PUBLIC HEARING
PROPOSED ZONING
AMENDMENTS
JUNE 22, 2016
6:00 P.M.
Supervisor
Williamson called the Public Hearing to order at 6:00 P.M. Present for the roll call were Supervisor Ed Williamson, Councilors Eric Clothier,
Tracy Doyle, Melissa Fortier and Brenda Frazier-Hartle. Deputy Supervisor John Snow Jr. was also
present.
Members
of the Planning Board present were Chairman Paul Ketchum, Jeff Richards, Rhonda
Nipper and Jane Crego. There were 4
Residents and Guests in attendance.
Supervisor
Williamson turned the Public Hearing over to Planning Board Chairman Paul
Ketchum to explain the purpose of revising the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Ketchum said that most of the changes are
in the wording. They are trying to make
it more understandable and compatible with State Law. The County has made some changes to the
verbiage. Mr. Ketchum said these changes
have been in the works for close to ten years.
Chairman
Ketchum said he has reviewed the County’s recommendations. Some of these need to be looked at in depth
and discussed with the Attorney for the Town.
Deputy
Supervisor Snow Jr. brought up the CIT district on County Route 3 and asked if
there could be a remedy to the situation.
As it stands now, a homeowner cannot improve their residence. They can only replace what now exists. He also stated that when the car dealer
wanted to rebuild he was told he had to have certain colors and design because
it was in the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.
This is not in the Comprehensive Plan.
It is an addendum that he doesn’t think was ever approved by the
Board. These issues are something that need
to be looked at because we did lose the car dealership because of inadequate
sewer and the design issues when in reality these modifications were never
approved.
Christine
Bassett questioned the excavation for soil mining. Mr. Ketchum said the DEC has final
authority. This is an area that has to
be explored further.
Rose
Anthony agrees with Deputy Supervisor Snow Jr. about the CIT zone on County
Route 3. The homeowners should be able
to add on or improve their property if they choose to.
Councilor
Doyle questioned who ultimately has authority over the mining issues. His understanding is the DEC has the final
say and the Town has no control. Mr.
Ketchum said this is an issue that needs research. Councilor Frazier-Hartle stated we need to find
out if the Town, at some point, did turn the authority over to the DEC.
Lynn
Lyons stated the Town needs to give a Special Use Permit in order to do mining
in the Town and giving control to the DEC is very upsetting. The Town needs to protect the Residents and
needs to change the law if necessary.
With
no further comments, Supervisor Williamson closed the Public Hearing at 6:55
P.M.
