Planning Board Pubblic Meeting Minutes 20150120

The following minutes are a summary of the Planning Board meeting of January 20, 2015. For more detailed information, interested parties may request an audio recording of the meeting from the Board Secretary for a fee.

Call to Order & Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: Chairman Nalbantian called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. The following members were present: Ms. Bigos, Mr. Nalbantian, Councilwoman Knudsen, Mr. Reilly, Ms. Altano, Mr. Joel, Mr. Thurston, Ms. Dockray, Mr. Abdalla, and Ms. Peters. Also present were: Gail Price, Esq., Board Attorney; Blais Brancheau, Village Planner; and Michael Cafarelli, Board Secretary. Mayor Aronsohn and Chris Rutishauser, Village Engineer were absent.

Chairman Nalbantian made opening remarks regarding safety issues and the hearing process.

Public Comments on Topics not Pending Before the Board – No one came forward at this time.

Correspondence received by the Board – None

World Mission Society, Church of God, Preliminary and Final Site Plan Application

The applicant requested an adjournment of the hearing. Ms. Price said she spoke with the applicant’s attorney, Mr. Leibman, who said their engineer was not available for this evening. Although the applicant’s planner was ready to proceed, it was decided that it was best to have the engineer testify first and both agreed to a tentative new date of Tuesday, March 3, 2015 with conditions.

Ms. Price said in her discussion with their attorney that she indicated the Board would want assurances that the items in Mr. Rutishauser and Mr. Brancheau's reports would be addressed prior to the hearing, and due to the concerns of the surrounding neighborhood and the passage of time, that the applicant would have to submit new notice.

Mr. Reilly questioned the motive of the Church of God and if the reason for the postponement was to delay for more time. Ms. Price said that in her conversation with their attorney, he made specific statements concerning the reasons for the delay and Ms. Price recommended giving Mr. Leibman the benefit of the doubt and carrying to a date that works for the Board. If the applicant again delays the hearing or other issues surface the Board can always dismiss the application.

Mr. Joel asked if the Board could ask the Church of God to re-certify that there are no changes in the application as it is over a year old.

Ms. Dockray said that she drove by the Church and noticed a vending machine and several large trash containers in the front. Ms. Price stated that it would be helpful for Mr. Rutishauser to conduct another site inspection.

Mr. Nalbantian stated that the Church of God must be informed that they need to come prepared to respond to Mr. Rutishauser and Mr. Brancheau's reports.

Ms. Price discussed with Mr. Leibman carrying the hearing to March 3, 2015 with the following conditions:

1. New notice must be sent to the property owners and the newspaper as required by law.
2. The Board will dismiss the application if the applicant is not ready to proceed on March 3.
3. The applicant must submit revised plans addressing the comments in Mr. Rutishauser and Mr. Brancheau's reports prior to the hearing and/or address the issues in the reports in testimony, as appropriate.
4. Recertification that there have not been any changes since the application was filed.
5. Updated site inspections to be performed prior to March 3, 2015.

The hearing was adjourned at 7:50 p.m., to be continued on March 3, 2015.

Executive Session – Mr. Nalbantian moved to start an Executive Session at 7:50 P.M.

The meeting was closed to the public.

The Board returned from Executive Session at 8:50 P.M. and adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                        Michael Cafarelli

                                                                        Board Secretary

Date approved: February 19, 2015