Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

How you doing? Good. How are you? Good. I'll see you in like a half hour. Yeah, pretty much. How are you? How are you? Hello, everybody. I want to call this meeting to order on Tuesday, May 27th, 2025. Um, for all you folks that are here, I hope you signed in when you came in. Uh if you're going to come forward to speak, um you speak loud enough off to the platform. Um if anybody's going to give any testimony, uh we have two cases tonight. Uh at this time, if you'd please stand and raise your right hand to swear in. You can swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Say, "I do." I do. I do. Thank you. Um we have a little housekeeping here before we start. uh for the meeting of 225 2025. Do I have an approval of the minutes? I move we approve. Second. All in favor? I um first up we have uh protective indust industries on a variance request for expansion on leg legal non-conforming use pertain to max another one for pertaining to maximum parking spaces in the front of development. This is case number 20250113. President, [Music] please state your name, name, and address. Sure. I am Steve Copac with David Lared Associates. My address is 1557 West 26th Street. I'm here with Jim Highwolf Cap Plugs uh representing this request for a variance for the uh parking in the front of the building and the expansion of a non-conforming use. Uh we're looking to expand this uh formerly Niagara Plastics now cap plug soi is looking to

put on about an 82,000 ft building edition which will become primarily warehouse uh and it'll be located as shown here on this drawing. uh it was an existing Niagara Plastics prior to this, prior to your change of your zoning ordinance or reszoning of this portion of the property. So, we're looking to expand on a non-conforming use uh that part of the project. And then in addition to that, our second variance request would be to add those 64 parking spaces to the front of the building or the east side of the building. Uh we're trying to get some additional parking on there. And if you look kind of to the south there, there's a bunch of wetland area along the drive that would go around the building. Uh it just makes it very difficult for us to put any parking in that area. And then in the rear of the building will be some loading docks, not in the kind of the concrete hatched area. There's four loading docks that aren't depicted by tractor trailers parked there, but there'll be some loading and unloading that takes place back there. So, it just makes it kind of difficult for us to put the parking in another location and and still utilize this from having to run in and out to go take the materials off site to store them, then bring them back and package them and take them out. So, this will reduce the number of trucks you would see on the on the roads due to that fact. So, they're going to be bringing it to the warehouse. The warehouse is attached now. Before they were running it from here to their warehouse on 18 to their is it 18th Street somewhere off site? Uh, yes. So, this this hopes to reduce that back and forth and keep

everything in their existing facility. Nine tickets road comes down this side. Uh it's if you were to go across 99 goes like this to an intersection then you come down and over. Yeah. It kind of kind of makes a big curve back in. So the trucks are going to be coming around this side to go in here to get the warehouse. That's how they currently do it when the drive going around. You'll come in off the front and be able to go hit the dock there or come in the other way. So you'll load out at the front on the old existing building here. There's some loading there, but this new loading is in the rear. That road that drives around is how you'll get to the back of the building. Instead of having to go down and around Zook and come into the back of the building, you'll use our driveway. So, you only have to get on the property and and drive around the building. So, this this this right side driveway is not there yet. Correct. All that is proposed. That's the gray is a proposed asphalt in the building is that the proposed warehouse. So, you're going to have docks along this side of the warehouse. No, that's to drive around to get you to the back where that concrete is. Oh, this drive right here from Yeah, that Yeah, if I can use your pointer for a second. Yeah, if you're using kind of Oh, I guess there was one up there. Yeah. So, this is the concrete apron. The loading docks are right in here. They'll back in. They'll come around this driveway down here. They get oriented and back into these loading docks and they can lead via out this way. There's a road that's already there or back out the way they came. So does does that come all the way down around the side here? Z is over here and drop. Do you guys make a drive to Z or you already have right now is how they already do it? Yes, the Z drive is already there. That exists currently. This is so you can get access like this instead of having to go all the way over down and up the drive. Uh question. You you talked about the reduction in

trucks. The trucks won't we won't need. Right now there's a loading docks in this area and they load a truck up and then they they leave and take it to their offsite warehousing. The warehouse has been shipped a year now. Okay. I understand the stuff is here now. You got to take it somewhere else when you sell it or something. Right. So how many more trucks are going to be taking stuff out not to a warehouse but wherever you deliver it to? I would have to ask. It's going to be a net neutral. Net neutral. Right now we're running about four or five trucks a day out of that location to the remote warehouse. So instead of your trucks going to the hall in the other warehouse, they're going to go directly to the consumer, right? No. So that's the truck is like you said is kind of used. Okay. Um are you going to increase the hours of operation? This does have a residential area close to it. Are you going right now? Right now we run 20 24/7. 24/7. Right now the plant is running 24/7. What does it run now? 247. Does it? Right now it runs 24. Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. We also have a formal land development plan, storm water management plan, NPDS permit. All that's kind of in the works. So once we have acquired this everything will security lighting stuff. We have light staying within your property. Yep. We have a lighting plan that's shows the photometrics. Everything is uh Mr. Jonas has already reviewed my storm water plan, gave me a few comments, but nothing that we can't take care of and we'll bring to the land development plan. And did you ever the wetland? We did. We did not. That little red hatched area, we are going Yeah, we're we obtained a GP permit for a wetland crossing via the driveway. We didn't mitigate. We with the GP permit.

You're allowed to do that for the drive. Just pipe for the drive. How are you do that? Just have the drive going across it. You're also only allowed so much impact under that permit. So that's why it kind of is tight in that corner. You can only impact so much. So the building started out when I first met Mr. It was larger building, but we had to shift it because of the presence of the wetlands and made it a little smaller and reconfigured it a little bit. Does this increase your uh your employee base or basically the same just change warehouse? It's uh we're going to increase by a few employees but nothing substantial about the parking. Well, I think we'll take a moment. Okay. Okay. Let's talk about the parking now. Sure. Uh cuz the 10% on the front is, you know, kind of what we requesting. You were asking for variance for the 60% to the 10. Um how are we on parking for customers andor employees or do we just have employees more than customers? Uh more employees than customers, but you do have some customers. I'm sorry. I got to come a little closer. Definitely. State your name and address. Oh, uh, Jim Higgel. Uh, 2150 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York. Thank you, Mr. Hel. How do you spell your name? H E I G L. And so in the parking lot, we end up with 154 proposed spots. Okay. Y um that's

adequate for what you're doing. Yes. Yes. And the reason we're moving more to the front to the back is because the warehouse is kind of taking over part of that area. The wetlands, the um air in needed for water retention on the backside. We can't touch that. So, um, the front is really the primary space that's available. Do you know how many spots are there today? I don't have the exact number. It's on the land development plan and I wrote everything down except that I'm not looking for I think it was 80 I want to say 80 something and then we took the 80 and added some odd to it. So there was 90 and we're adding 64. Okay. Yeah. And they're all going to be here. That's correct. Yeah. And that distance between that and the road is roughly. I assume it's the same distance that it was originally. Uh it's actually closer on the other. The rest of it is the rest of it paved all the way out to the road. the whole most of the front is paved to the road. So I would say we're 30 to 40 feet if not more than that. 30 40 ft is probably line. I can scale up here and get you an exact. [Applause] [Applause] So you want from the road or you want from the property line from the from the property line I'm 40T from the pavement I'm 45 45 ft and okay 50 call 50

and your uh your parking in your lot is not going to choke up your trucks coming in to use that drive pretty much there's enough room in the swing to make that all happen. Yeah, we bring the template and that's why if you look at the corner, the corner is bulbed out a little bit to go around that corner of the building. Yeah, that's to swing the truck around the corner of the building. We had a little bit different configuration of an entrance, but if you look out on 99, uh there's a bunch of telephone poles and other utilities in the way and the grade we could it it just didn't it wasn't working. There's a property boundary right on that edge there as well. So, [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I think we're good. Is there anybody else in the audience that wants to speak? Uh, do I have a motion from the board on the expansion of the law non legal non-conforming use to expand the building? A motion for that. I make a motion to accept the request for variance. I'll second. All in favor? I I thank you. Okay. Then uh the second one, the variance on the maximum percentage of parking spaces of front of the development. Um do I have a motion for that? I make a motion that we also accept that request for variance. Second. All in favor? I I Thank you. Thank you. Take care. Thank you, John. Thank you. Next up, we have uh EA equipment sales and service Dennis and Lois Wire at 9771 Peak Street for a minimum front

yard setback from the center line of the road for a sign. I believe it's a case number is 20250114. I come forward to present. Well, I'm giving you guys that signed is what we're proposing for it to look like. Yeah. Mhm. Sir, please state your name and address. Uh Brian Dwire. It is 9504 Old Waterford Road. Okay, Brian, we're up. Okay, we're looking to, as I showed you that sign, we're looking to just mirror kind of what we got um for Dwire Plumbing there. We we don't want to put it back 125 ft, which is what your guys' zoning is now. We want to try to keep them so they're all up by the road and you can see the sign cuz the sign ain't that big. Um I know Kia and all them up the road there, they got to be back. They're off 125 ft. But if we do that, it's going to be in the building uh where where it is now. So, and it's going to go where the stars at in front of that building. Um, it's going to go down. It's going to be next property line over more more north. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right up in there. Right. That area. Yeah. That that area there. Do you own that next property? Yes, he Well, he owns it. Yeah. Corporation. Yeah. I'm I'm talking the one that's north of that star. Yes. Yeah. He owns that lot

and then the lot where the star is. So there's actually three lots of record there. Yes. With the plumbing shop, the new um rental shop and then Yes. Down the road. Yep. Yep. Where that house where the house is where star is a house is no longer there. We demolish that. Yeah. I I think we understand your your issue with the sign looking back cuz we've had various issues up on 19 with new dealerships that went in and required go into new businesses in that area. That's why 125. Um if that house isn't there, why wouldn't you put it on that lot? This sign um why didn't you want to put it there? House isn't there yet? I know that's what I'm saying. Yeah, the house the house isn't there. I mean, we we could I guess it doesn't it doesn't really matter. Where's the business? I mean, it's here. The business is in in the the building behind the house there in the center. Yep. Yeah. Okay. And then they do service work over there in the uh pool bar or the block building. That house would be there. I mean Yeah, that that's all open right now. This is where the equipment's parked right now. Yeah, right now. Yeah, it's all sitting right there. What's your plan on getting the equipment off the front of the road yet? It's pretty tight to the road. Back it off. Is there a a land development for that? this operation. I know you're coming for the sign, but yeah, when we look at the sign being out there, there's more issues with equipment parking and pulling in and out for sight lines than there is the sign itself. [Music] Yeah, cuz I don't know where you're coming in right now for the Seems like the equipment's all right here. Yeah, it's there's a there's also a driveway coming on the north property that goes down and and comes around the backside. No, other go over north one more piece. Yeah. Right. Right. It goes right down that pine tree road over north. Oh, okay. It'd be it'd be it'd be more to

your left there. There's a driveway comes in, comes around the back side. It comes down in here and comes into here. Yes. That's all that's all open lot. side houses. That would take care take care of your problem too. You wouldn't be able to put all the equipment. Oh, that's I guess that's a question. So, I guess when people are accessing this new business, are they coming through these driveways here or they're coming down in here and coming this way? Um, it's kind of a mixture depending on which way they're coming. Some of them are coming and going in that way and then some of them are coming in that farther driveway. They can actually come in this way and go back this way. Yep. Or they can come in from the the more northern driveway towards Summit Auto and come in and come around. So, what's that one sign there on the right side of that? This is for the plumbing. Yeah, it's a plumbing sign there. Yeah, that one makes sense. I guess there's a question for Tam on this. This sign here is on this lot of record. Shouldn't this sign be on this lot of record and each sign should be on each lot of record rather than like Chuck is talking about putting it over on this lot which is another lot of record. So I was when we were discussing this um I was told that this equipment sales was an accessory to the existing business and they were going to utilize the existing office that's there. Um is this the office? Yes. Yes. Okay. So the equipment was going to be an accessory. Um he was not I was told that he was not going to utilize the northern lot um because this is going to be an accessory sales to what he already does. Um excavating excavating

sales accessory to what is already happening there on that lot. We do have a land development plan for the existing buildings um that are you know obviously currently there uh and for those uses now for an accessory building. He does not have a building for the equipment. It's just an accessory use that he's using for the wire excavating. So there's unless something has changed. I was not aware of with the northern lot there. So the accessory use is fine to use that as a lock for the sales but you don't identify as a separate business. It it is a sep it is a separate business in a sense and it's all they're the same ownersh when you cut like when you come down new motors you got the three different they're each for the ocean. Understood. That's kind of what's happening here. You got each each one of them is a their own entity, but they're all together, especially since they're using that one building for the office space, but I would think that they'd have to have both of those within that property. I agree with you. And that that's a township question on on the signage for each lot record. is that what we've done in the past where they're always they're always even though it's a different business is on let's go back to new motors right so I'm trying to see where that sign is on the well this sign is like right here this is for the plumbing so if you put one on this you have two signs on one lot of record they have two businesses on one lot of record which is fine right it can't go on the other lot right it has to go it can't go on that north lot the township ship's ordinance requires that the advertising

occur on the lot in which the business is located. Okay. And that that clears my thoughts as a fact is this is another lot. Yep. So, it's got to go on where the house was. It's got to be on the the house lot. Okay. Correct. So, we don't allow any offsite advertising and that would be if you moved it over the other piece, it'd be offsite unless unless you combine lots. So, you would have to put them put them in one piece, right? You could do that. But if you're going to keep it split, it has to be on the lot in which the business is located. Okay. That that not the senior center. Senior center. We're not the right place. The logic of that is that there's heavy traffic on Peach Street. So a lot of eyes so people could use their property for advertising other businesses or other locations or other things. Right. Summit does not allow that. Only advertise the business on the lot in which it's located. So So it needs to be on the house lot then to the as you're looking at to the right of that yellow line. Okay. Right where you tore the house down right in there. Or it could be on this little pad right here. I believe I think you want it more equipment right here. I mean that's Yeah. As long as it's on as long as it's on that piece of property that's fine. Correct. Okay. Let's talk about the sign and the sight lines and how far it's going to be back. So, well, the sign itself, you're reading all the requirements with the 107, right? Yes. And 48 square ft is as big as it can be, right? Yeah. Cuz we we had to deal with all that with the Dwire plumbing sign, the same. So, you're basically being in line with the Dwire plumbing sign. Yes. at least that yes that's that that was our plan. We were we were going to align

them with each other which is obviously at that point when you do that everything's going to be shifted back 10 or so feet for the sign. Okay. I think we're done with anybody uh want to give any testimony or any ask any questions from I think anybody else was sworn in. Okay. Um, do I have a motion from the board on the variance for the signed placement? Uh, make a motion to accept the request as presented. I have a second. All in favor? I I thank you. Motion I rejourn. Second favor. I I home association meeting was here in the first one. [Music]