Approved Minutes from April 30th Meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

 

Date of Meeting:  April 30^th, 2009

 

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm by Chairman Bill Squires

 

Attendees:   Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda

Masteller, Susan Ottenweller  , Bill Squires, Kevin Swartley

Absent: Thomas Bjorkman

Also attending : All members of the Town of Varick Board, and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Code Enforcement Officer Paul Conroy

 

New Business:

This meeting was a working session with the Town Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals on the draft changes to the Town of Varick Zoning Code that the Planning Board has been working on for several months.   The goal of this meeting was to go through the proposed changes and address any concerns and questions

 

Concerns: 

 

Page 12 Boat Hoists:  Bob Hayssen asked for clarification on wording that said that “walls” were not allowed on boat hoists.  What was a wall?   His concern was that vertical skirting from the roof down was not allowed and would not allow a boat to be properly protected from the elements.  Would canvas side curtains be allowed?

Bill Squires  said the reason for no walls was so a neighbors lake view would not be blocked .  It was suggested that it be left to the discretion of the ZBA.

 Annie Bachman of the ZBA said the ZBA needed definitions and intent  to be able to rule effectively.

Bill Squires suggested a compromise might be to allow for side walls or cutains coming down from the roof to a certain height measured form the surface of the dock.

It was agreed this would be discussed further by the Planning Board.

 

Dock Size:  John Saeli thought the 850 square foot dock size was too small pointing out safety issues if the walkway was too narrow.  Discussion followed of the history of this issue and the several changes to allow increased size for docks.  Bob Taylor and the ZBA said that 850square feet should be adequate. It was decided to leave 850 as the number.

 

Mean High Water Mark:  Bob Hayssen thought a definition should be added.   This will be done.

 

Use Tables:

Discussion of Home Worship and Places of Worship

Bill Squires pointed out the changes to the Use Tables and Definitions clarifying these two items.  

The Conditional usage will be outlined in paragraph 310.23. This paragraph was referenced but did not exist. This will be corrected.

 

John Saeli wondered why a Church or Place of Worship was not allowed in the Conservation and Green Energy  Zone.  It was decided to allow this use in this zone as a conditional use.

 

John Saeli questioned that Agricultue was “not permitted” in the Hamlet district.  No Farm animals were allowed.  What is a farm animal?    Decided no change, but will look at farm animal definition.

 

Canned Hunting:

John wondered why Canned hunting was allowed in the Ag and Rural Residential district.  It was “not permitted” anywhere else in the Town.  It was a strong opinion from Town residents to not allow canned hunts in the Town of Varick.  Kevin Swartley discussed the definition of Canned Hunting and the difference in a “For Profit” hunting farm business.  It was agreed that there may be a place for the for profit hunting but that the definitions of both Canned Hunting and the for profit business need to be worked on further.

 

Equipment Rentals:   Town Board members wondered why “Boat and canoe Rentals” were not allowed in the Lakeshore Residential District?  It seemed like the logical place for such a business. Linda Masteller  from the Planning Board responded that there were many concerns about noise, traffic, parking, lights, etc. that many members of the public had raised during information meetings held in both lake roads.  It was agreed that there may be places where this type of business may be appropriate on Rt. 89, but may not be for East lake Rd. on Seneca lake because of the housing density.  This will be discussed further.

 

Typing errors

Page 18- Fix “310.7” in CRE to “310.17”

311.15, 311.17 move to end of Special Uses section

 

Residential/In Home Care:  Page19  Discussed the changes to the definitions and permitted usage of in home care providers.   Three levels are outlined  defined by the numbers of patients served.   1-4 are permitted in all zones except CRE , 5-9 will be permitted in all zones except CRE( this is a change as it was not permitted in Lakeshore residential,  10 or more will be permitted only in the business park and institutional zone.  It was noted that titles of the  usages and definitions need to be finalized.  The State has specific definitions and conditions for the operation of such facilities.

 

Veterinary in Lakeshore Residential :   Art Sherman wondered why this use was not allowed in LR  and was a permitted use in the Hamlet Residential  zone.  The type of facility and size could be controlled by definition and conditions and in his opinion would be an asset to the community. It was agreed that this will be looked at and changed to conditional in lakeshore residential zone.

 

Winery tasting room in Small Business Park Zone:  Dick Peterson wondered why a Winery tasting room would not be a good use in the Small Business park Zone. He noted that there has been interest in several Wineries collaborating for such a use and in his opinion would be a good fit for the SB and Institutional Zone.  It was agreed to further discuss and change to permitted.

WareHousing not permitted :    The only place warehousing is permitted is in the Small Business and Institutional Zone.  Several people thought this should be discussed for other zones such as the Ag District where barns could be used fro “seasonal storage”  for added income.    It was agreed to better define warehousing and discuss further.

Home Schooling : language needs to be discussed and added 

Bulk Table Changes:

Grandfathering existing lots from a certain date(?)

Non-Conforming -  Went over wording and came up with;   “Can rebuild on same footprint and same type of house if damaged beyond repair by fire.

Development features should be left in the Zoning Code until the SubDivision Code is updated then move to Sub Division Code.

Page 22-  12 feet above centerline east of rt. 89 -  Think about if this is reasonable

309.2-  A  Needs rewording

Page 24  Drainage-  Add language to reference drainage plan on page 44

Sign sizes need to be harmonized or at least looked at again for reasonableness.(page29)

Page 45 typo-  C-1  “A design Plan(t)

 

Next Regular Meeting Date:    May 28^th, 2009  Varick Firehouse at 7:00pm.

Meeting adjourned: at 9:50 PM

Minutes Submitted By: Bill Larzelere (Secretary)

Draft Minutes from March 26th meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

 

Date of Meeting:  March 26^th, 2009

 

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm by Chairman Bill Squires

 

Attendees:  Thomas Bjorkman Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda

Masteller, Susan Ottenweller  , Bill Squires

Absent:  Kevin Swartley

 

New Business:

Building Permit Forms:  Chairman Squires  submitted a draft form for a new “Zoning Compliance Permit” Application form.  This is intended to be a replacement for the current form and be more helpful in the process both to the Code Enforcement Officer and the person applying for the permit.  One feature of the form would be a checklist for proper completion of the form and sample projects that applicants may be doing. Noting the different name for the permit recognizes that conforming to the Zoning Code is more than just for “building”.

All references to a “Building Permit” in the Varick Zoning Code will be changed to a “Zoning Compliance Permit”.

 

Bill Squires had talked to Donna Karlsen about having the forms available in the Town Office and she said the only problem was that when this was done in the past that she had to field many questions that were better answered by the Code Enforcement Officer and that was a distraction from her job. The person still had to contact the CEO so they put the forms in CEO’s hands only.  With the new form that will answer many of the questions and being available on the Web, the questions will be minimized for Donna and having the form be available in the Town Office will be more convenient for the public that doesn’t have access to the Web or if they live a distance from the CEO.  This is a suggestion for discussion.

 

Thomas Bjorkman noted that the procedures for getting and filling out a Building Permit

are spelled out in section 404 of the Zoning Code.

 

Bill Squires also would like to have a form for applying for a “Special Use” as outlined in the Code  and a Certificate of Occupancy.  These are addressed in Section 403 of the Code.

 

Other things that were talked about to be included on the Zoning Compliance form were:

·      A map that shows the different zones in the Town

·      A section that spells out the requirements for applying for a permit with the DEC and the Army Corp. of Engineers to build a dock or seawall. It should include the contact information.

·      A fee schedule should be included and who the applicant should pay.

·      All language on the new form should be consistent with Seneca County Code Enforcement Language.

Discussion about process for enforcing the code when it is discovered an applicant has not built according to the plans he/she has submitted in his/her compliance permit. 

·      It is critical that any discrepancies are discovered before the construction is complete. 

·      Remedy should not get to the point where a building needs to be torn down.

·      Penalties should be severe enough that Contractors and applicants will be sure the construction is done properly

·      The penalties should be very prominent in documentation.

·      The goal is to protect everyone , avoid lawsuits, and assure compliance with the Varick Zoning Code.

 

Bill Squires will talk with the County Code Enforcement if they could add a setback measurement to the foundation inspection process.

 

Susan Ottenweller will find out on average how many Building Permits are processed in the Town during a years time.

 

Discussion about Phil Knapps list of Public Concerns brought up at the October 2008 public meeting.  We went through the list and noted that each item had been considered and had either been addressed by a change in the code or noted that the code couldn’t be changed.  Susan Ottenweller suggested that we should be able to explain each item and how it was addressed when we meet with the Town Board and the Public. 

 

Thomas Bjorkman also had a list of concerns from the meeting and we looked at each of those too.  Satisfied that they were addressed.

 

Working Session with the Town Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.  Recognizing that our work is in draft mode, we need to present our changes to the Town Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals in a working session to be assured that all parties concerns were adequately addressed.  Bill Squires will communicate with Bob Hayssen suggesting a working session  around May 15^th.  Bill will update the Board with a progress report at their April 5^th meeting and with a discussion of the path forward to a public hearing on the code changes

 

 

 

Meeting Minutes from Feb 26^th 2009:    Thomas Bjorkman  moved to approve with change of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wilson’s name as suggested by Linda Masteller.  Phil Knapp seconded.  Vote was unanimous to approve with changes.

 

Next Regular Meeting Date:    April 30^th, 2009  Varick Firehouse at 7:00pm.

 

Meeting adjourned: at 9:25 PM

 

 

                    

 

Approved Meeting Minutes from Feb 26th Meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

Date of Meeting:  February 26^nd, 2009

Meeting called to order at 7:05pm by Chairman Bill Squires

Attendees:  Thomas Bjorkman Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda Masteller, Bill Squires, Kevin Swartley

Absent:  Susan Ottenweller

Guests: Code Enforcement Officer Paul Conroy,  Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wilson

 

New Business:

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wilson from 5406 Rt 96 attended the meeting to answer any questions our Board had about their proposed farm store selling fruits and vegetables grown on their property.  There will also be a bakery in the main building.  Tom showed drawings of the proposed main building and green house and said if approved that construction will begin within the next few weeks.

There was a discussion about the use and their plans.  It was noted by Linda Masteller that this is a permitted use in the Agricultural and rural residential zone, based on the size of the operation and the Code use table. 

It was also noted that if the business changed to, for example, selling soft serve ice cream or a small restaurant that they would need to come back to the Board at that time because it would then be required to meet more restrictive conditions and possibly a public hearing. Thomas Bjorkman said that this was a great addition to our Town.

Chairman Squires made a motion to approve the use as presented and Phil Knapp seconded.  The vote to approve was unanimous.

Building permit forms:

Bill Squires noted that the forms our Code Enforcement officer works with need to be computerized, updated, and made available on the web.  Paul Conroy agreed saying they should also be made available in the Town Office for people that want to pick up a copy to begin the process of filing a permit.

A form for applying for a Special Use permit needs to be created.

Bill Squires will work on this project and the first thing will be to make our forms available at the Town Office.

It was discussed that it would be a good idea to make process documents available for completing various building projects in our Town.

Examples would be from a basic building permit, to building a dock, to filing for a sub division, to larger developments.   All agreed that this information would be a beneficial project.

Zoning Code Changes:

Discussion followed about several changes to the code that the Board would like to present to our Town Board around April .  We would like to have a preliminary meeting with the Town Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals before a full Public hearing to adopt the changes. 

 Larzelere made the specific changes on the computer as the discussion proceeded.

Sections in  the code that were discussed and changed are:

·      sec. 104.1, 

·      Definitions for Mobile home paragraph 1&2, and section 310.5

·      Definitions-  Motel, residence

·      Use table –Header containing zone descriptions across top of each page.

·      Sec 306.3  Dock construction and setbacks

·      Sec 309.1 Bulk Table  Top paragraph moved to Sub division code

                 Deleted a second paragraph that was repeated

·    Sec 309.2 Fences and walls changed

·    Sec 309.5 last sentence about common access sites

Schedule:  Squires noted that we may need an additional meeting to finish off changes before meeting with Town Board and ZBA.   No meeting date was chosen.

Larzelere will get a copy of the code with all proposed changes out to the Planning Board  ASAP.

Phil Knapp noted that our next meeting should include going over the list of community concerns from the public information meeting.  He will make sure everyone has a copy of the documented concerns.

Meeting Minutes from Jan 22^nd:   Phil Knapp moved to approve as written.  Linda Masteller  seconded,   Vote was unanimous to approve

Next Regular Meeting Date:    March 26^th  Varick Firehouse at 7:00pm.

Meeting closed: at 9:10 PM

Minutes Submitted by:  Bill Larzelere   Planning Board Secretary

 

                    

 

Approved Meeting Minutes from January 22nd Meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

 

Date of Meeting:  January 22^nd, 2009

 

Meeting called to order at 7:15pm by Secretary Bill Larzelere. Noting several members were absent, the meeting would be brief.

 

Attendees:   Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda Masteller, Susan Ottenweller

Absent:  Thomas Bjorkman, Bill Squires, Kevin Swartley

 

Guest: Code Enforcement officer Paul Conroy

 

Minutes Approved:  

Minutes from December 18^th meeting were approved as written. Linda Masteller made the motion to approve and Susan Ottenweller seconded.  The vote was unanimous.

 

New Business:

 New Code Enforcement Officer Paul Conroy introduced himself to the Board and brought a  question about a Permit request from a Mr. Thomas Wilson of  5406 Rt. 96A.  This request was for construction of a 30’x50’ building and a 28’ x150’ greenhouse on a 15 acre parcel owned by Mr. Wilson. Conroy presented the permit request and a drawing showing the buildings on the site with driveway and parking areas also marked out.  The question from Conroy was the purpose of the building which was for a  Farm Store selling fruits and vegetables raised on the property.  Conroy was unsure if all proposed businesses in the Town had to be approved by the Town Planning Board and wanted to make sure we were “all on the same page”.

After discussion, Larzelere noted that the first place to go was the Zoning Code and specifically the Use Tables for the Zone.  This would show if the use was permitted or not and if there were any “conditions” required for the use.  It looked to the Board that this would be an approved use, but would be discussed first with our Chairman and then , if necessary, at the next Planning Board meeting in February.   Larzelere said he would talk to Bill Squires and show him the drawings. 

Paul Conroy also asked a question about if a permit was approved for a building, and after it was built, the owner changed the use of the building to something other that what was on the original permit. How is this to be addressed and handled?  This was put on the discussion list for the next meeting.

 

Larzelere thanked Paul Conroy for his questions and made sure he knew he was invited to all our meetings.

 

The next meeting: was set for February 26^th, 2009 at the Varick Firehouse

 

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm

 

Minutes respectfully submitted: Bill Larzelere(Secretary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approved Meeting Minutes from December 18th Meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

 

Date of meeting: December 18, 2008 

Meeting called to order:  7:10pm

¨     Attendees:   Thomas Bjorkman, Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Linda Masteller,  Susan Ottenweller, , Kevin Swartley

      Absent: Bill Squires

A quorum was present.

 

With Chairman Squires not present, Thomas Bjorkman agreed to run the meeting.

 

 Suggestion to Bill Squires:  There was a comment that it would be helpful to all if there was an agenda circulated before the meeting.

 

Meeting Minutes:  Bill Larzelere noted that the November minutes had been changed as per e-mail notes from Linda Masteller.  Susan Ottenweller moved to approve the October and November minutes as written.  Phil Knapp seconded. The vote to approve was unanimous.

 

New Business:

Thomas Bjorkman reported that as of August 6, 2008, the Cobblestone Farm in the Town of Varick had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Noting that this was a very desirable happening with much work from the owner, Bob Rozzano, he suggested that a letter of “congratulations” from our Board be drafted and sent to the owners with a copy to the Town Board.  All agreed that this was a good idea and Kevin Swartley made a motion that this be done. Susan O. seconded the motion and the vote to approve was unanimous.  Thomas Bjorkman agreed to draft the letter.

 

Zoning Code Changes:

 

Discussion about the definition of “A Place of Worship”:

 

Susan Ottenweller  reported that in her research  “A Place of Worship” was handled differently in the Zoning codes of surrounding towns.  She also found that  in 2000 Congress passed the Religious Land Uses and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) to protect religious groups from zoning and historic landmark regulations that would significantly interfere with religious exercise. Most zoning codes allow places of worship in any zoning district where the impacts of the facility would be similar to other uses allowed in the district; and in all districts that allow public assembly. Ancillliary/accessory  uses such as day care, schooling, homeless shelter, food pantry...even a catering business.... may be regulated separately; although there appears to be considerable case law for ruling that ancilliary uses are integral parts of the church. There is also NY state case law favoring the use of one's home for church services. Most places maintain that localities have the responsibility to respond to legitimate community concerns associated the location of churches including compatibility, noise, traffic...but should be sure to not regulate them more harshly or leniently than similar land uses.

 

Our discussion concluded that the use table will have two categories for “Place of Worship”   One will be “In Home Worship” and will be permitted in all zones.  The second will be a “Place of Worship “ and will be a dedicated building or Church. This building will be allowed in all zones except the Conservation and Green Energy zone as a “conditional use”.  

 

Items that will be addressed for the conditions for a “Place of Worship” will be lighting, signage, screening , and parking.  Parking discussed was 1 parking space for 4 persons of occupancy.   Kevin Swartley has been working on a project for his church in the Town of Fayette and will e-mail the language they use for the conditions of a church in the new Fayette Zoning code. We will use this in consideration of our language.  Possible new conditional paragraph will be 310.23.

 

“In home worship” will be “permitted”  in all zones. 

 

“Restaurants” in use table will be allowed as conditional with 310.18 conditions in all Zones except Hamlets. Hamlet zones will have “Special Use” for restaurants and Churchs because of the need for control of parking, lot design, etc., for correct use in the more dense development area of a Hamlet.

 

Dave Stonesifer Letter to Board 

East Lake Road resident Dave Stonefiser wrote a letter to our board with copy to the Town Board, criticizing the Zoning Code for not allowing Residential Home Care in the Lake District Zone.  Dave’s description of “In Home Care” for disadvantaged folks allowed for a licensed, NYS inspected facility and care for four or fewer people.  After discussion, our board agreed  that this hould be a permitted use in all zones with four or fewer residents cared for.  With 5 to 9 residents cared for the use table will be the same as is now.  This allows these facilities as permitted in all zones except the Lakeshore Residential and Conservation and Green Energy Zones.  A facility with 10 or more residents will have to be investigated to develop consensus. Thomas Bjorkman will write an e-mail to Dave outlining our position and thanking him for clarifying the use.

 

Next Meeting:

The next regular meeting of the Varick Planning Board will be January 22^nd 2008 at 7:00pm at the Varick Firehouse.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm

 

Minutes respectfully submitted,

Bill Larzelere- Secretary

 

Approved Minutes from November 20th meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

Date of meeting: November 20,2008

Meeting called to order: 7:05pm

Attendees: Thomas Bjorkman, Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Bill Squires, Susan Ottenweller, Linda Masteller(new member)
Absent: Kevin Swartley
A quorum was present.

New Member:
Linda Masteller introduced herself noting she lives on East Lake rd and was very interested to help finish the changes to the new Zoning code. She had attended a couple of our meetings as we developed the code as a member of the general public. Her contact information is on the Varick Planning Board website.

New Business:
The Town of Fayette has an agreement with Seneca County for a 90 day trial period to do code enforcement and building permits.
Discussion by our board concluded that this was a good idea and agree that with the new codes a dedicated full time person that understands the codes is good idea. We would like to know how the arrangement with Fayette works out.

Zoning Code Changes:
Chairman Squires went over his plan for finishing the changes for the Zoning code and possibly the Sub-Division code in the coming year.
Hopes to have the Zoning code finished by the Feb. or march with a public hearing by April. Wants to have an early meeting with the Town Board And the Zoning Board of Appeals when the changes are finalized for a final look and input.

Section 107 Definitions:

Accessory Facility:
Examples: Take out “Transmission equipment” Examples included will be “storage sheds”, “gazebos” and “detached garages”.

Bar: Add definition created at last meeting

Page 4 “Dwelling” “part Therof” add “Inns” 4th line

Page 5 Add “Hotel” State definition

Page 6 “Mobile Home” last paragraph “in two or more parts”



Page 6 Add “Motel” “See Hotel definition”

Page7 Redo “Place of Worship” definition Susan Ottenweller will research other Town's language for this definition.

Page 7 Add to “ Travel Trailer” definition “including but not limited to a tent camper or motor home.”

Page7 Add “Residence” “See Dwelling and Dwelling Multi-family”

Section 310.5 Phil Knapp questioned whether the language about requiring the mobile home to be on a permanent foundation below frostline was correct and reasonable. After discussion it was decided to change the “below frostline “ to “All mobile homes shall, at the least, be on a permanent foundation slab on compacted gravel.”

Mobile Homes: characteristics: page6 2. Designed to be transported on it's own chassis and connected to utilities after placement.

Last paragraph: For purposes of this ordinance, modular homes, which are built and transported to a building site in two or more large parts and are constructed on a permanent foundation below frostline are not considered “Mobile Homes”.

Page7 Add definition of “Temporary Structures” Look up for better language.

Page 9 Article2 Discussion of making two Lakeshore districts. One for East lake Road and one for Rt.89. Decision for now is NO . Future major issues may require re-evaluation of this decision.

Page 12 section 306.3 Side setbacks apply to docks, decks, walkways and boat hoists

Section 308 Use Tables
Bar special use across the board

Page 16 Nursery and Garden Shop Definition to be developed LR rt. 89 “permitted”, LR East Lake rd. “conditional.”

Bulk Table pg18 Development Feature section will come out and go into Sub-Division code

First sentence “ The following restrictions apply to construction on a single lot”

Side and rear setbacks for accessory structures move to below asterisked paragraph

*and ** take out of page 19 but leave in “as is” on page 20

Section 309.2 Fences and walls paragraphC “If mutually agreed upon otherwise fences are to be set back at least one half the height of the fence from the property line.

Need to finalize how to deal with hedges and trees

Minutes from October 30th meeting:

Agreeded to “table” approving minutes because members needed to review the new definition language and the language about drainage design drafted by Bill Larzelere.


Next Meeting:
December 18th 2008 at Varick Firehall at 7:00pm

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted,
Bill Larzelere- Secretary

Approved Minutes from September 26th Meeting

Town of Varick Planning Board Meeting Minutes

Date of meeting: September 25th , 2008

Meeting called to order: 7:10pm

¨ Attendees: Thomas Bjorkman, Phil Knapp, Bill Larzelere, Kevin Swartley , Bill Squires,
Absent: Susan Ottenweller
A quorum was present.

¨August 28th Meeting minutes : Kevin Swartley had taken minutes at this meeting because of Bill Larzelere’s excused absence. Kevin will forward his notes to Bill to have the minutes published.


Guest discussions:

Mr. Katul from 5888 E. Lake Rd. is in the process of purchasing this property and wanted to be clear on the rules for building on Lake District lots. His plans will have a main house on the upper side of East Lake Rd and a cottage that he may rent on the lake side of the road. He wanted to be sure he could have two structures on one lot before he finalized the sale. The board reviewed his lot drawing and concluded that it met all of the new conditions in the most recent zoning code changes. The board thanked Mr. Katul for checking before starting the project and suggested that if the project would take a significant amount of time before getting started, that it would be wise to check back with the board in case there were other changes that may not allow his project although there are no plans to change this portion of the code.

Joe Serven of New York Land and Lakes Development Company told the Board about his companies interest in purchasing a 100 acre piece of property on Yale Station road for development of approximately 10 lots with each lot being 5 to 10 acres. There would be about 300 feet of road frontage. The lots would be for residential development and not commercial property. He asked if our Board saw any issues with this concept in this area. He was informed that it would be considered a “major” subdivision and would be subject to all the conditions of the Sub Division code at the time when the project was formally proposed.

Old Business:

Snyder Subdivision - Since no members of the public were at the public hearing on August 28th and proper notice of the hearing was published, a motion tonight was formally made to approve the Snyder Subdivision presented for approval at the August 28th meeting.
Kevin Swartley made the motion and Thomas Bjorkman seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous to approve the motion.


New Business:

Chairman Squires suggested that a stamp be made to be used on approvals of plats for subdivisions.
Kevin Swartley made a motion that the Planning Board Chairman would be the duly designated official to sign the stamp and the Planning Board Clerk would be the secondary official if the Chairman was not present or able to sign.
Phil Knapp seconded the motion and the Planning Board vote was unanimous to approve the motion.
The Chairman will get the stamp made.

Zoning Code Changes:

Discussion of changes to be worked on by our Board and to be presented to the Town Board in a reasonable amount of time.

A preliminary list was developed:
1. Conditions for “Inns” in the use table
2. Conditions for a “Planned Unit Development or PUD” This may be in a revision of the subdivision code
3. Dock Sizes
4. Telecommunication Towers(Update for approved Zones)
5. ZBA enhanced ability to grant variances in reasonable and mutually agreeable situations between parties.
6. Subdivision Code- Simplify minor subdivision process. Make sure an Ag. Data Statement is included.
7. Clarification of the definition of a “Bar”
8. Language on “Canned Hunts”
9. Depot property usages.
10. Drainage Design Language

In the discussion of the drainage design issue Chairman Squires suggested developing a “Site Plan Checklist” for the Code Enforcement Officer to use when evaluating plans presented to him for approval. This checklist could also be on the Varick Website for the public to use in preparing their plans to be approved. All agreed that this was an excellent idea.

Phil Knapp was asked (and he agreed )to compile a list of important issues raised in the Public Information meetings that would be put on the “To Do” list.

Chairman Squires asked the Board to work on three changes for discussion at the next meeting.
These are:
1. Conditions for an “Inn”
2. Definition of a “Bar”
3. Drainage Design Standards

Next Meeting: October 30, 2008 in Varick Firehall at 7:00 pm

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

Minutes respectfully submitted,
Bill Larzelere- Secretary