Town of Essex Planning Board
Minutes of the Regular Meeting
November 17, 2011
Call to Order:
Chairman Van Hoven opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Planning Board Members present: Derrick Wrisley, James Van Hoven,
Donald Hollingsworth, H. Nicholas Muller, III, David Hislop and Mark Walker.
Also in attendance was Catherine DeWolff, Planning Board Secretary.
Review and Acceptance of Minutes:
Review of the Minutes of October 20, 2011 of the Town of Essex Planning Board.
A motion was made by Mr. Muller to accept the minutes as presented which was seconded by Mr. Hislop. The Minutes of the October 20, 2011 of the Town of Essex Planning Board are duly reviewed and accepted by a vote of all yes, none opposed, with Mr. Hollingsworth abstaining.
Old Business:
Having missed our meeting deadline, Gary Heurich will be coming back to Planning for a minor adjustment to his permit as well as having the final surveys completed.
The Pataki application for a Zoning Variance was approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals at their last meeting. However, we do not have any survey or APA approvals of same as yet. We are hopeful they will meet our deadlines for December’s meeting.
New Business:
Bill Kissel, Attorney at Law, has contacted us regarding a Boundary Line Adjustment application between Francisca Irwin, his client, and her neighbor, Richard LaManna. The latter installed a well on Mrs. Irwin’s property thinking the parcel belonged to him. There will be a Boundary Line Adjustment under ¼ acre, which will not be subject to Subdivision law, as a result. Again, this application has not yet come to Planning Board, however, we are hopeful that it will be on our Agenda for December.
Report of the Chairman:
Chairman Van Hoven advised the Board that our next meeting for December will be held on Wednesday, December 14th instead of Thursday, December 15th as this will be a training opportunity day for the Planning Board. He advised that by law, the Planning Board members must complete 4 hours of training per year to be in compliance. Mr. MacDougal, Town Councilman, has advised us of this fact. Mr. Muller stated that the Town must take action to enforce this. Chairman Van Hoven advised that we all should make a special effort to comply as it is only appropriate for our service to the Town. Mr. Hislop asked if the training on December 15th counted as part of the four hours required training. The Chairman answered in the affirmative including that it is important for us to get to these things. The Planning Federation holds a good conference in October, whereby we could all fulfill this requirement. There was a general discussion of the training opportunities available for Planning Board Members.
The Chairman advised the Board that the Secretary has put together the SEQR Handbook for the Board to use as a resource which explains in detail everything anyone could want to know regarding this law.
Chairman Van Hoven advised the Board that the Zoning Revision Committee has completed its work. There are copies of the Memorandum in your mailboxes that was sent to the Town Board, which did not include a copy of the law because it was too voluminous. There is also a revised CEA, Critical Environmental Area, showing that they are the same except that the boundaries are more clearly defined. Mr. Walker asked how much acreage is there. Mr. Van Hoven said he did not know. Mr. Walker thought they were bigger. Mr. Walker expressed his concerns on this as it seemed like more restrictions to the owners of the property. Chairman Van Hoven advised Mr. Walker that these things will come to Public Hearings and if it is determined as unnecessary, they can always be removed or modified. Mr. Walker said that if it were his lands, he would be upset about the designation. Chairman Van Hoven advised that the issue is a philosophic one. The lands can be developed but it ensures that the properties designated as such will go through a process of more scrutiny by coming to the Planning Board.
Mr. Hollingsworth advised that the Crater Club action was done. Chairman Van Hoven advised that this was an emergency action. One of the problems we’ve had is that we have not been informed of these things. Mr. Hollingsworth asked if last year they went before the APA. The Chairman advised that the only people they had contacted were the Army Corps of Engineers. The problem is that we did not know about it. Mr. Lansing should be advising us of these things, including any additional correspondence or permits that we might require for our files. Regarding the Davis retaining wall, no permits were ever issued with regard to same and the APA is not aware of it. The Chairman advised that he is in contact with the Davis’ as well as the APA concerning same. The Board discussed the implications of this and other lakeshore projects that seem to be progressing without coming to the Board.
The last item we have is a vacancy on our Board in Michelle (Cassidy). Mr. Hollingsworth advised that he would like to vacate as well. Mr. Muller said that the optics would be good if the Town appointed a woman to this vacancy. All concurred. The Chairman said that he has spoken to Pat Tivnan about being a possible replacement and would make a great addition. However, she is quite busy. Another possibility is Emily Gardner who manages the Art Association. As of this writing the ad has been placed in the paper by the Town Board.
There being no further business before the Board, Mr. Muller made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Mr. Wrisley. The vote is unanimous to adjourn. The meeting is duly adjourned at 7:24 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Catherine DeWolff
Planning Board Secretary
