December 10, 2018 Planning Board Meeting Page Chairperson Bavis called the regular meeting of the Planning Board to order at 7:34PM. Members present were Chairperson Gene Bavis, Rick Johnson, Elaine Leasure, Lou Villanova, and Dennis Landry. Also present were Norm Druschel, Building Inspector; Phil Williamson, Code Enforcement Officer; and David Hou, Attorney for the Town (Boylan Code, LLP). Marlene Hall, Alternate; and Michael Simon, Engineer for the Town (LaBella Engineering), were absent from the meeting. Chairperson Bavis addressed proposed 2019 Walworth Planning Board Calendar. Chairperson Bavis asked if the Walworth calendar and the calendar from the Wayne County Planning Board coincide correctly. Mr. Johnson said they do. Chairperson Bavis asked if the proposed meeting on October 15, 2019 should be changed to October 8, 2019. The Board decided not to change the October meeting date. Rick Johnson made a motion, seconded by Elaine Leasure, to accept the proposed 2019 Walworth Planning Board Calendar. All members were in favor. Chairperson Bavis asked the Board if there were any corrections that needed to be made regarding the minutes of November 13, 2018. There were no issues brought forward. Dennis Landry made a motion, seconded by Lou Villanova, to accept the minutes of the November meeting as written. Rick Johnson and Elaine Leasure abstained as they were not present at the November meeting. All other members were in favor. Motion carried. Chairperson Bavis addressed the first and only 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 said this meeting was advertised as a Public Hearing since the applicant has made modifications to her application. Chairperson Bavis opened the public hearing at 7:38pm. Lisa DiPoala Haber, Esq., Attorney for the applicant came forward to speak before the Board. Ms. DiPoala Haber stated that Ms. Montebella started this application process July 9, 2018. Ms. DiPoala Haber said on November 26, 2018 Ms. Montebella submitted supplemental information to the Planning Board members. Ms. DiPoala Haber said they submitted a drawing to scale of the proposed pole barn, parking lot, and outdoor 60 x 60 play area which is enclosed by a 6 foot equine fence, double entry doors and shrubbery for noise reduction. Ms. DiPoala Haber said they also submitted a plan showing the kennel floorplan. Ms. DiPoala Haber said the proposed pole barn and the proposed parking area will not be visible from the road. Ms. DiPoala Haber said the hours of operation of the dog daycare have been reduced to Monday through Friday 8am to 6pm; Saturday from 8am through 12pm for dog pick up only; and training will be Monday through Friday by appointment only. Mr. Landry asked if dog daycare is in addition to the boarding and if the maximum number of dogs for boarding and daycare will be 15 dogs. Ms. DiPoala Haber said daycare was included in the original application and the maximum number of dogs will be 15. Ms. DiPoala Haber said the dogs will be outside for small periods of time in small groups. Ms. DiPoala Haber said Ms. Montebella received written confirmation from a waste disposal company that the waste be picked up from the property. Ms. DiPoala Haber stated that in the area of 420 Haley Road most lots are more than 1 acre and have a variety of uses, not limited to single family homes, including farming with farm equipment creating noise. Ms. DiPoala Haber said that a neighbor, Anthony Sclamo, has been allowing his dogs to go onto Ms. Montebella s property when he is walking them in front of her home. Ms. DiPoala Haber that the size of the pole barn is not determinative of whether the kennel is a predominate use. Ms. DiPoala Haber stated Ms. Montebella has the building permit for the pole barn, and there is nothing in the Town Code to prevent Ms. Montebella from having 20 dogs of her own on the property. Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any comments from Mr. Druschel, Mr. Williamson or Mr. Hou. There were no issues brought forward at this time. Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any comments from the public. Anthony Sclamo came forward to speak to speak before the Board. Mr. Sclamo asked what is the minimum acreage requirement for this type of business. Chairperson Bavis said the minimum is 5 acres and the applicant would most likely need to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals if this application is approved by the Planning Board. Mr. Sclamo asked what
the town right-of-way is on Haley Road. Mr. Druschel said it is 25 from the center line of the road. Mr. Sclamo stated he walks his dog in the right-of-way so he is not walking his dogs on the applicant s property. Ray Fletcher of 468 Haley Road came forward to speak to speak before the Board. Mr. Fletcher said this is a residential neighborhood with single family homes and this business will disrupt the harmony and quiet of the neighborhood. Mr. Fletcher said this is the first time he heard that this business will include doggy daycare and asked if it makes this a proposal for 3 businesses: doggy daycare, overnight boarding and training. Jon Pier of 428 Haley Road came forward to speak to speak before the Board. Mr. Pier said the natural tree buffer does not diminish the sound, and he asked where the dogs will be trained for off-leash training. Mary Steinbugler of 380 Haley Road came forward to speak to speak before the Board. Ms. Steinbugler said the noise modifications to the proposal do not do enough since the trees do not buffer the sound. Josette Montebella came forward to speak to speak before the Board. Ms. Montebella said the training, including off-leash training, will be done in the fenced-in area or inside the building. Ms. Montebella stated that she did include the doggy daycare, overnight boarding and training in her original proposal. Ms. Montebella said she will have a maximum of 15 dogs boarding at her kennel in addition to her personal dogs, and the business would not be financially viable to set the maximum at less than 15 dogs. Mr. Hou asked how many of the dogs would be outside at one time. Ms. Montebella said she will have a supervised temperament-tested group of 4-5 dogs outside at one time. Ms. Montebella said she will be not be employing anyone to work at the kennel. Chairperson Bavis asked if the Board members, Mr. Druschel, Mr. Williamson or Mr. Hou had any more comments or questions. There were no more issues brought forward at this time. Chairperson Bavis asked if there were any comments from the public. There were no more issues brought forward at this time. Rick Johnson made a motion, seconded by Elaine Leasure, to close the public hearing. All members were in favor. Chairperson Bavis closed the public hearing at 8:22pm. Ms. Leasure read the proposed resolution supplied by Mr. Hou: RESOLUTION NO: APPLICATION OF JOSETTE MONTEBELLA FOR A HOME OCCUPATION, MAJOR-CATEGORY B TO OPERATE A DOG KENNEL AND TRAINING FACILITY AT 420 HALEY ROAD. WHEREAS, an application has been submitted by Josette Montebella for property she owns at 420 Haley Rd., in the Town of Walworth, New York, (the Property ) to operate a business (the Business ) for dog kenneling and training (the Application ); and WHEREAS, the Application is subject to review by the Planning Board as a Home Occupation, Major Category B, ( Home Occupation ) which allows, among other things, dog kennels and other occupations, businesses or professions that offer skilled services ; and WHEREAS, the Property is located in an RR-1 District; and WHEREAS, such Home Occupation is permitted where it is carried on wholly within a dwelling unit or in a building or other structure accessory to the dwelling unit on a premises that is at a minimum of five (5) acres of contiguous land and which said Home Occupation is clearly secondary to the use of the dwelling unit, wherein said home occupation is carried on within the premises; and
WHEREAS, such Application is determined to be a Type II Action for purposes of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and regulations promulgated thereunder, pursuant to 6 N.Y.C.R.R. 617.5(c)(9), and not subject to further review; and WHEREAS, a public hearing was duly advertised and held, and the Applicant and the public were permitted to speak on the Application; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that, the Planning Board has carefully considered the Application pursuant to the Town of Walworth Town Code provisions governing such Home Occupation; and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that with respect to the relevant requirements, the Planning Board hereby finds as follows: 1. That the proposed Business will be carried on wholly or principally within a building or other accessory structure, because the use of the premises as a kennel will primarily occur within the proposed accessory structure, and the need for an outdoor play area is a feature common to kennels and is incidental to the kennel use; and 2. That the proposed Business will not be conducted on a property at least five (5) acres in size, because the custom of the Town is to determine usable lot size according to the assessor s office. The Property is on file as being 4.921 acres; and 3. That the proposed Business is secondary or incidental to the use of the dwelling unit, because the Applicant resides in the house, which is the principal structure and dwelling unit on the property, and the proposed Business will be conducted primarily in an accessory structure. BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, that with respect to the factors required to be considered, the Planning Board hereby finds as follows: 1. The proposed Business impact on the health, safety, welfare, comfort or convenience of the neighborhood and/or Town is limited because: kennels are a permitted home occupation in this district; the use is consistent with the surrounding uses in the neighborhood; the Property is appropriately sized (subject to obtaining an area variance) for this use; the Applicant has agreed to mitigate impacts such as noise by agreeing to the below conditions regarding the size of the kennel; the kennel operations are appropriately sized for the Property, including utility needs and waste disposal requirements, and by modifying the scope of the proposed business as contained in the revised Application submission. 2. The proposed Business impact on the character of the neighborhood, its orderly development, the orderly and/or reasonable use of adjacent properties, the general harmony of the neighborhood in relation to its orderly development and/or in relation to the reasonable use of adjacent properties and such occupation, business or profession is limited because: the surrounding properties include vacant lands, farms, and single family residences, and proposed Business will not change the character of the neighborhood or affect the reasonable use of adjacent properties because the proposed business activities occur in the rear of the lot, and will not generate significant traffic, and the Applicant has agreed to mitigation measures as contained in the Application and in the conditions herewith, that will mitigation concerns regarding noise. 3. The proposed Business is not engaged in the keeping of a stock-in-trade on the premises and is not engaged in the purchase for resale of goods where the stock-in-trade or goods are kept or stored on the premises at any time for any length of time, because the nature of the Business does not primarily involve the sale, resale, or storage of goods;
4. The proposed Business does not employ more than one person who is not a resident of the premises, because the Applicant has indicated that no more than one person not a resident of the premises will be employed, and this is a condition of the approval; 5. The proposed Business generates minimal needs for off-street parking, because off-street parking needs will be subject to the conditions herein. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that to the extent the Business is considered two distinct Home Occupations, the Planning Board finds that the cumulative effect thereof will not be more detrimental, and will have no greater potential impact, to the public health, safety, welfare, comfort or convenience of the neighborhood and/or Town, or the character of the neighborhood or use of adjacent properties, than any single Home Occupancy alone; and BE IT FURTHER, RESOLVED, based upon the above and based on the discussion and information contained in the record presented to the Planning Board on this Application, the Planning Board hereby approves the Application for a Home Occupation, Major Category B, for all of the reasons set forth herein, subject to the following Conditions: 1. That approval of the Application is contingent upon the Applicant obtaining an area variance from the Town Zoning Board of Appeals to allow a 4.921-acre Home Occupation to exist where five acres is otherwise required. 2. That the total number of clients dogs which may be on the Property at any time (including but not limited to for boarding, training, or day care) is limited to dogs. 3. That current and proposed screening and buffering, including the fencing and vegetation to be installed is sufficient and shall be maintained as provided in the Application. 4. That the hours of operation shall be no longer than the following: Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m., with individual or small group (maximum of five (5) dogs) training from 6:30-7:30 p.m., by appointment only. Saturday hours will be limited to 8:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. for pick up and drop off of boarding dogs, only. There shall be no day care or training classes on Saturday. There shall be no day care, training, or boarding pick up or drop off on Sundays. 5. That no more than one person who is not a resident of the premises be employed at the Business. 6. That all signage for the Business be no more than six square feet in area and not more than six feet above grade or ground level and is otherwise in compliance with the Town Code. 7. That storage of any goods, materials, equipment and inventory be inside the accessory structure. 8. That off-street parking be maintained for five (5) customer vehicles, as depicted on the Application as being behind the existing garage and not visible from the road. 9. That any other approvals from the Town be obtained, where applicable, including but not limited to building permits for any structures, etc. 10. That the operation of the Business is limited to the nature and scope of operations as described in the Application and as further limited by the conditions set forth herein. Mr. Landry said the applicant will need to go before the Zoning Board for a variance since the property is less than 5 acres. Chairperson Bavis said the statement addressing the Business impact on the character of the neighborhood needs to stay in the Resolution, and the Board members can vote no to the proposal if they do not agree with the statement. Mr. Johnson asked if a condition addressing waste disposal should be added to the Resolution. Mr. Hou said waste disposal was addressed in the Resolution in the statement: the kennel operations are appropriately sized for the Property, including utility needs and waste disposal requirements. The Planning Board members agreed on the individual statements in the resolution. Elaine Leasure made a motion, seconded by Rick Johnson, to adopt the Resolution.
Chairperson Bavis asked the Board if there is any further discussion. Mr. Landry said if this application is approved, it can be revoked by the Planning Board for not following the rules. Ms. Leasure said complaints will be investigated by the Dog Control Officer, but only issues with kennel dogs, not the applicant s personal dogs, would affect the running of the kennel and can be addressed by the Planning Board. Chairperson Bavis asked the Board if there is any further discussion. There were no more issues brought forward. Roll Vote: Chairperson Bavis Rick Johnson Elaine Leasure Lou Villanova Dennis Landry Nay Motion carried. Chairperson Bavis adjourned the meeting at 8:42pm. Respectfully Submitted, Barbara Goulette, Clerk