Present: John Stelling, Sandy Haakonsen, Bill Wallace, Pat Liddle, Ann Pearce, David Cooper

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairperson David Cooper with one person in the audience. There were no files for consideration. The Board will continue to meet every other month if there are no files.

John Stelling and Sandy Haakonsen attended the course Zoning Board of Appeals Basic Overview on March 18, 2010, which they found helpful. Sandy mentioned that the instructor indicated all towns should have alternate ZBA members. John commented that we handle matters pretty well compared to some stories that he heard at the class. David commented that we try to apply the spirit of the state law locally. Some metropolitan areas are insistent that applicants have all elements of their applications in place ahead of time, but they have employees who can take care of these things.

David Cooper remembered the Reardon York Estates file. One of the people requesting the interpretation was a Mr. Pellegrini from Long Island, who was head of planning there and who had engineers to handle their material. But it remains that an applicant must have standing. There is a difference between the Planning Board and the ZBA - the Planning Board has the discretion to initiate. The ZBA cannot initiate; we must have a hearing. The Planning Board should be reading the new law line by line. That way, they can find problems before they come up in a real life situation.

John Stelling said that in towns with enough staff, the requirements are handled clerically. The building inspector, when denying an application, starts to tell them what is required. Some people are in favor of signage on a property if they are applying for a variance.

David asked if they discussed the aspect that there is a finite length of time that an abutter can complain about a permit. The clock starts when it is obvious that something is happening. Special permits that are not acted upon within a certain time limit are invalid. That was the rationale when we did the Friends and there was clear evidence of action but after the building was ¾ constructed, the neighbors complained and wanted to invalidate the permit.

John said one of the things they made plain was, when you close the public hearing you need to make a note of the times in the minutes. The times must be recorded properly. The more clarity there is, the better.

Motion by Pat Liddle to approve the January 26, 2010 minutes as written, 2nd by Bill Wallace. All in favor.

John Stelling asked if everyone was clear on what was changed in the new boundary line adjustment law. David said what was changed was the type of maps that need to be

generated and filed. Canaan had required two maps – one map showing before the change and a second map showing after the change. Other municipalities required one map with the change shown, which makes it easier to see the change. Canaan will now require the same thing – one map showing the change, which eliminates the need for people requesting boundary line adjustments coming to the Planning Board twice. It also reduces the amount of money applicants must spend on maps which are looked at for a very short time. On a bigger project with several hundred acres, the maps can become very expensive. John said it is difficult to write those laws correctly the first time around. The law specifies that both parcels need to be surveyed in their entirety. No one realized it can be a real financial burden and have no effect on the matter. The intent is to be sure the parcel remains a legal lot, but common sense should prevail. They can agree to waive the requirement to do some things. That is an advantage of the power to initiate. They still have the right to require more information. Surveyors depend on these maps so they can re-establish benchmarks when surveying other properties.

Continued review of the new zoning law, beginning on Page 42 with ARTICLE IX. B. Permits and Enforcement. Only areas where there are suggested changes are noted in these minutes. In c. Temporary Permits, John Stelling said that in Items 2 and 3 it would appear that the use of a temporary structure is allowed for a year after construction and can extend. But if you want to stay in a mobile home, you have one year and that is it. Was that intentional? David said he thought it was. Pat Liddle noted there appeared to be a conflict. John asked if an RV or mobile home can be a temporary structure. Ann Pearce added that 2. is something we have in the past said one could do. David said he thought it is referring to the locked units used by contractors. Ann Pearce agreed. David read Page 36, 4. Interpretation and compared it to the above. Section B. Permits and Enforcement 2. c. Temporary Permits is specific to the ZEO. They are a little different.

D. Reimbursement of Expenses 2. – This is new. David said we need to find out when the process starts. David is remembering the time when we had to hire another attorney to review for the tower because of a conflict of interest. You don’t know necessarily when you might not understand what you will need in advance. David will discuss with the Supervisor, who can talk with the Town Attorney so everyone is clear how we initiate this policy. We have a sheet we give to applicants – the Clerk should add this portion to that sheet, specifically Page 44, Article IX D. Reimbursement of Expenses, Subsections 1 and 2.

E. Completion of Building for Which a Permit Has Been Issued 1. b) This covers all permits that were issued prior to the issuance of this new law. It is the same for permits issued now.

F. Certificates of Occupancy – Ann Pearce thinks they took the original 1985 law and expanded the verbiage. Bill Wallace said the State issued C of O’s before 1985. The Town issued them after that. 1985 is when the NY State Code was revised. On Page 45, the 2nd number F. 1. should be changed to 2.

Ann Pearce said there needs to be a decent map. We should go back to Clark.

This concludes the ZBA’s review of the new zoning law. David said all the things we tagged are on a list and the clerk will print out a list of all comments made by the ZBA in a separate document which we will go over at our next meeting and recommend what we want to do with them.

Motion by Pat Liddle with 2nd by Ann Pearce to adjourn. All in favor. Adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

For the Board,



Julie Alexander
Clerk

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