Planning Board of the Village of Aurora
Aurora, New York 13026

Draft Minutes
Regular Monthly Meeting, June 9, 2010

Present:  Board Chair Nancy Gil, Pat Bianconi, Frank Zimdahl, Alan Connors and Ann Balloni.
Also Present:  Village Clerk Dee Nance, Deborah Brooks, David Brooks, Dr. Robert Arleo, Margaret Haring and Todd Zwigard.

Gil opened the monthly meeting at 7:00 PM and presented the May 12, 2010 minutes to the board.  A motion of acceptance was made by Connors; seconded by Bianconi.  Motion carried 4:0 with Balloni abstaining because she was not present at the May meeting.  

Announcements – Gil announced that Laura Holland has withdrawn Application #10-08 from consideration at the June meeting, but will return to the Planning Board in July. 

Gil announced that representatives from the New York State Department of Transportation will be holding a “town hall meeting” at the Aurora Inn from 12:00 to 2:00 PM, June 10th to address residents’ concerns regarding heavy truck traffic through the village along State Route 90.

Gil welcomed Ann Balloni to the Planning Board.  Balloni will replace Bill Maloney who resigned with two years remaining in his term.
 
Old Business – Application #10-02 from Dr. Robert Arleo for an addition, remodeling, landscaping and grading at 281 Main Street.  Arleo presented his blueprints to the board, which included the north side elevation requested by the Planning Board at their May meeting.  The board reviewed the plans and consulted Section 902 of the Village Zoning Law, titled, “General Site Plan Criteria”.  Each of the ten criteria was examined and it was determined by the board that all applicable criteria had been met.  The board turned their attention to the application, and finding it in order, they instructed Arleo to complete a short-form SEQR.  Further discussion was tabled until the end of the meeting.

New Business – Application #10-09 from Margaret Haring for front porch, mudroom and backyard screened-in porch additions and removal of an existing chimney at 16 Cherry Avenue.  Todd Zwigard, architect for Ms. Haring, presented the blueprints to the board.  They discussed removal of the existing entrance canopies.  These canopies are not original to the house. They will be removed to create the new porch entrances. It was noted that the chimney is not functional and is also not original to the house.  The interior staircase will be relocated because it currently cuts through the center of the living space.  Zwigard noted that the front porch will violate the zoning setback, so he and his client understand that their plan will require a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Finding the application in order and a Certificate of Appropriateness on file, Gil asked for a motion to approve Application #10-09 as submitted, contingent upon approval of the ZBA for a variance from the front setback rule described in Section 503 – Table 2 of the Village Zoning Law.  A motion of acceptance was made by Bianconi; seconded by Connors.  Motion carried 5:0.

Gil requested that Zwigard complete a short-form SEQR for Haring.

The board reviewed Arleo’s short-form SEQR for Application #10-02.  A motion declaring the Planning Board Lead Agency on the SEQR review was made by Zimdahl; seconded by Balloni.  Motion carried 5:0.  

Upon completion of the SEQR review, a motion to approve Application #10-02 as submitted, was made by Zimdahl; seconded by Bianconi.  Motion carried 5:0.

The board turned their attention back to Application #10-09.  A motion declaring the Planning Board Lead Agency on the SEQR review was made by Bianconi; seconded by Zimdahl.  Motion carried 5:0.  The short form SEQR review was completed.

Announcements - Gil announced that the next meeting of the Planning Board will be a joint meeting with the Community Preservation Panel on July 7th at 7 PM to consider demolition of the old train platform at 281 Main Street.

The next regular meeting of the Planning Board will be July 14th at 7 PM.

Gil instructed her board to have a look at the Holland’s driveway prior to the July 14th meeting in preparation for Application #10-08.  There was a lengthy discussion of the proposal and whether or not it would need to go before the ZBA.  Clerk Nance pointed out that the Hollands made it quite clear at the CPP meeting that they are applying for a “driveway extension” to be used as a “turnaround” and not for parking.  Nance explained that Code Enforcement Officer, Mick Piechuta had marked the file, indicating that it should go to ZBA on the false assumption that they were applying for a parking area that would violate the front yard parking rule, and thus require a variance.  Discussion ensued.
The board considered the possibility that a variance would still be required due to the lack of appropriate setback from the Masonic Lodge.

After considerable discussion, Gil and the board reached the consensus that a driveway is not a structure as defined in Section 201.85 of the Village Zoning Law, and therefore is not subject to the ten-foot setback rule.  They also agreed that it was not necessary for the Planning Board to see Application #10-08. 

Connors moved that, since Application #10-08 has received CPP approval, and because it has been determined that Planning Board approval is not necessary, the applicant, Laura Holland, may move forward with her driveway extension plans; seconded by Zimdahl.  Motion carried 5:0.

Gil said that she would contact Ms. Holland by e-mail and copy Clerk Nance on the e-mail so a copy could be placed in the file.

A motion for adjournment was made by Connors; seconded by Balloni.  The motion carried 5:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Dee Nance
Village Clerk