A Stuffed Agenda, Storing Stuff and Stuffed Bagels

The August 7 Town of Wappinger Planning Board Meeting Agenda was stuffed with discussions -- ranging from turtle protection to wetland quality to a new eatery proposed (but depends on parking calculations... more on that later...).

First on the agenda was a vote to approve a subdivision of 6.21 acres 2-lots at 100 Stonykill Road. It was approved.

Second up was a vote on the CarMarx Auto Superstore. Everyone agreed that the new plan with sidewalks as acceptable, that the draft resolution with a Neg Dec was fine -- and the board voted to approve the resolution as drafted, enabling CarMax to go ahead with the special permit for their facility at 1105-1115 Route 9.

Next on the agenda was a very puzzling discussion about a lot line realignment for properties of over 100 acres on Smith Crossing Road and Ostuni Way. There are no new buildings, no new lots, no new use -- it is in an agricultural district. Apparently in the 1980s there was an approved subdivision -- but that subdivision makes no sense now -- so some updates to the filed survey need to be made. Why this was in front of the planning board and not handled as an update to be managed by the Town Building Department is a bit of a mystery.

Then a lengthy discussion about a place to Store Stuff, Move Stuff ensued. U-Haul is proposing the removal of the current warehouse on Stage Door Road, and replacing it with two new buildings to include self-storage, U-Box and truck/trailer rental business. There are wetlands involved, wetlands which will be disturbed, the requirement for a 24' x5' water storage tank to have water available for a sprinkler system (a planning board member asked if this could be underground - the engineer indicated no). The Town Code doesn't offer any guidance on parking requirements for a car/truck rental business -- so there was discussion about how the parking requirements were to be determined - a Turtle Fence may be required (and when installed, needs to be inspected daily by a turtle expert). The building facing Route 9 will be 3 stories high (requiring a variance) , but 1 story will be below ground, so the view from Route 9 will be two stories. The Planning Board prefers the look of the U-Haul in Marlboro, but when the corporate planners from U-Haul were asked about it, they claim that the brick front building is harder to maintain than the new design. Signs sizes and amounts were discussed (do the signs from the stage door road side have be as large, or can they be directional?). 5 Display areas for trucks/trailers are being requested. And because of the DOT changes to the easements, right-of-ways when Route 9 was reconfigured many years ago, the set-back requirements are being asked to be modified to account for the area of the easement.

So.... a lot of work left to to -- No one on the Planning Board has asked about sidewalks yet --guess that will come at a later date.

Kimmel Subdivision at Pine Ridge Drive - an ongoing application to divide 13.6 acres into 5 lots. Again, fencing for turtles discussed and the DEC Process and BOH Test well reviewed. A slight change in a lot line was requested by the DEC to maintain appropriate separation between well/septic -- and the board decided to approve the writing of a draft resolution approving the subdivision - so the developer is one step closer in their process.

Moonrise Bagels next up on the agenda (the engineer for Joey estates was delayed, causing a change in the agenda). This is a request for 1383 Route 9. The reason for the discussion at the planning board, is that originally - when the property was developed, there was a concern about the amount of parking spaces and the special permit at that time precluded a food establishment from occupying the space (previously occupied by a spa service establiment). Since that time, there have been no parking issues with the current restaurant, insurance, phone business and bank..... and this business will operate between 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm during the week and 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on the weekends -- serving bagels -- stuffed and unstuffed. So any impact on the restaurant's parking will be minimal because the opening hours are "complimentary." There will be no outdoor seating, no waiter service and no changes to the footprint of the building. The board requested a parking study, waived the need for a public hearing, declared it to be a type 2 action (meaning minimal review).

The Engineer and the Attorney for the Joey Estate developer arrived- to discuss how the number of conventional homes could be developed on Cedar Hill Road to determine the "as of right number". This involves establishing where the wetlands are (the engineer initially implied that there weren't any -- causing a bit of an outcry from a few members of the public in attendance), where the slopes are and if there is a Central Hudson Easement (it was determined that is adjacent to the property, not on the property). It was recommended that a wetland specialist be engaged to do a wetland report and that the Engineer further refine the "sketch drawing" of the proposed lot lines and to include the 5 wells proposed, along with the radius of control. All of this so that the developer can bring this information to the Town Board -- where the developer will continue to argue that a cluster housing development will be less impactful of the environment, community and infrastructure than the "as of right" conventional homes that the land is currently zoned for.

Two extensions were granted - 90 Days for a lot realignment on Chelsea Road and 90 Days for Myers Run on Myers Corners Road.