Planning Board - Regular Meeting

board meeting. Would you please join us in the pledge of allegiance? Lead us off, please. to the flag of the United States of America.

I'll second. Jim, yes. Mary, yes. Zack. Yes.

And I vote yes. Means have been approved. Now we'll open the meeting to public comments. If there's anybody in the audience that would like to address the board on any active application, you can do so now. Giving nobody's approach, we'll close the public input and move on to the first agenda item. This is a continuation of a site plan for a proposed home occupation beauty enhancement space. Welcome back. So, I know that you talked to the neighbors and we got letters. Both said that they are have no issues with it whatsoever. Any additional questions from the board seeker, I'm sorry.

Yeah, sure. You're requesting no signage, right? Oh, I I wasn't planning on having one.

Appreciate that. And Neil, would you propose a motion for approval, please? One application no signal will And would somebody like to make a motion? I'll make that a motion. Do have a second. Second. Jim, yes. Mary,

yes. Zack, yes. And I vote yes. We're all set. Good luck with it. Next item. This is a first time for us for this particular project. This is a zone change recommendation. Uh this is for the property on Brutin Road. Tax map number 092-01.03.5. This is the Meltzer Court location. Good evening.

Good evening. Welcome. My name is Mark Pot. I'm with uh Emerald Development Group. Uh we are the developers coming in front of you for this project. Uh it is located um in Cisro Commons. Traditionally, I would normally have my civil engineer here, but his wife just had a baby, so uh I'm stepping in. So hopefully Hopefully I can answer all your questions. So right now it's a seven and a quarter acre parcel. We're looking to do uh family uh apartments there, multif family apartment complex there, affordable. Um we have uh as you can see on the plan here, we have on the right hand side those are federal wetlands and then on the left hand side there are state wetlands. So we're kind of in the middle there. Right across from us is the library and then across from that is another apartment complex I believe for uh the military uh vets and then down further there are some senior housing. What we're looking to do here is uh you know 68 units apartment units three stories. Um, you can see the site plan here. We originally had a uh site plan with a freestanding clubhouse, but we went back and reconsidered uh integrating that into the building uh just because of weather and this being a single building. Um there was no need to have a freestanding one. So, what we've done is uh brought it into the building itself. We're playing around with the location. Right now, we show it at the end of the building on the right hand side, but we most likely will probably move it to the center of the building. Parking on the property, we have it as a little over 1.5 as a parking ratio.

Uh traditionally for our projects throughout with New England, Virginia and New York, we've been around 1.3 to 1.5 as a ratio that we found that works well uh for the projects. So at this point right here, I think we're about a 1.53 ratio parking wise. This uh structure will have an elevator in it. It'll be wood frame. Um the our partners on it is Vesta Group. Uh they are they I want to say they got like 20,000 units uh throughout New York and other states. Uh we will be using uh Christa as our contractor, general contractor. They built the two across the street. They're well familiar with the area and requirements for that. The the building itself is three floors total. Right now it shows on the elevations that it'll have slope roof and flat roofs. We're revisiting the mechanical systems so that if we can see about getting away from the flat roofs as much as possible. So we're uh playing around with that right now. Uh the building is planned to have solar with it. We will learn probably a little bit more this coming months once the state puts out their requirements and what level of uh finishes, materials, etc. we'll have to implement to the project just a bit. All right. Just just so the board is clear, this right now is PUD. So, we're going to stay PUD, but they got to go through this process. It's a little different.

Yes. and other processes. And uh so our job is to go through a review and then make a recommendation to the town board and they have the final say on it. At this point, we'll open up the questions. Jim, so you said there's an one elevator, one elevator. Yes. One elevator, two stairs. Two stairs. Okay. How many units per floor? Um it varies because of uh mechanical rooms on the on the floors and stuff. So you got 68 all together. So you're talking about 223 minus.

Okay. Uh storm water management area on the site plan. We show it in the back right there. So what is it? A retention pond or Yes. Okay. because the site itself all slopes to the west. So, we're looking at it there. We were looking at a maybe a small one uh towards the uh federal wetlands. Um it's a small face in there just to help out, but we don't think it's necessary this time. Okay. And you said the clubhouse is going to fold into the Yes. In this design here, as you see on the site plan itself, we've added it to it. On the previous one that gentleman had up, we had a freestanding one.

And again, think of building can make sense. We felt it bringing it in as well as the weather uh for people to go across would have been not that pleasant. Okay, that's all I have for now. Right.

So, can someone just explain to me the um zone change PUD to PUD? I don't understand. Mhm. So the existing zone change when this Meltzer core was established was a P the whole site was created as a PUD. A PUD doesn't have specific guidelines like other districts like residential multif family where this would fall in. Um we can you know lean away from all of those standards that we see fit. And so they have to go through this approval process that ends up going back to the town board because it's a PUD. We don't have the authority to approve site plan with a PUD. So it's kind of like a zone change approval, but it's not. Right.

Correct. It's a little bit different. It's just to get it to go in front of the town board again. Yes. eventually

in a PUB normally that's the that's the process and just the the town board looks at it for it general acceptability it comes to the planning board who then reviews it gives preliminary recommendations to the preliminary development plans and then makes you know it gives acceptance to to the general plan and then they come back with a full development plan through a site plan application and that recommendation uh that the plan board makes goes back to the town board for them to hold a public hearing and then ultimately make a determination on the PUD when when this was the local law that was created for this PUD because there was a list of underlying uses this being one of them that are acceptable there but not knowing all what might come forward they required in that anytime any specific portion of the of the PD get developed that it come back to the town board for approval with the planning board's review and recommendation. Most PDs are not like that.

Okay, this one's a little different. It's very confusing, but I'll trust you. And they did go to the in front of the town board at their last meeting. Okay. Yes. They declared lead agency and forwarded it to us. Okay. So, we get to do all the hard work. That's right. And I think I think Tom Board likes that. I think they do, too. Okay. So, questions I had. Um, first of all, where is fire hydrants near the site? Is there going to be sprinklers or building is fully sprinklered? Fully sprinkler. Okay.

The 13 is you can go 13 or 13R. Most apartment complexes would go 13R. Uh we like to go with 13 just because uh insurance is so outrageous when you go with 13R in the long-term benefit wise it keeps the cost down u because 13R is more like a plastic versus 13 which is a steel pipe for the sprinkler system. Does that include the attic? It may it may uh if it does it there will be a wet system um I'm sorry be a dry system up there u because usually the attic itself is not insulated other than the kind of the ceiling of that top floor.

Our fire departments just so you know have made that kind of a request. It definitely you know those most likely will have some type of sprinkle system in there and depending on the depth of our floor joistices some cases we have to turn our heads up into that area as well. into this into the space below it. So even in that space where the floor joist is, it may have sprinklers, too. But that's the engineers to figure out. Hopefully. And as approved, so it will have sprinklers in the end. It will have something, that's for sure. Is there going to be a basement? No basement. No. No. Is there going to be storage for the tenant?

There are storage. Well, the units themselves have uh plenty of room inside of it, but there will be some uh areas where there will be small areas of storage for like bikes and stuff like that. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, people are going to want to have storage for things like that. Yeah. Yeah. We don't uh traditionally don't do it a lot just because it's very costly on a per square foot basis and these projects are not the easiest ones to financially make work to say the least. Okay. Well, I like the look of your rendering. Um, but that's all I had at this point. When you say rendering, check them. No, the one

the elevations right there. Yeah. Yeah.

You're good, sir. I'm all set for tonight. I look forward to your next time here. Thank you. the new plan with the building attached to it. Did that change parking at all? It changed the parking lot. Yes. Yeah. The number of spots because what you had was right on line with what was what we require in residential multif family. One one and two bedroom or two spots, threebedroom or three spots. That's correct. You had 148. And I when I went to this plan right here, I reduced it down to 1.5 where it was before was around uh two spaces. A little over two spaces per unit. So now you're short of what we require in RM.

Yes. Based on the code, local codes. That's correct. I'm not sure we would want to I know we can, but I'm not sure we want to reduce the number of parking spots that we would typically require. Yeah. In an apartment building because you moved the building attached to it.

Yeah. But again, traditionally on the at least from our projects that we've done in New England and down in Virginia, that area as well as New York, we've got 1.5 is usually the ratio that we've gone through and had worked in our projects very well. I think in this project right here, you know, we can always look at having an area set aside to accommodate that differential if need be, meaning a grass area that could be built out in the future, kind of a land bank. Well, that will definitely be a discussion point as we move forward from my perspective. Understood. You guys understand what I'm saying,

Tom? So, we would require 148 spots. How many are there now? I don't know off top of my head. It's again it's probably 1.5 times the 68. That would be quite a few less than what we would typically require. And we require that based on studies, right, Mark? Our our parking spots that we require is based on studies and what works with unit sizes.

Yeah. I can tell you one and two bedroom require two each and threebedroom require three each. It's not a code that I personally that that kind of configuration of number of spaces I've never seen that in any states that I've done or cities or towns that I've done it in. I know like in Harford I can do zero parking spaces if I want. Welcome to Cisero.

I know but I so and again a lot of a lot of the towns and cities are moving towards uh a lesser spaces more from uh environmental wise less asphalt less uh you know you know heat surfaces that come out of this. So that's part of the drive but our drive has been more what is reality what we're seeing is in that range. So, but yeah, go through it all with Yeah. And with PUB, we have some flexibility. So, we would want some statistics. I agree with the environmental part of it and less asphalt is good, but we also want the residents to have places to put their vehicles. Totally. That makes sense.

Yeah. We we don't want them parking on the street. That's for sure. So, the building before moving the clubhouse was 380 ft. Yes. Now it's longer. It's slightly longer. Big. It is. It is big. That's kind of why when we looked at the elevations, we have to one step the building back and forth, break it up. So, it doesn't appear to be a very large building. It's just a unfortunately the configuration of the property itself. It doesn't lend itself for multiple ones because of that and circulation parking. Have you looked at our design standards?

I have gone through them. my architects have gone through them. Um, obviously, you know, your preference, you know, more slope roofs. You know, we're we had to go with some flat and it's designed here because of mechanical systems uh to house them, but we're kind of looking at redesigning the mechanical system to get away from that. Are there offsets on the face facade? Yeah. I couldn't see that on the layout. It's not massive, meaning it doesn't draw it out 10 feet and come back 10 feet. It's like, you know, a couple feet here or there type thing.

Yeah, they talk about um every 60 ft incorporate a twoft depth change. Yeah, I think we did more than just every 60, but uh Good. Then there's landscaping design standards and that kind of absolutely that's all I have for now. Steve, are there going to be any vehicle charging stations in the in the parking lot?

Good question. It's like one does a local code require. Second is when the state comes out with their updated QAP that'll tell us okay we need it but we have to go through a whole sustainability study for the project and part of that is those type of things from solar to EV charges

relative to fire safety the fire department has brought up recently too about lithium ion batteries a lot of ebikes in that and in an apartment use and folks can have them I know down in New York City there's special rooms they keep them in so people don't have them in their apartments and things like that. So I don't know if that's something that you have looked at, you know, defer them to store bikes if that's the case that they're fire resistant construction, that type of thing. I I've never thought of that. It is such a big issue now with a lot of kids getting ebikes. There's been thermal runaway and the fire department's getting more and more calls for hoverboards, ebikes, something charging with the wrong charger and it just there's fires. Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. Thank you.

Great point. Thank you. Yet plans to full review concept code layout. And that you also provided a traffic study.

Uh yeah. Yeah. They they they did an initial one um because it was an overall one done for the entire complex. So really it falls very shy of you know meeting the max because of the uh size of the complex. The PUD itself is very large landwise. So they're anticipating a lot more after us that really would generate more traffic. and the state will get involved in that review. Oh, usually they do. All right. Unless you have anything else, we are good for now. I don't. So So at this point, we'll have them submit their site application based on some of the recommendations that were Yes. were discussed today. Okay.

Can I ask one more thing? This the sidewalks, it's going to be on the library side. Yes. There's anything. Is there any sidewalks that go all the way up to the trend rinks? There there aren't presently. No. No. And they incorporated. Well, Mark can just you had this discussion early on. So, he had a reason why he put it across resolution. Yeah. I put it on the other side of the street, the sidewalk, not basically not on our side because if I put it on our side, it then gets into wetlands and wetland buffer areas, which that will just, you know, slow down the project tremendously. and put it on this side. It connects up to the other development on the other other side. So, I think it'll get more use at the end of the day.

I think people would go up because there's a gym up there, right? Well, that's way down. That's that's way down. Yeah. They're going to work out. Yeah. They'll walk it. They'll run there. So, yeah. All right. That's all. Thanks. Yep. Any questions or comments from the team? We have a motion to adjurnn. I'll make a motion to adjurnn. Do we have a second? I'll second the motion. Meeting is adjourned. Good night everybody.