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238.2012 Establish Planning & Zoning Committee on Issues RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING PLANNING AND ZONING ISSUE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE AND APPOINTING ITS MEMBERS RESOLUTION NO.: 238, 2012 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. Daniel Stec WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr.Ronald Montesi WHEREAS, the Queensbury Town Board has a duty and the authority to create committees when it believes it is in the public's best interest to review and address matters of Town importance, and WHEREAS, the development of a large parcel located on the southwest corner of Bay and Blind Rock Roads has the potential for both significant positive and negative impacts to the community and has been the source of much public debate over many years, and WHEREAS, last year an applicant submitted a proposal for the development of this property that was compliant with the zoning code and needed no zoning variances, and WHEREAS, the Town Planning Board held several public discussions on this proposal and ultimately concluded that although compliant with zoning the proposal was not very desirable to the community and the Planning Board therefore encouraged the applicant to resubmit a different proposal that would be more appealing and instructed the applicant not to be overly concerned with avoiding all zoning code deviations, and WHEREAS the applicant took this message and resubmitted a proposal that the Planning Board found much more desirable but also increased the project's proposed residential density and required numerous zoning area variances, and WHEREAS, this proposal was subsequently reviewed by the Town Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and while no actual resolution was ever voted on by the ZBA, the ZBA communicated that the variances sought were too numerous and would not likely be granted, and WHEREAS, some members of the ZBA also recommended to the applicant that they seek a change in zoning from the Town Board, and WHEREAS, the applicant instead first requested a public workshop with the ZBA and Planning Board to attempt to resolve the conflicting signals from the ZBA regarding this pending application and that workshop request was not granted by the ZBA, and WHEREAS, the applicant has expressed frustration in the crossed signals from the Planning Board and ZBA and fears that without further dialogue the applicant could enter into a very expensive endless loop in the Town's review process and that this process would not only be expensive to the applicant but also to the Town's taxpayers, and WHEREAS, the applicant has therefore chosen to file an application seeking such a change in zone that would potentially allow increased flexibility in their proposal and avoid an iterative process that would be costly to both the applicant and the Town, and WHEREAS, some members of the Town Board feel strongly that the requested change in zoning is not desirable and is certainly not the only available option to gaining a resolution to this issue that works for both the public and the applicant, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Queensbury Town Board believes that in addition to considering the requested zoning change, the Town Board believes that in the interest of fairness and in an effort to avoid wasting the time and resources of both the applicant and the taxpayers that an attempt to seek a resolution to this issue that pares down the proposed project density and works within the existing town code is desirable and in everyone's best interest, and 2 BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that to this end the Town Board hereby creates a "Planning and Zoning Issue Resolution Committee" and tasks it with fact finding and working with Town Staff, Town Counsel and the Planning Board and ZBA to attempt to resolve this conflict between the applicant, the Planning Board and the ZBA without requiring the Town Board to make further changes to the zoning code. Such Resolution not necessarily suggesting that no use of the zoning variance application process be allowed but certainly encouraging the number and magnitude of variances to be reduced from the last proposal, and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board appoints the following four members to serve until such a time as they determine their work on this matter is concluded: • Councilman John Strough • Councilman Ron Montesi • Zoning Administrator Craig Brown • Planner Keith Oborne and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that the Town Board expresses to the Planning Board and the ZBA its firm belief that it is in the public's best interest for these Boards to meet in a joint public workshop meeting with the Planning and Zoning Issue Resolution Committee in the very near future to provide meaningful feedback to the applicant regarding this pending application in attempt to establish a direction for the applicant to move forward so that the future development can proceed 3 without further alteration of the Zoning Code, without excessive density or negative impact to the surrounding neighborhood. Duly adopted this 2e day of August, 2012,by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Stec,Mr. Metivier,Mr. Montesi,Mr. Strough,Mr. Brewer NOES: None ABSENT:None 4