April 2007 Minutes

Town of Varick Planning Board
Minutes
April 26, 2007

The Varick Town Planning Board met April 26, 2007 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. All seven members of the Planning Board were in attendance.

Frankie Long made a motion that the minutes of the March 22, 2007 be approved. Kevin Swartley seconded the minutes and it was carried.

There was a discussion of public hearings. These hearings are supposed to be for information only and they should not be used as public pressure to influence decisions.

There was a discussion of outdoor wood furnaces and how many municipalities are banning them because of the air pollution that they cause.

Bill Larzelere and Bob Kayser attended an evening training session in Lyons on May 3. They reported that the training was good although rather long. And the pizza was excellent.

There was a discussion on docks and moorings in the lake. The boundary of Varick extends into both Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. In fact, on Seneca Lake, it extends all the way across the lake to the other shore. This was supported by a 1988 letter from NY State. This leads to the need for rules and regulations on this underwater area. The two lake associations for Seneca and Cayuga Lake are taking the lead in this area. There is a desire for all towns and municipalities bordering on the lake to have the same rules and regulations. Bob Kayser made a motion that we pursue adopting a law in coordination with other towns. Kevin Swartley seconded it and it was carried unanimously.

Old Business: We spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the zoning code.

Bill Larzelere is going to look into language for mobile homes to permit their use, but not too junky appearance.

Bob Kayser is going to look into language hamlets and dwellings and noise and objectionable odors.

Frankie Long is going to look into language that will limit the size of kennels in the lakeshore zone in order to permit small-scale home breeding but restrict operations too large for the neighborhood.

There was a discussion of set backs. The consensus was for 15 feet on both sides and back. There apparently is no setback on private roads.

There was a discussion of fences in the institutional zone. It was decided that the requirement for a fence half they height from the property line would apply there just as well as everywhere else.

The meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.

Respectfully,

Larry Peterson
Secretary
Approved May 24, 2007

March 2007 Minutes

Town of Varick Planning Board
Minutes
March 22, 2007
The Varick Town Planning Board met March 22, 2007 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. Attending the meeting were Chairman Thomas Bjorkman, Larry Peterson, Bill Larzelere, Frankie Long, Anne Bachman, and Kevin Swartley. Bob Kayser was absent.

Minutes. Larry Peterson read the minutes from the last meeting. Bill Larzelere made a motion that the minutes be approved as read. Frankie Long seconded the motion and it was carried. (Kevin Swartley arrived at the meeting after the minutes were approved)

Zoning Code. Most of the meeting involved discussing further clarification of the Use Table, especially commercial enterprises and how much detail we should include in there vs. just having a general category.
Junkyards: Leave out since many state laws cover this.
Golf Courses: leave out.
Laundromat: Include in hamlet under the category of personal services.
Laboratory/R& D Facilities: OK in conservation area.
Nursery/Garden shop: allow more outdoor space than other retail sales.
Tavern, Bar, nightclub: ignore.
Multi-family dwellings: two vehicles per family, 200 ft setback, screening by fence or natural vegetation.

Water Grant. Chairman Bjorkman said he has been asked to write a letter of support for a grant that is being requested to supply water to the hamlet of Fayette. The board strongly concurred in Mr. Bjorkman writing such a letter.

Old Business. Empire Biofuels. Thomas Bjorkman discussed the reply we received from IDA on our letter to them regarding our concerns about the Empire Biofuels project. Mr. Bjorkman said he was pleased with their answer and the board concurred.
There was a discussion of the location of the ethanol plant in the town of Romulus rather than the town of Varick. Kevin Swartley, as an employee of Empire Biofuels, said that he had recommended the ethanol plant be located in Romulus rather than Varick because he felt there was less opposition in Romulus than in Varick. Several board members were surprised to hear him make this statement and asked if he was talking about the Varick town board or the planning board. He said both. He said he could sense the same kind of opposition in Varick that there was in Seneca Falls. Since the hour was late, it was decided to discuss this further at the next meeting.

Next meeting. The next planning board meeting is scheduled for April 26th. Kevin Swartely said the next public meeting by Empire Biofuels may be April 25th at the Romulus school auditorium at 6:30 PM. However, this is not yet a firm date and time.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.
Respectfully,

Larry Peterson
Secretary

March 2007 Agenda

Varick Planning Board
Agenda
March 22, 2007

Approve minutes
February 22, 2007 5 min

Information items:
Training requirement adopted by Town Board 5 min

Old business:
Commercial use. Managing car sales and garage sales that become indefinite businesses.
Use Table. Conditions on uses, additional commercial. 60 min

New Business
Response from SCIDA regarding our letter regarding Empire Biofuels SEQR
Letter of Support for Hamlet of Fayette water grant application

New subdivision proposals: None

Set next meeting time: Currently scheduled for April 26, 2007 7:00 pm

February 2007 Minutes

Town of Varick Planning Board
Minutes
February 22, 2007

The Varick Town Planning Board met February 22, 2007 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. Attending the meeting were Chairman Thomas Bjorkman, Larry Peterson, Bill Larzelere, Frankie Long, and Bob Kayser. Absent were Kevin Swartley and Annie Bachman.

Bill Larzelere made a motion that the minutes of the January 25, 2007 meeting be approved. Thomas Bjorkman seconded the motion and it was carried.

Chairman Bjorkman said that the Planning Board received a very short letter from the Town Board signed by Donna Karlsen announcing that they had approved the biofuels plant.

Frankie Long gave a report on the day long Mount Morris training session she attended. She said it was very good. She said they talked about how to build a town in NYS in open spaces. She said zoning was key, else nothing happens.

The Use Table was discussed at length. Good progress was made and most of the blocks on the table were completed. Indefinite car or yard sales will be limited by an annual permit that lasts 30 days.

Bob Kayser made a motion that Chairman Thomas Bjorkman send a letter from the Varick Planning Board to the IDA expressing our disappointment that they had not addressed our concerns regarding the biofuels plant. Bill Larzelere seconded the motion and it was carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.

Respectfully,

Larry Peterson
Secretary

Approved March 22, 2007

February 2007 Agenda

Town of Varick Planning Board
Agenda
February 22, 2007

Approve minutes January 25, 2007

Committee reports none

Information items
Report on Mt. Morris training. (Frankie Long )
Letter from Town Board regarding vote of support for Empire Biofuels

Old business
Use Table for Agriculture and Rural Residential Zone.

New Business
Commercial use. Managing car sales and garage sales that become indefinite businesses.
Response to SCIDA regarding negative declaration on Empire Biofuels SEQR (response is in comment below)

New subdivision proposals: None

Set next meeting time: Currently scheduled for March 22, 2007 7:00 pm

Adjourn

January 2007 Minutes

Town of Varick Planning Board

Minutes
January 25, 2007

The Varick Town Planning Board met January 25, 2007 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. Attending the meeting were Chairman Thomas Bjorkman, Larry Peterson, Kevin Swartley and Bill Larzelere. Absent were Frankie Long, Bob Kayser, and Anne Bachman. Barb Wells also attended the meeting.

Minutes. Chairman Bjorkman passed out the minutes of the last meeting which was November 16, 2006. Bill Larzelere made a motion they be approved. Kevin Swartley seconded the motion and it was carried.

Discussion items. Chairman Bjorkman passed out information relative to a requirement by the state that each member of the Varick Planning Board and the Varick Zoning Board of Appeals must complete a minimum of four hours per year of training. The town board needs to enact a local law to establish training requirements. The planning board agreed that its members should be reimbursed up to $75 for this training and for up to 100 miles of travel. It was decided that the town clerk should keep track of this training since she now keeps track of our terms. Chairman Bjorkman is going to forward a copy of our suggestions to the town board and a copy to the town attorney since he will have to write the local law.

Old business. We discussed the Use Table for the Agricultural and Rural Residential column. We got about halfway through it and stopped to discuss the new Biofuels plant on the depot. Kevin Swartley had maps and much information on the plant. Barb Wells also had information and questions and comments on it since she is secretary of the Seneca County Federation of Sportsman Clubs.

The proposed site of the Biofuels plant will be in the Town of Romulus but it will be within 500 feet of the town of Varick so Varick was asked to make comments on the Romulus Special Use Permit application.

New business. The Varick Planning Board concluded that the Biofuels plant will be a benefit to the area in many respects. Our main concerns were related to traffic, noise, appearance and odor control.
The board voted 3-0 (Swartley abstained) to have Chairman Bjorkman will present the following concerns to the Romulus planning board.

Odor: Require odor controls so that they don't impact Varick residents.
Traffic: Encourage transportation of distillers grain, logs and ethanol by rail rather than truck when it is practical.
Appearance: Design the gate on Rt 96A so that trucks waiting to enter are off the highway.

The Seneca County IDA is also lead agency for SEQR for a larger scope of development of the ethanol and biofuel facility. We also have the opportunity to provide input into the SEQR process.
The board voted 3-0 (Swartley abstained) to have Chairman Bjorkman will present the following concerns to the Seneca County IDA.
Item 7. Air quality. Require odor controls so that they don't impact Varick residents.
Item 9. Non-threatened species. Require a wildlife management plan, with appropriate mitigation to preserve the habitat for birds that justified listing the property as an Important Bird Area, and habitat to maintain the white deer herd.
Item 13. Open space and recreational opportunities. Include provisions for ecotourism, hiking, wildlife watching and hunting.
Item 15. Existing transportation systems. Encourage transportation of distillers grain, logs and ethanol by rail rather than truck when it is practical.
Item 20. Potential controversy. We expect controversy regarding the well-being of white deer and opportunities to see them.

The meeting was finally adjourned at 10:30 PM.

Respectfully,

Larry Peterson

Secretary

Approved February 22, 2007

November 2006 Minutes

Town of Varick Planning Board
Minutes
November 16, 2006

The Varick Town Planning Board met November 16, 2006 at 7 PM at the Varick Firehouse. Attending the meeting were Chairman Thomas Bjorkman, Larry Peterson, Kevin Swartley, Bob Kayser, and Anne Bachman. Absent were Frankie Long and the new grandfather Bill Larzelere. Also attending the meeting were two members of the community; Linda Mastellar and Sally Swartley.

Commercial Zoning Permit application. Angel Landis has applied to start a business on the farm owned by her husband and herself at 5083 Rt 414, Romulus, NY. The business would be a store selling books, crafts, and probably some Amish food. It would be located in a new building no larger than 24ft X 32ft. Code Enforcement Office Dick Foxx had asked Angel to come before the planning board for our approval of the permit. The business does not yet have a name and Angel is aiming for an opening next spring. Bob Kayser moved that we recommend that the Code Enforcement Officer approve the application. Kevin Swartley seconded it and it was carried unanimously.

Minutes. Kevin Swartley made a motion that the minutes of the October 26, 2006 planning board meeting be approved. Anne Bachman seconded it and it was carried unanimously.

Kevin Swartley asked for information about an Open Space grant proposal to be submitted to the Restore New York program by the towns of Fayette, Varick, and Romulus. Kevin said the Town of Romulus will asked to be removed from the proposal. Thomas Bjorkman said he was not aware that Romulus felt that way, having met with their planning board to invite them to join the proposal. The grant was written by Peter Brown who is the grant writer for Seneca County. Chairman Bjorkman indicated that and Open Space Plan is called for in our Comprehensive Plan and he took the initiative to apply for a grant to prepare such a plan when the opportunity was announce earlier this month. Kevin was concerned that this application had not been approved in advance by the Varick planning board.

Bob Kayser felt we should allow Chairman Bjorkman to take the initiative on such a topic as this without planning board approval as long as he keeps us informed of what he is doing by email or a phone call. Kevin Swartley asked to be on the board for an Open Space Plan if it comes about. Thomas Bjorkman said Kevin would be a good member that board if he represented the Agricultural Enhancement Board’s to identify agricultural land that should be highest priority for protection, but the final board selection would be up to the town boards involved.

Zoning. Thomas Bjorkman presented a Use Table and we went over a number of items related to the Lakeshore Residential Zone, which had not yet been addressed. The board members were asked to consider uses in the Agricultural and Rural Residential Zone for the next meeting.

Next Meeting. It was decided to cancel our December meeting. Our next meeting will be January 25, 2007.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.

Respecfully,

Larry Peterson

Acting Secretary

Approved January 25, 2007