Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes. Wednesday, January 16, :00 PM

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TOWN OF BETHLEHEM John Clarkson Town Supervisor Daniel W. Coffey Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes Wednesday, January 16, 2013 7:00 PM I.

The Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM.

1 TOWN OF BETHLEHEM John Clarkson Town Supervisor Daniel W. Coffey Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes Wednesday, January 16, :00 PM I. Call to Order A Regular Meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Bethlehem was held on the above date at the Town Hall Auditorium, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, NY. The Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Daniel Coffey Chairman Present Leonard Micelli Board Member Present David DeCancio Board Member Present Matthew Watson Board Member Present George Harder Board Member Present Michael Moore Planning/Zoning Board Counsel Absent Kathleen Reid Assistant to the Zoning Board of Appeals Present Mark Platel Assistant Building Inspector Present Justin Harbinger Assistant Building Inspector Present II. Announcements 1. Board Member, David DeCancio Appointment Chairman Coffey congratulated Board Member, David DeCancio, who was appointed by Supervisor, John Clarkson, and the Town Board for another five year term. 2. Bethlehem Central School District The Public Hearing for the Bethlehem Central School District, and the proposed sale of 90 Adams Place to Schools Out was adjourned at the request of the applicant until further notice. III. Public Hearings No Public Hearings at this time. IV. Applications - Review and Possible Public Hearing Scheduling No Applications at this time.

2 V. Resolutions STACY THRELFALL (SNYDER) RIVER ROAD, SELKIRK RESOLUTION AV-1303 Stacy Threlfall (Snyder) 1406 River Road, Selkirk *** WHEREAS, an application has been filed with the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York ( the Board ), seeking a Variance under Article VI, Supplementary Regulations, Section (B)(1) and (J) (Fences and freestanding walls, residential districts, front yard, height, location in right of way) requested by Stacy Threlfall (Snyder) ( Applicant ) for property at 1406 River Road, Selkirk, New York; and, WHEREAS, the Board, acting on said application, duly advertised in the Spotlight and sent written notice to all persons listed in the petition as owning property within 200 feet of the premises in question and held a public hearing on said application at the Town Hall, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, New York on January 2, 2013; and, WHEREAS, Members of the Board are familiar with the area in which the proposed construction is to be done and the specific site of same; and, WHEREAS, all those desired to be heard were heard and their testimony duly recorded at the above hearing; now therefore, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Zoning Board of Appeals makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in this matter: FINDINGS OF FACT Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 2

3 Applicant installed a 6-foot tall wooden stockade fence in the front yard of the property without a permit. The Town Code allows only a 4-foot high fence in the front yard. In addition, the fence was partially constructed in a NYS Thruway easement, which is not allowed without permission of the easement owner. The property is located in a Rural Riverfront district and is occupied by a single family dwelling. Applicant Stacy Threlfall testified in support of the requested variances. Applicant built the fence for additional privacy from traffic on River Road and for security. Applicant testified that she was not aware of the need for a permit for the fence and her fence contractor did not tell her of the need for a permit. Two of the Applicant s immediate neighbors testified at the public hearing. The adjoining neighbor at 1402 River Road (Berns) testified that she was neutral on the fence, but had experienced problems with the contractor (who accidentally cut a cable into her home) and wanted a map showing the precise location of the fence if the variance was granted. The neighbor across the street at 1403 River Road (Lischak) was opposed to the variance, asserted that a 6-foot fence was too high, and did not in his view enhance the Applicant s security. By Recommendation dated December 20, 2012 (Case No ) the Albany County Planning Board recommended that any approval be modified to ensure that the fence was not in the right of way of River Road and did not hinder the sight distance from neighboring driveways. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Based on the above Findings of Fact, and after reviewing the application, sketches and plans submitted, testimony at the hearing, and other documents Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 3

4 submitted by the Applicant, the Board determines that the proposed variances (Fence, location and height) will be denied. The Board determines that the 6-foot fence in the front yard of the property, if allowed to remain, would introduce an undesirable change to the appearance and character of the residential neighborhood in this area of River Road. No other properties in this neighborhood have tall front yard fences. The Board further determines that the benefit sought to be achieved by the Applicant (enhanced home security or privacy) can be achieved by other feasible methods, such as a home security system or vegetative screening/landscaping, which would not require variances. The difficulty necessitating the variance has been self-created. Applicant erected the fence without the required permit. The Board is concerned that granting the requested variances could set an unfavorable precedent leading other property owners in this neighborhood to seek permission for front yard fences exceeding the Town Code s height limitation. The requested variances (Fence, location and height) are DENIED. January 16, Daniel Coffey Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals The foregoing Resolution filed with the Clerk of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York, on January 17, 2013 Zoning Board of Appeals Kathleen Reid, Secretary A motion to approve the Resolution as written was offered and approved as follows: Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 4

5 RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] George Harder, Board Member Leonard Micelli, Board Member Coffey, Micelli, DeCancio, Watson, Harder PRICE CHOPPER GLENMONT ROAD, GLENMONT RESOLUTION AV-1302 Price Chopper 329 Glenmont Road, Glenmont *** WHEREAS, an application has been filed with the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York ( the Board ) seeking variances under Article VI, Supplementary Regulations, Section (J)(2) and (3) and (K) (Signs in shopping centers and malls, wall signs, channel signs and letters, non-conforming signs), requested by Golub Corporation, d/b/a Price Chopper ( Owner ), Signworks Neon Corp. ( Applicant ) for property at 329 Glenmont Road, Glenmont, New York (Town Squire Plaza); and, WHEREAS, the Board, acting on said application, duly advertised in the Spotlight and sent written notice to all persons listed in the petition as owning property within 200 feet of the premises in question and held a public hearing on said application at the Town Hall, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, New York on November 21, 2012 and January 2, 2013; and, WHEREAS, Members of the Board are familiar with the area in which the proposed construction is to be done and the specific site of same; and, WHEREAS, all those desired to be heard were heard and their testimony duly recorded at the above hearing; now therefore, Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 5

6 BE IT RESOLVED, that the Zoning Board of Appeals makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in this matter: FINDINGS OF FACT Owner is modifying/upgrading the appearance of its Glenmont supermarket store, including new and additional signage. The Owner and Applicant seek approval for a number of signs on the store façade, including the company logo and several nonilluminated architectural (placard-type) signs advertising particular products and services within the store (eg., Florist, Seafood, etc.). There are three (3) existing signs on the front façade of the building and one (1) existing sign on the north side of the building facing Route 32. Town Code section (K) provides that any change to these existing signs requires that all signs conform to the current provisions of the Code. The present application triggers this requirement. Per Town Code section (J) (2) and (3) Owner is allowed a corporate logo and one wall sign (two signs total) on the front façade, and one wall sign on the side façade, in each case not to exceed 125 square feet in area, with all signs consisting of individual channel letters. Owner and Applicant propose a total of nine (9) signs on the front façade, including six (6) new placard signs where channel letters are required, with a total area of just over 342 square feet. On the side of the building, Owner and Applicant propose three (3) new signs for a pharmacy drive-through, with internally illuminated box letters, not channel letters. The proposed signage on the side of the building meets the Town Code s area limitation. The following variances are thus required: number of signs (front), number of signs (side), box letters (front and side) and total Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 6

7 square footage (front). The property is located in the Commercial Hamlet district and is used as a supermarket/shopping center. Fred Early of Signworks Neon Corp. testified in support of the application at public hearings held on November 21, 2012 and January 2, The Board has recently granted two applications for variances from Town Code section (J)(2) and (3) involving signs at supermarkets in comparable neighborhoods: Resolution AV-1209, September 5, 2012 (Shop-Rite supermarket in Vista Technology campus) and Resolution AV-1210, October 3, 2012 (Price Chopper supermarket in Slingerlands Plaza adjacent to the Vista Technology campus). Prior to the November 21, 2012 public hearing, in an effort to make the present application more in line with the Price Chopper-Slingerlands proposal (AV-1210), Applicant eliminated from its proposal one of the placard-type signs on the front façade. The Price Chopper-Slingerlands proposal had, as noted in AV-1210, itself been modified to make it similar in scope to the variances earlier granted to Shop-Rite in AV At both hearings, residents of the neighborhood behind the Town Squire Plaza testified regarding visual, noise and light impacts from Plaza operations, unrelated to the present application. These issues were resolved in discussions between the residents and the Plaza owner. By Recommendation dated December 20, 2012 (Case No ) the Albany County Planning Board deferred to local consideration on the application with an advisory note regarding the potential precedent setting nature of significant sign variances for commercial uses. The Board finds that the present application is reasonably equivalent in size Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 7

8 and scope to the variances granted in AV-1209 and AV In addition, all three projects are for identical land uses (supermarket in a shopping center ) and all three are in comparable neighborhoods. Other than as noted above, the Board received no written or oral testimony related to the application. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Based on the above Findings of Fact, and after reviewing the application, sketches and plans submitted, testimony at the hearings, and other documents submitted, the Board determines that the proposed variances (Shopping center, wall signs, area, number and lettering) will be granted. The Board has determined that the requested variances will be a benefit to the Owner and will have no detrimental impact on the health, safety or welfare of the community and the neighborhood. The proposed signage is attractively designed and is consistent in size and appearance with the signage authorized by the Resolutions AV-1209 and AV The benefit sought by the Owner could be achieved by further reducing the signage on the building façades. However, the Board concludes that given the application s consistency with the the variances approved in Resolutions AV-1209 and AV-1210, further reductions are not necessary. The three proposed signs for the drive through pharmacy kiosk are needed to assure the safe flow of traffic in this busy area of the shopping center. The requested variances will have no adverse effect on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood. The requested variances are the minimum necessary and adequate to the Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 8

9 Owner s needs, while still preserving the character of the neighborhood. The alleged difficulty necessitating the requested variances has been created by the Owner, but this factor is outweighed by the above Findings and Conclusions. The Board has, as suggested by the Albany County Planning Board, considered the potential precedent setting impact of the modified application and, as noted, finds that this Resolution is consistent with Resolutions AV-1209 and AV The proposed signage is a Type II action under the NY State Environmental Quality Review Act ( SEQRA ) (6 NYCRR [c][2]), and no environmental impact review is required. The requested variances (shopping center, number of signs, box letters and total square footage) are GRANTED, on the following conditions: 1. The proposed signage will be completed in accordance with the plans, specifications, testimony and exhibits given by the Owner and Applicant at the November 21, 2012 and January 2, 2013 hearings except as the same may be modified by the Town Building Department; 2. The project shall be completed within the time required by section (R) of the Town Code. January 16, 2013 Daniel Coffey Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals The foregoing Resolution filed with the Clerk of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York on January 17, Kathleen Reid, Secretary Zoning Board of Appeals A motion to approve the Resolution as written was offered and approved as follows: Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 9

10 RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] Matthew Watson, Board Member David DeCancio, Board Member Coffey, Micelli, DeCancio, Watson, Harder HEWITT'S LAWN & GARDEN FEURA BUSH ROAD, GLENMONT RESOLUTION AV-1301 Hewitt s Lawn & Garden Center 605 Feura Bush Road, Glenmont * * * WHEREAS, an application has been filed with the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York ( the Board ) seeking variances under Article VI, Supplementary Regulations, Section (D)(1) (Signs in Hamlet District, freestanding sign, area, lighting), requested by Hewitt s Lawn and Garden Center ( Owner ), Olson Signs & Graphics ( Applicant ) for property at 605 Feura Bush Road, Glenmont, New York; and, WHEREAS, the Board, acting on said application, duly advertised in the Spotlight and sent written notice to all persons listed in the petition as owning property within 200 feet of the premises in question and held a public hearing on said application at the Town Hall, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, New York on November 21, 2012; and WHEREAS, Members of the Board are familiar with the area in which the proposed construction is to be done and the specific site of same; and, WHEREAS, all those who desired to be heard were heard and their testimony duly recorded at the above hearing, now therefore, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Zoning Board of Appeals makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in this matter: Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 10

11 FINDINGS OF FACT Owner and Applicant propose to remove an existing freestanding sign and replace it with a 52 square foot internally illuminated sign at the same location. The Town Code allows a freestanding sign of no more than 20 square feet and lighting by external means only. The property is located in a Hamlet district and is occupied by the Owner s retail lawn and garden center. Richard Olson of Olson Signs & Graphics testified in support of the requested variances. Applicant proposes internal illumination for ease of maintenance given the sign s proximity to the road and the likelihood of snow accumulation. Mr. Olson testified that the lettering on the proposed sign would be 6 inches in height, and that lettering on the existing sign is 8 inches in height. He further testified that the proposed sign was identical to new signage proposed or installed at other Hewitt s locations. By Recommendation dated December 20, 2012 (Case No ) the Albany County Planning Board deferred to local consideration on the application, with an advisory note regarding the potential precedent setting nature of significant sign variances for commercial uses. The Board received no other testimony, written or oral, concerning the proposed application. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Based on the above Findings of Fact, and after reviewing the application, sketches and plans submitted, testimony at the hearing, and other documents submitted by the Applicant, the Board determines that the proposed variance Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 11

12 (freestanding sign, area, and lighting) will be granted in part and denied granted in part. The Applicant s request for a sign of 52 square feet is GRANTED. The Applicant s request for an internally illuminated sign is DENIED; the sign may be lit by external means only. The Board has determined that, as approved above, the requested variance will be a benefit to the Applicant and will have no detrimental impact on the health, safety or welfare of the community and the neighborhood. The owner s business is a permitted use of long standing. The size of the sign, as approved and with external lighting, is not inconsistent with the character of the neighborhood. The benefit sought by the Applicant (adequate road front signage) cannot be achieved without a size variance for the freestanding sign. Lettering smaller than 6 inches will be difficult to read by motorists passing on Feura Bush Road. A sandwich/sidewalk sign, allowed by the Town Code (section [D][4]) is not practical in the winter due to snow accumulation in the area between the Owner s building and the Road. The requested variance will have no adverse effect on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood. As approved, the requested variance is the minimum that is necessary and adequate to the Applicant s needs, while still preserving the character of the neighborhood. The alleged difficulty necessitating the requested variance has been created by the Applicant but this factor is outweighed by the above findings and conclusions. Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 12

13 The proposed sign is a Type II action under the NY State Environmental Quality Review Act ( SEQRA ) (6 NYCRR [c] [2]), and no environmental impact review is required. The requested variance is granted in part and denied in part, as stated above, on the following conditions: 1. The proposed construction will be completed in accordance with the plans, specifications, testimony and exhibits given by the Applicants at the November 21, 2012 hearing except as the same may be modified by the Town Building Department; 2. The project shall be completed within the time required by section (R) of the Town Code. January 16, 2013 Daniel Coffey Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals The foregoing Resolution filed with the Clerk of the Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York, on January, Kathleen Reid, Secretary Zoning Board of Appeals The Applicant will submit revised drawings of the lighting changes. A motion to approve the Resolution as written was offered and approved as follows: RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] Matthew Watson, Board Member George Harder, Board Member Coffey, Micelli, DeCancio, Watson, Harder VI. Minutes Approval A. Wednesday, January 02, 2013 Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 13

14 RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: ACCEPTED [UNANIMOUS] Leonard Micelli, Board Member Matthew Watson, Board Member Coffey, Micelli, DeCancio, Watson, Harder VII. New Business A. SEQR acceptance for lead agency - 64 Hannay Lane The Planning Board voted on January 15, 2013 to accept coordinated review with lead agency status for the application submitted by Shawna Sacher (Shawna's Dog's), 64 Hannay Lane, Glenmont. The Zoning Board cannot take any further action until the SEQR review has been completed by the Planning Board. VIII. Adjournment Motion To: Adjourn RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: ADJOURN [UNANIMOUS] Leonard Micelli, Board Member George Harder, Board Member Coffey, Micelli, DeCancio, Watson, Harder The meeting adjourned at 7:07 PM Next Regular Meeting Wednesday, February 6, 2013 Meeting of Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Page 14

Zoning Board of Appeals 2919 Delaware Avenue, RM 14 Kenmore, NY (716) Zoning Board of Appeals

Zoning Board of Appeals 2919 Delaware Avenue, RM 14 Kenmore, NY 14217 (716) 877-8800 Zoning Board of Appeals www.tonawanda.ny.us Regular ~ Minutes ~ Town Clerk Melissa Brinson Wednesday, January 19, 2011