No donuts for you!

TOWN TO SET BRAKES ON DRIVE-THRU CODE:

The "battle of doughnuts" may be curbed next month. A rash of franchise requests from competing doughnut chains and fears of traffic tie-ups related to the locations has prompted the town board to consider a moratorium on drive-through businesses.

Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons are aggressively expanding in the Buffalo area, and Cheektowaga appears to be a prime target for both chains.

Last November, then-supervisor James J. Jankowiak said franchise location requests from Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons was "a battle of doughnuts for control of William Street." Both franchises seek drive through service for their selected sites.

However, fears of traffic backing up at both William Street locations- at Union Road for Tim Hortons, and at Raymond Avenue for Dunkin Donuts- has the board taking a closer look at its zoning code.

The board may impose a 90-day moratorium on permits and approvals for drive-through windows while it reviews the zoning code.

Supervisor Mary F. Holtz explained that the portion of the zoning code that regulates drive-through businesses was established in the 1970s and may require an update.

"It was geared toward drivethrough banks, not coffee shops, not this situation," Holtz said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:07 PM | Permalink

HOME BUSINESS LAW NOT AS STRICT AS SOME OTHERS:

The town's proposed law regulating home-based businesses is much more broad and liberal than those in at least two nearby municipalities.

The towns of Geneva and Manchester both have zoning laws governing home occupations, or businesses run out of the home, but under those laws, businesses must conform to much stricter regulations. Like Phelps, the other towns enacted the laws to promote entrepreneurial spirit while controlling development in residential areas.

“In this time of changing employment opportunities, more people are working from their homes,” said Bill McAdoo, code enforcement officer for the town of Geneva. “So it makes sense to make laws that will expand the tax base while protecting the character of the surrounding neighborhood.”

In the past year and a half, Phelps has modified its law, which was passed in July 2005 but never enacted, making it more broad in an effort to calm residents who were upset over the idea of having too many restrictions placed on their businesses. The board tabled a vote on adopting the newly modified version Monday after residents said that they didn't know enough about it.
...
Under the proposed law, an on-premises business is defined as an occupation, profession or trade conducted within an approved residential dwelling and/or accessory structures on the homeowner's property. Since on-premises businesses are meant to be in residential or residential agricultural zones, the business must be subordinate to the principal use of the property, which is either housing or farming. Businesses operating in areas zoned residential and residential agricultural are technically illegal, he said, and the law is an effort to bring them into the fold.

The law would place a number of baseline restrictions on home businesses, such as limiting the number of employees to five and requiring larger businesses to hide outdoor equipment and inventory behind fences, but the planning board is willing to work with business owners.

“We take each application and let it stand on its own,” Springer said.

On-premises businesses must be in compliance with local, state and federal codes before permits are issued.

Both Geneva and Manchester place limits on the amount of floor space allowable for a business. In Geneva, which passed its home occupation law in 1969, the business can only take up 25 percent of the home while use of accessory structures like sheds or garages are prohibited.
...
Manchester, which included home occupations in its 1986 code, is slightly more generous, allowing for 30 percent usage of the dwelling and up to 40 percent use of space in an accessory structure. Any more than 40 percent requires a commercial zone designation.

In the Phelps law, there are no such restrictions.

Phelps is also more lenient when it comes to issuing permits for on-premises businesses. Prospective business owners must fill out an application with the town code enforcement officer and pay a $25 fee. These applications are then reviewed by the Planning Board and, if approved, the permit is permanent.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 04:37 PM | Permalink

THE APARTMENT ATOP THE GARAGE IS BACK IN VOGUE (free registration requried):

From the pricey purlieus of East Hampton to the environmentally minded Northwest, towns in need of inexpensive housing are turning to garage apartments, mother-in-law units and cottages in the backyard. The aim is to enable people who would otherwise be priced out of the housing market to live close to their jobs and relatives.

Hundreds of communities across the country have rewritten their zoning rules in recent years, to eliminate longtime bans on apartments in single-family houses and encourage new ones to be built.

The revisions — allowing, say, backyard bungalows in Santa Cruz, Calif., and efficiency units in farmhouses in Vermont — have occurred largely in suburban and exurban areas where growth and efforts to control it have driven housing costs up.

Once fairly common in large houses but prohibited by zoning ordinances after World War II, so-called accessory apartments in places like garages or attics are now seen as one way to expand the supply of moderately priced rentals. They are intended for older people on fixed incomes, young people starting out and workers needed for essential but relatively low-paying jobs.
...
That is not to say the apartments are not controversial. In the suburbs, some residents have argued against encouraging or even allowing them, saying they will damage their neighborhood’s look and feel. Some say they worry about crowding, traffic, parking and a strain on public services, especially schools.

To answer those fears, towns have tailored their new rules. Some permit only one-bedroom apartments, screening out occupants with school-age children. Many insist that the owner live in one of the units and that there be off-street parking. Some have made the rules so restrictive, critics say, that the units have received few or no applications.
...
During the process of developing rules for the units for the town of Montgomery, N.Y., “There was some concern about what we might politely call ‘neighborhood character,’ ” said David Church, the county planning commissioner. What is often meant, he said, is “Who are those people who are going to move in?”

Seventy miles north of New York City in what was once dairy farmland, Montgomery has been experiencing an influx of outsiders, creating pressure for development and putting housing prices out of reach. As a result, the town council changed Montgomery’s zoning rules and procedures last year to encourage people to convert barns and outbuildings into rental units and to install apartments in big houses.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:18 PM | Permalink

This entire article is worth reading, but I especially enjoyed the first sentence: "Alan Wilzig's mile-long, 30-foot-wide racetrack does not qualify as a customary accessory use for his residence on Post Hill Road." Gee, you think?

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

ZONING CHANGES FOR MALONE:

How to regulate junk and junkyards will be discussed Thursday when proposed changes in the Town of Malone zoning and land-use laws are reviewed.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Town Offices in the Malone-Dufort Airport and is open to the public.

A two-page document prepared by Plattsburgh State professor Richard Lamb and his students for the town's Comprehensive Plan Committee provides strict policies for storage, view and placement of junk on an owner's property, as well as regulations on junkyards.

Also included will be a nine-page breakdown of proposed land-use regulations governing bed-and-breakfasts, campgrounds and recreational-vehicle parks, kennels and animal hospitals, mobile-home parks, gravel and sand pits and residential subdivisions.

The first step was to specify what junk is, which the researchers describe as an abandoned or wrecked vehicle or piece of farm or construction equipment that has not been used in more than a year.

It also includes abandoned appliances, such as washers, stoves, televisions and freezers, and broken furniture including couches, chairs, mattresses and bed frames.

Mobile homes also count as junk if they are either partially dismantled or wrecked and cannot meet building- and fire-code regulations to be occupied safely.

As for storage, the proposed regulations say that anything defined as junk must not be visible from a public road, public trails, the Salmon River or neighboring properties nor can junk be placed on the bed or bank of any river, stream, pond, lake, watercourse or water body.

Junkyards must comply with Chapter 44 of the existing town code, and they cannot be situated:

- Within 500 feet of a public park, church, school, nursing home, public building or gathering place.
- Within 50 feet of an adjoining property line or a right-of-way to any public highway.
- Within 100 feet of a stream, lake, pond, wetland or other body of water.

A junkyard would be defined as outdoor storage of two or more junk cars, one or more abandoned mobile homes or travel trailers, two or more pieces of junk farm- or construction-equipment or any open area or lot for dismantling, storage or sale of parts or salvage.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 01:15 PM | Permalink

GV TOWN BOARD VOTES TO STOP SETUP OF CERTAIN BILLBOARDS:

There will be no more billboards in the town that exceed 10 square feet until Dec. 31, 2007 or until the passage of zoning code. A moratorium was passed at the Town Board's meeting Monday night, after a public hearing on the matter.

To support the moratorium, a letter from Patricia Haynes, superintendent for the Ellicottville Central School District. The letter cited the billboards that have been erected on Route 219, directly across from the school.

According to her letter, Haynes sees these signs as not only eyesores but also distractions for motorists as they pass through the school zone. Haynes said in her letter that the distractions created by the signs create dangers for the children as the buses pass through the area. Haynes concluded her letter by asking the board to remove the signs.

Town Attorney Ron Ploetz said that removal could lead to legal problems, since the town doesn't have a zoning law.

The moratorium does allow for the construction of billboards to advertise businesses on the same property, according to Ploetz.

The Town is wise to include its attorney in the discussion. Billboards are a very sticky consitutional wicket. If you're considering regulations for them be sure to obtain legal guidance.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:13 PM | Permalink

HEMPSTEAD SUES ITS ZONING BOARD:

The Hempstead Town Board has taken the highly unusual step of suing its own zoning board of appeals over a popular Point Lookout waterfront bar.

At issue is the outdoor deck behind Scotty's Marina that overlooks Reynold's Channel. For patrons, it's been a prime spot to take in the view with a drink. For neighbors, it's been a nuisance.

The town board views the use of the deck as violating the rights of the Town of Hempstead, which owns the underwater land below the channel, and disagrees with the Hempstead zoning board of appeals decision that permitted dining there in November 2005.

The town board appoints members to the zoning board, an independent body.

Town Attorney Joseph Ra said the bar owners had never obtained the necessary permit to build it. The zoning board has decided to revisit the situation and has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:29 AM | Permalink

LAND SWAP MIGHT HELP STALLED WAL-MART:

Robert Scala, a 71-year-old retired state Department of Transportation laborer, does not look the role of a dealmaker for a proposed Wal-Mart superstore. But that's what he has become.

Scala, a neighbor to the proposed Victor Commerce Park that would feature a Wal-Mart superstore, has agreed to swap land with Benderson Development Co.

Without the swap, Benderson faces a zoning obstacle to its multimillion-dollar plans, which some residents oppose because of traffic concerns.
...
The land swap is being proposed because a 3.5-acre slice of Benderson's 95-acre property is zoned residential. Under the Victor town code, when a piece of the land is zoned residential, the rest of the adjacent lot must also be developed as residential.

In other words, that small piece of Benderson land that is residential would prevent the Wal-Mart from being built, even though the rest of the 95 acres is zoned commercial.

Here's what Benderson has proposed: The company would give Scala its 3.5 acres of residential land plus an undisclosed amount of money in exchange for his 1.4 acres of commercial land, which is adjacent to the proposed project.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:22 PM | Permalink

LAWYER SAYS FARM'S BOGUS?:

What kind of farm has no tractor?

Answer: A farm that isn't really a farm at all.

Town Attorney Carl Whitbeck told Copake Town Board members and an audience of 50 or so people gathered for the July 13 Town Board meeting that whatever "farming" is going on at Salvatore Cascino's Copake Valley Farm is nothing more than "subterfuge."

According to Mr. Whitbeck, Mr. Cascino is using farming to disguise the "landfill operation being run there."

The 324-acre property along the east side of Route 22, the north and south sides of Lackawanna Road and the west side of Weed Mine Road, just south of the Copake hamlet has been the subject of on-and-off again legal action by both the Town of Copake and the Department of Environmental Conservation since 1999.

Attorney Whitbeck, who has been compiling evidence for the last few months on the town's behalf, came to the meeting armed with a complaint for Supervisor Angelo Valentino to sign. When filed, the complaint will once again commence legal action by the town against Mr. Cascino.

And then he brought out the aerial photographs . . .

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:01 PM | Permalink

MORATORIUM ISSUED ON MINING, WINDMILLS:

For at least the next six months, there will be no work done on a proposed stone quarry in the Town of Shelby.

The Town Board declared moratoriums on mining as well as windmill construction Tuesday.

“That gives the town the time to review our local laws on these subjects and adopt changes,” said Supervisor Merle Draper. “We will ask our zoning and planning boards to review both of these issues and make recommendations to the board.”

While the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is the lead agency in the permitting process and will continue an environmental impact review, Draper said, the board will make the final decision on whether to allow the intended 215-acre mine to be built on Fletcher Chapel Road.

Town Attorney David Schubel said the DEC will determine the outcome of operational uses for the land, but the final authority rests in the hands of local government.

“I think it’s important to recognize the town has control over the land use and this is land use,” he said.

But whatever the outcome is, the town expects a fight from either the residents surrounding the site and the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge or Frontier Stone, the company that wants to use the land to extract dolomite and limestone.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:01 PM | Permalink

BILLBOARDS PROMPT GV BOARD TO LOOK AT PERMIT AND INSPECTION FEES:

While town officials are revamping their code enforcement office and gauging support for a zoning code, the placement of five new billboards is forcing the issue of setting building permit fees and inspections.

Planning Board Chairwoman Yvonne Darts told Town Council members this week that the billboards will be 10.6-feet-tall by 22.8-feet-wide and double-sided. Advantage Advertising of Chautauqua County, which is putting up the billboards, told planners the advertising will be 90-percent local and will not include adult entertainment "or anything derogatory."

"Other towns have zoning and we don't. That's why we're getting hit so hard with them," said Darts.

The town does not have laws regulating the size and placement of billboards, but can regulate through building permits and yearly inspections. Planning board members are currently surveying town residents in an effort to gauge need and support for zoning.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 09:33 PM | Permalink

RESIDENTS GET FRIEND IN ZONING DISPUTE:

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has entered the town zoning fray now in the state's highest court.

Spitzer filed a friend of the court brief Monday with the state Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments on a town zoning dispute June 8.

The Defreestville Area Neighborhood Association opposes the rezoning of an area that includes the intersection of routes 4 and 43, saying commercial business will increase traffic on nearby roads to dangerous levels.

Last October the Appellate Division Third Department ruled DANA missed a crucial filing date when it appealed the Town Board's decision to rezone.

The group filed a lawsuit within four months of the enactment of the new zoning, but the Appellate Division ruled the action was supposed to be filed within four months of the town's issuing its State Environmental Quality Review Act findings.

Spitzer's brief said the midlevel court's ruling is wrong.

Why do I suspect that if Spitzer had come down on the other side of this the residents would be howling about how he shouldn't be sticking his nose where it doesn't belong?

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:14 AM | Permalink

FAYETTE RESIDENTS UPSET OVER PERMIT:

The Town Board heard last week from frustrated residents Bob and Mary Apgar, who contend the Zoning Board of Appeals makes inconsistent rulings.

“We have been denied a permit for the same type of business a neighbor has,” Apgar said. “And we have not been notified of why.”

The couple, who own Abbey’s Wine and Spirits on Main Street in Waterloo, wants to build a mini storage facility at their Route 96 home and were hoping the Town Board would give them the go-ahead. But Town Attorney Steve Ricci explained that the board has no jurisdiction to overrule Zoning Board decisions.

“If this board grants a variance, there could be potential litigation from other neighbors,” Ricci said.

Apgar said previous town boards overruled the Zoning Board of Appeals if its decisions appeared arbitrary. Apgar also explained that his neighbor was granted a permit for a similar facility at the same meeting in which he was denied.

The Apgars’ permit request was discussed by the Zoning Board of Appeals twice, and the second time there was no second to the motion to deny it, so Town Supervisor Ed Barto said at the meeting that the matter isn’t closed and suggested Apgar go to the board again.

Apgar has said he’s prepared to take legal action against the town if the permit is not granted.

And it's unlikely to succeed. If a decision of a ZBA is rational and supported by substantial evidence in the record, it will not be disturbed. The Apgars likely would argue that the decision here was arbitrary because the other applicant received a variance. I'd be willing to bet the ZBA could articulate a rational reason why the two cases were treated differently, and the decision likely would stand. And Attorney Ricci is correct: in no event does a Town Board have the authority to overturn or veto the decision of a ZBA.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:51 PM | Permalink

WAL-MART DISPUTE DRAWS 800 TO LIMA TOWN BOARD MEETING:

Lima Town Board members got an earful from more than 800 residents on the proposed Wal-Mart super center Thursday night during a meeting at the Elim Gospel Church.

Most of the 30 speakers were against the project, citing concerns about the possible loss of the town's rural character, danger to local businesses, traffic congestion and environmental damage. Several received standing ovations.

Wal-Mart ended weeks of rumor and speculation about a big box project being planned for the town when it issued a news release April 26.

The company announced that it wants to build a 165,000-square-foot store, with full grocery service, on a 53-acre site at 1105 Rochester Road (Route 15A).

John Wadach told the board that more than 720 people had signed a petition against the Wal-Mart project.

Wadach is a member of a citizens group organized to actively oppose the store.

"I ask the board to work with us to keep Wal-Mart out and work for planned development," Wadach said.

He also said that those opposed to the project want the board to vote against rezoning the proposed site, to call a moratorium on large retail development and to approve a comprehensive master plan.

800?!?!

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:34 PM | Permalink

IT MAKES A VILLAGE?:

LaGrange could be the first of several Dutchess County communities to see the birth of a new village, as progressive planners promote a style of development that eschews sprawl and harkens back to 19th-century settlements.

Then, it was the railroad's extension into Dutchess that gave birth to new population centers. Now, it's migration from New York City and its nearer suburbs.

For 10 months, Ginsburg Development Company has worked with landowners, town and county planners on a proposal to integrate a new commercial district with a mix of housing and outlying neighborhoods on Route 55 in Freedom Plains. The concept is included in the town's master plan.

"If this happens, it would be the first village-scale development in Dutchess County since the 1870s," said John Clarke, development and design coordinator for the county Department of Planning and Development. "That would be a major accomplishment."

The general idea for the 200-acre property, but not the details of the plan, were discussed at a forum on "traditional neighborhood development" at the Beekman Arms Inn in Rhinebeck.
...
Traditional neighborhood developments, sometimes referred to as TNDs, are seen as an antidote to sprawling suburbs that consume open space, increase energy consumption and traffic by heightening the reliance on automobiles, and tend to segregate people by income. They are seen as a more sustainable method of development, since central water, sewer and transportation infrastructure can serve the population, while the countryside can remain as farmland or wilderness.

Traditional neighborhood developments focus new housing within a half-mile radius of a center, usually an existing village or hamlet.

They emphasize public buildings, parks and often a commercial district connected by pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and trails. With a mix of housing types, from second-floor apartments over businesses to single-family homes, people with various incomes live side-by-side. Interconnected streets on small blocks disperse traffic.

The county has helped develop traditional neighborhood plans with other communities, including Red Hook, Pleasant Valley and Amenia. Some have met with opposition from local residents and officials.

Obstacles to traditional neighborhood development include the need for water and sewer infrastructure, a relative scarcity of development teams with the skills needed to build this way, and the need for multiple landowners to cooperate and accept a single vision for development.
...
"We've been building traditional neighborhoods for 5,000 years," Clarke said. "Only in the last 50 years have we forgotten how to do it."

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 12:31 PM | Permalink

SPEAK UP NOW ON BALLSTON ZONING:

Town residents have until May 10 to provide input about a controversial zoning change.

The Town Board is considering whether to change about 300 acres of commercial-industrial zoning near the intersection of routes 50 and 67 to mixed-use zoning.

The latter would include a combination of condominiums or apartments with office and retail space.

'We are allowing for flexibility here that in the Town Board's judgment fits,' said Dan Sitler, president of the consulting firm Saratoga Associates, which has proposed the new zoning.

He described it as a so-called 'lifestyle' center, encompassing the entire 300 acres. By putting residential, office and retail space in one area, the town would achieve its goal of keeping its commercial area separate from Ballston Spa's while preserving rural open space at the same time.
...
Under proposed mixed-use zoning, projects would be subject to three types of approval, depending on their size:

- Buildings up to 20,000 square feet in size would undergo site-plan review.

- Projects between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet would need a special-use permit.

- Proposals larger than 50,000 square feet would need planned unit development status with Town Board approval.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:07 PM | Permalink

COMPLAINTS OF HEAVY FIRE CLOSE GUN CLUB:

A town gun club has been temporarily shut down after complaints from neighbors about zoning violations and noise from inappropriately heavy firepower.

Neighbors on Spring Lake Road said the Cokertown Rod & Gun Club has expanded its membership in recent years, and those members are shooting more powerful weapons more frequently, more hours of the day and in the company of more guests.

The neighbors, separated from the gun club by a small wooded area, all live within about a quarter mile of the club and its pistol range.

"I'm a hunter and I have nothing against guns or gun clubs or anything. The activity up there never bothered me and it wasn't hardly noticeable," said Larry Thetford, a neighbor on Spring Lake Road. "But I would say in the last two or three years we have moved from what was typical gun club activity ... to almost constant semi-auto and fully automatic rifle fire."
...
The club sits on 5.2 acres donated in 1962 by Jean Horkan and the late James J. Horkan, a state trooper and an original member of the gun club. The club — initially comprised of a small group of Red Hook-area hunters and outdoorsmen — used the parcel for gathering and hunting small game.

In recent years, the membership has expanded to include people from across Dutchess, Ulster and Columbia counties, as well as their guests, according to a letter of complaint sent by Jean Horkan's attorney to Red Hook Supervisor Marirose Blum Bump. According to the Horkans and their attorney, Cokertown also has violated local zoning ordinances and is illegally operating an outdoor target range on 5.2 acres when the minimum acreage for such a use is 50.

Fennell's letter said the club "enjoys nonconforming (grandfather) status" because it has been in existence since the Horkans donated the land in 1962, but it must stop activities until it meets all of the town's zoning laws.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 10:21 PM | Permalink

BEEKMAN BANS INTERNALLY-LIT SIGNS:

Anticipating future development in town, Beekman officials want to make sure store signs are more uniform and don't distract drivers.

The town board recently voted unanimously to revise its sign regulations.

"What we're looking for is a little more conformity, a little more formality," town Planner Neal Townsend said.

A major change is the prohibition of internally-illuminated signs throughout town.

The existing signs in Beekman that do not conform to the new rules can remain in place for five years. After that, they must be brought into compliance.
...
Store owners will be limited to choice of sign colors from a historical palette — such as Benjamin Moore's Middlebury brown, Hale navy, Yorktowne green and Garrison red — for background colors.

Permissible lettering colors include Philadelphia cream, Bleeker beige, Coventry gray and Revere pewter.

Comparable choices from other paint manufacturers may be acceptable.

The architectural review board has the final say on what signs are permissible.

The updated law also establishes a process for enforcing the sign regulations.

If a violation is not corrected within 15 days of notification, a sign owner can be fined up to $500.

Sign permits can be applied for in the zoning administrator's office in town hall.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:48 PM | Permalink

ZONING SHIFT GETS MIXED RESPONSE:

Amenity zoning, which demands developers pay extra to cluster subdivisions, has received a mostly positive review from the unlikely allies of developers and open space advocates and a mixed review from residents.

Developers seeking to cluster subdivisions with more than one home lot per three developable acres in western Clifton Park have to apply to the Town Board and provide compensation for the extra lots. They can either preserve land elsewhere in western Clifton Park or pay the town $30,000 per additional lot. That money would be collected to pay for protection of town farmland.

The town instituted amenity zoning, also dubbed "incentive zoning," last year after an 18-month moratorium on development as a way to control growth in the largely undeveloped region.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 08:04 PM | Permalink

CHIP PLANT ZONING AT ISSUE:

Some Marcy Town Board members want to review a decision made five years ago to rezone 280 acres to attract a computer chip making plant.

But economic development officials said Thursday that changing the zoning would be a mistake that could hinder the region's effort to grow technology-related jobs.

"A zone change back would effectively negate everything that's been done over the last five or seven years," said Robert Duchow, vice president of marketing and communications for Mohawk Valley EDGE. "You can't market a site that's not properly zoned."

The attempt to lure the chip fabrication plant to Marcy hasn't yet paid off -- five years after the Town Board made a controversial zoning decision aimed at helping the effort.

Some residents at the time loudly protested the decision to change the zoning on an Edic Road parcel from residential to planned development, saying they were concerned about a plant's effect on their quality of life.

Since then, the thousands of well-paying jobs and research partnerships with nearby SUNYIT haven't come to fruition.
...
In 1998, the state launched a program to make the Edic Road site one of 13 across the state that would be pre-approved for development. It was part of a push to propel New York to the forefront of nanotechnology, the science of using materials on an atomic or molecular scale.

Chip fabrication plants formed a centerpiece of that effort. They produce the computer chips used in everything from automobiles to home appliances.

The idea was to clear all regulatory hurdles, such as zoning and environmental roadblocks, in advance. That would allow a company to quickly move in and begin building a plant, which often requires an initial investment of $2 billion to $5 billion, Duchow said.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:58 PM | Permalink

DOZENS OF ENDWELL RESIDENT PETITION TOWN BOARD TO KEEP BAR FROM OPENING:

Dozens of Endwell residents are trying to stop a bar from opening at 3109 Watson Blvd. — a former bar site that they say is known for its noise, drug activity, loud music and motorcycle drag-racing into the early-morning hours. ... Seventy-six residents who live close to the former Endwell Pub signed a petition, which the town board unanimously accepted Wednesday night, not to allow the occupancy of a bar near Hooper Road on Watson Boulevard. The property, which appears to be a house rather than a business, is now vacant.

Frank J. Dirighad sent a letter to the town last month, saying that he intends to file for a liquor license for the pub, which has been closed for several months. Upon learning that information, Rupe Konecny, who lives near the old bar, said he started the petition drive.

"How do you feel about it? Do you want a bar there?" Konecny asked the town board. "There are always arguments, noise, broken glass. The building is a dump."

New York state, however, is responsible for issuing liquor licenses, not the town. And the property is zoned to allow a bar at the site.

"The problem the town has is that it can't pick and choose whether it wants a legitimate business in there," Town Attorney Alan Pope said to Konecny.

Zoning's funny that way.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 06:58 PM | Permalink

TOWN GRAPPLES WITH ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ZONING:

The town looked for an out-of-the-way rural place to put an adult entertainment zone before settling on a spot between Swamp Road and Route 4 about three miles south of Schuylerville.
...
McClure has lived on Coveville Road, also known as County Route 69, for seven years. She said she'd rather see the adult entertainment zone placed in an industrial zone, which is where most towns put them.

Saratoga doesn't have an industrial zone, though, Town Supervisor Tom Wood said Tuesday. Federal courts have ruled that municipalities can't ban businesses like strip clubs, adult bookstores, adult video stores and 'adult physical contact establishments' outright. But they can restrict such businesses to specific areas.
...
Wood said the town doesn't want adult businesses at all. So the town decided to ban them from its commercial districts along Route 29 and 9P on Saratoga Lake.

'It's too likely someone would want to open one there,' he said.

But 85 percent of the town is zoned agricultural, Wood said, so the town had to narrow it down somehow. Officials ended up picking a section of land bordered by Hathaway Road on the west, Swamp and Haas roads on the north, Coveville Road to the south and a small section of Route 4 to the east.
...

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:32 AM | Permalink

PLAN LOOKS AT LIMITS ON DEAD-ENDS:

Beekman wants to limit new dead-end roads in town and im-prove the safety and maintenance of ones that are built.

A law is being proposed to limit the length of dead-ends to serve no more than 14 homes.

By restricting the number of houses permitted on such roads, the town hopes to limit homes that could not be reached by a fire truck or ambulance in the event a tree falls across the road or a traffic accident blocks access.

"It's a safety issue," town Planner Neal Townsend said. "How many people are you going to strand? It wipes out access."

The Beekman fire, building and highway departments collaborated on the changes.
...
The law reads: "For greater convenience to traffic, and more effective police and fire protection, permanent dead-end roads shall, in general, be limited in length to 400 feet."

The "in general" wording has allowed the board to approve dead-ends longer than 400 feet.

"It's been apparently a very loose guideline," Poltrack said.

"The planning board felt they needed more definitive wording," Townsend said.

Michael White of Spectra Engineering, who has represented a number of developers before local town planning boards, said Beekman's proposal sounds fair.

"In Beekman, you have large lots to begin with," White said of the 14-lot limit.

For emergency access reasons and to promote better traffic flow, Beekman is also proposing to limit to one the number of dead-ends permitted in new subdivisions. This is meant to encourage construction of looping roads and interconnecting streets.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 11:27 AM | Permalink

DEVELOPMENT FEARS PROMPT CALL FOR ZONING CHANGE IN LAKE GEORGE:

In the wake of a three-month moratorium on timber harvesting, the town is considering an amendment to its zoning code to regulate selective timber harvesting and clear-cutting.

The addition could prevent developers from clearing sites without adequate oversight under the guise of timber harvesting, only to put up roads or subdivisions later.

It also would protect soil and land and maintain views, according to a draft.

Recently, town officials have been concerned that timber harvesting could be a cover for plans for a subdivision.
...
If this addition to the zoning code is approved, the town would regulate selective harvesting on parcels greater than one acre and clear-cutting of parcels more than 10,000 square feet.

If land is clear-cut for timber harvesting, the owner would not be able to apply to subdivide it for seven years.

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 05:59 PM | Permalink

PROPERTY OWNERS THREATEN TO SUE IN WAL-MART DISPUTE:

An attorney for two owners of property on Millersport Highway accused Amherst officials Wednesday of being "anti-development" and using "unlawful" tactics to block a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter and other projects.

Attorney Jeffrey D. Palumbo said his clients, James Collins and developer Anthony Cimato, are prepared to sue Amherst if officials continue efforts to rezone their properties at 2615 Millersport and at Millersport and New Road.

Palumbo urged officials to halt plans to "down zone" the two sites, which would change their classifications and limit development.

He said he does not dispute the town's right to rezone the land but said any such action must be undertaken as part of a master plan. But he said he had attended a recent board meeting where, instead of discussing a master plan, officials told residents they were using the zoning changes to block developments.

"Those down zonings were in direct response to complaints from neighbors. [Town officials'] original intent was to block development. Their words are going to count more than their actions," he said.
...
But Town Attorney E. Thomas Jones said, "There is no vested right to any particular zoning. In theory, the government could come in and rezone your house from residential to commercial."

And Council Member Shelly Schratz rejected Palumbo's complaint, calling the proposed zoning changes an attempt to deal with serious drainage and flooding problems in the Millersport Highway area.

"This is not about Wal-Mart, this is about drainage and the master plan," she added

Posted by Joel Seachrist at 07:53 PM | Permalink