TOWN OF SARATOGA
PLANNING BOARD
DRAFT MINUTES*
September 23,
2020
Chairman
Ian Murray called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
Planning Clerk Linda McCabe called the roll: Chairman
Ian Murray – present, Laurie
Griffen – present, Patrick Hanehan – absent, Robert
McConnell – present,
Joseph Lewandowski – present, George Olsen - present,
Christopher Koval - present, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Also
attending: Gil Albert, Jim Vianna, Bret Jorgensen, Hub & Kate Miller, Kevin
Hastings, Jeff Mancini, Eric Hanson, John Witt, Attorney Libby Coreno, Paul &
Jan Murphy, Gary Squires, Jim Jennings, Terri Korb, John Cashin. (Sign-in sheet is on file in the Clerk's office)
A motion was made by Christopher Koval, seconded by Laurie
Griffen, to accept the meeting minutes of August 26, 2020 as written. Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick
Hanehan – absent, Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph Lewandowski – aye, George
Olsen - aye, Christopher Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Carried 6 - 0
Approved
Public Hearings Minor Subdivision
Bret Jorgensen #20-01
921 Rt. 4 S
Schuylerville, NY 12871
S/B/L 183.-1-56.12 Rural District
Applicant seeks to subdivide
2 acres from his 5.94+/- acre parcel.
Applicant Bret Jorgensen
appeared before the Board.
Chairman Ian Murray reviewed
the subdivision property with the Board, stating it has an A-frame residence and
there’s a trailer on the northern part of the parcel, both have existing wells
and septic systems, all separation distances are met, frontage is met; the application
looks good. Chairman Ian Murray asked if
there were any questions of the Board; there were none.
Proof of Notice
having been furnished by newspaper on September 13, 2020, Chairman Ian Murray opened
the Public Hearing at 7:33 p.m., asking those wishing to speak to the Board
concerning this application, to please stand and state their name and address. Seeing as no one wished to speak, Chairman Ian Murray closed the Public
Hearing at 7:34 p.m.
Laurie Griffen went through SEQR, line by line, with the Board. Chairman Ian Murray asked if there were any further questions; there were none.
A motion was made by Chairman Ian Murray, seconded by Laurie
Griffen, to accept the documents as presented, to declare SEQR review complete
and to make a Negative Declaration. Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick Hanehan – absent,
Robert
McConnell – aye, Joseph Lewandowski – aye, George Olsen - aye, Christopher
Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Approved 6 -
0
A motion was made by Chairman Ian Murray, seconded by Christopher
Koval, to approve the application as proposed. Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick Hanehan – absent,
Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph Lewandowski – aye, George Olsen - aye, Christopher
Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Approved 6 - 0
Chairman Ian Murray told Applicant
Bret Jorgensen his Notice of Action will be sent within 5 days and once his
updated deeds and maps are received by the Clerk, he and Ken Martin, Town Engineer,
will sign off on the maps and then the Applicant will be notified to pick up
the maps and file with the County within 6 months.
Applicant Bret Jorgensen thanked
the Board.
Paul Griffen #20-02 Representative:
James M. Vianna, PLS
37 Spook Hollow Rd. 170 Lohnes Rd.
Stillwater,
NY 12170
Stillwater, NY 12170
S/B/L 194.-2-52 Rural District
Location: 140
Co. Rd. 67
Applicant
seeks to subdivide 8.44+/- acres with existing residence and barns from his
154+/- acre parcel. The remaining 147+/-
acres will remain in agricultural pursuits.
Jim
Vianna, PLS, appeared before the Board on behalf of the Applicant and reviewed
the proposed subdivision of the 155+/- acre parcel. He said the Applicant wants to subdivide out
the house and barns on the corner of Co. Rt. 67 & Spook Hollow Rd., adding it’s
in the Rural district, there is ample road frontage.
Chairman
Ian Murray asked if there were any questions of the Board; there were none.
He
then stated the only comment he had was on the driveway location. Currently it’s in the perfect location and he’d
like to see it remain there, as the house and barns are right there and sight
distances are adequate.
Jim
Vianna, PLS, agreed.
Proof of Notice
having been furnished by newspaper on September 13, 2020, Chairman Ian Murray opened
the Public Hearing at 7:39 p.m., asking those wishing to speak, concerning
this application, to please stand and state their name and address. Seeing no one, Chairman Ian Murray closed the Public Hearing at 7:40 p.m.
Laurie Griffen went through SEQR, line by line, with the Board. Chairman Ian Murray asked if there were any further questions or comments; there were none.
A motion was made by Chairman Ian Murray, seconded by Laurie
Griffen, to accept
the documents as presented, to declare SEQR
review complete and to make a Negative Declaration. Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick Hanehan – absent,
Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph Lewandowski – aye, George Olsen - aye, Christopher
Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Approved 6 -
0
A motion was made by Chairman Ian Murray, seconded by George
Olsen, to approve the application as proposed. Chairman Ian Murray – aye,
Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick Hanehan – absent, Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph
Lewandowski – aye, George Olsen - aye, Christopher Koval - aye, Walter
Borisenok - absent.
Approved 6 - 0
Lot-Line Adjustment Conference
David Bowden #20-03 Owners:
Zene Garnsey (1830-1-61.2)
110 Garnsey Lane
105 Airport Lane, Schuylerville,
NY 12871
Schuylerville, NY 12871
David Coonradt (183.-1-37)
S/B/L 183.-1-60 Rural District 961
Rt. 4, Schuylerville, NY 12871
Location: Eastside Rt. 4,
North of Garnsey Ln. Representative: James Vianna, PLS
170 Lohnes Rd.
Stillwater, NY 12170
Applicant
seeks to merge land to his existing parcel; there will be no change to the
land.
Jim
Vianna, PLS, appeared before the Board to discuss the lot-line adjustment for
David Bowden stating it will make an existing parcel larger and better. He reviewed the map and showed the Board how
the lot-lines will change and that in the end it makes that small lot of David
Bowden’s larger and does not create any non-conforming lots. There are no construction plans as they all have
existing homes. He handed updated deeds to Chairman Ian Murray
Laurie
Griffen questioned if any of the driveway entrances will change and Jim Vianna,
PLS, said no.
Ken
Martin, Town Engineer, questioned if the property line between the lands of Town
of Saratoga and Welcome Stock had been established and Jim Vianna, PLS,
responded yes. He’d surveyed that land
for the Town of Saratoga a couple of years ago when the Town obtained the two
parcels from the state.
Chairman
Ian Murray asked if there were any further Board questions or comments; there
were none. He then said the Board is all
set and he and Town Engineer Ken Martin will review and sign off on the maps
and will contact him when complete
Jim
Vianna, PLS, thanked the Board.
Minor Subdivision Sketch Plan Conference
Gilman Albert #20-04
967 Rt. 29
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
S/B/L 156.-1-3.1 Rural Residential District
Applicant
seeks a two-lot subdivision of his 6.9+/- acre parcel.
Applicant
Gil Albert appeared before the Board to discuss his proposed two-lot subdivision. He said he’d like to subdivide for the kids,
but lacks proper amount of frontage for the piece for the kids. There’s a natural drainage ditch along the
front there.
Chairman
Ian Murray questioned if he will give a driveway easement or put in a parallel drive
there for the second house, adding the Applicant may want the parallel drive in
case they sell in future. He can create a
flag lot, or make provisions for the driveway and get a variance for frontage.
Applicant
Gil Albert replied yes; the kids will use his existing driveway but he’ll put
in a graded parallel drive for future.
Chairman
Ian Murray asked if there were any Board questions or comments; there were
none.
He
then stated it doesn’t meet zoning regulations for frontage, so they have to
send him for a variance.
Chairman Ian Murray made a motion, seconded by
Christopher Koval to send this to the ZBA for a frontage variance. Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie Griffen – aye, Patrick
Hanehan – absent, Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph Lewandowski – aye, George
Olsen - aye, Christopher Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok - absent.
Approved 6 - 0
Cedar Bluff Subdivision
John Witt, Witt Construction #15-05
563 N.
Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
S/B/L 193.-1-17, 193.-1-18, 193.18-1-55 Lake
Residential, Rural District II, Rural District
Location:
142 Cedar Bluff Rd. (Co. Rd. 71)
Returning
Applicant seeks a 32 lot subdivision of his 111.6+/- acre parcel.
Attorney
Libby Coreno addressed the Board, reviewed the lengthy history of this project
and noted there are open issues with hydrology and that they have been working
with the Town to get through all of those issues. She added they had submitted EAF which found
several conditions: 1. Archaeological areas of potential effect- Lots 6,
7, 8 & 9 were identified by SHPPO and will be required to go through Part
III. 2. Consented to Lot Clearing Plan for
every lot at issuance of building permits.
3. Lots 9, 10 & 11
have No Cut Zones. They have substantial
green space, much of which is the ravine area and the lands adjacent to ‘the
farm’. She was not going through the
hydrology tonight as the Board has their own experts for that. Lead Agency was established a while ago and
she doesn’t believe that will change, all agencies had been notified adding
this is a Type I action. She then stated
they are ready to answer questions.
Chairman
Ian Murray thanked Attorney Libby Coreno and stated Attorney Mark Schachner, attorney
for the Planning Board, is on speaker phone, as he was unable to make it to the
meeting. Chairman Ian Murray then reviewed
a few milestones in regards to this application:
Chairman
Ian Murray stated in order to move forward with the Preliminary Application, we
need to complete SEQR. To date, the
Board has identified 3 areas of potential environmental impacts in regards to
this application:
Chairman
Ian Murray then stated a hydrology report was submitted in 2018. In November of 2019 he, Town Engineer Ken
Martin, Michael Palleshi from Alpha Geo Science, Eric Hanson from Hanson
VanVleet and Gil Albert, Zoning Officer/Building Inspector, met to finalize and
agree upon the Combined Flow Test Work Plan for Simultaneous Pump Testing. After which the test was conducted but flawed,
however, because of a rain event that effected the
results. He then said he doesn’t believe
they can move forward with SEQR until this test is re-done and the requested
data submitted per Work Plan Procedure. He
said he wanted to ask the Board their thoughts on that. Chairman Ian Murray polled the Board to see
if Board Members felt the study is necessary: Christopher Koval – Yes, he wants
the study complete then they can move on to SEQR, Laurie Griffen – yes, agreed
the test needs to be complete before going forward, Robert McConnell – yes, the
completion of the test is necessary, George Olsen – yes, they need to complete
the test in order for us to make a decision, Joseph Lewandowski – agreed they need
to complete the test before moving forward.
Chairman
Ian Murray stated the Board needs that study completed and that data to make
further determinations and to complete SEQR.
They don’t want to positive declaration (pos dec) it; they will suspend it
until they get that information.
Attorney
Mark Schachner, Attorney for the Planning Board, added that the Chairman doesn’t
want to pos dec it, but based on the pole of the Board, test data not submitted
is needed to go forward, is that correct?
Chairman
Ian Murray responded yes. He then asked
if there were any questions.
Attorney
Libby Coreno questioned for the Applicant’s next step, what standards are they
trying to meet and she’d like it in writing, as they want to give the Board what
they need and they want to get the process or method of what they’re trying to
meet done correctly.
Chairman
Ian Murray responded that information has to come from Board consultant Mike Palleshi
of Alpha Geoscience. Basically, it’s
following the work plan that they developed to do the draw-down testing, because
of the withdrawal and the draw down problems they’ve had in that local
geographic area in that portion of the Town.
He added they need to follow the plan that was put forth.
Engineer
Ken Martin added while testing is being done, the Applicant needs to make sure that
their hydro scientists talk with our consultant, Mike Palleshi of Alpha
Geoscience. He believes this could have
been taken care of by furthering the study or delaying that mark of it, but
there needs to be more communication between Alpha Geoscience and Hanson Van
Fleet; the scientists need to better communicate.
Attorney
Libby Coreno then stated referring to that work plan and communication; so whatever’s
in that work plan from standards, from the agreed upon numerical limits, that
is what has to be recreated for satisfaction and there will not be a different
standard after that?
Chairman
Ian Murray responded yes.
Attorney
Libby Coreno thanked the Board.
Eric
Van Fleet and Mr. Witt addressed the Board with complaints of having to re-do
the simultaneous draw down tests and the costs involved.
Chairman
Ian Murray stated he won’t agree. Read
the report, they had an influence with a rain event and explained again, the
Town has had a lot problems in that geographic area and
that is why the Board wants this done. He
added he developed a park in the Town 10 years ago and he had problems with the
well there this year because it’s been so dry and he talked with the well
driller and was told they’ve never experienced a year like this with wells going
dry, so it can happen at any time. This
is happening on his watch so he’s going to make sure it’s done correctly and he
thinks the rest of the Board feels the same.
As far as development, everyone here is a business owner, so they know
what costs are.
Attorney
Libby Coreno responded as their lawyer, she is asking for consideration that,
subject to standards in technical data, aren’t possible to do without knowing
what will satisfy the consultant.
Chairman
Ian Murray replied he will convey that to their consultant.
Chairman
Ian Murray then asked if Attorney Mark Schachner had any questions or comments.
Attorney
Mark Schachner responded no, he believes the Board is doing a very good job and
was surprised the Applicant said he’s not understanding
when there have been communications constantly with the Board.
A motion was made by Laurie Griffen, seconded by Robert
McConnell, to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 p.m.
Chairman Ian Murray – aye, Laurie
Griffen – aye, Patrick Hanehan – absent, Robert McConnell – aye, Joseph
Lewandowski – aye, George Olsen - aye, Christopher Koval - aye, Walter Borisenok
- absent.
Carried 6 - 0
Meeting Adjourned
The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. All submittals must be to the Clerk no later than 8:45 a.m., September 9, 2020 to be on the August agenda.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda A. McCabe
Planning Clerk