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Staff Notes for 1/18/2022 Town of Queensbury Planning Board Community Development Department Staff Notes January 18, 2022 Site Plan 3-2022 & GREAT ESCAPE THEME PARK, LLC. Freshwater Wetlands 1-2022 1172 State Route 9/Land Conservation 42A/ Ward 1 SEQR Type II Material Review: site plan application, freshwater wetland permit, structure drawings, survey, site plans Parcel History:SP 3-2019 new ride, SP 54-2019 stream stabilization, SP 67-2019 & SP 3- 2020 new ride, AV 6-2022 __________________________________________________________________________________________ Requested Action Recommendation to the Zoning Board of Appeals Resolutions 1. Recommendation Project Description Applicant proposes to remove the existing ticket entrance structure and alter the access area. The project includes construction of a 1,150 sq ft ticket building and a 2,750 entrance staging building. The project improves the green space to 34.8%. There will not be any changes to the park rides or parking area. Pursuant to Chapter 179-3-040, 179-6-050, site plan review for new developments/structures and are in the recreation commercial zone, hard surfacing within 50 feet of a shoreline, and freshwater wetlands permit for work within 100 feet of a shoreline shall be subject to Planning Board review and approval. Variance: Relief is sought for setbacks and light pole height. Staff Comments  Location-The project is located at 1172 State Route 9. The project work area is noted as 43,000 sq ft and the park parcel is 237.64 sq ft.  Arrangement- The site is arranged with associated amusement rides and buildings for operation of an amusement park.  Site Design- The plans are to update the entry way area with removal of existing buildings and features to construct two new buildings and improve the green space in the area  Building – The entrance staging building consisting of security check features is to be 2,750 sq ft and the ticket building is to be 1,150 sq ft  Site conditions- The existing area is predominately pavement with stone wall garden areas and ticket entry building.  Grading and drainage plan, Sediment and erosion control- The project removes 6,449 sq ft of impervious surface and replaces these areas with landscaping and green areas. The site has existing catch basins and will utilize the drainage and install new lines and catch basins. They anticipate the addition to the drainage to work similarly to the current stormwater management.  Landscape plan- The applicant has indicated the project area will include additional landscaping and green space area to be increased.  Site lighting plan-There are two existing light poles in the project area to remain. There is one new 4 head light pole proposed to be 35 ft where 20 ft is the maximum allowed – the pole height is part of the variance requested.   Utility details-The applicant should clarify if the buildings will be connected to existing utilities. Site has access to municipal sewer, water.  Signage-The renditions show a sign for each building. The new wall signs will trigger a sign variance for size and number of wall signs. Sign dimensions and material type should be provided noting signage is not part of the site plan review and will be reviewed separately with the zoning board of appeals at a later time.  Elevations-The applicant has provided renditions of the buildings to be constructed. The board may request additional information on building colors, height.  Floor plans-The renditions show the exterior line access areas for security and ticket buildings but it is unclear about the space that is enclosed. The floor plans should be clarified for the areas that are enclosed.  Waivers-Planning staff has reviewed the applicants request for waivers that include items g. site lighting, The board may request clarification or additional information on the following items [[2111,804,2412,861][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]h. signage, j. [[225,861,2412,918][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]stormwater, k. topography, , n traffic, o. commercial alterations/ construction details, p floor plans, q. soil [[225,919,1383,976][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]logs, r. construction/demolition disposal s. snow removal. [[1383,919,1409,976][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]  Staff would request additional information signage, floor plans, and elevations. The stormwater information provided should be discussed by the board. The applicant has provided information on l. landscaping  Pursuant to Section 179-9-050 the Planning Board may grant waivers on its own initiative or at the written request of an applicant. The Board is to review the waivers and to determine if they are to be granted.  SEQR -Generic Environmental Impact Statement and the Final-The Great Escape Theme Park completed a Generic Environmental Impact Statement and the Final was adopted on 7-11-01 and subsequent update in 7- 04. No additional SEQR review is required as long as the proposal is consistent with the impact assessment and thresholds adopted in the Findings Statements.  The project is specific to the front entry area. Park Area C Figure 1-1  Visual Analysis –The building colors should be identified and made part of the plans. The Visual area map indicates the project occurs primarily within the area noted as Park Area up to 200 ft and a portion located in Park Area up to 175 ft Figure V-1.  The thresholds items include: Traffic –the entry area project is not intended to generate new or additional park attendance; o Sound – the entry area project is not intended to exceed the noise threshold; o Stormwater –the applicant has indicated the removal of existing buildings and adding new o landscaping features to the area will improve the green space and the existing stormwater management will address stormwater for the specific project area; Wastewater –no wastewater generating facilities are proposed for the project; o Soils, Geology, Topography and Ecology –the project does not disturb any existing natural o wooded. Freshwater Wetlands The site work and the construction of the buildings is within 100 ft of the NWI wetland shoreline area noted as a Riverine. The work does not occur in the area noted as wetland. - 2 - Nature of Variance The proposed buildings are within the 75 ft property line setback requirement. The security entrance building is located 60.4 ft from the front setback and the Ticket building is located 71.1 ft. The light pole proposed is to be 35 ft in height where a 20 ft height pole is the maximum height allowed. Summary The Planning Board is to provide a recommendation to the ZBA in regards to the relief requested for setbacks of the structures to the front property line and the light pole height. The board may request clarification or additional information on the following items [[1076,610,2413,667][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]h. signage, j. stormwater, k. topography, , n traffic, o. commercial [[150,667,2387,724][12][,I,][Times New Roman]]alterations/ construction details, p floor plans, q. soil logs, r. construction/demolition disposal s. snow removal. [[2387,667,2413,724][12][,I,][Times New Roman]] st Meeting History: 1 Meeting - 3 -