Minutes of the Town of Lake George Planning Board meeting held on December 11, 2018 at 6:00 p.m., at the Town Center, 20 Old Post Road, Lake George, New York. Members Present: Absent: Also Present: Sean Quirk, Chairman Fred Pape, Vice Chairman Robert Flacke Heath Mundell David Meixner Rich Askew Nathan Hall Dan Barusch, John Carr, Dennis MacElroy, Kristen DePace Chris Navitsky and others. Chairman Quirk opens the meeting at 6:00 p.m. A motion is introduced by Fred Pape; seconded by Heath Mundell to accept the minutes of the November 13, 2018 meeting in the record. 1. Application for final plat for Major Subdivision SUB8-2018 submitted by Landcrafters, LLC (John Carr) with Dennis MacElroy as agent, proposing a subdivision of 98.07 acres into 6 residential lot; the smallest lots to be 5.013 acres, the average lots to be 16.35 acres and the largest lots to be 57.168 acres. The lots will have individual onsite wastewater systems and drilled wells; for property located at Truesdale Hill Road. Tax Map Nos. are 238.00-1-31.11, 225.00-1-60.1 & 225.00-1-60.2. Total acres are 98 +/- acres. Zoning Classifications are RR-5 & RR-10. Code References are 150-9, 150-14 & 150-29. SEQRA is Unlisted. Dennis MacElroy with Environmental Designs is representing the owner and applicant of the site, John Carr. They have been working on addressing the three comments from Chazen, the Town Engineer. Two of the comments have been easily resolved while the third one which deals with the distance and speed limit on the portion of Truesdale Hill Road with the cul-de-sac that serves the proposed subdivision. Discussions were held including a meeting with Kevin Hejos, the County Superintendent of Works who was asked to inform everyone on the necessary process to post a speed limit on this location. The current speed limit is 55 mph and in order to lower it to 40 mph, the Town Board passed a resolution to send a letter to DOT requesting to lower it at that intersection site for safety reasons. DOT will conduct a speed study to determine the appropriate speed limit and notify the parties involved, however the applicant has not heard from DOT yet. Since there is no way of knowing when a response will be received, the applicant would like to be able to move forward with the project by obtaining a conditional approval to include the posting of the speed limit determined by DOT. Should DOT determine that there is no need to post a speed limit, then they will come back to the Board with other mitigation efforts. Planning Board Minutes P a g e 1 December 11, 2018
Chairman Quirk questions if the applicant can begin the project; Dan Barusch responds that there are other items that need to be addressed. The first is the DOT approval of the posting of the speed limit; secondly the last three comments from Chazen need to be addressed such as: The responses for comment #1 and #2 need to be incorporated on the final plan A signoff letter from them confirming that everything from the SWIPP to the septic and other facets of the subdivision are fine. Issuance of the SPDES permit prior to starting any work. The Board could grant a conditional approval adding with the above items. The first two items can be easily cleared up through a small change on the plans while the last one is the DOT component. Chairman Quirk asks that no clear cutting but rather limited clearing of the individual lots be done prior to the sale of the lots so the Board can review individual applications submitted by prospective buyers. Clearing should be limited to the driveways to the lots and reminds the applicant to be very protective of the ridgeline. A discussion ensues among the Board Members and Dennis MacElroy about the clearing of the road and the driveways. Fred Pape feels that the only clearing should be for the road and the shared driveway; the remaining driveways will be subject to the house location on the site and should be reviewed by the Board when an application comes in. Dennis MacElroy replies that as per the SPDES permit and regulations, there will be phasing that will document how the disturbance area can be limited to certain acreage most likely 1 acre at a time prior to stabilization. John Carr informs the Board that DEC will not be doing anything until things are moving along correctly which is a process that may take some time; the phasing is so that things are done right (remainder of the comments are not clearly audible). Dennis MacElroy adds that construction and the stabilization of the cul-de-sac and the common driveway will reduce the disturbance area. Bob Flacke reminds the applicant to install downward lighting and appropriate house colors which the Board agrees should be dark colors; John Carr agrees and asks if these requests could be part of a conditional approval. Chairman Quirk opens the meeting to the public. Chris Navitsky, Lake George Waterkeeper, feels that this project is too close to the ridgeline and any issues should be addressed upfront rather than later; this is a DEC SPEDS permit and not a typical one because of concerns about the amount of disturbance on steep slopes. He agrees that the common road should be put in but not the individual driveways; they should come in for site plan review for land clearing and stormwater. The applicant needs to be vigilant not to go over 5 acres of land clearing. Dennis MacElroy, in response to Chairman Quirk s concerns, states that the cul-de-sac and the one shared driveway will have their own stormwater controls. A discussion ensues among the Board Members with Fred Pape s agreeing to approve the application with the appropriate conditions, one of them to be a definite response from DOT on the speed limit. A motion is introduced by Fred Pape; seconded by Robert Flacke to close the public hearing. Planning Board Minutes P a g e 2 December 11, 2018
Dan Barusch advises the Board that Part I, II and III of the SEQRA need to be read into the record. A negative Declaration was declared previously for the subdivision and a reaffirmation of the original Negative Declaration needs to be declared at this meeting. Fred Pape reads Part I of the SEQRA into the record. (A copy can is attached at the end of the document). Chairman Quirk reads Part II of the SEQRA. A motion is introduced by Chairman Quirk; seconded by Fred Pape to re-affirm a Negative Declaration. Ayes: 6 Flacke, Mundell, Pape, Meixner, Askew, Chairman Quirk Nayes: 0 Absent: 1 Hall A motion is introduced by Fred Pape; seconded by Heath Mundell to approve Major Subdivision SUB8-2017 with the following conditions: Applicant shall address all remaining comments from Chazen. Applicant shall continue to work with the Zoning Administrator on obtaining approval by the NYS Department of Transportation for the posted speed limit. Each lot shall be subject to site plan review prior to development The applicant shall limit the initial clearing to the cul-de-sac road and the shared driveway. The applicant shall abide by a phasing plan specified in the SPDES permit rules. The house colors shall be dark earth tones, the lighting shall be dark sky compliant and non-reflective glass. Ayes: 6 Flacke, Mundell, Pape, Meixner, Askew, Chairman Quirk Nayes: 0 Absent: 1 Hall 2. Application for Site Plan Review SPR25-2018 submitted by Kristen DePace as an After-the-Fact installation of an 80 ft. privacy fence along the property line, for property located at 14 Sand Pebble Road. Tax Map Planning Board Minutes P a g e 3 December 11, 2018
No. 251.06-1-15. Lot size 0.36 acres. Zoning Classification is RS-1. Code References are 175-23 &175-37. SEQRA Type II. Chairman Quirk informs the Board that last week the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance request for this application with the condition that any panels exceeding 6 ft. in height need to lowered or removed. Dan Barusch brings the Board up to speed with the projects but stating that the fencing company that installed the fence didn t advise Ms. DePace of the need for a permit. The Planning & Zoning office was made aware of the fence by a neighbor who felt that it was too close to a stream, subsequently Ms. De Pace was contacted.. She responded by submitting applications, drawings and a complete survey. A stream runs parallel to the property but only small sections of the fence are adjacent to it. The Town s Code s definition of a structure includes fences as such they need to meet the appropriate setback of 30 ft. from a stream; in this case only about 5 ft. to 10 ft. of the fence encroach on the setback. The southern portion of the fence is where the panels are higher than 6 ft. and will be lowered down. As for the stream, DEC declared the stream as an AA tributary to Lake George however it had not been previously classified as such. Secondly, a clause in the Code requires that any structures within 300 ft. of mean high water need site plan review. Dan Barusch addresses some of the questions from the Board Members and adds that the ZBA granted the stream setback variance and the lowering of the fence to 6 ft. was a condition of approval thus addressing two major concerns. There is a gate on the southerly side of the fence accessing an easement to the beach. Chairman Quirk opens the public hearing with no response. A motion is introduced by Fred Pape; seconded by Heath Mundell to close the public hearing. Dan Barusch continues by stating that he provided the Board with the maps, survey and letters from a neighbor with several concerns most of which were identified at the Zoning Board level. One of the neighbor s concerns was the fence proximity to what they believed was a stream as they indicated on their survey; however the stream was later identified by DEC as a draining ditch that runs perpendicular to the fence. Fred Pape reads the application into the record. A motion was introduced by Heath Mundell; seconded by Chairman Quirk to accept the application as read. A motion is introduced by Heath Mundell; seconded by Fred Pape to approve Site Plan Review SPR25-2018 as submitted. Ayes: 6 Flacke, Mundell, Pape, Meixner, Askew, Chairman Quirk Nayes: 0 Absent: 1 Hall Planning Board Minutes P a g e 4 December 11, 2018
Chairman Quirk informs the Board that this meeting would have been his last one since his term expires however a decision has been made by the Town to extend his term by one additional year, keep Fred Pape as Vice Chairman but actively seeking two more alternates. Dan Barusch talks briefly about the Dinosaur Park application that will be presented to the Board at the January meeting. A motion is introduced by Fred Pape; seconded by Heath Mundell to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Adele Behrmann Planning & Zoning Clerk Planning Board Minutes P a g e 5 December 11, 2018
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