Plans great and small
Michaels plans 5 clusters



NEW SCOTLAND – Recently, the town’s zoning and planning boards have heard proposals ranging from a development with five clustered neighborhoods to the need for a fence where a new house was built 5 feet over the required setback.
Dave Michaels, of The Michaels Group, said he is "keenly aware" of the community.

Michaels appeared before the town’s planning board on July 10, to ask that the board consider the Kensington Woods application as a cluster development, rather than a planned unit development (PUD). His company will be working with Masullo Brother Builders on the project.

The development will be a clustering of five different neighborhoods around Hilton Road in the northeast corner of town, Michaels said, adding that 80 percent of the homes will have full maintenance.
"Our specialty is the active-adult market," he said.

The Kensington Woods development, he said, will have a similar design to one in Halfmoon. He said that he would arrange for a tour of the Halfmoon neighborhood for anyone interested.

Mary Beth Slevin, the attorney for the project, told the board that the issues within the scoping document already accepted by the town board, are essentially the same for the amended project.

The planning board reaffirmed the scoping document, and affirmed its status as lead agency.

Fence required

In a last-minute decision, Stefan and Shannon Schechter decided to angle their Krumkill Road home, and in doing so, infringed on their front-yard setback by 5 feet, 4 inches.
"We tried to beat the cold weather," Mr. Schechter told the town’s zoning board of appeals.

The Schechters were granted an area variance at the June 26 zoning-board meeting, allowing their house, which is nearing completion, to come within 44 feet, 8 inches of the neighboring property line. The town is also requiring that the Schechters install a 100-foot section of fence along the line between their parcel and that of Mark Eggers, who owns the adjoining property and requested the fence.

The front of the Schechter property abuts the rear portion of the Eggers property. Both parcels are about three acres in size. Eggers installed trees worth $1,800 to provide a buffer between the two properties, he told the board.
"He had ample opportunity to put it in the right spot," Eggers said of Mr. Schechter’s house. "I indicated that I thought it was too close," he added, saying that he sent a letter to the town, stating his concerns, and also relayed them to Mr. Schechter.

Eggers said he and Mr. Schechter had discussed his desire that the Schechters install a fence and maintain it, but they had not reached an agreement at the time of the meeting.

Eggers said he felt the construction of a fence, as well as the maintenance of it, at the Schechters’ expense, was a reasonable solution to the issue.
"I just don’t know if, at this point, we could spend $5,000 on a fence system," Mr. Schechter said. "My wife and I maybe would like to put up a fence, but, with building the house, we’re running out of funds.
"There’s quite a bit of a buffer zone that Mr. Eggers created," he added.
Because of the land’s topography, the septic field on the Schechter property had to be installed in the backyard, which shifted the house toward the front of the parcel, Mr. Schechter explained. "It was my fault, obviously, when we moved it a few degrees," he said.
Eggers informed the board that he wants to ensure that his property rights are protected. "I don’t think it’s right for me to suffer the consequences of poor planning," he said.

Other business

In other business at recent planning- and zoning-board meetings:

– The zoning board granted an area variance to Wayne and Sherlynn LaChappelle to allow a proposed two-lot subdivision for a property owned by them on Western Avenue in Feura Bush. The land-locked parcel was created when the power company first came through in the 1920s. The LaChappelles are awaiting a right-of-way from National Grid. Each of the created two lots will be larger than the other lots in the area. Board member Wayne LaChappelle abstained from the vote on the application;
– The zoning board approved an area variance for Russell Seely and Heather Conant allowing a boundary-line change to their property at 2000 New Scotland Road, removing .055 acres from their parcel and adding it to the adjoining parcel to the east, owned by Howard Amsler. Seely and Conant’s lot – which was slightly undersized to start with – changes from .935 acres to .88 acres. The boundary-line adjustment allows Amsler to control the drainage area there. "I think it improves the neighborhood by improving the drainage," said board member Adam Greenberg;
– Both boards heard an application for an area variance from Nancy Deschenes for 14 feet of relief for a swimming pool to be installed within 13 feet of the side-yard line. Deschenes’s property is located at 38 Maple Road. When the building permit for the pool was filed, it was approved, and construction has begun, said Deschenes’s daughter, Tracy McMann. "You slipped through the cracks," said planning-board Chairman Robert Stapf. The planning board passed along a favorable response to the zoning board, where a public hearing will be held on July 24;

– Both boards heard from Shawn LaSalle on an application for an area variance to allow the erection of a covered entry and attached garage to a single-family home on Tarrytown Road. The residential-agriculture district that the property falls within requires a front setback of 40 feet; LaSalle is requesting 19 feet, 6 inches of relief for the covered entry, and 8 feet, 6 inches of relief for the garage. The planning board passed along a favorable response to the zoning board, which will hold a public hearing on July 24;

– The zoning board heard from Michael Biernacki on an application for an area variance to allow the construction of a dwelling on his property on North Main Street. The medium-density residential district requires a side-yard setback of 25 feet, and a front-yard setback of 40 feet; Biernacki was requesting 25 feet of relief from the side-yard setback, and 35 feet of relief from the front-yard setback. Biernacki withdrew his application prior to the planning-board meeting;

– Both boards heard from Robert Denman on his application for an area variance to allow the installation of a swimming pool at his 162 Maple Road home. The house falls within the residential-agriculture district and requires a side-yard setback of 25 feet; Denman is requesting six feet of relief. The planning board passed along a favorable response to the zoning board, which will hold a public hearing at its July 24 meeting;

– The planning board approved an application submitted by Wayne Flach on behalf of Flach Industries for a special-use permit, allowing him to expand his existing trucking terminal on Indian Fields Road. The current terminal is 220 by 200 feet, and will be expanded to 440 by 200 feet. The site flows gently to the south, and will be regraded to flow north. Stapf complimented the applicant on the storm-water management plan;

– The planning board approved a one-year extension for a special-use permit for Mary Ferentino for a boarding kennel and training facility on Fielding Way. A law suit regarding the legal status of Fielding Way is pending;

– The planning board heard an application for a special-use permit, submitted by B.A.R.D. Brothers to allow the company to expand an existing non-conforming structure by less than 25 percent. The building, in the residential agriculture district on North Road in Clarksville, is used for storing foam used under siding, explained Alan Darmurmuth. The board scheduled a public hearing on the application for its Aug. 7 meeting;

– The planning board heard an application for a special-use permit submitted by Cellco Partnership and Verizon Wireless on behalf of Crown Atlantic Company to allow 12 panel antennas to be removed and replaced, and for a microwave dish antenna to be removed. The site is owned by Crown Atlantic Company and is located at 106 Tower #3 Lane, off of Pinnacle Road. The board scheduled a public hearing for its Aug. 7 meeting;

– The planning board heard an application for a special-use permit submitted by Media Flo USA, Incorporated on behalf of Capital Region Broadcasters, to allow for one 24-foot antenna to be installed on an existing tower at a height of 262 feet, two satellite dishes, and two GPS (Global Positioning System) antennas side-mounted to an existing equipment building. The site is owned by Capital Region Broadcasters, and located at 73 Tower 3 Lane. The board scheduled a public hearing for its Aug. 7 meeting; and
– The planning board heard an update from John DeMis on the New Salem Properties application for a subdivision of 40.9 acres off of Meadowbrook Place. The project is proposing eight new building lots, and will eventually have 11 new houses. The applicant needs to formulate a storm-water management plan, and the town needs to know the exact location, depth, and yield of the wells on the site. "This is an incomplete application at this point," said Chairman Stapf.

The intersection of New Salem South Road and Glenwood Terrace that residents voiced numerous concerns about at the May zoning-board meeting is being looked at by the town and the applicant, who has agreed to invest $5,000 into alterations to the road to increase safety. At this point, said Keith Menia, of the town’s engineering firm Stantec, the town is considering implementing an all-way stop at the intersection.