September 10, 2018 Planning Board Meeting Page

Transcription

1 September 10, 2018 Planning Board Meeting Page Chairperson Bavis called the regular meeting of the Planning Board to order at 7:30PM. Members present were Chairperson Gene Bavis, Lou Villanova, Elaine Leasure, Rick Johnson, and Dennis Landry. Also present were Norm Druschel, Building Inspector; and Phil Williamson, Code Enforcement Officer. Marlene Hall, Alternate; and Michael Simon, Engineer for the Town (LaBella Engineering) were absent from the meeting. Chairperson Bavis asked the Board if there were any corrections that needed to be made regarding the minutes of August 13, There were no issues brought forward. Rick Johnson made a motion, seconded by Elaine Leasure, to accept the minutes of the August meeting as written. All members were in favor. Motion carried. Chairperson Bavis addressed the second item on the Agenda: 2. Recertification of Site Plan for the Spring Valley Subdivision at property located at 4934 Route 350, Town of Walworth, and County of Wayne. Property is zoned RR1-Rurual Residential 1. Chairperson Bavis read a letter from Donald Lewis, Jr., PE of A.E.Y. Engineering dated August 14, 2018: Please let this serve as the request for extension of the current site plan approval issued by the Town of Walworth Planning Board for Lot #1 of the Spring Valley Subdivision plan design for the owner, Hugh Wilmot. The plan has not been altered and still adheres to the current agency requirements that were on the approved plans. Ms. Leasure asked if this is the first extension on this plan. Mr. Johnson said this is the first extension. Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any comments from the Board. There were no issues brought forward. Ms. Leasure made a motion, seconded by Mr. Landry, to approve a 1 year extension of the Site Plan for the Spring Valley Subdivision at property located at 4934 Route 350. Roll Vote: Chairperson Bavis Rick Johnson Elaine Leasure Lou Villanova Dennis Landry Motion carried. Chairperson Bavis addressed the first item on the Agenda: 1. Application of Josette Montebella for Home Occupation-Major Category B to operate a dog kennel and training facility at 420 Haley Road. Property is zoned RR1-Rural Residential 1. (Public Hearing) Chairperson Bavis opened the public hearing at 7:34PM. Chairperson Bavis read the Walworth Town Code (B): The intent of the Home Occupation Law: It is the intent of this chapter to allow a variety of business pursuits as permitted uses in residential districts while recognizing the substantial governmental goal of preserving and maintaining the residential atmosphere, appearance and character of residential districts. It must be recognized that, while business pursuits are allowed under the conditions provided in this chapter, its primary purpose is to preserve and maintain the residential atmosphere, appearance and character of residential districts. It is the intent that business be always second, subordinate and incidental to the principal residential use and that it will not harm other residential users of the property or premises. Under no circumstances should business use become so extensive that it predominates the residential use. It

2 is the further intent of this chapter to set forth general and specific performance standards and controls to limit home occupations. These standards and controls have as their purpose the minimization of adverse impacts a home occupation might have on a neighborhood or district and to assure that it does not become the predominate use of the property. Chairperson Bavis said the role of the Planning Board is to try to mitigate any issues that may come up with a Home Occupation and to allow Home Occupations that make sense with certain precautions or restrictions to protect the neighborhood. Chairperson Bavis said the Board balances the rights of individual owners with the rights of the public. Josette Montebella of 420 Haley Road was present to speak before the Board. Ms. Montebella said she has been a vet tech for 11 years and has done dog training for 6 years. Ms. Josette would like to have her own business doing dog training on a small scale and boarding a maximum of 20 dogs. Ms. Montebella said the building for this business will be a 40 x 60 pole barn with spray foam and sound-proofing insulation, and there will be an outdoor fenced-in area for the dogs. Ms. Montebella said she has had the property staked to ensure she remains within her property s boundaries. Ms. Montebella said the fenced-in area will be a 4-5 chain link fence behind the pole barn and would not be visible from the road. Chairperson Bavis asked what the use of the fenced-in area will be. Ms. Montebella said the area will be for the dogs to have regular supervised play time and time to go to the bathroom. Chairperson Bavis asked if there will be multiple dogs in the area at one time. Ms. Montebella said the dogs will be in small play groups. Chairperson Bavis asked if the training sessions will take place inside the barn only. Ms. Montebella said that some training will be done outside as weather permits so the dogs can have outside stimulus or distractions during the training. Chairperson Bavis asked if the dog owner will be present at the training sessions. Ms. Montebella said the owner will always be there at the training session. Mr. Landry asked what type of training will be provided. Ms. Montebella said she will offer basic obedience training in groups and private training for dogs with bigger issues. Mr. Landry asked if Certified Decoy training will be done on the property. Ms. Montebella said she and her husband, Thomas Metelenis, have done this type of training on the property, but they are not doing it any more. Ms. Montebella said this training is for a protection sport and mimics training for dogs that go to police departments; and they do it with a club as recreation. Mr. Landry asked Ms. Montebella if she will be training dogs for personal protection as part of this business. Ms. Montebella said she will not be training other people s dogs for personal protection. Mr. Johnson asked if she is doing training on the property now. Ms. Montebella said she is not training on her property at this time. Mr. Landry asked what time the training would be. Ms. Montebella said the business will open at 8am, but most of the training will be between 4pm and 7pm. Mr. Johnson asked Ms. Montebella how she plans to mitigate the waste disposal. Ms. Montebella said she spoke with K&D Disposal, and they said that bagged dog waste could be put with her regular garbage and they will pick it up. Ms. Leasure said the hours of operation in Ms. Montebella s plan on Saturday are 8am-12pm and Sunday they will be closed, so will dogs be boarded during that time? Ms. Montebella said dogs will be there at that time for boarding, but there will no training and no pick up on those days. Mr. Landry asked if she will have any employees. Ms. Montebella said it will be just her. Chairperson Bavis asked where the boarded dogs will be housed in the barn. Ms. Montebella said the boarding room would be on one end of the barn separate from the training room and only indoors. Mr. Landry asked how big the fenced in area will be. Ms. Montebella said it will be about ½ acre, a 40 wide x 20 area. Mr. Johnson said the plan for the fence submitted by Ms. Josette looks to be between 6 and 8 in height. Mr. Johnson recommended Ms. Montebella install an 8 fence, consider taking less dogs, working with the neighbors, and limit the time the dogs can be outside since this seems to work well with a dog boarding facility he uses in Marion, NY. Chairperson Bavis asked Ms. Montebella if she had anything else to add. Ms. Montebella said she did not have anything else to add but offered to provide a formal business plan and information she has from a plumber or electrician. Chairperson Bavis asked Ms. Montebella to hold the information until necessary. Mr. Johnson asked if the dogs vaccination, flea and tick records will be required before the dog can be boarded. Ms. Montebella said those records will need to be submitted before the dog is allowed to be boarded. Mr. Landry asked if the kennels in the barn will be wood or steel. Mr. Johnson said the plan submitted by Ms. Montebella show the kennels she plans to use which is a 6x4x8 metal suite.

3 Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any comments from the public. Jon Pier of 428 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Pier said his property is located right behind the applicant s property and for the past year the applicant has been running this business, including a training show with traffic and multiple dogs. Mr. Pier said there has been a lot of barking and loud noises, and the trees on her property do not provide a sound buffer so he is concerned that this business will affect his quality of life. Mr. Pier said that the traffic may not be conducive to a residential neighborhood and other facilities in the area are not near other houses, but 8 homes surround the applicant s property and will be affected by the noise and traffic of this proposed facility. Mr. Pier said he is concerned this business will affect property values in the area. Mr. Pier gave the Planning Board printouts from the applicant s web-site from the training event that was held on her property at 420 Haley Road and said the printouts show the training that was happening on her property at the event in June of 2018 which was disturbing to him. Mr. Pier said that Ms. Montebella has been running this business without a Home Use Permit, and he has made inquiries to the Town of Walworth without getting any direct answers back. Chairperson Bavis said the Planning Board first heard of this at last month s meeting when the applicant came before the Board for a Concept Discussion. Mr. Williamson said the first time that he knew of anything going on was correspondence he received from Mr. Pier in an dated June 29, 2018 asking if this business is permitted to run a canine training business and if they have applied to host an attack dog training event from June 30-July 1, Mr. Williamson replied to Mr. Pier on July 2, 2018 stating that to his understanding the owners of the property are members of a canine club and they travel to different members properties and compete with their animals. Mr. Williamson also told Mr. Pier on July 2 that this is not a violation of the Town Code and Ms. Montebella applied for a Home Occupation Major Category B which, if granted, would allow her to provide services for dog boarding and training at the property. Mr. Williamson also informed Mr. Pier at that time that Ms. Montebella would be coming in for a concept discussion at the Planning Board meeting scheduled on July 9, 2018 and this is an open meeting. Mr. Pier said he was present at the Planning Board meeting on July 9, Mr. Williamson said he received a call on July 16, 2018 from Mr. Pier, and he told Mr. Pier at that time that he will write a letter to Ms. Montebella. Mr. Williamson wrote a letter to Ms. Montebella and her husband, Thomas Metelenis, on July 16, 2018 stating he has received several complaints regarding dog training and possible boarding taking place on their property at 420 Haley Road as recent as July 16, 2018 and the complaint alleges that training was conducted on the property until dusk and there was a long period of barking and other noises disturbing the peace. Mr. Williamson wrote that this would be in violation of Town of Walworth Code and must cease immediately, and if the Planning Board is to approve the Home Occupation Permit, a big consideration is that it is in harmony with the neighborhood and not bring undesirable change. Mr. Williamson said he complied with the actual legal process that the Town must go through and that just because the Town receives a complaint, it doesn t mean there is any merit to the complaint unless proof is provided. Raymond Fletcher of 468 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Fletcher said he agrees there is a lot of noise coming from 420 Haley Road and the trees do not provide a buffer from the noise. Mr. Fletcher said he spoke with neighbors of Creekside Resort, a dog day care center at 2150 Sherburne Road, and was told that it is loud due to the dogs barking all day. Mr. Fletcher said he is not sure that a residential neighborhood is the right place for the facility proposed by the applicant, and he believes the property is less than 5 acres so it would not be a legal location for this Home Occupation. Mr. Fletcher said he is concerned that property values will be affected, and the training done previously on the property is not proper for the neighborhood. Mr. Fletcher said one person in charge of 20 dogs would be an issue, and he is concerned because he heard that she has done training on her property without the dog owner being present. Anthony Sclamo of 384 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Sclamo said he walks his dogs on Haley Road 2-3 times a day and has seen dogs trained to attack in the driveway at 420 Haley Road. Mr. Landry asked if the dog was off leash. Mr. Sclamo said the leash was attached to the dog but the leash was released when the dog was given the command to attack a person with an arm pad. Mr. Sclamo said he has also seen dog desensitization on the property where the dog is placed in a confined space and exposed to loud noises. Mr. Sclamo said on 2 occasions dogs

4 without leashes, collars or tags came from the property, ran into the road and circled him and his dogs. Mr. Sclamo said he is concerned with the possibility of dog feces and urine runoff from the fenced in area contaminating his garden since the pond on the property at 420 Haley Road overflows into his neighbor s property and then into his property. Peter Lerminiaux of 389 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Lerminiaux said his big concern is runoff from 420 Haley Road since he owns and operates a certified organic and GAP certified vegetable farm. Mr. Lerminiaux explained that GAP certified addresses hygiene and cleanliness of the entire operation. Mr. Lerminiaux said he is also concerned that dogs may enter his property and trample the garden which would be a total crop loss since he is GAP Certified. Sally Bub of 519 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Ms. Bub said she would like to know what credentials, licensing and experience the applicant has to do this business. Ms. Bub also asked if this will be a LLC, a DBA, a corporation or just a personal business and is the insurance coverage adequate. Ms. Bub asked what size and type of dogs would be housed or trained on the property and do they all have their shots and licenses. Ms. Bub said the 4 fence seems small and 8 fence would be more appropriate because she is concerned for the safety of her grandchildren when they are on her property, and the noise will disturb the quiet on her property. Carrie Lewis of 394 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Ms. Lewis said her property adjoins 420 Haley Road and she is concerned for the safety of her 5 small children under the age of 15 because the chain link fence could possibly be scaled by the dogs. Ms. Lewis said the properties in the area flood in the spring and she is concerned with waste runoff. Ms. Lewis stated that she has PTSD so loud noises such as gun shots, yelling and other noises used in desensitization startle her and the pine trees on her property do not buffer the noise. Kevin Baker of 459 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Baker said he is concerned about the noise since there will be up to 20 dogs on the property at one time. Mr. Baker stated if a home owner had 20 dogs on their property there would be an issue and he is concerned that 20 dogs are too many for one person to manage. Mr. Baker said he was disturbed about the type of training that has been done on the property, and he has witnessed dogs coming off of the property at 420 Haley Road. Mr. Baker would prefer to have the applicant put up an 8 fence and would like to know what codes are required for kennels. Nancy Sclamo of 384 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Ms. Sclamo said she has worked for a kennel in the past and there is no way to guarantee that dog waste containing E.coli, salmonella, and parasites will not contaminate the water in the area without water or septic control. Ms. Sclamo said other kennels in the area, Creekside Resort and Family Dog have bigger and more secluded properties than 420 Haley Road, and 420 Haley will be too small for this operation in this neighborhood. James Brunswick of 363 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Brunswick said his biggest concern is the nature of the training and he is glad to hear that the attack dog training will not be going on. Mr. Brunswick said he saw the training on her property and it was upsetting to a parent with young children. Thomas Metelenis of 420 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. Metelenis said he is a Certified Decoy and he is the person that gets in the padded suit during training. Mr. Metelenis said the dogs he trains for this are friendly dogs and the dogs are trained to know when it is game time for sport and when it is family time. Mr. Metelenis said the sport is very equipment oriented so when the dogs see the padded suit they know it s time to have fun. Mr. Metelenis said in this sport they do use shot guns for stimulus, but it is no different than others in the neighborhood that shoot guns until 10 or 11pm. Mr. Metelenis said the dog barking that the neighbors are hearing is not always his and Ms. Montebella s dogs since he has heard other dogs in the area barking. Mr. Metelenis said that it s not always his dogs in the street since he has seen other dogs come into the street when he is walking his dogs, and he has seen other dogs on his property that do not belong to him, therefore the dogs going up to people from his property are not always his dogs. Mr. Johnson asked

5 Mr. Metelenis if he understands the neighbors concerns because he can sympathize with both Mr. Metelenis and his neighbors. Mr. Metelenis said that is the reason for the fenced-in area, so the dogs will not be loose. Ms. Leasure asked Mr. Metelenis if he and Ms. Montebella would be doing the type of training with their personal dogs on the property. Mr. Metelenis said his dogs will do this type of training at other locations, not on the property. Michael McManus of 449 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Mr. McManus asked how many times it is in the news that a dog mauled someone and all you hear is it was a good dog. Mr. Mc Manus said that even though these dogs are well-trained, someone walking down the road could unintentionally trigger the dog to attack. Mr. McManus said it was noisy with dogs barking for a whole weekend during a party, so Mr. McManus asked if he needs to take video to prove what is happening on the property. Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any more comments from the public. There were no more issues brought forward. Josette Montebella of 420 Haley Road came forward to speak before the Board. Ms. Montebella said the attack training has ceased since she received the letter from Phil Williamson in July 2018 and no more attack training will be done on the property. Ms. Montebella said she understands that the training is disruptive and wants to make it peaceful for everybody in the area. Ms. Montebella said that all of her dogs are certified therapy dogs, not attack dogs since they are only trained for sport and fun. Ms. Leasure asked how many personal dogs Ms. Montebella owns. Ms. Montebella said she owns 4 dogs and is fostering 2 additional dogs at this time. Chairperson Bavis asked Ms. Montebella if she will be boarding dogs in addition to her personal dogs. Ms. Montebella said will have no more than 20 dogs including her personal dogs staying on the property. Ms. Leasure asked if the training would be the same type of obedience training you would get in any facility. Ms. Montebella said it will be obedience training. Chairperson Bavis asked Ms. Montebella if she has been running a business for the past year on the property. Ms. Montebella said she would not call it a business since she has a full time job as a vet tech. Ms. Montebella said she does this recreationally and meets with groups of people, and she lets dogs of friends come to the property and play in groups as well. Mr. Landry asked if Ms. Montebella s proposed business is going to be 2 separate businesses since Ms. Montebella will be doing boarding and training. Ms. Montebella said she will not be training the dogs she is boarding, so the training will be separate. Mr. Williamson advised the Board to refer to the Town Code book chapter 56-2 entitled animal nuisance which is enforced by the animal control officer: The purpose of this article shall be to preserve the public peace and good order in the Town of Walworth and to contribute to the public welfare, safety and good order of its people by establishing certain regulations and restrictions on the activities of dogs that are consistent with the rights and privileges of owners of dogs and of other residents of the Town of Walworth, providing for the licensing and identification of dogs, the control and protection of the dog population and the protection of persons, property, domestic animals and deer from dog attack and damage. Mr. Williamson also referred the Board to the Town Code book chapter 56-6(D) which is also enforced by animal control: Nuisance. No person being the owner or agent of the owner of any dog shall permit such dog, even though leashed or on owner's property, to commit any nuisances within the Town of Walworth. The following are declared public nuisances and are set forth herein for explanatory purposes only and are not to be considered as excluding other types of nuisances: (1) Engaging in loud howling, whining or habitual barking or so conducting itself so as to disturb the public peace. Mr. Williamson also read from chapter from the Town Code which is enforced out of the Code Enforcement Office titled: nuisances. The creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing or unnecessary noise in the Town of Walworth, New York, except in the pursuit of agricultural occupations, is prohibited. Noise of such character, intensity or duration as to endanger or infringe upon the public comfort, peace or repose or to be detrimental to the life or health of any individual is declared to be a nuisance and is prohibited. Mr. Williamson said he made a reference to these chapters to help the board be informed of chapters outside of the Code for Home Occupation that they would refer to for this application.

6 Mr. Johnson said he would like to table this conversation to allow the Board members to research the regulations involved in this application and to follow up with the Attorney for the Town. Ms. Leasure said she would like to visit the properties that may be affected by this application, including the wetlands and buffers. Mr. Landry said he would like to do more research on the height and type of fencing that should be used for the containment for the dogs. Mr. Williamson suggested that all the Planning Board members visit the property in question and the neighboring properties as Ms. Leasure mentioned. Chairperson Bavis said he would like to research how the applicant will handle waste and how it will affect the environment. Mr. Landry said the Occupation Use is to be incidental, secondary and/or subordinate to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes and this business may not be incidental since it will be a full time operation. Mr. Landry said no other Home Occupation-Major Category A or Home Occupation-Major Category B is to be conducted on the premises; therefore 2 Home Occupations cannot be approved on 1 property and since the applicant will be conducting 2 businesses, a boarding business and a training business, it would not be in compliance with the Home Occupation Law. Chairperson Bavis said the Board may need to consult the Attorney for the Town on this matter to determine if it would be considered 1 or 2 businesses. Chairperson Bavis asked Mr. Druschel if he has any comments. Mr. Druschel did not have any issues to bring forward at this time. Mr. Johnson made a motion, seconded by Ms. Leasure, to table the public hearing until the Planning Board does further research with the Attorney for the Town and other experts concerning this Home Occupation. Chairperson Bavis asked the board if there is further discussion on the motion. There were no more issues brought forward. Roll Vote: Chairperson Bavis Rick Johnson Elaine Leasure Lou Villanova Dennis Landry Motion carried. Chairperson Bavis said the Planning Board will continue the public hearing at the next scheduled meeting on October 9, 2018 or the following meeting on November 12, 2018, and the public can check with the Town Office to see if this application is on the agenda. Chairperson Bavis adjourned the meeting at 8:58pm. Respectfully Submitted, Barbara Goulette, Clerk