MINUTES OF MEETING                       

                                December 11, 2006

The regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Clay, County of Onondaga, State of New York was held at the Town Hall of Clay, New York on 
December 11, 2006.

Chairman Fennhahn called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. and upon the roll being called the following were:

PRESENT:
Arthur Fennhahn            Chairman
Charles V. Mangan       Deputy Chairman 
Eugene Young                Member
Karen Liebi                    Member
Harold Henty                 Member
Vivian I. Mason             Secretary
Mark Grobosky             Attorney
Cindy Heid                     Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development

ABSENT:


MOTION made by Deputy Chairman Mangan that the Minutes of the meeting of, 2006 be accepted.  Motion was seconded by Mrs. Liebi. Unanimously carried. 

MOTION made by Chairman Fennhahn that for the purpose of the New York State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) all new actions tonight will be determined to be Type II actions, and will be given a negative declaration, unless otherwise advised by our attorney. Motion was seconded by Mr. Henty. Unanimously carried.

OLD BUSINESS:

None.

NEW BUSINESS

Chairman Fennhahn asked the Board Members if they had visited the site and all answered in the affirmative.
Case #1250 - VARIANCE - Family Video Movie Club, 7666 Morgan Road (Tax Map #095-02-05):

The applicant is seeking a variance to reduce the side yard setback from 25 feet to 12 feet, the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 12 feet and the perimeter landscaping strip from 10 feet to 8 feet for the purpose of building a Family Video Movie Club.

The public hearing notice was read by the secretary.

John Sciarabba, with Landtech, 130 E. Main Street, Rochester, New York, explained that they would like to demolish the building that is on this site and construct a larger building, 4950 square feet, and open a Family Video Movie Club. They would like to place the building back in the southeast corner of the parcel to enable traffic/customers to have easy access to the store.

Chairman Fennhahn noted a letter from American Granby, the company that abuts this parcel. They would like the trees left behind the business. Mr. Sciarabba replied that they would like to keep them in their current state, but if any did come down they would put trees back in.

Concerned about the trees, Mr. Henty questioned snow removal and where it would go. Mr. Sciarabba felt there would still be enough room without affecting the trees.

Mr. Sciarabba addressed the standards of proof:

1. They feel this business will fit the character of the neighborhood.
2. They could move the building further north, but it shrinks the traffic pattern, so
they think this is the best place to construct it, in the southeast corner.
3. They do not feel the variance request is substantial, since they believe safety for
traffic overrides the requested variances.
4. They believe there will be no adverse environmental or drainage impacts on the
neighborhood. 
5. The need for the variance is self-created.

Chairman Fennhahn voiced concern for traffic impact.

Mr. Sciarabba said there will be 34 parking spaces. It’s a busy corner and placing the building further back on the lot allows better traffic patterns.

Todd Bezenah, from Family Video, commented that he feels they would be an asset to the
community as they also do a lot of community charity.

Mr. Young asked about staff, and Mr. Bezenah said there are four to five employees there on the weekends. Their prime business hours are 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M., about 100 people an hour. Most customers are there no longer than fifteen minutes.

Mr. Young said he was concerned about customers turning in from Morgan Road and Mr.
Bezenah said they could turn onto Buckley Road, then into the parking lot.

Chairman Fennhahn asked why the store couldn’t be smaller so they wouldn’t need the
variances, and Mr. Bezenah explained that typically their stores are 7000 square feet, but now that they have mostly DVD’s they can have a smaller store.

Mr. Sciarabba reiterated that they are putting the building to the southeast corner to give them a better traffic pattern. They could move it further north, but it would shrink the traffic circulation pattern.

Chairman Fennhahn asked Assistant Commissioner Heid if she had any comments and she noted that the arterial setback for Morgan Road is 140 feet and 115 feet for Buckley Road. Their site plan doesn’t show the center line for Morgan Road, so there may be an additional variance needed if the arterial setback cannot be met and they would also have to re-advertise.

Mr. Bezenah stated that 4950 square feet is the smallest they can go and have it sufficient for business.

Mr. Henty asked if they really needed all the green space, and Mr. Sciarabba said they would still need the variance on the Morgan Road side.

Mr. Mangan asked why they weren’t considering a store on Route 57 and Mr. Sciarabba said they had tried for one on the corner of Buckley Road and Bear Road.

Mr. Bezenah further explained that they do not want to be with the big box retailers. They like corner lots. It is the typical spot for them. Phil Walker, the real estate agent, added that this location satisfies the demographics.

Assistant Commissioner Heid noted that if a variance is needed for the arterial setback on Morgan Road, which is a County road, the request would need to be referred to them. The present requests did not need to go to them, but if a front yard arterial setback is needed it will have to be re-advertised and referred to the County.

Gary Palley of American Granby, inquired about runoff and how it would affect their retention pond. Mr. Sciarabba said that they can’t direct water to their site, but would pipe their runoff to a catch basin.

Chairman Fennhahn advised Mr. Palley to go to the Planning Board meeting if the Zoning
Board does approve the applicant’s request, as this is where drainage is addressed.

Chairman Fennhahn asked if the Board or anyone in the audience had any further comments or questions and there were none. Chairman Fennhahn asked for those in favor of granting the variance, there was one, and those opposed and there were none.

Mr. Young said he would like the place where the building will go staked.

Chairman Fennhahn adjourned the hearing to January 8, 2007.

There being no further business, Chairman Fennhahn adjourned the meeting at 8:22 P.M. 



________________________________
Vivian I. Mason, Secretary
Zoning Board of Appeals
Town of Clay
 

                                                                   
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