TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
PLANNING BOARD
TUESDAY, 10/19/2021, 7:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT: PAT RICE PHIL STRAND
JIM GOODLING RICHARD JOHNSON
GARY WINGER BRANDON VANCURAN (alternate)
WALTER GEIST JOHN WARNER
Brad Lawson, Zoning C.E.O
OTHERS PRESENT: Stephanie Gibbs, Dick Sena, Kelly Johnson, Don McCord, Mary Henck, Jonathan Henck, Brandon Feinen, Denise Feinen, Randall Feinen, Donna Fowler, Dave Fowler, Tom Wight
- PAT RICE OPENED THE MEETING AT 7:00 PM.
- MR. LAWSON, ZONING C.E.O. GAVE ZONING REPORT.
- Ashville E-Z Self Storage Proposal
Mr. Feinen said he is interested in doing self-storage. He said they will take the main
building and turn the interior into self-storage with heating and cooling. He said they currently have storage in Irving, Fredonia, South Dayton which is one with heating and cooling, Cassadaga and Sinclairville. Mr. Feinen said he is asking the board to change the zoning to that property to allow them to have a storage facility there. He said their goal is to maintain neighborhood character.
Mr. Rice asked how many buildings they were intending to construct.
Mr. Feinen said their goal is to update the interior to the existing building and to add one additional building that will be 40ft.X200ft, the setbacks are consistent, and it will be a single-story building. He said the exterior of the existing building will not change.
Mr. Geist asked how many units their will be.
Mr. Feinen said around 52 units.
Mr. Strand asked what their hours of operations will be.
Mr. Feinen said all their facilities are 24/7 facilities, they will have codes for their customers to enter the facilities, fencing and there will be security cameras. He said they monitor security.
Mrs. Feinen said she monitors the cameras and when he is on her computer there are popup windows that show when someone enters the facilities, she watches for trends and can deal with the customers personally.
Mr. Strand asked if there is someone watching the cameras 24/7. He said if someone was on duty it would be less likely for someone to walk through with gas cans and store flammables in the units. He said he is just thinking of the safety of the community, and it is a residential area.
Mrs. Feinen said that is impossible.
Mr. Feinen said it is not feasible to man a storage facility 24 hours.
Mr. Strand asked if they have gotten a professional market study done. He said right now there are already about 16 facilities serving the lake a currently 6 climate-controlled facilities and a couple of them are brand new this year. He said once the buildings are converted there wouldn’t be much use for them in the future if this doesn’t work out.
Mr. Feinen said they have not. He said they are building these buildings and they are filling up as fast as they can build them.
Mr. Strand said he believes it is because of COVID and that should go away in a few years.
Mr. Feinen said they built their first facility 3 years ago prior to COVID and they are filled.
Mr. Feinen said they are willing to work with the board and the community with cosmetic details to make it fit into the area.
Mr. Goodling said it appears the zoning was created specifically for the auction business.
Mr. Lawson said he doesn’t believe they are asking to change the zoning. He said he believes they are asking to get self-storage added to the list of what can be there under the current zoning. He said they would need a use variance and would have to go to the town board. Mr. Lawson said it would be considered spot zoning.
Mr. Feinen said increased traffic would be far less at a self-storage than at any of the other businesses in the past.
Mr. Winger asked if there would be an allowance for an outside storage.
Mr. Feinen said he doubts it because its not a very big lot and it doesn’t pay. He said it also doesn’t go along with the aesthetics of the area.
Mr. Rice asked what was happening on that property now.
Mr. Wight said he is the seller, and he has had about five inquiries on that property. He said one was a church, one was a flee market and the rest were people interested in self-storage. He said having a large building like that being vacant for a long period of time could become more of a safety. Mr. Wight said he has not received one residential request for this property, and he doesn’t see anyone converting this building into a house.
Mr. Goodling asked why spot zoning wasn’t challenged in the past when it was spot zoned when they zoned it for the auction house.
Mr. Lawson said it was a whole district created not one use put into a district.
Mr. Lawson said he feels this topic warrants further discussion.
- Galehead Development-Solar Comments
Mr. Lawson said Galehead is asking if the planning board can recommend to the town board to put some sort of clause such as a special permit in the solar law to make a way put solar west of Butts Rd., he said he feels it is a good place for it. He asked Mrs. Johnson is it is something we could do.
Ms. Johnson said they have worked hard for several months on this specifically to protect the residential areas, she feels it would be backtracking on the work put in the last several months. She said it is the boards decision on how they want to move forward. She said you can change it.
Mr. Rice said he doesn’t feel that there is a reason to change it.
Ms. Johnson said she recommends the planning board to recommend to the town board to extend the moratorium to give them time to figure out what they want to do.
- MOTION
MR. GOODLING MOTIONED TO RECOMMEND TO THE TOWN BOARD TO EXTEND THE MORATORIUM ON THE SOLAR LAW. SECONDED BY MR. WARNER. YES (7) NO (0)
- Battery Energy Storage Law
Mr. McCord said the battery law is lengthy.
The Planning Board reviewed the Battery Energy Storage Law presented my Mr. McCord.
There was brief discussion on the law. The board discussed on page 14 of the law sending noticed to adjoining properties within 1000 feet 30 days prior to a hearing instead of 200 feet, and a few minor typos. The board felt the law looked good other than that.
Next regular meeting scheduled November 9, 2021, at 7:00 P.M.
- MOTION
- ON A MOTION MADE BY MR. GEIST, SECONDED BY MR. JOHNSON AND NONE BEING APPOSED, THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:30 PM
Stephanie Gibbs
Deputy Town Clerk
