Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Schaghticoke met at the Town Hall, 290 Northline Drive, Melrose, on Thursday, February 6, 2020. The meeting opened at 7:30 PM with roll call.

Present: Ed McDonough (Chairman), Rich Geddis, Kristin Griswold, Lettie Saheim, Jason Shover. Absent: none. Deputy Town Attorney Kristin Pratt and Clerk Elizabeth Hale were present.

• January 2, 2020 minutes approved as submitted (Saheim · Griswold — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none).

Suspended the regular meeting to open the public hearing for Application #1-20 (Ragone Foundations, Inc.) (McDonough · Shover — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none). About 20 interested residents attended.

Public hearing — Ragone Foundations, Inc., Application #1-20 (Tax Map #71.-2-4.13)

Opened at 7:35 PM. The Chairman read the notice of hearing for Application #1-20 of Ragone Foundations, Inc. (based on Bentley Drive, Troy) for property on the southeasterly side of NYS Route 40, south of Fogarty Road, Tax Map #71.-2-4.13, for a use variance under Town Zoning Code Section XI to permit a concrete footing business on approximately 4.76 acres in the Hamlet Zoning District, where the use is not permitted. If granted, the applicant would then seek site plan and Special Use Permit approval from the Planning Board.

Brian Holbritter, land surveyor and the applicant’s consultant, presented a survey map. The applicant, Ragone Foundations, Inc. (principal Vincent Ragone, present), proposes a 150’ × 65’, roughly 10,000-sq-ft building for equipment storage, office space, and indoor equipment repair, with ingress/egress from an existing 70’-wide gravel drive off NYS Route 40. Proposed hours are 6:30 AM–5:30 PM for the repair shop (welding and flat-tire repair, one employee) and 8 AM–4 PM for the office (about five employees, including two estimators and three clerks). Mr. Ragone currently operates from Bentley Drive (also his residence), with office personnel in Troy, and seeks to relocate. There are two 10-wheeler trucks (a form truck and a concrete pumper truck) plus pickups; about 30 employees go directly to construction sites daily and 4–5 office employees would be at headquarters. Public water and gas are available; a septic system and rest rooms would be installed.

Public comments

Numerous residents spoke. Comments in support noted the applicant is a long-time local resident, that the current Bentley Drive site lacks room, that Route 40 is an appropriate location for business, and that a roughly 5-acre wooded parcel would buffer neighbors. Comments in opposition and questions raised included:

• Requests for the definition of a use variance and the granting process, and concern about water collected from outdoor truck washing (Mr. Ragone said trucks would be washed inside the building with run-off draining to an engineered on-site system).
• Concerns about exterior/night lighting shining into a nearby home, vandalism and off-road (four-wheeler) activity on the site, and building height and visibility (Mr. Holbritter said lighting would be downward-directed and the building about 30’ high; Mr. Ragone offered to plant pine trees as a buffer but had not planned security fencing).
• Concerns about noise, diesel exhaust and air quality (including from a resident whose household member has a health condition), whether a health study had been done, mud on roads from the gravel drive, truck idling and jake brakes, weekend activity, and whether the business would expand (Mr. Ragone said diesel trucks generally run about 10 minutes before leaving, there could be up to half a day of Saturday activity if necessary, and he was not looking to expand; he said trucks would be loaded the day prior and he plans to blacktop the area).
• Traffic-safety concerns about turning on and off busy NYS Route 40 at the proposed access, the aesthetic impact of a large metal building, and effects on neighborhood property values (Mr. Holbritter said trucks would enter Route 40 during low-traffic hours and submitted a traffic study for 6:30–7:30 AM).
• A resident stated a truck driver associated with the business had disrupted the neighborhood and reported the matter to the sheriff; and a question about whether the parcel is in the Hamlet or Residential Agricultural District (Attorney Pratt confirmed it is in the Hamlet District and that the proposed business type is not an allowed use, and shared the Zoning Code schedule).
• A question about what would become of the Bentley Drive property when the business relocates, and a note that a self-created hardship is a factor in the analysis.

Closed the public hearing at 8:27 PM (McDonough · Griswold — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none).

Regular meeting — review and decision

The Board reviewed the application. In response to member questions, Mr. Ragone said he was not necessarily planning expansion, that some equipment (such as form baskets) would need outside storage and he would consider a lean-to, and that entering Fogarty Road (rather than Route 40) was not preferable because visibility is insufficient for 40’-long trucks. Members expressed concern about traffic safety at the access, dust, quad activity, potential expansion, and consistency with neighborhood character. Kristin Griswold stated the applicant had not demonstrated sufficient hardship and that the variance would alter neighborhood character based on resident comments. Jason Shover noted he lives within 500’ of the proposal and has personal experience with traffic safety in the area. Chairman McDonough noted the applicant is investing in the community but that neighbors raised many concerns.

The Chairman reviewed the long-form EAF; the action was unlisted and Part 2 identified several small impacts, no major impacts, and no expected significant adverse environmental impact.

• Negative declaration under SEQRA (McDonough · Geddis — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none).

Rensselaer County Office of Economic Development and Planning left the decision to local consideration. The Board discussed the legal standard under NY Town Law and Zoning Law Section XI[B][2] — no use variance without a showing of “unnecessary hardship” established for each permitted Hamlet District use — and found: (1) the applicant did not demonstrate an inability to realize a reasonable return or provide competent financial evidence, noting the property was recently purchased to relocate the business; (2) the applicant did not demonstrate a hardship unique to the property and not applicable to a substantial portion of the district; (3) locating the business in the Hamlet District, surrounded by several residences, would alter the essential character of the neighborhood; and (4) the alleged hardship was self-created, as the property was purchased before seeking municipal approval.

Lettie Saheim made a motion to grant the use variance for Application #1-20; there was no second, and the application was denied. Based on review of the above factors, the Board did not find that the applicable zoning regulations caused unnecessary hardship, and by a vote of 4 to 1 the application was denied.

Other

• A resident (a veterinarian) called about relocating to the area with five dwarf therapy goats and residing in a Hamlet District home on Tague Road with less than the required acreage to keep goats (two goats would live in the house and three in a 25’ × 25’ fenced outdoor shelter; the goats were described as odor-free and quiet, with waste used for fertilizer). Attorney Pratt noted goats are considered livestock under the Zoning Code, and the Chairman would advise that a variance is required to keep goats in a Hamlet District.
• The Town Board requested the ZBA’s comments on a property owner’s request to rezone two tax-map parcels on NYS Route 40 northwest of Campbell Road from Residential Agricultural to Highway Commercial; the Board discussed the matter and asked Kristin Pratt to submit a comment letter to the Town Board.

Adjourned at 9:30 PM (McDonough · Geddis — Ayes: McDonough, Geddis, Griswold, Saheim, Shover; Nays: none). Submitted by Elizabeth Hale, Clerk (dated May 16, 2020).