Town Of Charlton - Town Of Charlton: Meeting of the Charlton Environmental Conservation Commission ?

Meeting of the Charlton Environmental Conservation Commission – August 30, 2005

1. The meeting was called to order with Marv Schorr, Lane Jastrebski, Midge Dube, Bob Killeen and Doug Ranaletto in attendance.

2. Minutes of the June 28, 2005 meeting were reviewed, corrected and accepted as amended.

3. Marv reported on the Town Board meeting. The Highway Dept. no longer picks up yard waste. County Waste is now doing that in Charlton-branches up to 4” in diameter, bundled and tied will be taken. Larger branches and tree stumps/trunks may be brought to the Town gravel pit on Rt. 67. Ron Gavin can give directions to the gravel pit. The Town received a $20,000 grant for the new Town Hall from NYS Sen. Hugh Farley. Phase 2 of the site archeology study for the new Town Hall has been completed (at a cost of $20,000) with no findings of historical importance. No further study is required. The Town Board has said they put the Town Hall financing question on the November ballot as a referendum. The Chief Assessor reported that the Town’s final, official equalization rate has been set at 100% by the state board (it was reported in June as preliminary).

4. Old Business - Marv reported on the Comprehensive Planning Committee. The group completed first round voting on 260+ strategies suggested for meeting the goals established for the Plan. Those accepted by at least 75% of the members will be included without further discussion, those accepted by less than 25% will be rejected without further discussion (unless someone wants to discuss a specific item again). The Chairman, Steve Caine, has resigned and the Committee recommended Dave Wood to the Town Board as the new Chair. When completed, the Plan will be presented to the Town Board for approval. If approved, the Zoning Ordinance will need to be revised to conform to the Plan. Dave Adams suggested to the Comp Plan Committee that those strategies dealing with changes to the Zoning Ordinance not be discussed further by the Comp Plan Committee, but instead be included in the Plan as mandatory discussion items to be addressed by the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee

5. New business: - A variance application for a property on Westline Road was reviewed. A long 40 foot driveway leading to a 2 acre property where a residence will be constructed is proposed. It appears to meet the environmental requirements, except it lacks enough detailed information to determine if there will be any adverse impacts to a nearby wetland. The owner of the property has enough road frontage to subdivide differently and meet the 200 foot frontage requirement. The ECC believes that the proposed variance is self imposed. The application will be heard at a ZBA meeting on Sept. 13, 2005.

The Heflin-Durst 24 cluster residence subdivision on Swaggertown Rd. was reviewed at the request of the Planning Board. The area contains several wetlands, none big enough to be a NY DEC wetland (12.5 acres), but instead come under Army Corp of Engineers jurisdiction. The main concern of the ECC is wetland protection and the impact of the wetlands on septic system performance. The lots are smaller than the 2 acre minimum required by the Zoning Ordinance. Some of the open space gained by using a cluster design is lost due to the wetlands and the area looks swampy. There is only one access road and it will be recommended that the Highway Dept. and Fire Dept. be consulted to determine the adequacy of the road for emergency vehicles and for safe egress on to Swaggertown road. The planning Board will discuss the subdivision at its Sept. 19 meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:56 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

M.M. Schorr, Chairman

cc: ECC members

A. Grattidge


Meeting of the Charlton Environmental Conservation Commission – August 30, 2005 1. The meeting was called to order with Marv Schorr, Lane Jastrebski, Midge Dube, Bob Killeen and Doug Ranaletto in attendance. 2. Minutes of the June 28, 2005 meeting were reviewed, corrected and accepted as amended. 3. Marv reported on the Town Board meeting. The Highway Dept. no longer picks up yard waste. County Waste is now doing that in Charlton-branches up to 4” in diameter, bundled and tied will be taken. Larger branches and tree stumps/trunks may be brought to the Town gravel pit on Rt. 67. Ron Gavin can give directions to the gravel pit. The Town received a $20,000 grant for the new Town Hall from NYS Sen. Hugh Farley. Phase 2 of the site archeology study for the new Town Hall has been completed (at a cost of $20,000) with no findings of historical importance. No further study is required. The Town Board has said they put the Town Hall financing question on the November ballot as a referendum. The Chief Assessor reported that the Town’s final, official equalization rate has been set at 100% by the state board (it was reported in June as preliminary). 4. Old Business - Marv reported on the Comprehensive Planning Committee. The group completed first round voting on 260+ strategies suggested for meeting the goals established for the Plan. Those accepted by at least 75% of the members will be included without further discussion, those accepted by less than 25% will be rejected without further discussion (unless someone wants to discuss a specific item again). The Chairman, Steve Caine, has resigned and the Committee recommended Dave Wood to the Town Board as the new Chair. When completed, the Plan will be presented to the Town Board for approval. If approved, the Zoning Ordinance will need to be revised to conform to the Plan. Dave Adams suggested to the Comp Plan Committee that those strategies dealing with changes to the Zoning Ordinance not be discussed further by the Comp Plan Committee, but instead be included in the Plan as mandatory discussion items to be addressed by the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee 5. New business: - A variance application for a property on Westline Road was reviewed. A long 40 foot driveway leading to a 2 acre property where a residence will be constructed is proposed. It appears to meet the environmental requirements, except it lacks enough detailed information to determine if there will be any adverse impacts to a nearby wetland. The owner of the property has enough road frontage to subdivide differently and meet the 200 foot frontage requirement. The ECC believes that the proposed variance is self imposed. The application will be heard at a ZBA meeting on Sept. 13, 2005. The Heflin-Durst 24 cluster residence subdivision on Swaggertown Rd. was reviewed at the request of the Planning Board. The area contains several wetlands, none big enough to be a NY DEC wetland (12.5 acres), but instead come under Army Corp of Engineers jurisdiction. The main concern of the ECC is wetland protection and the impact of the wetlands on septic system performance. The lots are smaller than the 2 acre minimum required by the Zoning Ordinance. Some of the open space gained by using a cluster design is lost due to the wetlands and the area looks swampy. There is only one access road and it will be recommended that the Highway Dept. and Fire Dept. be consulted to determine the adequacy of the road for emergency vehicles and for safe egress on to Swaggertown road. The planning Board will discuss the subdivision at its Sept. 19 meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:56 pm. Respectfully submitted, M.M. Schorr, Chairman cc: ECC members A. Grattidge
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