Town Board, 5/15/2012

Public hearing: Winery rezoning.

Supervisor Grace opened the hearing, attended by a standing room only crowd, by explaining the origins of the transitional zone which was designed to customize the site plan requirements for properties that were between residential and commercial zones.Jeff Econom, the project engineer, described the site plan and how it would improve traffic circulation on the site, clean up the existing wetland, and provide stormwater treatment for the site as well as Route 6. He explained that by using the Town’s property (aka the Ardizzone site) for 12 spaces (note that later in the hearing, board members said it would be 9 spaces)at night, the Town would be able to use the site during the day to educate school children and the public about wetlands.

While the purpose of the hearing was the rezoning to a transitional zone, the discussion focused on the site plan which would have permitted the Winery to use town owned land for its parking and whether there was a benefit to the town of a private/public partnership that resulted in cleaning up the wetland. Supervisor Grace clearly saw the benefits of the proposed project.

Responding to earlier discussions about whether or not the Ardizzone parcel was “parkland,” Supervisor reviewed the history of how the Town had acquired the site and said that the board was going on the assumption that it was parkland. That opened up the issue of whether Town parkland always had to have public access and be used for a public recreational or educational purpose, or whether parkland could just exist for environmental reasons. There is no current access to the site.

Those opposed to allowing the Winery to use the town-owned parcel , including the Advisory Committee on Open Space and the Yorktown Land Trust questioned the legality of such a use and suggested that the Town get a legal opinion from the state before approving the rezoning and plan. Speaking for the Trust, John Schroedersaid it was a “slippery slope” to let parkland be used for non-park purposes, especially as the Winery proposal would only affect a small portion of the Ardizzone site and was being considered without the benefit of a master plan for the entire parcel. The Town Attorney said she did not see any legal obstacles to the Winery’s use of the site.

Councilman Bianco raised several questions about the site plan and wanted more details about the wetland mitigation plan and suggested that the board follow a two-step process: first approve the rezoning and then approve the site plan. Phyllis Bock, chairman of the Conservation Board said her board hadn’t seen the latest revised plan and suggested to the applicant that he attend the Conservation Board meeting the following evening. In general, Councilman Bianco supported the concept behind the plan.

Several people spoke in support of the project and were critical of more delay, citing “the paralysis of analysis.” When one supporter suggested that an elephant can be eaten one bite at a time, an opponent cautioned that one bite could be harmful.

The board adjourned the hearing to tie up some loose ends, including SEQRA. Supervisor Grace said he anticipated that the hearing would be reconvened on June 5^th.

(To see a video tape of the entire discussion, visit http://www.yorktownny.org/generalpage/meeting-videos)

Walt Daniels of the Advisory Committee on Open Space, commented on the email he had sent to Board memberswhich included information about the use of the town owned Ardizzone property and the issue of parkland use.

The Board voted to advertise a public hearing on the rezoning request for May 15th.

Jeff Econom, engineer for the project, showed the Planning Board a revised site plan which moved the parking on the east side of the property further from the wetlands. Sand filters will be installed to treat water flowing from the parking lot into the wetland, the debris will be removed and plantings will be installed. Conservation Board liaisons, Diane Dreier and Patrick Francois, reported their board approved of the new site plan because it allowed better mitigation of impacts on the wetland. They suggested the sand filter be extended the entire width of the parking lot and that a bioswale be installed along Route 6. A bioswale is a swale containing rocks and planted with perennials and grasses. It would provide additional wetland protection by filtering water running off Route 6 onto the Old St. George property and into the wetland. It would also offer a pleasing entry-way into the Mohegan Lake business district. Mr. DeChiaro, the applicant, said this would only be possible if he was able to buy the area along Route 6 from the State. The Conservation Board representatives strongly urged that all mitigation measures agreed upon by the applicant be specifically detailed in writing on the site plan.

There was a discussion of where the project review will go from here. The next step is a determination of whether the eastern parking area is parkland or not. If it is parkland, is parking allowed? According to Mr. Tegeder, parking is allowed in order to use the park, i.e. visit the wetland in this case. The area could be licensed to Mr. DeChiaro to use as parking for his business. If the area is not parkland, then there are the options of a sale to Mr. DeChiaro or a land swap.

If the site is rezoned to a transitional zone, the site plan will be referred to the Planning Board again for comments, but not for site plan approval. The Town Board does site plan approval in transitional zones.

The Planning Department will prepare a memo to the Town Board indicating that the Planning Board

·  recommends rezoning to transitional zone

·  approves of the revised site plan

·  recommends extension of the sidewalk along Route 6, if possible

·  supports the Conservation Board recommendations concerning wetland mitigation

·  requests to be referred the final plans

Supervisor Grace said the reason for the work session was to “move the project along.”One of the key issues was whether the rezoning should be to the C-2 zone or the transitional zone. He noted thatCouncilman Bianco favored the transitional zone because under a C-2 zoning, the property owner could demolish the church. Also, under a transitional zone, the Town Board would have site plan approval.Mr. DeChiaro said he had no problem with the transitional zone.

Once the appropriate zone was agreed to, the discussion focused on two issues: whether the property had been designated parkland by a previous Town Board and the proposed site plan and the extent to which it would encroach into the wetland buffer.

Jeff Econom, engineer for the project, showed the Board a sketch of a revised site plan that realigned the parking lot on the “Ardizzone” parcel and the adjoining state property abutting Route 6. The new plan eliminates five parking spaces and moves the parking lot further away from the wetlands.

Tony Grasso objected to the abruptly scheduled work session discussion as well as the plan to allow parking on the “Ardizonne” parcel. The latter objection was based on his belief that the site was always intended to be parkland and also to the fact that there should be no additional incursion into the wetland buffer. While he acknowledged that there were other developments in the area that were in the wetland buffer, he said “why make it worse by adding more.” He was concerned that runoff from oil and gasoline would make its way into the Peekskill water supply.

Parkland issue: Picking up from the earlier discussion during Courtesy of the Floor, Councilman Paganelli noted that there hasn’t been a determination yet whether the town-owned “Ardizzone” parcel was parkland.Deputy TownClerk Quast said that Town Clerk Roker had determined that it wasn’t. Supervisor Grace said that town designated parklands had to be registered with the state, adding that he didn’t think this was ever done and that the Town assumed that resolutions were sufficient. Town Attorney Koster said she would have to research this issue.(Supervisor Grace said that Shallow Creek had also not been properly designated parkland.) If the land is not parkland, she said, the Town could license it to Mr. DeChairo. Alternately, someone suggested that the site could be sold to Mr. DeChiaro.Supervisor Grace said the Town could create a Town parking lot on it. Supervisor Grace said he did not favorthe previously discussed “swap” option as it didn’t make sense for the Town to take the vacant land on the west side of the property as this would require the Town to maintain an existing culvert on the property.

Wetland buffer issue: Supervisor Grace said that the most recent memo from the Conservation Board that questioned the incursion into the buffer area lacked specifics and was “useless. “ Planning Board member Ann Kutter who previously served on the Conservation Board said that the CB didn’t have any updated information about the plan and therefore could not comment on it.In response, Mr. DeChiaro said that he would attend the next CB meeting, scheduled for the following evening, and provide the group with updated information about the proposed mitigation plan, including what Mr. Econom described as several filters where none currently existed, in addition to cleaning up the degraded wetlands

Site plan. Ms. Kutter said that the revised site plan appeared to address some of the safety concerns the Planning Board had with the original site plan.

In the end, Supervisor Grace said that the incursion into the buffer area was nominal and that by permitting the additional parking, it made the site viable. He also noted that Mr. DeChiaro would be cleaning up the wetlands, something that everyone agreed needed to be done. Councilman Paganelli pointed out, however, that the wetlands could be cleaned up anytime by the Highway Department so that the issue really boiled down to making the site viable.

Ms. Kutter said she saw no reason why both objectives couldn’t be realized, adding that the planned filters would be an improvement that could possibly address Mr. Grasso’s concerns.

Because the Town Board will want feedback from the Planning Board on the revised site plan before voting on the rezoning,

Supervisor Grace advised Mr. DeChiaro to meet with the Planning Board, in addition to the Conservation Board, before the rezoning application is advertised for a public hearing.

On a referral from the Town Board, applicant Tom DeChiaro presented plans to rezone the Winery site to either C-2 or to a transitional zone. The plan involves a land swap with the Town as discussed below and which could be accomplished, he said, by a lot line adjustment.Although the immediate discussion dealt with the rezoning request, the discussion expanded into site plan issues that could be before the board again, dependingon the outcome of the rezoning request.

Mr. DeChiaro advised the board that since the proposed rezoning and new site plan did not involve any changes to the parking lot on the west side of the church, he was going to proceed with the required improvements to that portion of the site while the rezoning issue and site plan changes for the eastern portion of the parking lot were being reviewed. He also said that he would clean up the existing wetland area, even though, as part of the proposed land swap, the wetland would become town-owned property.

On the rezoning issue, the board clearly favored the transitional zone which would give the Town Board more control over how the site is developed and which would tie the rezoning to the continued existence of the church building.As pointed out by Mr. Kincart, if the property is zoned C-2, there would be a list of permitted “as of right uses,” including a car dealership, in the event that the Winery was no longer profitable and the property owner wanted to demolish the church and construct a new building on the site. The C-2 zone, he said, could lead to a “free for all.” The other difference between the two zones is that the Planning Board would be the approval authority for the site plan in a C-2 zone, but the Town Board would be the approval authority if the site was rezoned transitional and it would be up to the Town Board whether or not to refer the site plan to the Planning Board for review. The Planning Board will send its recommendation to the Town Board. Mr. DeChiaro said he was okay with the transitional zone.

On site plan issues , the board said that clarification was needed on the legal issue of whether the town-owned parcel involved in the swap had been designated parkland. Mr. DeChiaro said that according to Town Clerk Alice Roker it has not been so designated but others weren’t sure and said that this issue needed to be clarified.

The board was also concerned about the configuration of the proposed new parking on the town-owned site and how the spaces would work with the abutting DOT land fronting on Route 6 that Mr. De Chiaro said he was trying to purchase.The concerns included the flow of traffic on the site and the ingress/egress onto Route 6. One suggestion the board asked Mr. DeChiaro to explore with his engineer was a trade off that would involve improving the safety of the site but increase the encroachment into the wetland by acquiring an additional piece of town-owned land towards East Main Street. He was also asked if he could live with fewer parking spaces.

Ms. Kutter suggested that the original EAF (Environmental Assessment Form) completed by the applicant as part of the original site plan should be modified to reflect any changes that will be made to the wetland buffer if the land swap goes forward.

Diane Drier, the Conservation Board liaison to the Planning Board, said that the board was basically okay with the concept of the new plan but that more information about the mitigation plan was needed before the advisory board could comment on the new site plan.

Chris Sciarra, Mr. DeChiaro’s project manager, raised the concern that the board was making the issue more complicated and suggested that the board simply go back and look at the notes when it considered the previous “Palmieto plan.” The consensus of board members, however, was that the new site plan only needed some “tweaking” and not a whole new design.As Mr. Flynn noted earlier in the discussion, the board has historically been willing to compromise on the wetlands issue in order to save the church.

Tom DeChiaro presented plans to rezone the Winery property fromits current residential zone to either a C2 or transitional zone.His plan also included a land swap with the town: in exchange for his giving a portion of his site (a wetlands to the west and rear of the building) to the town, the town would give him a portion of town-owned property that is a wetlands buffer to the east of the church. Mr. DeChiaro would then use the newly acquired property as a parking lot for 22 cars. Initially, it would be a gravel lot with plans to pave the lot within three years.The lot would be available to the public during the daytime and, if a boardwalk like structure was built in the rear of the property, it could provide public access to Mohegan Lake.

Supervisor Grace said that an alternative to the land swap could be giving Mr. DeChiaro a license to use the property, similar to what the town did recently for Underhill Apartments. (See See also: Underhill Apartments)

While Mr. DeChiaro said he preferred the C2 zone, Planning Director John Tegeder advised the board that a transitional zone would be more appropriate. Supervisor Grace said that while the C2 zone would give Mr. DeChiaro greater flexibility in the event that the church is demolished, the town could consider a rezoning that was tied to the continued presence of the structure.

The board voted to refer to rezoning application to the appropriate town advisory boards and departments.

Having received a 90 day temporary CO with regard to the interior of the building, the owner Tom DeChiaro and construction manager Chris Sciarra are before the Planning Board to discuss amending the site plan for the outside of the building.Specifically, Mr. DeChiaro will be applying to rezone the site to either C2 or to a transitional zone and is looking for the Planning Board’s opinion of a property exchange with the Town.

Mr. DeChiaro proposes exchanging the junk-strewn, degraded, town-owned area to the east of the building for a piece of the wetland he owns behind the building.Mr. DeChiaro would clean-up the eastern parcel and convert it to parking, although the winery already has sufficient parking.It could also be an access point for the educational and recreational use of the large town-owned wetlands behind the winery building.The Planning Board is generally receptive to the proposed exchange.Mr. Fon strongly recommends that the applicant meet with the Planning Department, Building Inspector, Town Engineer and a representative of the Planning Board, altogether in the same room, in order to save time and insure that all relevant parties are familiar with all the issues.

With respect to the proposed rezoning,Mr. Tegeder, director of planning, recommends the transitional zone which will better protect the historical building in the event ownership and usage changes in the future.Mr. DeChiaro says the building already protected by aNational Historic Landmark designation which is less restrictive to the owner.The Planning Board decides not to write a memo going on record as approving the granting of a 90 day temporary CO and chooses not to discuss whether the Board would approve an extension of the TCO if no site improvements are done in the 90 days, preferring to assess the situation at that time.The Planning Board will get a referral from the Town Board on the rezoning proposal and then the Planning Board will look at the technical aspects of the site plan for the proposed zoning.John Schroeder of the Open Space Committee asked if the rezoning could be referred to that committee and was told that was up to the Town Board.

Town Board, 2/7/2012

Planning Board, 1/23/2012

This was on the Planning Board’s agenda as a referral from the Town Board for consideration of a temporary Certificate of Occupancy. The applicant was not present at the meeting.

Planning Director John Tegeder said that the applicant was seeking a temporary CO in order to bond the site requirements that were part of the board’s site plan approval. He explained that he didn’t know what work had been done yet on the site or whether the Town Board would grant the temporary CO with any conditions. He said that the town had not granted a temporary CO during the past decade and reminded the board about the temporary CO for BJs that lasted for 8-10 years. Once a temporary CO is granted, he said, the town has little leverage. When Chairman Fon noted that the Winery was already open for business, Mr. Tegedar explained that the current use was illegal except for political fundraisers. It was also noted that the existing parking at the site is not in accordance with the approved site plan and that the Fire Department had expressed concern over the current arrangement.

As the board had no information on which to respond to the referral, it took no action expect to ask the applicant to appear at a future meeting.