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Call to Order / Determination of Quorum
The meeting, held at the Historic Watts dePeyster Hall, was opened at 7:02 pm and a quorum was determined to be present for the conduct of business.
Planning Board Attendees:
- Chair Mike Billeci
- John Hallstein
- Donna Matthews
- Ginger Grab
- Pamela Morin
Also Present:
- Trustee Susan Ezrati
- Applicants Jake Stortini and Jesse Feldmus
New Business
Site Plan, Change of Use – 73 Broadway (“Murray’s Tivoli”): Pamela Morin recused herself from the Board.
The Board had the package that the applicants submitted to them for a change of use and the applicants went through it item by item:
- Change of use for the building will be from offices to an eating and drinking establishment.
- Hours they are seeking will be 7:00 am to 12:00 am.
- They will be using an outdoor patio. The use of the patio will end at 10:00 pm.
- Signs – There will be a fixed sign on the front of the building below the center window. It is metal with letters cut into the metal and lit from within. It will be backlit, similar to the sign that Panzur has. There will be a hanging sign made of canvas flag material which will hang from the pole that is currently there. The lighting for that sign is pre-
existing. - Lighting – the only change to the current exterior lighting will be the lighting for the metal sign. All current exterior lighting will remain unchanged.
- Patio fence – there is an existing patio on the site. Ms. Morin stated that it will be redone. Applicant Jesse Feldmus stated that the patio will be fenced in down the sides and in front with gates that will be locked. The only access to the patio will be from the interior space. The height of the fence will be no more than four feet and will come to the edge of the patio. In the package presented to the Board were three options of what the fence will look like.
- Landscaping will be minimal. They will maintain the existing grass and perhaps put in some flowers. Any landscaping put in would not be taller than the fence.
- Handicapped accessibility – no changes there. The handicapped accessible ramp will be at the middle door which is inside the fenced in area. There will also be a ramp at the rear door which will be used primarily for employees and deliveries.
- Parking – the lot at the rear of the building currently has sufficient spaces for this use. The required number of spaces is 42. There are over 50 spaces in the lot.
- Garbage dumpster – no change from present location.
- There may be music inside, but no music outside.
The timeframe to open is late summer. Ginger Grab moved to submit the application to Dutchess County Planning and Development for a 239-m review. Donna Matthews seconded. All in favor. Motion carried. The response from the County should be received before the March meeting when the applicants will return.
Chair Billeci stated that this Board historically has not asked for a public hearing with a change of use. The Board agreed that there are no issues or anything controversial with this application that warrants a public hearing. John Hallstein moved that a public hearing is not required. Ginger Grab seconded. All in favor. Motion carried.
Pamela Morin returned to the Board.
Old Business – 54A Broadway “Tivoli General”: John Hallstein asked Pamela Morin if she talked to Marty Clarke or Gary DiMauro about the parking for 54A Broadway. She replied that she didn’t speak to Marty but she did some research. Pamela Morin stated the following: a few of the plans are missing. When Fab Yarn was the pottery studio, they used the parking spaces outside the barn because the barn was not occupied. Now the barn is occupied and those spaces are taken up. She doesn’t know how it was handled with the Yarn shop, but when she talks to Marty Clarke and finds that out, she will have the answer. It seems the way it was set up before they wouldn’t have any parking so it will have to be addressed. The only parking Pamela could find for any of the tenants was for the pottery studio. When Brooks Peters came in, he bought spaces, but there are not 10 spaces there. Pamela stated there is nothing in Fab Yarn’s site plan about parking.
Trustee Ezrati stated that this Planning Board is not responsible for errors made by prior planning boards. So for the issue of fairness, this Planning Board should apply the law as it exists but is not responsible for errors of past planning boards.
Pamela Morin stated that she didn’t think it was an error but that it was just how it was handled. There was nothing in Fab Yarn’s file about their parking. Trustee Ezrati said that was a past planning board decision and if they failed to do that correctly, we’re not responsible for that. Pamela stated that the way the Board left it at the last meeting was that Tivoli General needs to have the parking just like anyone else who would have that space.
Chair Billeci stated that the previous occupant, Fab Yarn, required five spaces and the new retail shop requires the same. If the new requirements were more than the old requirements, we would ask for the delta between the two. Pamela stated that the implication was that Tivoli General would only require the same amount of parking spaces, but where are those parking spaces. Trustee Ezrati stated that we should ask the Village Attorney to determine what this Board’s job is in respect to that. It’s a legal issue.
Pamela Morin stated that it was her understanding that whatever the law is about parking has to be applied to Tivoli General. What we were trying to find out is if they require the same amount of parking as the past retail shop, where is that parking and was it paid for. Isn’t that our job? Chair Billeci stated that because we don’t know, it’s not Tivoli General’s fault that we don’t know about the parking spaces. We can never make them pay for our mistake. Pamela Morin said that if we are not considering what went before, then they are a new business and where are the spaces that they are required to have which should be five spaces for 500 square feet. They should be accounted for.
Trustee Ezrati stated that the Village Attorney needs to be consulted and explain it to the Board. Chair Billeci stated Pamela has a point and perhaps we could ask Marty Clarke to show us where all his parking is. But he’s not sure we are allowed to do that, but maybe we can. If he comes up short, then what? If he comes up short, it’s his problem, not Tivoli General’s. Pamela Morin stated that when someone comes to the Board, that parking is part of the package and it’s something that we didn’t take care of with Tivoli General. That’s why she was asked to take a look and see if they had the parking. Marty had told the applicants and they explained to the Board that he was not giving them parking in the lot. Pamela said she is all for the grocery store and not trying to make trouble but it has to be equal across the board. They have to have the parking; everyone has to have the parking.
Trustee Ezrati stated that the point she wants to make clear is that mistakes that happened in the past are just mistakes but that we still have to apply the law correctly. It’s not a matter of fairness; it’s a matter of applying the law. Pamela Morin agreed and stated that we have to apply the parking law to Tivoli General no matter what happened in the past.
Chair Billeci stated that he will talk to Victoria Polidoro about this. He said that we did not make Tivoli General’s approval conditional. Pamela Morin stated that we said that if they didn’t have the proper parking it would have to be purchased.
The Board reviewed the draft minutes from the January 26, 2015 Planning Board meeting. John Hallstein moved to approve the minutes as presented. Ginger Grab seconded. All in favor. Motion carried.
Adjournment
Donna Matthews moved to close the meeting at 7:37 pm. John Hallstein seconded. All in favor. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Claire Roff
Planning Board Clerk