Planning Board - Regular Meeting

Congratulations. I guess it's been a while.

What's the news? What are we missing?

Oh, congratulations.

Congratulations. and chugging along.

She has me work.

I think I've been lost to work on this. It's not like anything else. She has me do brown mold. I don't know. Table sawing. A lot of that. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I can tell her, but she still makes me do it. It's the first one. Yeah. It's exciting.

It's awesome. My cousin had a first birthday party for her daughter last week, and I had already committed to my pregnancy. I had a plan. And they're like, what? And I was like, I'm just going for you, but I can't go because you have a plan. It's not my problem. I'm sorry. I got this R.I.P.

to the list of innovation in April or July. So, we're going to be there. Thank you. Thank you. Some of it, when we, when we were in the summer, we had one thing in common. We had a big couch and a little bit of water. Rivers, right? And so when we just sat in the town door, and she served us. She served us. Really. She did. She did. She did. Absolutely. She did really well. So was it just...

You just don't have the consensus of .

So there was a lot of people. But how long ago was that from? Quite impressive. Oh, my God. It's not part of the course. It's very small. Yeah. Oh, it should be. Yeah. It's not saying . Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Hi, how are you? I don't think I do. Okay, okay.

That's fair enough.

It's seven letters. Seven letters? That's pretty long.

Double W. Double A. A-A-A.

A-A-A. A-A-A. A-A-A. A-A-A. A-A-A.

A-A-A.

All right, everybody. Are we good, Claire?

Welcome to the Town of Rensselaer Planning Board meeting for Thursday, July 16th, 2026. The agenda for tonight is to approve the April 16th, 2026 meeting minutes, the historical review for Terry Wendell, with historical review for George Weaver and Johanna MacArthur, and the lot line adjustment for Sunny Gu. I will now call the meeting to order. I will accept a motion to approve the meeting minutes from the April 16th meeting.

So moved.

Motion by Robert. Second. Second by Dominic. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? None. Motion carried. All right. So first on the list is the Terry Wendell historical review. This is to restore an existing knee wall along the front porch. The scope is to replace six lower front windows as well. Are you Terry? I am. Welcome. Thank you. So I will pass this around. Would you mind just giving a little bit of an overview? I know we have a I can pass around, or I can hold it.

I can hold it this way. Everyone can see. Thank you.

I can pretend I'm a game show host. So it's, oh, it's right there. So it's just replacing those six windows there as well? Correct. And then just bringing that up to code, I'm guessing, 28 inches? It's Up to... There's like a little railing there now. So removing the railing.

Well, what we're doing is taking the window boxes away, bringing the railing up higher to match the height that it actually already is. And then I am going to put window boxes behind the wall that are deeper that will take plants with longer, deeper roots. Thanks. Because these... aren't very deep and they're completely rotted. So, you know, we're trying to fix the house up before it dies.

So for this project, are you, measurements, are you proposing to use the same color siding and same material siding to bring that up?

That's there now in terms of the color of the house?

Yes.

Next summer, I'm planning on repainting the house because the house needs a paint job because it's in bad shape. But, yeah, and probably the house will be white, not gray.

Okay, but same material? Yeah, exactly, yes.

Not the vinyl or anything?

No, no, no, no, no, no. Okay.

And Tim, you've reviewed this, right?

I have. Any concerns? Kind of what was a revelation on that is you kind of think like, well, the windows in town have to be divided lights, but this Terry has provided us pictures that are a hundred years old of single over single pay. So it's historically correct to replace one over one with one over one.

Any questions from the board for THIS RENOVATION?

NO.

WHAT WAS THAT? ANY QUESTIONS ON THE RENOVATION? NO. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ALL THIS INFORMATION. I'M A LITTLE RUSTY. I'M COVERING FOR BRAD TONIGHT, SO YOU'LL HAVE TO BEAR WITH ME. IT'S FINE.

I'VE NEVER DONE IT BEFORE, SO I DON'T KNOW.

SO I WILL NOW ACCEPT A MOTION BASED ON NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. TO CLASSIFY THIS AS A TYPE 2 ACTION AND EXEMPT FROM FURTHER REVIEW. MOTION BY LAURA, SECOND BY CAROL. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? NONE? ALL RIGHT. ANDREW, COULD YOU JUST READ THE TOWN HISTORICAL APPROPRIATENESS LAW?

SURE. I'LL JUST READ THE RELEVANT SECTIONS FOR US. This is here because it's in a historic location, this board. We've done a few of these. It's been a little bit. This board has to consider the historic appropriateness of the proposed renovation. So when this board is tasked with making that determination, it's supposed to consider the properties that contribute to the character of the historic district and ensure they are retained and preserved. determine whether the alteration shall be compatible with the historic character and correct and the surrounding historic district and new construction shall be compatible with the district in which it is located. And the construction shall not have a negative impact on the physical condition of the existing historic structure. And you can consider the design character and appropriateness of the proposed project or new construction and materials used, the scale of the project, the texture of materials and their relation to other similar properties, individual harmony with other properties. And the Board can hold a public hearing if it deems it necessary. This Board has previously not held public hearings on these matters unless there were significant other factors, but it is within the Board's discretion. And if the board doesn't want any more information from the applicant, if you think you have sufficient information before you now, then you could act on this and take a vote on the certificate of appropriateness.

I'm comfortable with it. Everybody's comfortable? I am, yes. Okay. I will now accept a motion for the recent stay in the historical appropriateness town law that we approved. the appropriateness of the proposed change for the applicant to restore the existing new walls along the front porch and replace six existing lower front windows. Motion by Dominic.

Second.

Second by Robert. All in favor? Aye. Motion carried. You're all set. Great. Thank you. Nice meeting you. Nice meeting you too. It needed it.

Happy renovating.

Are you representing MacArthur as well?

I'd rather not.

Okay.

I will represent Sonny Fold, if I'm saying that right.

Okay. So we will move on to Sonny since MacArthur is not here. All right, everybody. So this is a lot line adjustment. We have two maps. I already looked at them.

Do you need a map?

I just want to get one for the other side. I'll read with you guys.

And just so the board knows, despite the applicants not being here, so Sonny Du and Michael Overmere, we do have a boundary line adjustment agreement signed and dated by both of them. They do both consent. And also Lorinda Overmere, who I'm assuming is the other owner of 7 Jonesville Road.

So here's Jonesville Road. So she's giving them this and she's taking this. It's about a fence.

There's a fence that's here. But instead of moving the fence, there's one that got a survey change. She did a triangle here and took a triangle there just to make the fence. middle of the driveway. So they just had a survey done and moved the line over there and she gave them some there, they gave them some there. That's the job. Neat and clean.

It's just so that she can have full ownership of the driveway?

Correct. So this driveway, this previous property line comes through the middle of the driveway. So they agreed to have the survey done and then she gets this triangle.

She

SONNY APOLOGIZES SHE COULDN'T BE HERE TONIGHT SHE HAD A BUSINESS MEETING SHE ASKED IF I WOULD PRESENT FOR HER AND THAT'S IT

They do not, no.

It's a way reduced burden.

Tim, how did they get that driveway there in the first place?

Because nobody, paving companies don't read surveys. They just show up and pick the driveway.

Okay.

Yeah, so this one is exempt from our normal survey rules. The counter lines aren't there, but It does have what we need in terms of showing the boundary of the two properties and who's retaining ownership of what. So are there any questions for Tim or the applicants or concerns on this? We do have all the information here. I only have one copy, so I apologize. We have the seeker, which has been filled out and all the proper applications as well as the application fee. So with that being said, I will now accept a motion that this action be classified as type two and exempt from further review. Make a motion. Motion by Laura. Second. Second by Carol. All in favor? Aye. Opposed, none. I WILL NOW ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LOT LINE AND THE LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT FOR SUNNY GU AND MICHAEL OVERMEAR. MOTION BY DOMINIC. SECOND. SECOND BY ROBERT. ALL IN FAVOR? OPPOSED NONE. MOTION CARRIED. AND WE'LL GIVE MCARTHUR TWO MINUTES UNTIL 7.15. DOES THAT WORK?

I could speak a little bit about it. There's kind of like two things. It's the application. You would like to see windows as part of the application or if it's just.

It's a handrail. Three window. According to this, I don't know. I'm having a hard time getting pictures of the windows.

The detailed description is fabricated handrail system, repair, siding and trim. Remove three windows for repair. Reinstall them as original and repair column and handrail on porch. So we do have pictures of some of the railings, correct?

but I don't think a window ever showed up.

Do you have concerns on the windows, Tim?

Yeah. So is there any other windows in there?

I'm pretty sure it's these windows that she might be replacing. And then these, this is the storefront. She's just restoring what's there. She's not doing any replacement work here, except that these are painted over, so she's going to take the paint off. So that is what it is. Nothing's really changing there. But the windows on the side of the house, I had a hard time getting the picture or something to present.

For this?

Yeah, so where's the window that's going in? That's my question.

I'm not sure.

It doesn't exist. It's not there. That's why. More information? Yeah, I think that's probably I'd like to have that here.

This is what they want to solve?

Yeah, this is what they, this is chat GBT modification. Okay. Similar.

Okay.

site. I'm working with him with the type of anchors that are going to go into the stone and how they're going to affect it. And that's what we have.

Thank you.

So, just to point out, they're talking about window replacements, but we don't know, we don't have the window materials in front of us, so it might make sense to request, will we see what they are for taking final action on it?

Yeah, I'd like more information, too, on why they're doing, yeah, the.

The railing's kind of not a, where's the house located?

Yeah.

Right next, it's Way Out Gallery. This is Alberto's building. Oh, Alberto.

This is the Way Out Gallery.

So they redid all the stairs, all the stonework over the last three years, as well as took out the sidewalk, which I want you to know. But some of the stairs, the elevation is greater than 32 inches.

So they have to have a handrail.

So this is their idea for protecting the handrail because it's too high off the ground.

Some of the pictures have like that sort of grate with the whole grid.

You want these back?

And some of the pictures look like they had where they just have a post with the wires running through them. No. Is it a mix? That's right. No, that's what we got.

This is Alberto's building. Why is the... Well, they bought it.

They are. MacArthur. MacArthur owns it and Weaver is the builder. What do you think about the round?

Oh, okay. I'd be more open to like spindles.

I'm okay with it because you can see through it. You know, a white picket railing would not look right on stone.

It could do like black metal spindles, so to make it more historically.

Or even the old fashioned where they just had a pipe going up and a pipe across, right?

I think we have to meet this four inch gap. You have to have something every four inches.

So those cables you can see through.

So either way, they meet current building code. And they do. No, I'm just saying they have to, even though it's historical. I don't know if there was any leeway with it. Anytime you put a back up, that's greater than 30. from fall protection.

That makes sense. But a spindle would still do that, right, if we went that route? What was that? A spindle would still do that. Yes, it would. OK. Space orange is a part of it. Because I know I have metal ones on my deck that look historically appropriate.

It'd probably be best if they were here.

Yeah. All right. So we will. Any more? We'll wait for them to come back. We'll ask for more information on the windows. Tim, you don't think it's these three little ones? You think it's more?

I think the windows they're going to replace are on the side of the building. They're not going to change those windows. They're just going to clean them up.

The three little ones.

The little transit windows above the storefront.

Tim thinks that they're replacing some of these. Oh. So we'll need more information.

Okay.

All right, so we will punt this one to the next meeting and hope that the applicant comes to answer some questions and we can have a discussion. I think I just asked for people to do some research on the railings. And I think there's too many options here too. Like we need to know what the proposed option is. They did say like these are AI generated, which is fine for like concepts. BUT WHICH ONE IS IT?

YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE PRESENTING IT AS WHICH ONE.

WE LIKE?

CORRECT, WHICH ONE FITS THE BILL OR... DO WE HAVE ANYTHING IN OUR ZONING STUFF ABOUT RELLINGS AND HISTORICAL?

NO, IT'S ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE TO THE PLANNING BOARD'S VIEWS. MAYBE IF YOU COULD HAVE A LITTLE MORE DISCUSSION ABOUT CABLES AND SPINDLES We can send that information to the applicant and say, we'd really like it to be A, B, or C. And then they don't have so many options to submit.

That's a truly aesthetic call. Do we get to make aesthetic decisions?

In this case, yes. Well, to the degree it's a historic certificate of appropriateness. Because you're tasked with determining does the proposed construction alteration It's a historic character. And again, these are a lot of subjective terms.

So I mean, materials would certainly be within the realm of the story.

Either they are or they're not. Yeah, and it says expressly you can consider the materials used.

I mean, so I'm more comfortable moving on materials than aesthetics. That makes sense. Yeah.

Do you know when the building was built? all right well we will um add this to the agenda for the next meeting claire could you just notify the applicant that when the next meeting is please um and i will now accept a motion to adjourn the meeting make a motion Motion by Dominic.

Second, be consistent.

Second by Carol, sorry. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? None. Motion carried.

Thank you. Did I miss anything?