PLANNING BOARD MEETING
CANAAN, NY 12029

JUNE 16, 2008


The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. Ian Hooper was absent. Also present was Dave Everett of Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna and Linda Stancliffe of Erdman & Anthony.

REVISED BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT FOR JENS & SPEE BRAUN AND ERIC &ELLEN HARRIS-BRAUN FOR PROPERTY AT 235/236 BRADLEY CROSSING ROAD.

Mr. Harris-Braun represented the application. He stated lot 1 would decrease in size and lot 3 would increase by about an acre. The change to the approved BLA was due to the positioning of the septic system. The Board reviewed the maps and the paperwork was in order.

MOTION TO APPROVE THE BLA AS SHOWN-Pierre Gontier
Second-Joe Davis All in Favor

Roll call- Chairman Davis-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes
Jennifer Mickle-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes
A fee of $50.00 was collected.

REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL PERMIT APPLICATION OF NYNEX MOBILE LTD. PARTNERSHIP 2 DBA VERIZON WIRELESS AND BERKSHIRE FARM CENTER & SERVICES FOR YOUTH TO COLLOCATE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT ON A MONOPOLE STRUCTURE PROPOSED BY MARINER TOWER ON PROPERTY OWNED BY BERKSHIRE FARM.

Chris Ciolfi of Mariner Tower and Rosemarie Ansel of Berkshire Farm represented this application. Mr. Ciolfi went thru the maps in the application. He stated Mariner Tower plans to construct a 150 foot tower and Berkshire Farm will move their 2 way radio tower to the new tower. The proposed tower site is not at the highest point of the land. The top of the tower without the whips will be at 1607 feet (appx.) which is below the ridgeline. Mariner’s main interest is to cover Route 22 North, South and West. Mr. Ciolfi said there are 42 properties within 500 feet. The property owners were notified in September 2007 and have not been renotified yet. Mr. Everett told Mr. Ciolfi he should re-notify the abutters as soon as possible by return receipt. These receipts will need to be given to the Planning Board.
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Ron stated Paul Deres had sent a response about the abutters map with several items that were wrong. Ron said Mr. Deres should be removed as an abutter since the map is wrong and he is not an abutter. Mr. Ciolfi said he would go over the map again for accuracy. Pierre asked if all homeowners in the Shaker Ridge Association had to be notified. Mr. Everett said no, only those who are actual abutters. Michael suggested notifying the Town of Richmond as well.

Maps-sheet C01(site plan)- it is a fenced in gravel compound with a 12 by 30 foot shelter for Verizon. The monopole will be in the center of the site on a poured slab. The site will have electricity and telephone. It will use the existing utilities as much as possible but may have to add more.

Monopole (C02)- Mr. Ciolfi said they had offered free space on the monopole to the Canaan Fire Company. Ron said he was told by the Canaan Fire Chief that the Canaan Fire Co. does not have a FCC license and uses the County’s. The County will be upgrading and the Fire Company has no interest in being on the tower. The antennas will be 8-10 feet higher than the 150 foot tower. Mr. Everett asked Berkshire Farm to send in a letter stating they will be a co-applicant. Ms. Stancliffe asked what frequency Berkshire Farm runs at . Mr. Ciolfi said he did not know, but would find out. Michael pointed out since the tower is uphill, there will be many trees behind the tower. They are predominantly evergreens with some hardwoods.

Grading plan (C03)- this shows the access drive. This is shown at 20% grade and was done this way due to infrequent use. Mariner has agreed to revise the grade to 15% to meet our Zoning Laws. The change to the road proposes to make it straighter which could make it longer.

Ron asked how they plan to upgrade the existing road, to widen it and bring it up to par. Mr. Everett said the Board needs to think about adding the upgrades to the Site Plan. The Berkshire Farm representative said the road is kept open currently to the water tower. Ron said when Clough, Harbor and Assoc. redoes the maps, they need to show what upgrades (new culvert ?) etc. will be done.

Application- Mr. Ciolfi asked if the Board wanted to go over the site plan application. Ron said Mr. Ciolfi already had effectively gone over it.

Outstanding items/changes needed;

1. Application for Berkshire Farm is signed by Rosemarie Ansel, but no title is given. Need this information. Also a letter from Berkshire Farm’s Board of Directors is needed to signify who is authorized to act on behalf of Berkshire Farm.

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2. Need a letter stating there is a co-application from Berkshire Farm

3. Need 10 full size maps with the correct scale including contours (1 inch =50 feet with 5
foot contours).

4. Change Shaker Ridge Road to Drive in all listed places.

5. Need a letter from the Army Corps of Engineers re: wetlands.

6. Ms. Stancliffe said the Town of Canaan is in a special wind area for structure design and Mr. Ciolfi needs to work with the ZEO to get information on this.

7. Re-verify whether any streams in the area are protected. Also, if there is a wetland report, provide a copy to the Board.

8. Re-verify the names of the abutters to make sure they are correct.

Michael asked what the total cost of the project was . Mr. Ciolfi said he does not know yet. Michael stated Berkshire Farm does not pay taxes and asked if Mariner will be paying in lieu of. Mr. Ciolfi said the building and equipment can be taxed and he expects that. Ron said the Assessor said the portion of land where the tower is will be separated with a tax bill and Mariner Tower will be responsible for the taxes. Mr. Ciolfi said they plan to pay taxes.

Michael said the tower is needed due to the lack of coverage but that has to be balanced with the community. Mr. Ciolfi said an independent consultant they hired verified there is a need for coverage.

Ms. Stancliffe asked Mr. Everett if the review needs to include the County. Mr. Everett said they are an interested party but do not need to be involved in the review.

Ron said in comparing information page 18 (Mariner) does not match page 15 (Verizon) for coverage area. Mr. Ciolfi said if a tower was put in TF2 as an overlay, it is a picture of what the coverage might look like. Ron said to make it clearer to the public, page 18 should be redone to show just what coverage will be

Ron asked about the proposal for a tower in New Lebanon and asked if it would be within 5 miles of this site. Mr. Ciolfi said he would check and let the Board know. Ron also said there is a tower in West Stockbridge and that one is less than 5 miles away.

Pierre said he had a few questions: 1. This site is outside the approved zone. Can the Board even look at it? Mr. Everett said 3 or 4 things allow a tower to be sited outside the
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approved district. Mr. Ciolfi said they have tried to address this with what they have
submitted. Michael said another option in drafting in the law was an overlay but the committee chose to go thru a Special Permit process instead. Michael thinks this is well within the case law. Pierre feels if the law did not specifically spell out other areas then this is spot zoning. Ron said he has no problem in proceeding and said the law had gone to the Supreme Court three times. Pierre said it did not go to Court over this issue. Pierre asked for a vote.

MOTION TO GO AHEAD WITH THE APPLICATION AS THE LAW IS WRITTEN. (The lawyer agreed and said it is well within the Planning Board’s right to move forward on this.)-Ron Davis Second-Michael Belknap

Roll call-Chairman Davis-yes
Pierre Gontier-no
Jennifer Mickle-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes

2. Pierre said the minimum DBM is 90 and Verizon’s is listed at 85, is this a problem? Mr. Ciolfi said the smaller the number, the better the coverage. Ron said it is shown on the maps. Mr. Ciolfi said the maps have met the Town requirement (shown in red) and they have also done actual coverage(shown in green).

3. Pierre asked if there would be 3G equipment and said that is the best equipment possible. Mr. Ciolfi said as the landlord they (Mariner) need to make sure the providers do not interfere with each other. Pierre asked if a Wifi provider is needed. Mr. Ciolfi said they would be happy to have a Wifi provider on the tower if one is wanted.

Ron said the optimum height for coverage is 146 feet. Other carriers will be below that level, will they have dropped calls? Mr. Ciolfi said the lower on the tower you are, the less coverage you have but each provider is put on the tower where they need to be. Each provider visits the site to see where they need to be since each has a different coverage pattern.

Ron asked about future expansion on the tower, if necessary. Mr. Ciolfi said the foundation is built to hold the extra weight. Mr. Everett said the Board can look at a higher tower now and review it. Mr. Ciolfi said they could come back later for an extension. Michael feels it should be kept at the lower level and feels the public would accept it better. Pierre still interprets the law to mean their application is filling a hole and he has a problem with that. Michael feels the ability to extend the tower if needed would keep less towers in Town. Pierre is still concerned about having to accommodate future

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providers. Michael wants to make sure it is not implied that this Board approves a future height. Ron said the other towers only list their tower could accommodate future height change by demonstrating the foundation could handle it. Any future expansion has to come back before the Planning Board. Mariner Tower will need to state their design is expandable.

Balloon test- the lawyer advised Mr. Ciolfi not to do any testing on private property but to do them in public areas with the worst case scenario. The Board discussed sites and came up with the following:

1. Intersection of Route 22 and Queechy Lake Dr.
2. At Adams Point Beach or their parking lot.
3. At the motel entrance on Queechy Lake Dr.
4. Along Queechy Lake Dr., halfway between the motel and the Patzwahl driveway.
5. At the intersection of Route 295 and Queechy Lake Dr.
6. On the lake. Down in the cove. Opposite Trempers Cove, by Dwyers.
7. On the lake, off the point.
8. On the lake, in the middle.
9. On Vanderburg Rd. On the top of the hill-used to be called Flower Top Farm.
10. Shaker Ridge Dr., at the edge of the lawn by the boulders at the Jacobsen/Chancer property.
11. Southbound on Route 22, after the AT&T line.
12. On Route 22, by Adams driveway(Harry wood Lane).
13. At the intersection of Route 295 and Route 22 at the light.
14. Could be others added if the site presents itself.


Mr. Ciolfi said even in good weather, the air moves so they try to do the test around 5:30 to 6:00am. The balloon will remain up until 10:00am. They normally use a 35 millimeter lens. Ron requested the test be done on July 4th weekend when a lot of people are around. Mr. Ciolfi suggested July 3rd with a rain date for July 7th. Ron asked him to send a new letter to the abutters and include information in the balloon test. Ron told Mr. Ciolfi to place a notice in The Register Star, The Chatham Courier, The Independent and The Berkshire Eagle. A notice should be put on the bulletin board in the Town Hall and on the website.

Lead agency- the lawyer prepared a resolution for the Board designating the Planning Board as lead agency. It was read aloud.

MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION-Michael Belknap
Second-Pierre Gontier All in Favor
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Roll call-Chairman Davis-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes
Jennifer Mickle-yes
Joe Davis-yes adopted
Michael Belknap-yes


Joe read a letter aloud from Attorney Andy Howard stating he and his wife(who works at Berkshire Farm) have no personal interest in this application. Attorney Howard does not feel there is a conflict and Joe does not have to recuse himself.


INFORMAL APPEARANCE BY RANDY MOSHIMER FOR A BOUNDARY LINE ADJUSTMENT (PREVIOUSLY APPROVED TWICE BY THE PLANNING BOARD).

Mr. Moshimer represented this application and said the land of his abutter is in the process of being sold since the previous owner died (Barbara Dohrman)and he wants to move forward very fast. He said he had fixed up the barn on that property. He had come before the Planning Board twice before for a BLA to have the barn on his property. He tried to file the approved maps but the taxes were not paid and he was not allowed to file them. This happened twice. The second approval was in October 2005.

Outstanding items:
1. The maps need to say the land of B. Dohrman estate on them.
2. Need a letter appointing B. Dohrman’s sister as the Executrix.
3. Need a notarized letter allowing Randy Moshimer to represent this application.
4. Need the application.

Ron feels it would be simpler to do the BLA before the closing of the sale of the property. The closing is suppose to be July 15th. Pierre said a deed description for the new buyer must be done. The new buyer must be aware by deed and map that this barn will not be part of the sale. Mr. Moshimer will contact the Board when he has all the paperwork. Ron said a Special Meeting could be held.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE MAY 19TH MINUTES

MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED-Joe Davis
Second-Jennifer Mickle All in Favor

Roll call-Chairman Davis-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes

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Jennifer Mickle-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes


Old Business
Ron advised the Board that the Town Board wants further information on the Flints Crossing Rd. moratorium before they act on it. Ron wants to work on this more.

Correspondence
This was tabled-no motion.


There was no more business before the Board.


MOTION TO ADJOURN-Joe Davis Second-Jennifer Mickle All in Favor


The meeting adjourned at 10:45pm.







Respectfully submitted,



Tammy C. Flaherty
Planning Board Clerk

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