MRS. MARTINDALE-I'm referring to the Study on Page 53, on the
addendum is what I.
MR. BREWER-Yes, it is, Letter I.
MRS. MARTINDALE-So I'm saying, that is under H. The regular Home
Occupation that you just read is Number H.
MR. BREWER-Right.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It's not I.. without site plan review, now, if I
were to look at this, on Page 52, if you have a house there, an
accessory use to that house would be, I., Home Occupation Rural,
which would, just by having a house on the property. it would allow
this Rural Home Occupation, a customary farming operation, without
site plan review. '
MR. BREWER-No, it wouldn't.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Why not?
MR. BREWER-Because I just got done reading the definition.
MR. MARTINDALE-Read the definition of Home Occupation Rural.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Go to Page 55, Tim.
MR. MARTINDALE-The new one that they're proposing.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That is Letter I. So what I'm saying to you now
is, without site plan review, unless I'm.
MR. BREWER-Where does it say farm in here?
MRS. MARTINDALE-Page 55. This what I'm trying to clarify, so you
can get it through your head. It says, Rural Home Occupation, and
that is Number I., Page 53 of the addendum.
MR. BREWER-Yes, I see that.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It says, in addition to other Home Occupations that
you just read from that book, which is what is now in effect, in
Rural Residential and Land Conservation zones, a home occupation is
also defined as an accessory use to a customary farming operation.
MR. BREWER-Or a non farm household.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Right.
MR. BREWER-Read the whole sentence.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay, but this is why I asked Scott or Jim to
define a customary farming operation, so these people here could
understand. I know what a customary farm operation is, but people
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--
---
here don't.
MR. BREWER-A Home Occupation is, so if there's a farm there, you
can have an accessory.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That's not what it's saying.
MR. BREWER-Yes, it is!
MR. HARLICKER-Yes. That is exactly what it's saying.
MR. BREWER-That's exactly what it's saying. A Home Occupation is
also defined as an accessory use to a customary farming operation
or a non farm household. An accessory use to a farm, if you have
a farm right now, you're allowed to have an accessory use to that
farm. That's what it's saying.
MR. MACEWAN-In other words, if you sold crafts, you were an
artisan.
MR. BREWER-You could sell crafts.
MRS. MARTINDALE-A customary farming operation, we're agricultural
use in the present.
MR. BREWER-As it exists.
MRS. MARTINDALE-As it exists.
MR. BREWER-You could have an accessory use to it, that's what it's
saying.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Let me read it. I think I have it here.
MR. BREWER-I already read it four times. We're getting off track,
Mrs. Martindale.
MRS. MARTINDALE-No, I'm not.
MR. BREWER-Yes, you are.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Tim. Let me define Agricultural Use, which is a
customary farming operation, according to your current zoning, any
management of any land for agricultural.
MR. BREWER-Right. So if you have a farm.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Raising of cows, horses, pigs.
MR. BREWER-I know what a farm is, please. I'm going to end this in
a minute, if you don't stop. If you have a farm, you're allowed an
accessory use. End of discussion. Please. Let's move on. I
don't want to talk about it anymore. We've been one hour arguing,
and I don't want to argue anymore.
MRS. MARTINDALE-No, I'm not.
MR. BREWER-Yes, we are.
MRS. MARTINDALE-A customary farming operation is growing vegetables
and.
MR. BREWER-Right, it is. Nobody's saying it isn't.
MRS. MARTINDALE-It doesn't distinguish between it. So if you have
a farm, you could bring in pigs.
MR. BREWER-Right.
MR. HARLICKER-Right.
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'-
MR. BREWER-If you have a farm.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Which growing vegetables is.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And this is what I'm trying to get across.
MR. BREWER-So, if you have a farm, what's the harm of having.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Without any site plan review, you can have pigs.
MR. BREWER-That's what farms are for.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. I would like to see, under Home Occupation,
if you decide to keep this in, so that you're not using
exclusionary zoning, to change that heading to residential land
owner occupation.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MRS. MARTINDALE-That way, you will not be excluding vacant land
which is getting taxed as heavily as residential.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MR. HARLICKER-Excuse me. You can't have an accessory use on a
vacant piece of property.
MRS. MARTINDALE-You can if you listen to me.
MR. BREWER-You have to have a use on the property to have an
accessory use.
MRS. MARTINDALE-If you have a farm there, a customary farm use.
MR. BREWER-Then you have a use on the property.
MRS. MARTINDALE-And you're not going to be harassed by the Town,
like we've been harassed, to continue this use.
MR. BREWER-Right, you're not.
you are allowed an accessory
please. Lets move on.
If you have a use on the property,
use. Now just stop it, will you
MRS. MARTINDALE-Will you please let me read this on the way it
could be changed to allow? You change the definition to
residential land owner occupation, rural, and it would be allowed
in any of the Rural zones and the Land Conservation zones. In
addition to other Home Occupations in Rural Residential and Land
Conservation zones, a resident land owner occupation is also
defined as an accessory use to a customary farming operation, or a
non farming household located in a Rural area designed for gainful
employment involving the sale of goods and services that is
conducted either from within the principal structure or customary
accessory structure located within 150 linear feet from the
principal structure, carried on by members of the family only from
the premises and not more than one person who is not a member of
the family residing on the premises. The area devoted to the
residential land owner occupation shall not exceed 800 square feet
or 40 percent of the gross floor area of the principal structure.
You don't use dwelling. You use structure, and it's something that
is, what the land has always been used for, and it's not a house.
Would you please give that consideration?
MR. BREWER-All right. I will.
MRS. MARTINDALE-Okay. Thank you. There is one further thing. I
thought there was supposed to be a separation of the Church and the
State, and by having this on Holy Thursday, a lot of people that
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-"
would like to attend couldn't attend. Thank you.
MR. BREWER-Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to
comment, for the first time?
JOHN WALKER
MR. WALKER-My name is John Walker. I live on, reside on Route 149.
Approximately nine years ago I purchased a piece of Highway
Commercial property. I've operated a business, which is in Highway
Commercial. I pay taxes in Highway Commercial, and I would like
very much to see it remain Highway Commercial. I don't think that
it's changing from the intersection at Bay Road and the
intersection at Ridge Road, taking away the present Highway
Commercial is practical. We've had no problems with it, that !.
know of. I've talked with several of the business owners who are
in this two particular areas. They don't feel that they should
lose their Highway Commercial standings. If you pull our Highway
Commercial away from us, you have devaluated our property. With
some of us who are soon to enter the age of retirement, this is
possibly some of our retirement funds. Now, if you take and jerk
them away from us, they're gone. I just feel very strongly that
the Highway Commercial should be left. I see absolutely nothing
that is taking away from the Corridor, from us being there. We do
supply tax revenue to this Town. We have toughed it out over the
last 10 years. Nobody has come in and given us tax breaks or
anything else, such as this Town wants to do now. It's the least
they can do to leave us with the Highway Commercial. I feel very
strongly. That's about all I've got.
MR. BREWER-Thank you, John. Is there anyone else who would like to
comment?
MR. COFFIN-You scared me a minute ago. You said, what if the
highway doesn't get improved, when you were talking to Dick
Kilmartin. That scared me, Tim, and I think that that should be
approached. What if it doesn't get improved?
MR. BREWER-I don't know, Mac. I mean, I don't really have control
over that. That's the State that's proposing to do that, and we
all know the State.
MR. COFFIN-Yes, I fully realize that.
MR. BREWER-They may do it in two years. They may not do it for
twenty years, like one gentleman said, they said they were going to
rebuild it twenty-five years ago. Here we are twenty-five years
later and they haven't done it. I think what all this stems from,
Mac, and I've been at quite a few of the meetings, this was asked
for, and the Town is trying to do it to accommodate the people on
the road, and their efforts, Scott's and Arlyne's, when she was in
the Planning room, they've tried to do that. If the people aren't
happy, I don't see the Town Board adop~ing it. I mean, I've read
it and read it and listened to all the people. They all want their
own little niche, to be what they want, but they don't want this
guy down here to have it either, and I don't think that's fair. I
think if somebody wants to be Commercial here, and somebody wants
to be Commercial here, and this guy wants to be residential, I
think you've got to consider this man's feelings, and I think
that's what they tried to do. Nobody can do anything perfect, and
all that I've heard from every meeting I've been at is people
bitching because they didn't get what they want. Well, if you're
bi tching because you don't get what you want, try to work with
everybody, and not just bitch at them. Try to accommodate
somebody. I mean, there's got to be a little bit of give and take,
and I don't see that happening, and I don't think it's right, and
we're getting our balls busted about it, and I don't think it's
fair.
MR. COFFIN-Well, I apologize.
You missed my point.
My point
- 24 -
-
wasn't picking on you, Tim.
MR. BREWER-No, I know that, Mac.
MR. COFFIN-I have all the respect in the world for you, and what
Jim and Scott Harlicker have done. My point is the road is what
seems to be scaring everybody that's gotten up and talked. Even
the Martindales have even discussed this.
MR. BREWER-I know it, and they say it's the worst road around here,
it's a killer road, but they want to build commercialism on it.
MRS. COFFIN-But the point is, a lot of their planning, I think, and
correct me if I'm wrong, you're thinking that the State is going to
come through and improve this road, right?
MR. HARLICKER-Yes, they've allocated 8.8 million dollars for it.
MRS. COFFIN-Okay, but like he said, what if they don't ever improve
it? How would that effect, what you're going to do now, as far as
the zoning changes, would that effect, what kind of impact would it
have on the zoning changes you're proposing, if the road was never
improved?
MR. BREWER-I don't think it would have,
impact. It would have some kind of an
increasing the density somewhat.
really,
impact,
that big of an
because you're
MR. HARLICKER-We're increasing the commercial use, but we're
decreasing the density that's allowed. Right now you're allowed
12,000 square feet of commercialism per acre. Wi th the Rural
Commercial, you're down to five thousand square feet per acre.
With the Rural Residential One Acre, if you go over five lots or
more, you're into a clustering provision, which thereby also cuts
down the number of curb cuts that will be going into Route 149.
The Study also encourages the use of interior and connector roads,
thereby also reducing the number of curb cuts along the road. So,
yes, we're.
MRS. COFFIN-It wouldn't impact, if the road is not improved, if the
State decides, well, we don't have the money and we're not going to
do it, that wouldn't make what you're proposing, it wouldn't change
your mind, as far as what you're proposing?
MR. HARLICKER-I know exactly what you're saying.
MRS. COFFIN-I would think that if the road is improved and widened
and that would make a big difference.
MR. HARLICKER-I can't say right now. I think it might. In what
ways, it might include not enlarging the commercial zones quite so
much, maybe keeping three acre zoning instead of one acre to cut
down the amount of traffic that's generated. That's possible, yes.
MR. BREWER-I think a lot of the traffic that's generated is not
generated from 149.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes, it's traffic coming through.
MR. BREWER-So how do you control it?
MR. COFFIN-This was my point. Every curb cut is going to add
density. You have more density, more traffic, okay. Now there's
a lot of this traffic, like you said, there's nothing you're going
to do. There's nothing anybody's going to do until New York State
gets off their butt and decides to hook up Route 4 and 87, like
they were going to. I've been around long enough to know that, I
saw the stakes when they were surveying for that. It went right
through Dick Kilmartin's, as a matter of fact, probably, if we went
out through there, we could find those stakes, where they were
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-
going to put a four lane highway. That never came about. Now
there's a little more traffic and a little more traffic. When ~
was a kid, a five year old kid, I walked up to the corner of Bay
Road and got the mail. Today, you could never do that. What I'm
getting at is, if we're going to add density, add curb cuts, I
think we better hold off until we find out for sure that this
highway is going to be improved. If the highway's improved, well
then there's no reason why Martindales couldn't have a pancake
house, because it would be in character with the area.
MR. BREWER-Okay. What I'm saying to you, Mac, is if we drop the
ball right now and do nothing with this, then there's going to be
people bitching because, well, gee, we asked you for a Study and
you didn't do anything to it. Now we can't do anything. So, you
can't win. Ei ther you win or you lose. I mean, there's no
winning.
MRS. COFFIN-We're not saying, do nothing forever. We're saying,
before you do something, the traffic seems to be a major concern
with most of the people that spoke tonight. So, rather than going
with the data that we've got, lets get some adequate data. Lets
find out what kind of impact is going to be had on the traffic,
what the traffic is now, and then we can go from the position of a
little more knowledge, rather then, well, we hope this is going to
be all right, but we don't know.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MR. COFFIN-If they straighten the road, you may be eliminating a
lot of the people that are sitting here right now. It could be
arbi trary, you know. Dick Kilmartin, with the old one, Dick
Kilmartin's would have been split right down the middle. John
Whelan built his house back off the road, so that he would be off
from this Corridor that they were going to put in. I guess the
Martindales and us, and Dick's been there for quite a while. We
know what the situation is on the road. We aren't 10 years or 20
years. We're talking 40 years, you know, and this thing has never
changed. It's just kept getting worse, and if we know, as a Town,
I'm not arguing any of the zoning you've done. I think the
planning you've done, maybe I don't agree. Maybe Franny doesn't
agree, maybe somebody else doesn't agree, but you've worked at it,
and we can't say you're trying to hurt us when you've worked at
something, but I think that you better really look into this or
we're going to have a mess like we've got up there on Route 9 now
wi th this Million Dollar Half Mile. Something has to be done
there, and I think, as a Town, as a Planning Board, more important
than anybody, because you're planning our future, should look into
this really closely, and everyone of the meetings these traffic
studies are bull, they're out of season. They're just not
accurate. They're old. You better look into all of this, in my
opinion, and I think from what I've heard, everybody's opinion
here.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Is there anyone else that would like to comment?
ROBERT MARTINDALE
MR. MARTINDALE-Bob Martindale. She made a good point. What
happens if the road is not changed, and if we go through with what
it proposed now, and the road is not changed, I think it's going to
be worse than if the road ~ changed, because if you go from three
acres to one acre, that means if somebody has twenty acres or one
hundred acres, there's going to be more density of housing, and
that's going to create more traffic, just because of the houses on
the road, okay. So saying that it's going to benefit by changing
it to this, if the road doesn't get changed, I don't think that's
right. The point that you made is, well, this guy here's got
commercial and this guy here's got commercial. The guy in the
middle doesn't want commercial. If you made a Rural Commercial
zone the whole length, the guy that has a home, that does not want
- 26 -
-
a commercial venture there, does not have to put it there.
MR. BREWER-What if a guy's got a home, though, Bob, and a use
that's in the Rural Commercial happens to be right next to him, and
he doesn't want that. Is that fair?
MR. MARTINDALE-What happens? You're going to have a commercial
venture anyway, because on your same scenario, we've got three
houses in a row. The guy on this side and the guy on this side can
still have a commercial venture on a Rural Occupation, and he's
still got commercialism right next to him. He can have cars coming
in and out, day and night, because that house right next to him can
still have a commercial business.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I don't want to argue the point with you, but I'm
just saying that, you have to take considerations into the whole
piece of property, and I don't think it's appropriate for
commercialism the whole length of it, because you're going to end
up with a Route 9 again.
MR. MARTINDALE-No, you won't.
MR. BREWER-Sure you will. Do you know what I see happening, and
this is just my vision. If that whole road is commercial, it will,
eventually, end up being a Route 9, because what' II happen is, the
value of the property is going to go up. and this guy's got four
acres, and some developer comes in and says, gee, I could put a
business there. Lets offer him a high price for it and we'll get
our money back in ten years, and that's what happens. You can see
it happening right down.
MR. MARTINDALE-But the road's not
There's a lot of ledges on that road.
a (lost word).
going to let that happen.
How are you going to build
MR. BREWER-I'm not saying right tight like it is on 9, but.
MR. MARTINDALE-The natural characteristics of the land are going to
make it so a lot of businesses can't even go in there.
MR. BREWER-That's just mY opinion. I'm not saying it's right or
wrong. I'm just saying that's what I think.
MR. MARTINDALE-But it's not, that's speculation.
that that's going to happen.
You don't know
MR. BREWER-Right. Sometimes you have to go on your gut feeling.
MR. MARTINDALE-I don't agree with that. If you're trying to make
everybody happy, you can limit the amount of commercialism on that
piece of property, on the whole road, and that's what we did one
night. We said, this can go there, this can go there, and this can
go there, and that's it.
MR. BREWER-What makes YOU right, though? What makes you right to
say that this, this, and this and this can go there, and that
can't?
MR. MARTINDALE-But that's what you're doing right now.
MR. BREWER-I'm not doing it.
MR. MARTINDALE-You're saying a house can go there and a commercial
piece of property can't.
MR. MACEWAN-Are you suggesting the entire Corridor be converted to
Highway Commercial?
MR. MARTINDALE-I don't know if you want it Highway Commercial, but
there's a lot of people that live on that road right now that have
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-
a house, like Mr. Walker here, if he wants to retire, maybe that is
a retirement plan for somebody on that road. You just said that
this road, you cannot dictate the traffic, because most of, you
said it was a rural road, but the majority of the people that are
using that are skiers and tourism. Right?
MR. BREWER-Right.
MR. MARTINDALE-So how can you say that's a rural road?
MR. BREWER-By use, I'm saying it.
MR. MARTINDALE-By use, but that use is wrong, because there's rural
places on there where people live, but the amount of traffic flow,
if you took the amount of rural people, the people that live on
that road, make a count of that, versus the amount of people that
actually use the road, it's astronomical the amount of people that
use that road that don't even 1 i ve on it. So how can you say
that's a rural road?
MR. BREWER-I'm saying the use of the property on that road, the
majority of that use is residential, and it is.
MR. MARTINDALE-The people that live there, yes, but not the people
that are travelling the road, using the road. The people that are
using the road are skiers, tourism, the whole road. So, how can
you say that's a rural road?
MR. BREWER-It's just a, well, I don't want to argue the point with
you.
MR. MARTINDALE-Does anybody else see my point here?
MR. BREWER-I understand exactly what you're saying, but you don't
understand what I'm saying.
MR. MARTINDALE-I understand what you're saying, that the use of the
road is supposed to be rural because that's what the people are
that live on that road.
MR. BREWER-I didn't say that at all.
MR. HARLICKER-The use of the properties along the road, not the use
of the road.
MR. BREWER-I said the use of the property along that road.
MR. HARLICKER-You're talking the road. He's talking property.
MR. MARTINDALE-Right. I'm saying the road. He said it was a rural
road.
MR. BREWER-No. I didn't. I said the use of the property along
that road is residential, the majority of that.
MR. MARTINDALE-Right. I agree.
MR. BREWER-Okay. So what are we arguing for?
MR. MARTINDALE-Because 1. thought we said it was a rural road,
earlier.
MR. BREWER-I didn't say that.
MR. MARTINDALE-Okay. The next thing is, what Louie Mayer had to
say, he owns a piece of property right across from that pond. It's
proposed, right now, that that would become a piece of commercial
property. Am I correct? He is zoned to be commercial?
MR. HARLICKER-No.
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MR. MACEWAN-No, RR-3A.
MR. BREWER-RR-3A. It's not changing until Ox Bow Hill. That's the
proposal.
MR. HARLICKER-Correct. West from Ox Bow Hill, there's no proposed
changes.
MR. BREWER-There's no change.
MR. MARTINDALE-There's no change. Recreational Commercial, is that
where he is?
MR. MACEWAN-Rural Residential Three Acre.
MR. BREWER-Rural Residential.
MR. MARTINDALE-He's right across, or right by Boat's By George?
MR. BREWER-Yes.
MR. MACEWAN-Yes. That entire stretch on that side.
MR. MARTINDALE-When they expand on these commercial zones, isn't
that going to congest traffic more, am I right?
MR. BREWER-Probably.
MR. MARTINDALE-And if you spread that out. isn't that going to ease
traffic?
MR. HARLICKER-It'll just spread the problem out along the length of
the whole road.
MR. MARTINDALE-Yes, but the whole road is going to be used the same
way, no matter what anyway. That skier going from Point A to Point
B has got to go through there anyway, and if there's commercialism
in there, it's going to slow traffic.
MR. HARLICKER-One of the reasonings behind there is because there
are existing stop lights there, and there's a natural break.
MR. MARTINDALE-Do they go 55 on Route 9? They can't, right?
Everyone's talking about, this road is so dangerous. If they cut
the speed down on the road, do you think the road would be less
dangerous?
MR. BREWER-Probably not.
MR. MARTINDALE-No? If they
commercial, and there are
there, people are going to
slow down traffic?
can enforce it. If that whole road is
some, some commercial business along
expect to stop. Isn't that going to
MR. HARLICKER-Not the people just driving through.
MR. MARTINDALE-Why? They've got to stop if somebody's pulling in.
MR. HARLICKER-Exactly. They'll rear end them.
MR. MARTINDALE-Okay. Now, you said, if they're making it from
three acres to one acre, you're going to have a curb cut for every
house, that could happen? That's going to slow down traffic, and
you could get rear ended just as much as if you have a commercial
business there.
MR. BREWER-Okay, Bob, what's the point?
MR. MARTINDALE-The point is, this road is a commercial road. I
would like, do you think it's a good idea to send out another
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questionnaire?
MR. BREWER-Why not?
MR. MARTINDALE-And ask the people on the road, if they, a direct
question, not just a vague question, and this last one, there's
nothing ever mentioned, do you think that commercialism should be
allowed on this road.
MR. BREWER-Bob, I don't think, from what's happened here tonight,
I don't think this Board's going to recommend to approve this
tonight. I can guarantee you, almost, that.
MR. MARTINDALE-All I'm asking is send out another questionnaire
with a direct question.
MR. BREWER-Okay. All right. That's your comments. Thank you.
MR. MACEWAN-I've got a question for him. Is that why you feel that
the questionnaires weren't an overwhelming response to them,
because they weren't direct questions?
MR. MARTINDALE-Well, they were so vague.
MR. MACEWAN-It was less than 35 percent of the questionnaires sent
out were returned.
MR. MARTINDALE-A lot of them, if you read one.
MR. MACEWAN-I read everyone of them.
MR. MARTINDALE-He said it was stupid, whatever floats your boat.
Did you read that one?
MR. MACEWAN-Yes.
MR. MARTINDALE-Okay. Now, I'm glad he sent it in, because that's
how ridiculous that this survey was. I mean, they're asking,
what's the natural characteristics of this land?
MR. MACEWAN-Who better to know that than you, as the property
owner?
MR. MARTINDALE-Yes, I know, but why don't you ask some direct
questions?
MR. MACEWAN-They're trying to get a general feel of what the
property owners want up there.
MR. MARTINDALE-A general feel, but that leaves so much room for
gray areas to have arguments about. If you a direct question, do
you want commercialism on there, and you had 80 people say no, and
20 people say yes, then I'd have to agree, the majority of people
do not want commercialism on that road, but if 80 people said yes
and 20 people said no, then what do you think the feeling of the
homeowners on that road is?
MR. MACEWAN-I don't know. I can't really get a good feeling of
what the homeowners said on that highway, because less than 35
percent of them sent back an informational, the first time around.
I guess the question I've got for you, if we go and do another
informational mailing to them, what guarantees that' we're going to
get 100 percent return, or 90 percent, or 75 percent?
MR. MARTINDALE-There's been a lot more publicity in the paper about
this 149. I think there's been more people at this meeting than
were at any other workshop meeting that we had.
MR. MACEWAN-And that's good. That's why we have them.
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MR. MARTINDALE-All right. Now, if you sent out another survey, I
bet you you'll get a better percentage of people sending it back,
because more people know about it.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Is that it, Bob?
MR. MARTINDALE-That's it, Tim.
MR. BREWER-Thank you.
MRS. LABOMBARD-Can we move to send out another survey? Is that our
Department?
MR. BREWER-Is there anyone else?
MR. RYAN-The problem on 149 is the traffic. So we've got to fix
149. Then we get to the end of 149, we get to Route 9. Did you
ever go over there? The traffic on Route 9 is backed up to where?
Past Ellsworth's, right? So, we're way ahead of the wagon. We've
got to fix that first, and then we'll have the road open. Now the
cars, we're going to fix 149, great and dandy, but what are we
going to do? We're going to have a wide road and we're going to go
down it, we're going to run to Dexters and we're going to stop.
MR. BREWER-You're right, George.
MR. RYAN-So lets throw this thing out, sit down with a plan, lets
fix Route 9, put an exit in or something, then we say, we've got a
place for the cars to go, and then it would be a lot easier. Now,
we're banging our heads against the wall and everybody's getting
upset. If they put a new road in, where are they going to go?
MR. MACEWAN-But you're asking this Board, or this Town to take the
consideration to fix a road that they don't have jurisdiction on.
I would suggest to you to contact your local State representative,
and take the initiative to get them going on it, because those are
the guys that are going to spend the money.
MR. RYAN-They're more interested in the ski slopes over in White
Face and stuff, and not 149.
MR. MACEWAN-Well, maybe it's time to vote yourself in a new State
legislator. It's not this Town's or this Board's responsibility.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Craig, lets not argue with him. Who's next?
Last call. I'm going to close the public hearing. Now, what do
you want to do, Craig? Do you want to consider all comments and
think about it for a week and make a decision, or do you want to
make a decision tonight?
MR. MACEWAN-I don't want to make a decision tonight. I think
there's some more input that's got to be put into this thing.
Certainly, what's going to happen with this rezoning is hinging,
significantly, on what the State does or doesn't do, and I think
that's going to be a major aspect to this. I see some things, in
the overall plan, that I think could probably be redefined and
better explained, and I'd like to see that done first, before I
would commit myself to it.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Bob?
MR. PALING-If we knew the exact DOT plans, or the road was in, I
think this would be a much simpler thing to tackle, but right now,
I've got too many questions to really make a final decision, one
way or the other.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I guess what we have to do is we have to put our
questions down on paper and get them to the Planning Office.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes.
Be Specific!
That's all I ask.
Specific
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recommendations and suggestions.
MR. BREWER-Roger, how do you feel?
MR. RUEL-Well, I can't vote on this resolution.
open areas and problems to be resolved. I had
Planning Staff. Do you believe that this 149
a rural character on Route 149, as presented?
There are too many
a question for the
Study will maintain
MR. HARLICKER-As presented, yes.
MR. RUEL-AII right. So, I have some comments about that.
that the changes resulting from the Study recommendations
implemented by means of modifications to the existing
Ordinance. Right?
I think
can be
Zoning
MR. HARLICKER-Correct.
MR. RUEL-Okay. However, I don't believe this, alone, will maintain
the recommended rural character of the area, changing the zoning
alone will do it, because you have mentioned strategies and
suggestions on about four pages of this Study, Pages 46 through 49,
and these are all recommendations and suggestions, and I really
can't see how these things can be enforced, and if they can't be
enforced, 'then you cannot maintain this rural character of the
area. Do you follow me?
MR. HARLICKER-Yes.
MR. RUEL-We have a lot of difficulty in enforcing things. These
are almost impossible things to enforce. You talk about design of
buildings.
MR. HARLICKER-Well, those things are things that can be looked at
by the Planning Board as various projects come in, guidelines by
which you can review a project.
MR. RUEL-Yes. You talk about bridges and you talk about
guardrails, which means imposing on a Highway Department certain
restrictions, and all sorts of recommendations. I can't really see
how you can enforce these things, and if you can't enforce them,
you can't do it alone with changing the zoning, in order to
maintain the so called rural character of the area. That's mY
feeling. I also recommend that an Environmental Impact Study be
made for a separate main highway, regardless of what the Study
recommends. I think you mention that it shouldn't be done. I
think it should be done, and it should have some sort of a main
highway from the Northway to Route 4, or whatever. I think none of
these problems will be resolved until a separate road is in there.
There's nothing you can do with that road. You can't just
straighten out certain curves. You can't just widen here and not
there and spend 8.8 million dollars for what? I think it's
ridiculous, and I really don't think anything should be done until
at least you have the results of the Environmental Impact Study for
this road, or at least, if you know a lot more about what the
Highway Department intends to do with the 8.8 million dollars. I
think it'll have quite an impact on everything that you're saying
in this Study, and no bike path. There are enough people that have
been killed, and, personal I y, I'd like to see the Rural Home
Occupation redefined. A lot of people had questions about it, and
I think it should be redefined a little stronger.
MR. HARLICKER-Then come up with a suggested redefinition.
MR. RUEL-I probably have many more questions, but I can't vote on
it.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Come
Occupation. Seriously.
up with
Cathy?
a
definition
for
Rural
Home
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MRS. LABOMBARD-Well, due to the fact that three of us are new, and
we weren't here for the initial meetings, even though we've read
all the minutes of the past meetings, I think it would be a good
idea to put a little more thought into something that means so much
to you people. I empathize with you. I've lived here all my life.
I can remember going to Luzerne from Whitehall and getting into a
car accident with our 1952 Studebaker on one of the cross roads.
So it was a dangerous road back then. I also think we should honor
your request, as to handing out another survey. Sometimes initial
surveys, the talk and the publicity isn't there, and I would wager
that we'd get a lot better than a 35 percent response the next
time. So I would like to make the motion that we do that, and as
for the State, and the New York State Government, and the state of
affairs we're in, if they've got eight million dollars allocated to
build this road, I think that's great, but I won't believe anything
until I see some plans and until I see what's going on, and I do
think that getting a hold of our local representatives that
represent us in Albany would not hurt, and maybe even giving Jerry
Solomon a call to put in a good word for us might not be a bad idea
either.
MR. BREWER-Okay. Jim?
MR. OBERMAYER-I'm new on the Planning Board, also, and didn't have
the privilege of sitting in on the last meetings. I don't think we
can go forward, my feeling is, I don't see how we can go forward
with rezoning the area until the Department of Transportation comes
up with a viable plan on what to do with the road. The traffic is
very bad. It seems to be the Number One issue with everybody in
the audience. Certain individuals have personal reasons and
financial gains probably from developing their property. I believe
that we should look at those certain individual properties, also,
and try and help them in getting certain zoning changes to possibly
help offset some of those things, but as far as making the whole
highway commercial, at this time, or rezoning it, I just, until we
know what DOT is going to do, I just can't see that happening.
MR. BREWER-Okay. George?
MR. STARK-Tim, I'd like to wait until we go on site visits in
April. The Board visits some of these different properties up
there and then discuss it at our first meeting in April.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I think that what we should do is take these
minutes, when they're typed, and I think we should have a workshop,
the Planning Board have a workshop with the Planning Staff and the
Town Board and go over the comments, and see if we can adjust,
maybe, some of this plan. I had some comments that I made, to
Scott, and I went in and talked to him about them, and I didn't
agree with everything in the plan, either, and I understand where
all the people are coming from. They want to have what they want,
and they want their rights to it, and I agree with that, but there
has to be a line drawn somewhere, and everybody can't get what
everybody wants. I mean, that's just a fact of life. I think we
have to review the minutes, and review everything that we've
written down tonight, and come to some kind of an idea what the
State is going to do with the road, and once we know what they're
going to do with the road, then we can try to tackle it again.
That's all my comments.
MR. SCHUH-Is there any reason why a State highway planner can't be
involved in these processes, because, why should the State make
their plan and we make our plan, and then if we start bumping heads
wi th the State at that point, why isn't the State brought in
sooner?
MR. BREWER-The State was brought in for some of the meetings.
Joanna Brunso, was she here for two meetings?
MR. HARLICKER-Yes. She was here for the public hearings, yes.
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MR. WALKER-She was at the last one.
MR. BREWER-Was she at one or two meetings, wasn't she?
MR. MARTIN-She was at one. She was at the second meeting.
MR. BREWER-She was at one meeting, and she did make comments and
suggestions and talk to the people that were there. I didn't stay
for the whole meeting. I was there for a couple of hours, I guess,
but I think we should get together with the State, and, like you
suggested, and see what their plan is, and are they really going to
do that, or are they just saying that to keep us off their back?
I think it's important that, I drove up and down that road today,
and I can't envision commercial businesses the whole length of that
road. I'm sorry, that's just, to me it's overwhelming. I just
couldn't imagine that happening.
MR. MARTINDALE-One question. About the accident report that said
it was about, have they broken that down, I mean, what sections of
the road where the worst accidents really are?
MR. HARLICKER-No. They've got the mile markers, those little
highway posts along the side of the road, and that's how they're
done.
MR. MARTINDALE-Okay. Is there any way that, if they're all posted,
that we can map out an area on that map, showing where the heaviest
congestion of accidents were? Because that's something to look at.
If there's a lot of accidents in one area, then you definitely
don't want to congest that area any more.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes. We've already done that. We just didn't put it
on a map, but, yes, it's been done.
MR. BREWER-Well, one of the places you're not going to be happy
with.
MR. MARTINDALE-Well, let them find it out, and give us an actual
numerical number on how many were at this point, so everyone can
know.
MR. HARLICKER-Yes.
MR. BREWER-Okay. I want to thank everyone for coming out and
giving everybody your comments, and we'll be in touch again. We're
going to have one more meeting on it, I'm sure. Okay. We have one
more item on the agenda we'd like to take care of.
MICHAEL PIAZZOLA
MR. PIAZZOLA-For the record, my name is Michael Piazzola. I'm the
Project Manager and the Mall Manager for the Aviation Mall. Ron
Stoddard, who is our Construction Manager, had to leave. The
reason I wanted to come here tonight was to read a letter into the
record regarding a sand hauling schedule for the Aviation Mall
expansion. I'll just read through it and then if you have any
questions I'll be happy to answer them. "Honorable Members of the
Planning Board, Town of Queensbury, clo Jim Martin, Bay at
Haviland, Queensbury, NY 12804 Re: Aviation Mall Expansion Off-
site Hauling Schedule Dear Members of the Planning Board: I would
first like to express my sincerest apologies for the lack of
communication between the Town and myself over the past two weeks
with regard to the hauling of materials off of the Aviation Mall
si te. I assume full responsibility for this oversight and I
welcome you, as individual members and as a Board. to contact me at
any time, day or night, should you have a question or concern
regarding any aspect of this project. I have provided Jim Martin
wi th my home telephone number and have asked that he make it
available to each of you. Predicated upon a meeting I had with
Paul Naylor, Tim Brewer, and Jim on March 28, I am respectfully
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submitting a comprehensive hauling schedule that we hope you will
allow us to follow for the remainder of this project. This
schedule was developed with the fOllowing considered as eminently
important, 1] to address the traffic concerns of the Town at
Aviation Road between the Northway and Route 9, and provide for
hauling during periods of least movement along this stretch of
Aviation Road, and 2] to complete off-site hauling in a time-frame
which reduces the likelihood of automobileltruck conflicts by
compressing the hauling into a shorter time period [number of days]
than originally contemplated, and concentrates hauling during hours
when there is little, if any, traffic. Please be advised that we
have been before the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation since
December of 1993 with requests to build a system that will
eliminate the eXisting detention basins at the rear of the mall
si te. At present, the Pyramid Company 1 Aviation Mall retains
easement rights over this property to drain into those detention
basins. Our engineering consultant, John Meyer, is now drafting
plans for submittal to NIMO which he preliminarily estimates would
allow at least 100,000 cubic yards of sand from the project to
remain on-site as fill for the detention basins now in existence.
Much like the infiltrators that are part of the approved site plan,
the NIMO plan will envision the construction of comparable
infil trators to replace the detention basins. This will not
negatively impact stormwater run-off and in fact, will allow more
efficient and better control over stormwater and snow melt than is
now taking place. If we are successful in arriving at some
agreement with NIMO, the amount of fill which will need to be
hauled off-site will be reduced significantly. We have detailed
this scenario as the attachment known as "Hauling Schedule B".
Finally, the schedule which governs the hauling of the 100,000
cubic yards of material to the Town of Queensbury is incorporated
into all of the attachments and reflects the evening hauling
schedule I submitted to you on March 15 as much as possible, with
some modifications for input from Dan Golusha, Tim Brewer, Paul
Naylor, and Jim Martin. We have accelerated the delivery of this
material from the March 15 schedule in an attempt to get the
materials to their destination quickly and avoid any potential
engagement of trucks and other automobiles which could likely
happen if the schedule ran until September of 1994. Once again, I
ask for your indulgence in making reparation for not communicating
to you our intention to begin trucking material off-site on March
21, and I hope you will consider the enclosures and respond to them
with your thoughts and comments. I will work diligently with you
to address your concerns as you consider this project within the
framework of the greater interests of the Town of Queensbury. This
is a complicated project, and only with your continued involvement
and trust can we at the Aviation Mall eventually call it a success.
Respectfully, Michael Piazzola Project Manager Mall Manager
Pyramid Company of Glens Falls"
MR. BREWER-Haul Schedule A, you've got the Town. That's not a
problem. To me, at night, Phase II, before we okay it, personally,
I would like to know where it's going.
MR. PIAZZOLA-I think what we need to do, in that regard, Tim, if I
knew what was going today, I hear the City of Glens Falls is
looking for some sand, and now that our Construction Manager is
here, we'll be able to find out where it's going to wind up. I
think what we need to do is when we want to haul off-site, we need
to have a contact person here at the Town that we can call and say,
we're going to direct 50,000 cubic yards to the K-Mart down on
Quaker Road, and we need to enact the Phase II hauling schedule
which would be the hours of operation between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. for
a period of the next 20 days, and just keep you apprised of where
that's going. If I knew where it was going today, I would be able
to fill in where the destination was, but at this point, the
project's just beginning. We don't really know where it's going.
Again, if we get NIMO, we'll be able to keep at least half of it on
the site, and then take the other half and truck it off-site, some
where.
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MR. BREWER-Okay. I guess what I'm saying to you is, you've got a
start date of approximately April 1st. Tomorrow's April 1st.
You've got to have some idea of where it's going to go, Mike. I
mean, you're not going to just start putting it in trucks and go
nowhere with it.
MR. PIAZZOLA-I think the reason that's April 1st, Tim, is because
we don't want to be restricted for day hauling. In other words, if
I put May 5th there, then we couldn't move any material off-site
during the day.
MR. BREWER-I understand.
MR. PIAZZOLA-We're going to be completely engulfed with this first
100,000 cubic yards starting April 1st, or a day or two later,
depending on what Dave Galosha's plans are, but the first, we've
got a 20 day schedule there, essentially, 20 days, Monday through
Saturday. That first 100,000 yards is going to take up all of our
time. What I'm afraid of is if I say, we'll start hauling during
the day at a later date. That restricts our ability to take it
anywhere during the day. If the City of Glens Falls says, we need
50,000 yards, and we can only take it during the day, then I can't
start hauling that sand until after the Town gets theirs.
MR. BREWER-Right. So what, essentially, you want to do is haul 20
hours a day.
MR. PIAZZOLA-Yes, and, based on our meeting, and when I spoke with
Nick Caimano, who called me about it, his concern was between 7
a.m. and 8 a.m., and then when I met with you and Paul and Jim, the
evening rush hour, if you want to call it that, was a concern, and
that would be three to seven p. m. So there would be four hours
there and one hour there that we wouldn't be hauling. The schedule
for Phase I breaks out to 20 trucks and 2 loads per hour. On a 10
yard truck, you're talking about 400 yards per hour, for over 12
hours. So you're not moving, you're running a lot of trucks, but
they're not right behind one another. They're spaced out. You've
got some down at Exit 18 and you've got some back at the site
picking up sand.
MR. OBERMAYER-Where are you hauling dirt now to? You're hauling it
all day long now, right?
MR. PIAZZOLA-Our original plan, and this is where the
miscommunication came up, was we gave you a letter, we were going
to haul this stuff at night, and I came in to work Monday morning
on the 21st and Galosha, because they got different instructions,
and that's mY fault, was hauling it during the day.
MR. OBERMAYER-They're hauling it all day and night, though, right?
MR. PIAZZOLA-They're not hauling at night right now, because the
only person who'll take it at night is Paul Naylor, and he'll be
ready as of April 1st, according to my discussion with Jim today.
MR. OBERMAYER-It starts pretty early, I know that. I've seen them
at 5:30.
MR. BREWER-For me, I think, we have a meeting next Wednesday, and
I suggested this to you last Tuesday when we met, or Monday,
whatever day it was, that when you know where this Phase II dirt is
going to go, I would like a specific route. I know we discussed,
when we had the map, when you cut that bank, you're going to have
to move that main, and if there's any kind of a consideration of
going around the back of that Mall and coming out the other side,
that's going to create a problem, because you're going to have to
go out that Mall and come back up the hill for Paul's, and Paul
suggested that he know that also. I would like to see a route,
only because, yesterday, I left my place of work, and I went to
another destination, and I came up on Dix Avenue and Quaker Road,
- 36 -
""-'.
and I stopped at the red light and, boy, if I was driving my wife's
car, I'd have gotten stuck in the dirt there. There was a lot of
dirt on the road, and I think that's not your problem. I think
that's K-Mart' s problem, because they have a contract or an
agreement to keep that road clean, and I just want to see that
happen, and when I see your trucks go by our store and go down
Ridge Street, and then up Dix Avenue, I think that creates a
problem, because you get four or five of those trucks in a row, and
you get a school bus, and then you get the regular traffic that's
there, and it creates a problem. So I would like to know, for me,
a specific route that they're going to go, and see them go that
route. I think by next Wednesday, you ought to know where it's
going to go.
MR. PIAZZOLA-Or a portion thereof.
MR. BREWER-Yes.
MR. PIAZZOLA-This is a lot of sand.
MR. BREWER-Right. I understand that, and I think we ought to have
on-going communication as to where it's going, how it's going, and
if the roads aren't taken care of, then I think it should be
stopped. That's just my opinion. I don't know how everybody else
feels.
MR. PALING-There was an agreement that you'd haul at night, right?
MR. OBERMAYER-Yes.
MR. PALING-And now this is just not even close to that, and it
seems to me we're treating awful lightly what was a just a night
haul agreement now to a 20 hour haul schedule.
MR. BREWER-Nineteen hours a day.
MR. PALING-And then we've got dirt on the street problems and
traffic problems I would think we would have, but why did you agree
to a day only schedule and then try to revert to this without
telling anybody?
MR. PIAZZOLA-The night only schedule was specific to the 100,000
cubic yards that's going to the Town of Queensbury. It didn't
address the rest of the soil that has to come off the site with the
expansion.
MR. PALING-But you took the liberty of hauling it during the day.
MR. BREWER-Well, Bob, in defense of him, I'll say this, that I
talked to Dan Galosha. Dan Galosha was in Syracuse on Saturday,
got the contract from Pyramid Company, which I presume Mike knew
nothing about. They told him, you be there Monday morning. Dan
didn't know anything about the agreement ~ had, went in there, and
I'll say Monday. I don't know if it was Monday, went in there
under the direct orders of Pyramid Company, his boss, and just
started doing his job, knew nothing about it. I. saw the trucks
going down the road, and I had a bird. I said, what in the heck is
going on. I called Jim Martin. Jim Martin called Mike. Mike got
a hold of Dan, and then we had a meeting, and I said, you know,
this is wrong. We had an agreement, and he clearly admits that
they did do wrong, in the letter. I think during the day is, I
don't know why you've got to do it during the day.
MR. PIAZZOLA-Well, I told you we're under a difficult construction
schedule with our tenants, and I (lost word).
MR. BREWER-I know, but what I'm saying to you is, if you went to
penneys and said, gee, they won't let us do it during the day, what
are they going to do?
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MRS. LABOMBARD-But won't that set the construction right back by
weeks?
MR. BREWER-Well, so what? I mean, that's not our problem.
MR. OBERMAYER-I realize that, but, I mean, we have to be a little
bit reasonable. I could see minimizing the time of day that they
can do it. I mean, during rush hour, definitely, from, like, six
to eight-thirty, or whatever.
MR. BREWER-What happens at noon time when everybody goes to lunch,
though? Have you ever driven down Quaker Road at lunch time?
MR. MARTIN-What ~ feel is very important here is we need to know
the destination, and I feel that we need to know what that truck
route is, once we know the destination, and we have to make doubly
sure that it's not through residential neighborhoods. Like, I
haven't had a lot of calls on the route you've been taking because
it's just directly down Quaker Road, which is an arterial road, and
it hasn't gone through a lot of neighborhoods. I haven't had a lot
of calls.
MR. BREWER-No. It's not going down Quaker Road all the way,
though. It's turning at Dix Avenue, or turning down Ridge, and
going down Ridge.
MR. MARTIN-Right. That, see, now that's what I'm talking about.
To me, it should be a mandated route down Quaker Road only. It's
got the road specification, the cross section of pavement and all
that to deal with that weight. It's not going through residential
neighborhoods, and that's what should be done.
MR. BREWER-Exactly.
MR. MARTIN-And, to me, truck traffic travelling over that route at
two o'clock in the afternoon, I, personally, don't care. That's
what that road was made for.
MR. MACEWAN-Is there some sort of enforcement in lined in the Town
for dumps to have their tarps down when they're carrying a load?
Is that mandatory in the Town?
MR. BREWER-That's a State.
MR. MACEWAN-Half those trucks that are going up and down Quaker
Road don't even have tarps on them, and he's hauling, and there's
sand blowing out of there right and left.
MR. MARTIN-The other thing, Mike, is I'd like you to make a note.
I'd like to see provisions provided on site before those trucks
leave your, the payload, the wheels are sprayed down with a hose.
So we get the mud out of the treads, and I'm going to say the same
thing to K-Mart at the other end, tomorrow.
MR. BREWER-I, personally, would like to know, like Jim said, the
route. I don't want to see those trucks going down Ridge Street.
MR. MARTIN-See, I don't have a problem with it during the day, as
long as it's not through a residential neighborhood, myself.
MR. BREWER-Right now it's going through a residential neighborhood.
MR. MARTIN-It shouldn't be going down Ridge at all.
MR. BREWER-R~ght.
MR. MACEWAN-So twenty hours a day is not a problem for you?
MR. STARK-Nineteen hours a day.
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MR. MACEWAN-Nineteen.
MR. MARTIN-No, and I'm saying, we had worked out hours like from
seven in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon you avoid
the late afternoon rush hour, an attempt should be made to do that
too, but, like I said, I, personally, don't have any problem with
you with a truck on Quaker Road at 1:30 in the afternoon. Nobody
I don't think, really cares, as long as it's not, it's covered and
all that.
MR. BREWER-Well, on the same hand, Jim, if the City of Glens Falls
is going to buy 50.000 yards and it's going to go to East Field,
then that shouldn't be done during the day, either, because that
has to directly go through a residential neighborhood. That's why
it's important for us to know.
MR. MACEWAN-I kind of disagree with you on that, Tim, only from the
standpoint, if I was in a residential neighborhood, I think I'd
rather have a truck coming through my neighborhood during the day
than I would at night.
MR. MARTIN-And I think if that's absolutely a need, a necessity,
like Tim says, you have a destination like East Field or something,
then we at least need to know that, so when I get the call, I can
tell the person what the hours of travel are going to be and when
is the scheduled ending date.
MR. MACEWAN-I'm kind of wondering even as well, is the agreement
that we have with them for taking the sand over to the Town storage
pit over on Big Bay Road, and they're going to haul that at night,
how many thousands of phone calls are we going to get because
they're doing it at three o'clock in the morning?
MR. BREWER-Well, Craig, what you're going to have happen is you're
going to come out of that Mall entrance, the west entrance to the
Mall, you're going to go directly on 9, or Aviation Road, to the
Northway, go right down the Northway. You're going to get off
Corinth Road, and all there is there is a motel and a McDonalds.
MR. MARTIN-Paul Naylor has already instructed them not to bang
their tailgates over there dumping it, because people will hear
that over at the sand pit. There's houses close enough that
they'll be awakened by that.
MR. STARK-So what do you want to do? He says he'll let Jimmy know
as soon as he knows the destination. He cut out five hours a day,
the busy times. He's not going to go down Ridge Road and then down
Dix Avenue east. He's going to go ~ on Dix Avenue from Quaker.
They're going to wash the wheels of the truck at both locations.
What more can they do?
MR. MARTIN-I think they should definitely stay at Quaker Road.
MR. PIAZZOLA-Tim, with any luck at all, Galosha will be done
hauling to K-Mart over the next couple of days. We have discussed
it with him today, and hopefullY none of the sand, and I can't make
any promises, will have to ever go that way again. It would be
nice if it could all go to the Northway, but the way, the reason I
presented the schedules to you, Phase I and Phase II, is I
respectfully ask that you don't preclude our ability to haul during
the day, as long as we give you the maps, the routes you want and
the times you want, because what it does.
MR. MARTIN-And under proper conditions, covered trucks and washed
wheels.
MR. BREWER-I don't have a problem with that.
MR. PIAZZOLA-It just severely impacts the ability to meet the time
line. I know that's not your problem, that's mine, but to haul
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exclusively at night takes a lot of the flexibility of the hauling
away, and that's the reason I put it the way I did.
MR. BREWER-Okay.
MR. PIAZZOLA-But what we'll do is, again, we have a Construction
Manager on site. He's been in construction 20 years. We'll get
this straightened out. We'll do the schedule.
MR. BREWER-I guess what I'm saying, as soon as you know where that
destination is, we'd like to know. If you know by next Wednesday,
come to our meeting next Wednesday, seven o'clock.
MR. MACEWAN-It'll be more than one destination. Is that correct?
I mean, you're only talking, what, 50,000 yards are going to go to
the City?
MR. PIAZZOLA-Well, that's a hypothetical.
MR. MACEWAN-Would they take more, less?
MR. PIAZZOLA-I don't know.
MR. MACEWAN-Okay. So, if there's more than one location, we'd like
to have the routes for all locations you plan on going to.
MR. PIAZZOLA-Okay. They wouldn't all be going in 10 different
directions at once. We'd like to send (lost word) then go to
another place with the next dump.
MR. MACEWAN-The only other question ~ would have is what's your
contingency plans if you don't come up with an agreement with NIMO
for the 100.000 yards you want to dump there?
MR. PIAZZOLA-What that does is that adds, the Phase II hauling
schedule for 100,000 cubic yards is 27 days, all right. The Phase
II hauling schedule for 200.000 cubic yards is 95 days, and that's,
during the day, it's a five day haul.
MR. MARTIN-I don't think you're going to have much complaints if
you can get a good route on a seven hour haul day from eight to
three.
MR. BREWER-But I think we should know what that route is and where
it's going.
MR. MARTIN-Yes, I agree.
MR. PALING-If this is going through residential areas, though, with
kids playing, this is where the houses are closely built together,
and you're talking the big trucks rolling through. I assume these
guys are cautious and there would be no problem there, I hope.
MR. MARTIN-When I say residential neighborhoods, the thing I, the
most ~ would envision is like you have to go upper Ridge Road or
something like that, and there are some houses that front on Ridge
Road up through there, but there should be no reason to go into
local collector roads and town roads.
MR. PALING-You're talking about East Field, right?
MR. MARTIN-Yes.
street.
That's different.
That's right through a City
MR. BREWER-I'm just saying, that may not be the location they
wanted. I'm just using that as an example.
MR. MARTIN-Well, what I could see, ultimately, happening here, if
Galosha gets the contract, he may bring this to one of his pits to
store it, because I don't see him selling 200,000 yards of fill in
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a 90 day period. That's a lot of fill.
MR. BREWER-A lot of jobs going on, Jim.
job right here that could use 150,000.
A lot of jobs, there's a
You don't know.
MR. MACEWAN-I guess probably out of all of this the biggest
complaint I've got is the trucks that aren't covered that have been
going up and down Quaker Road, because the way, as breezy and windy
as it's been the last four or five days, it's not fun following
one. You get sand blasted.
MR. MARTIN-We're saying covered trucks and washed wheels, and I'm
going to tell K-Mart the same thing tomorrow.
MR. MACEWAN-I just don't want to see these guys, I mean, they're
trying to get new tenants in there and get this project done. I
don't want to see them hindered any more than they are. It was
miscommunication. I think we've got it sorted out. Lets see what
they can come back with us for next Wednesday.
MR. BREWER-Wednesday, if you can come back, Mike, with a plan, if
Danny has the contract. I just think this Board should know what
is going to happen with it.
MRS. LABOMBARD-Can't he just call Jim and tell him, and Jim can
relay it to us?
MR. MARTIN-I can do that. However the Board would like.
MRS. LABOMBARD-I'd hate to have to sit here for three hours again
to tell us the plan, when you can call Jim up.
MR. BREWER-No. He'd be first on the agenda.
MR. OBERMAYER-Why couldn't we approve it and then get the location
and destination, approve the hours.
MR. BREWER-The hours, I don't have a problem with the hours.
MR. OBERMAYER-Approve the hours, and then he can come back and tell
Jim, and work out the routing of it with Paul Naylor.
MR. MACEWAN-No. I think I'd want to hear it myself, too. I'd want
him to come back to this Board.
MR. BREWER-Yes.
MR. MARTIN-Well, I think we can buy a little time, here, because by
Tuesday, for sure, he's going to be going to the Town sand pit for
the next five weeks, only at night.
MR. BREWER-Yes, but, Jim, he also wants to go during the day, too.
MR. OBERMAYER-Yes. He wants to go during the day.
MR. MARTIN-That's not what's written here, in either one. Phase I
is all at night.
MR. PIAZZOLA-The Town sand is all going during the day, I mean, at
night.
MR. MARTIN-We've got until, essentially, May 15th until we get into
Phase II.
MR. BREWER-Read Phase II.
concurrently?
Is Phase II going to happen
MR. PIAZZOLA-Phase II happens concurrently, but not without your
approval of a destination.
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~
MR. BREWER-Right.
one destination.
the day.
It happens concurrently. Phase I is just the
Phase II happens at the same time, only during
MR. MARTIN-Okay. I've got no problem with eight to three, as long
as we know the destination and the route.
MR. BREWER-Wednesday we'll know.
MR. PIAZZOLA-As soon as Galosha gets this thing done down at K-
Mart, we're ready to have him go all night, down to.
MR. MARTIN-And the Town is ready also. Paul Naylor is ready also.
MR. BREWER-So, if you could let us know Wednesday where your
destination is, and your route, and that'll be fine. The hours of
operation are fine, but, I mean, if he gets a destination tomorrow,
and Danny gets the contract, you can call me and tell me, because
I can get word to everybody.
MR. HARLICKER-Just one comment, all suggestions on this Study,
please make them concise and to the point. I've edited and I've
edited and I've edited. I need specific recommendations. I can't
do it by myself.
On motion meeting was adjourned.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Timothy Brewer, Chairman
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