TOWN
OF WALLKILL PLANNING BOARD
MEETING
OCTOBER
1, 2003
MEMBERS PRESENT: G. Lake, R. Carr, A. Dulgarian, T. Hamilton,
G. Luenzmann, G. Monaco, P. Owen
MEMBERS
ABSENT: None
OTHERS
PRESENT: G. Barone, D. McGoey
1. PUBLIC HEARING 7:30 P.M. - GREEN - 9 LOT SUBDIVISION -
Bendlin Lane (32-1-16.1) #107-002
G.
Lake: Public Hearing started at 7:35 P.M. M. Hunt read the
Public Hearing notice.
M.
Hunt: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a PUBLIC HEARING of the
Planning Board of the Town of Wallkill, Orange County, New
York, will be held at the Town Hall at 600 Route 211 East,
in said Town, on the 1st day of October, 2003 at 7:30 P.M.
or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard that day
on the application of Ernest Green for approval of a nine
lot residential subdivision, located on the North end of Bendlin
Lane, under Article 111, Section 2A, of the Subdivision Law
of the Town of Wallkill. All parties will be heard at said
time and place. S/Gary Lake, Chairman
D.
Yanosh: I am the surveyor for the project.
G.
Lake: Do you want to give us a description of what you want
to do?
D.
Yanosh: This is different from the Public Hearing notice.
It is a nine lot subdivision, almost to the end of Bendlin
Lane with a proposed road fifty feet wide going in. Each lot
will be around 1.4 acres, 2 acres, 2 acres. We meet the minimum
lot width of two hundred feet. The engineer has done all the
percolation and septic designs for each of the lots. They
will be single family homes with individual wells and septics.
The only thing that probably has to be discussed tonight probably
is whether or not we need curbs for the road. The detail hasn’t
been done yet because I wanted to make sure whether or not
they would be required.
G.
Lake: Let me go through the Board.
A. Dulgarian: Nothing at this time.
P.
Owen: Nothing right now.
R.
Carr: Nothing right now.
G.
Luenzmann: Nothing right now.
G.
Monaco: Nothing at this time.
T.
Hamilton: After the public.
G.
Lake: Is there anybody who wishes to comment on this application?
M.
Tomesheski: From what we’ve seen, we spoke to Mr. Bendlin.
We have no problem with the development. Our problem is the
road, Bendlin Lane itself. It’s a real narrow road and
from what I understand a fifty foot road is going to go into
this cul-de-sac, is that what the gentleman said?
D.
Yanosh: It is a fifty foot right-of-way, with thirty feet.
M.
Tomesheski: So, the road itself will be thirty feet?
D.
Yanosh: Yes.
M.
Tomesheski: In the front of my house is nineteen. As you go
up the road it goes from fourteen to twelve and then it goes
out a little bit more. That would be my only question. How
you could safely, because even if you widen the road you’re
probably going to take some of our frontage. My concern is
the road going to be wide enough. How can you have a smaller
road going into a bigger road. That’s my only question.
A.
Dulgarian: How much setback do you have now from your front
yard?
M.
Tomesheski: I would say it’s twenty seven feet from
the middle of the road back, the right-of-way.
A.
Dulgarian: What do you have now?
M. Tomesheski: I have about twenty five to thirty feet.
A
Dulgarian: From your front of the house?
M.
Tomesheski: Right.
A.
Dulgarian: To the edge of the road?
M.
Tomesheski: Yes, maybe a little bit more but not much more.
Will this problem with Bendlin Lane be resolved prior to this
being approved?
G.
Lake: Yes. We will between now and final approval, yes once
we get together with our Engineer again and the Highway Superintendent.
The decisions will be made once everyone has gone through
it. The Public Hearing is basically to get this type of information
from the residents that are out there, things that we might
has missed or something that isn’t there. We take the
information and then we will get back to the applicant.
F.
Danas: I also know Mr. Green. The home that I live in right
now I bought from Mr. Green. I’m questioning, I guess
#1along with Mr. & Mrs. Tomesheski’s, that after
the Town, etc. get to review how they’re going to loop
the road, do we have a right to voice or see how things are
done because the tax maps that are on record right now, several
of them don’t even show Bendlin Lane. We had problems
a year before with someone who wanted to build on the road
and no one could even tell where Bendlin Lane comes in. These
safety issues we’re talking about, you can’t visibly
see on his particular map. It’s very difficult for you
to be able to see what we’re referring to. The other
question that I had was, I thought that it was all zoned for
two acre minimum building lots. Nine of the eleven proposed
lots here are under two acres, six of which are under an acre
and a half. I’m just asking because I thought the code
had gone to two acre minimum zoning.
G.
Lake: The change in the zoning was not in all areas. There
has been some up-zoning.
F.
Danas: Because when I called today and just asked what were
the acreage if I bought land in Howells under RA and the person
who answered the telephone told me two acres today.
D.
Yanosh: I will get into that. We had this submittal before
the Planning Board prior before the changes in the zone. This
subdivision was in front of the Board before they raised the
zoning to two acres.
F. Danas: When did the zoning go up to two acres?
G.
Barone: It was changed November 27, 2002.
F.
Danas: And when did this first come to them?
D.
Yanosh: We probably had the application for the subdivision
in during October, 2002.
F.
Danas: When I purchased my home from Mr. Green and I brought
my survey with me, he had to give me .11 because there was
a property issue line. The safety of the road is what we’re
all concerned about. Where Bendlin Lane comes in is where
there used to be a Town right-of-way and there as an old railroad
trestle bed. The curve for the Minisink School District has
been a nightmare for trying to even get children off that
end of the road. We would like to know about the possibility
of the entrance road into this cul-de-sac. We’re happy
to have neighbors and looking for more kids to play with be
moved through the old Town right-of-way that went onto Howells
Road that would make it safe for everybody and not even has
access down the other end any more because it’s incredibly
unsafe to make even the turn coming from either direction.
Looking down the road for the Town and obviously beautiful
homes are going to go in with children, you’re talking
for down the road and what needs to be done within this area
that hasn’t needed to be addressed before now. Why make
a change now when the district is not even going to let you,
they’re not going to have a way to get these kids. If
they went off the old Town right-of-way off of Howells Road,
it’s a very safe area versus again this railroad trestle
that I’m sure nobody wants to pay the money to have
to take down.
L.
Hayes: I live in the first house on Bendlin Lane. I’m
here in support of my neighbors. I don’t have any children
but there’s two blind curves on the road that we live
on and that’s where the cul-de-sac is going to be put
in. My concerns are they I am an avid runner and a biker and
I myself have had some close calls with cars in that area
just with who lives there now with the houses that we have
in that area. The safety is a big concern for me.
J.
Bendlin: How did you determine the lot sizes? What is by the
percolation tests and how do you decide what type of septic
systems to put in? Who is to be responsible down the road
after these homes are in if our wells become contaminated?
C. Bendlin: I also have a concern about the road. We’re
the last house on Bendlin Lane. We have two children. I have
to drive my daughter to the school bus at the end of the lane
because of the blind curve. That is a very dangerous curve.
With just the five or six homes that are there now, it’s
an accident waiting to happen. It needs to be corrected even
before Mr. Green goes ahead with this. I’ve called twice
to see if I can have a sign put up that says “Slow -
Children Here - Dangerous Curve” which hasn’t
occurred. We really need somebody to look at this issue. It’s
unsafe and the gentleman that owns the property on either
side doesn’t keep the lawn mowed. I have to keep calling
the Town asking to send people out to mow the lawn because
besides the blind curve you can’t even see a car coming
down at all. This is really a big issue.
G.
Lake: Mr. Yanosh, do you want to answer these questions now?
D.
Yanosh: The only thing I can say is the lot size was determined
by the soils. As I said, this application has been before
the Board for almost a year. We did come in before they changed
the zoning. The size of the lots since the soils are 40B soils
is 1.4 acres for a minimum lot size. The percolation and deep
tests were done on the lots to design the size of the septic
systems for each individual home. The issue with the wells,
this project has to go before the Orange County Health Department
for their approval of the septic system design and the well
construction. Mr. Green is going to be mandated to drill one
or two wells on the property where the proposed wells would
be. They will have to run some tests on the wells and do a
draw down to make sure we’re not going to affect anybody’s
wells in the area. That’s a new law for a about a year
or so. Those items will be addressed as we go along. The safety
issues, I don’t know too much about it. I don’t
live there. I know it is a small road going in. It is an existing
Town road. I don’t know what the Town would do to widen
it for the people even if we didn’t do it that way.
I know it’s a small road and you can’t go too
fast on the road. I don’t have an answer on the width.
G.
Lake: I think what we’re going to have to do on that
between now and the time you come back is get together with
the Highway Superintendent. I don’t know if he has any
comments.
D.
McGoey: He has the location at the intersection of Bendlin
Lane be looked at for further studies.
G.
Lake: We will have to work with the Highway Superintendent
on that issue.
MOTION
to close this PUBLIC HEARING at 7:49 P.M. made by R. Carr
and seconded by G. Monaco.
A.
Dulgarian: Aye
P. Owen: Aye
R.
Carr: Aye
T.
Hamilton: Aye
G.
Monaco: Aye
G.
Luenzmann: Aye
G.
Lake: Aye
MOTION
CARRIED. 7 AYES
G.
Lake: Dick’s comments?
D.
Yanosh: Right.
G.
Lake: Do you want to go through them quickly, please?
D.
Yanosh: We didn’t know whether to do curbs or not on
the road. It’s a rural area. We weren’t too sure
if we would be into curbs or just swales on the property.
That’s why we didn’t include that. He has a right-of-way.
The site distance on Bendlin Lane, we have no problem. Septic
systems, that all has to go to Eustance & Horowitz.
D.
McGoey: It should be shown on the Preliminary plan. There
aren’t any details, elevations. All the details should
be on the Preliminary plan. Before these are stamped, they’ve
got to be in an acceptable Health Department format.
G.
Lake: Mr. McGoey does this go to Eustance & Horowitz or
the Health Department?
D.
McGoey: The Health Department.
G.
Lake: The whole thing goes to the Health Department.
D. Yanosh: Right. The lighting and drainage district, I guess
that’s something that the Town. We have to petition
them. I don’t know whether they want them or not. Public
improvements we know have to be done like a normal subdivision.
Also we have to get in touch with the Highway Superintendent.
G.
Lake: Mr. McGoey, do you have something?
D.
McGoey: I just want to get a feeling on curbs.
G.
Lake: I think the Highway Superintendent kind of likes curbs.
It’s pretty flat in the area. I think it will be a good
idea.
A.
Dulgarian: Nothing.
P.
Owen: I agree on the curbs. I think the big issue is the road.
R.
Carr: The smallest lot size?
D.
Yanosh: 1.4 acres is the minimum.
G.
Lake: But you meet the frontage?
D.
Yanosh: Right.
R.
Carr: Do you have a place for water retention?
D.
Yanosh: We do have an area behind lot #1 and in the back of
lot #6. There isn’t much road. Some of the drainage
as you can see goes to the back of lot #6 and lot #7 and we
do have a drainage that goes across through Bendlin Lane out
towards Howells Road. We will use that area there for our
storm management.
G.
Luenzmann: I think the main issue is the road regarding the
width and also the line of sight. I would depend on our Engineer
and the Highway Superintendent to come up with some suggestions
on that. As far as the septics are concerned I’m sure
that Eustance & Horowitz will take care of that.
D.
Yanosh: No. The Health Department.
G.
Monaco: Those are the two issues I’m concerned with
regarding the road.
T. Hamilton: I echo on the curbing. I’m just amazed
that this application was in last October but we haven’t
had any input from the Highway Superintendent. I’m just
amazed that we haven’t received any input.
A.
Dulgarian: This was in between two different superintendents.
G.
Lake: This is just here for the Public Hearing this evening.
We know we have more work on it. I think we concur with some
of the concerns. The big issue is obviously the road. I think
the hardest part about that is keeping the rural nature without
destroying. Maybe he can come up with signage or have better
ideas than we have. Mr. McGoey do you have anything else on
this?
D.
Yanosh: I would like to hopefully receive Preliminary to send
to the Health Department.
The Health Department takes a long time.
D.
McGoey: You have to get the map in proper form before we can
do that.
G.
Lake: As far as this application goes, you have ten days if
anybody wants to do a written comment in case you remember
something after the Planning Board. You can send it in to
the Planning Board office.
MOTION
to TABLE this application for further review made by R. Carr
and seconded by G. Luenzmann.
A.
Dulgarian: Aye
P.
Owen: Aye
R.
Carr: Aye
T.
Hamilton: Aye
G.
Monaco: Aye
G.
Luenzmann: Aye
G.
Lake: Aye
MOTION CARRIED. 7 AYES
2. PUBLIC HEARING 7:35 P.M. - ZEFFIRO - ZONE CHANGE - MI to
RA - Stony Ford Road (69-1-39.22)
G.
Lake: This is a Public Informational Hearing for a zone change.
N.
Zeffiro: I’m here to represent my mother. She wants
the zone change so you can put her house up on Stony Ford
Road. She’s had the property there for thirty eight
years.
G.
Lake: Do you have the mailing and the . . .
N.
Zeffiro: Yes.
G.
Lake: Yes, but did you put it in the paper?
N.
Zeffiro: No. Nobody told us to do that.
G.
Lake: Then we can’t act on anything tonight.
T.
Hamilton: Wait a minute. This is an informational hearing.
G.
Lake: Mr. Barone, informational hearing on a zone change?
Does the applicant put that in the paper or do we normally
do that?
G.
Barbone: I don’t know if you distinguish one from the
other.
N.
Zeffiro: We called, and we would have done it if someone had
told us.
G.
Barone: I don’t know what the normal practice is.
G.
Lake: You are asking for spot zoning. Mr. Barbone, I think
we have normally done that.
G.
Barone: Okay.
