Unofficial summary. This is a community summary of the town's official minutes, provided so the record is searchable and readable. It condenses the meeting and may omit detail. Some private individuals’ personal details have been left out. The official signed PDF is the complete record of authority.
Office of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Town of Schaghticoke — December 5, 2019, at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose. The meeting opened at 7:31 p.m.
Present: Rich Geddis, Kristin Griswold, Lettie Saheim, and Jason Shover. Absent: Ed McDonough (Chairman). Kristin Pratt (Deputy Town Attorney) was present; Elizabeth Hale (Clerk) was absent.
Regular meeting
There was not a quorum of members present who had also attended the November meeting, so the November 7, 2019 minutes could not be approved.
Old business
Navarra variance
The Board discussed the area variance issued to Joe Navarra on February 1, 2018, permitting a fence with a height of 4 feet within 25 feet of the front-line right-of-way. The question of whether the fence is taller than 4 feet has been raised. Chairman McDonough has been in contact with the Building Department to complete a site visit and measure the fence for compliance.
New business
Ragone use-variance application (Tax Map #71.-2-4.13)
The Board received a use-variance application from Vincent Ragone of Ragone Foundation, Inc. to operate a concrete-footing business on the southeasterly side of NYS Route 40, south of Fogarty Road, in the Hamlet District. An application, short-form EAF, and a bullet-point list were submitted by the applicant’s consultant, land surveyor Brian Holbritter, L.S.
Mr. Ragone has purchased the roughly 4.76-acre parcel and proposes a 10,000-square-foot building with about 1,200–1,300 square feet of office space, to store equipment and for indoor equipment repair, with access from NYS Route 40. There would be no manufacturing on site — the business purchases concrete forms and transports them to construction sites. It employs 30–40 people seasonally, most working at construction sites, with about 5–6 in the office daily. Two commercial vehicles are used (a 10-wheeler and a pumper truck), plus about 7 pickup trucks. The Board noted the Rensselaer County Health Department must approve the proposed septic system and that a stormwater pollution prevention plan will be required. Currently vehicles and materials are stored at the applicant’s home and his office is in Troy; he hopes to consolidate to a single site.
Jason Shover reiterated traffic-safety concerns on Route 40 given large trucks traveling to and from the site. Rich Geddis noted the site is adjacent to several residences in the Hamlet District and questioned whether the business is consistent with the neighborhood. Attorney Pratt noted the proposal appears unlisted, making SEQR coordination optional, but Planning Board Chairman Frank Alessandrini preferred a coordinated review since the Planning Board would also review the proposal if a use variance is issued; she requested a long-form EAF and said she would generate a lead-agency coordination letter.
- Motion to declare the Board’s intent to act as SEQR lead agency and to authorize the Deputy Town Attorney to issue a lead-agency letter, pending receipt of a long-form EAF (Shover · Griswold — Ayes: Geddis, Griswold, Shover, Saheim; Nays: none).
Adjourned at 8:50 p.m. (Griswold · Geddis — Ayes: Geddis, Griswold, Shover, Saheim; Nays: none). Submitted by Kristin L. Pratt, Deputy Town Attorney (dated January 2, 2020).
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