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SE Planning Board Recap 3/22/10

Jeff Green — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:47:11 +0000

SE Planning Board Recap 3/22/10

Posted by: “Lynne Eckardt” lynne.eckardt@gmail.com

Date: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:31 am ((PDT))

Hi All,

Even though I still attend almost every Planning Board meeting I haven’t

tackled a recap for quite a while but this one is really too good or bad

(depending on your bent) to pass up.

Chairman LaPerch was in fine form having the patience of a toddler at

a Toys-R-Us clearance. And long time Planning Board member, Dan

Armstrong, had the unmitigated gall to claim he had no idea what the term

‘spot zoning’ means. Really, Dan? Really?

Of course while much has changed since the days of Chairman George Rohrman

much has remained the same. In general the Board has still never met a new

warehouse or old auto/tractor dealer/service center- (oops, make that

‘General Business’) it didn’t like. In fact the complex contortions made to

accommodate Brewster Honda make Houdini look like a piker. More on that

later.

On item 1 (‘Palumbo Sand and Gravel’) Peder Scott appeared to have won his

engineering degree in a raffle and Chairman LaPerch gave him an appropriate

and much needed dressing down. Baroody (scaled back to one lot) is finally

nearing the finish line and an old Allview development (Mazzotta- also Peder

Scott but this time all ducks seemed to be in a row) needs only a driveway

permit to break ground.

I think my favorite part of the meeting was at the end when LaPerch decided

to announce an all new ‘Hall of Shame’ segment. While it did seem a little

desperate I loved this. Anyhow, those applicants who owe fees to the town

were named. Drum roll please: Brewster Honda, Stateline, Southeast Memorial

Park and the Vallejo Kennel applications were among the many told to pay up.

As always the drivel I send electronically is only my tiresome and jaded

take on the planning process in Southeast. Any opinions expressed are mine

alone and reflect no organization to which I belong.

*1) PALUMBO SAND AND GRAVEL, Fields Lane:*

Just when you thought it might be safe to drive down Fields Lane…

Seriously, I would go into my now hackneyed warehouse rant but we all know

how much good *that* does so I’ll save the ink.

What’s most interesting here is the fact that both the Town Engineer and the

DEP had 19 comments *each *regarding this project. Chairman LaPerch was not

amused and, because Peder Scott had the audacity to appear before the PB,

seemed on the verge of a minor stroke. LaPerch told Scott that he was tired

of others doing Scott’s work for him and that all these comments needed to

be addressed before Scott came back to the Board. Scott mumbled something

about an old sheet 6A or B actually getting reviewed but this lamo excuse

fell on deaf ears. Mr. LaPerch then polled the board and all agreed that the

project should not be in front of them now.

The chair then explained to the applicant (Palumbo) that while the town

welcomed his business, the application needed a lot of work. Mr. Palumbo was

very gracious and said that he ‘understood’.

*2) MAZZOTA SUBDIVISION:* *Allview Avenue

*You could almost hear the gigantic sigh of relief for Peder Scott as little

seemed wrong with this subdivision. Of course it’s so old even I don’t

remember it. Apparently the Mazzota’s have kept their permits up to date so

all they need now is a permit from the SE Highway Department for a driveway.

*3) BAROODY WETLANDS PERMIT, Farm To Market Road*

Our long national nightmare is almost over… Seriously, Harry Nichols

represents the Baroody’s and I must say the plat (or whatever it was)

displayed looked like one of those notorious football time fillers: game

play drawings. Ugh. The Board mentioned that the map was confusing as did

wetlands’ inspector Stephen Coleman. Still, this is now down to one lot but

has much in the way of mitigation vis-a-vis rain gardens and native wetlands

plantings so* finally* this project is ready for approval.

*4) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION TO TOWN BOARD ON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE:*

Wow. How do some of these these guys do sit there with a straight face?

Several Oscars here would be well deserved.

Basically, this was almost all log rolling to ensure that Brewster Honda

gets what they want. Gosh, that was harsh- maybe too harsh. Perhaps it’s

genuinely what most Planning Board members feel is right. And it’s fine to

agree with Brewster Honda’s proposal. However, what isn’t fine is creating

new zoning to accommodate their plans. Because that, my dear Mr. Armstrong,

is what ‘spot zoning’ is all about.

For example, it’s been pointed out (more than a few times) that in our

general code no new auto servicing centers can be within 1000 feet of any

other auto servicing center. Ironically Dan Armstrong made a point of

mentioning that this was the perfect spot for Brewster Honda because

(attention all you logic fans out there) they’re only 700 feet from the

nearest servicing center!

Now, you might ask why then our general town code will be ignored. Silly

question… because now Brewster Honda will now fall under the definition of

‘General Business’! Get it? Once you define what is clearly going to be an

automotive service center as a ‘General Business’ then it gets to go

anywhere there’s an NB zone. So what isn’t defined as ‘General Business’?

Well my best guess would be anything that isn’t proposed for a Planning

Board or Town Board member’s backyard.

By the way, if this seems reminiscent of Westchester Tractor you’d be

correct. Although at least Westchester Tractor had the brass b*lls to swear

up and down that they (wink, wink) would be doing absolutely no servicing on

site. Of course all these years later Westchester Tractor is back with

outside storage violations that they also swore would never, ever, ever

happen.

Ah, but I digress. Suffice it to say that not all members of the Planning

Board are okay with Brewster Honda. There were some questions asked and

there hasn’t been a vote… yet.

There will also be another Public Hearing (at the Town Board level) and I

would strongly urge everyone to speak up on this proposed Comprehensive Plan

change. Because, after all, if you’re anywhere near a commercial area and

there’s a big enough business that wants to expand nearby… well, this

could happen to you.

Whew. That’s it from my desk. As always please feel free to e-mail me with

any questions or comments that you might have.

With Best Regards,

Lynne Eckardt

June 2 Full Leg Meeting Agenda

Jeff Green — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:31:02 +0000

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING

OF THE

PUTNAM COUNTY LEGISLATURE

TO BE HELD IN THE

HISTORIC COURTHOUSE

CARMEL, NEW YORK 10512

Tuesday June 2, 2008 7:00 P.M.

1. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll Call

3. Approval of Minutes – Special Meeting – April 1, 2009

Regular Meeting – May 5, 2009

Budget & Finance – May 5, 2009

4. Correspondence/County Auditor

5. Pre-filed Resolutions:

BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE

(All Members)

5a. Approval/2010 Decentralized Budget Review Process

HEALTH, SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL & ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE

(Chairman Oliverio, Legislators Fusco & Tamagna)

5b. Approval/Fund Transfer/Health Department/Cover Cost of Particulate Respirator Masks

PHYSICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE

(Chairman Tamagna, Legislators Odell & Othmer)

5c. Approval/Appointments/Putnam County Soil & Water Conservation District Board

5d. Approval/Rural Historic Peekskill Hollow Road Project

RULES, ENACTMENTS & INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE

(Chairman Hay, Legislators Birmingham & Conklin)

5e. Local Law/Amend Article II of Chapter 31/Code of Putnam County/ Entitled “Leases”

5f. Approval/Local Law/Amend Article III of Chapter 31/Code of Putnam County/Entitled “Vehicles and Traffic”

5g. Approval/Re-Appointments/Putnam County Board of Electrical Examiners (Electrical Board)

5h. Approval/Identifying Individuals Responsible for Purchasing

5i. Approval/Amend Resolution #388 of 2008/Financial Disclosure List

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

(Chairman Fusco, Legislator LoBue & Oliverio)

5j. Approval/Budgetary Amendment/Fund Septic Repair Program Through End of Year

5k. Approval/Fund Transfer/Law Department/Cover Difference in Salary Lines

5l. Approval/Confirmation/Appointment of County Historian/Patricia McMahon Houser

PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE

(Chairwoman Odell, Legislators Conklin & Oliverio)

5m. Approval/Renewal of Inter-Municipal Agreement/Putnam County/ Town of Carmel

5n. Approval/Memorialization/Formal Review/Expansion of Correctional Facility

AUDIT & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE

(Chairwoman Conklin, Legislators Hay & Oliverio)

5o. Approval/Use of Proceeds from Bond and Bond Anticipation Notes/ Reimbursement

5p. Approval/Budgetary Amendment/Planning Department/Soil & Water/Demonstration Rain Garden Project

5q. Approval/Resolution Recommending That the State Legislature Amend Such Sections of the New York State Tax Law As necessary to Authorize the County of Putnam to Increase the Mortgage Recording Charges

6. Other Business

7. Recognition of Public

8. Recognition of Legislators

9. Adjournment

NtM – May 18, 2009

Jeff Green — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:29:20 +0000

Good Monday Morning,

The National Weather Service has announced a FREEZE Warning for tonight. High pressure building in from the northwest combined with light winds and clear skies will allow interior portions of the Hudson Valley to experience temperatures below 32º for several hours overnight. (3AM – 8AM)

If you cannot bring in sensitive plants, cover them with a blanket or tarp before evening to conserve warmer earth temps around those plants. It was a similar event on this very day several years ago that severely damaged the apple crop here in the Hudson Valley so preparatory caution is advised.

The Kent Town Board meets tonight in regular session at 7PM. Here’s a draft agenda. While we’re talking about Kent, an online petition to fire the Town’s building inspector was started a few weeks back and has so far garnered a grand total of seven signatures.

Tomorrow is the school board budget and elections. Vote wisely and remember that voting a budget down really only hurts your kids. If you need to make a statement do so in other ways: Picket a school board meeting, make a phone call, send a letter, demonstrate.

Oregon Corners: Putnam Valley Democrats have posted a page on their website about a recent hearing regarding the redevelopment plans for Oregon Corners. It’s worth a look.

Am I the only one to notice the steep climb in gasoline prices over the past two weeks? We were paying $2.10 or so and then it was $2.15 and then $2.33 and now $2.47? The largest price jump, around 14¢, happened just last week. Analysts say it’s due to the summer driving season where oil companies generally rape the public and then safely blame the victims. They also say gasoline prices will not reach the levels they were a couple years back during the worst of the price gouging by ExxonMobil and their friends. We’ll see.

Poll: What do you think gasoline will cost come the July 4th weekend?

Kent resident Ed Sorel has been an illustrator for, well, forever. He is a regular contributor to The Atlantic and The New Yorker. Besides his 41 covers for the latter, his art has appeared on the covers of The Atlantic, Harpers, Fortune, Forbes, The Nation, Esquire, American Heritage and The New York Times Magazine. He has illustrated many children’s books, three of which he also wrote. Unauthorized Portraits (Knopf 1997) is the most recent of several collections of his work.This month Vanity Fair magazine highlights some of his work and you can find that here.

There’s alcohol served at Putnam National and golfers are enthralled. But I have a question: under our contract with RDC, the company managing the golf course, the county pays them $17,000 a month to run the place and they have to give us $248,000 at the end of the year. My math says that leaves the county with a $44,000 profit and I’m wondering if that’s enough.

Website Watch:

You Are What You Eat: You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the Untied States. “For three years I traveled around the country exploring the issue of hunger. The more time I spent speaking and listening to individual stories, the more I began to think about the foods we consume and the effects they have on us as individuals and communities. An intense curiosity and questions about stewardship led me to begin to make these unconventional portraits. These are portraits of the rich and the poor. Vegetarians, Republicans, members of the NRA, those left out, the under appreciated, former soldiers in Hitler’s SS, dreamers, and so much more. We never know the full story of one’s life.”

And now, the News:

Putnam lawmakers pledge to limit Peekskill Hollow Road work
Can Buying Local Mean Clean Water Too?
Green Bin waste sent to landfill
More land saved than developed, study finds
‘Natural patterns’ of farming touted in documentary
Judge blocks ‘robo-calls’ selling car warranties
Senate Rejects Limit on Credit-Card Interest Rates
Freedom in the 50 States

Putnam lawmakers pledge to limit Peekskill Hollow Road work

Barbara Livingston Nackman
bnackman@lohud.com

PUTNAM VALLEY – Opponents of a county-inspired road project to reshape and repave Peekskill Hollow Road have made some gains – after a decade of protests and a recent meeting that brought out more than a hundred people.

The Putnam County Legislature is set to adopt a resolution firmly stating that the $8 million project will only deal with a less than 3-mile stretch of Peekskill Hollow Road from Oregon to Adams corners and nothing further.

“This is not the Peekskill Hollow urban arterial project,” County Legislator Vincent Tamagna, R-Philipstown, said, referring to the winding 11-mile east-west roadway that goes from the Cortlandt/Putnam Valley border at Oregon Corners to Route 301 in Kent.

Can Buying Local Mean Clean Water Too?

Buying locally from nearby farmers who care for the land can provide consumers with more than fresh food. Residents of the New York City metropolitan region who buy Pure Catskills branded products are also supporting the farmers who keep their drinking water clean. During the past decade, Catskill farmers have worked in cooperation with the Watershed Agricultural Council on a unique land protection and environmental stewardship program that keeps the watershed’s streams and reservoirs pristine—the same watershed that supplies drinking water to millions of New York City residents. Now, through a local food map and other resources, the new Pure Catskills initiative is helping consumers locate products from the farms that grow wholesome local food and clean water.

Green Bin waste sent to landfill

TheStar.com – GTA – Green Bin waste sent to landfill

April 11, 2009
Gail Swainson
STAFF REPORTER

More than 6,000 tonnes of York Region’s organic waste was shipped to a landfill site in 2008 because it was bagged in plastic that prevented composting, says a report from the region.

Last year, York collected 86,000 tonnes of organic waste in its Green Bins. Of this, 12,750 tonnes contained plastic, with about half, or some 6,000 tonnes, going to landfill and the remainder to an energy-from-waste plant in the United States that can accommodate plastic in the trash.

Laura McDowell, the region’s director of environmental promotion and protection, said many considerations, including shipping costs and contractual obligations, prevented all plastic-contaminated organics from being converted to energy.

“We have some existing contracts that dictate where the waste needs to go,” McDowell said.

York Region has launched a pilot project encouraging residents to switch from plastic bin liners to compostable bags in the hopes of reducing the amount of non-compostable waste.

More land saved than developed, study finds

Mass Audubon still urges new curbs

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff | May 18, 2009

Massachusetts, reversing a decades-long trend, is protecting land at twice the rate it is being lost to development, a Mass Audubon study to be released today shows.

Through the 1990s and the early part of this decade, forests and fields were being developed – mostly into new home sites – at the rate of about 40 acres a day. In recent years, the study shows, that number was cut nearly in half, to about 22 acres a day.

At the same time, conservation efforts have stepped up, so that each day 43 acres of land are protected as open space, usually through legal agreements with private owners or purchases by conservation groups or the state.

“The good news is we are no longer gobbling up open spaces,” said Jack Clarke, director of public policy and government relations for the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

The slowed pace of development probably has more to do with flat population growth – and more recently the recession – than dramatic changes in zoning and other laws limiting home construction, officials say.

‘Natural patterns’ of farming touted in documentary

By Joshua Hatch, USA TODAY

SWOOPE, Va. — The white metal sign over the desk at Polyface Farm reads, “Joel Salatin: Lunatic Farmer.”

Salatin is proud of that label. “I’m a third-generation lunatic,” he boasts while standing in his lush, green central Virginia fields. Brown chickens strut and peck around his feet. “I don’t do anything like average farmers do,” he says.

What the 52-year-old farmer does is let his cows feed on grass instead of corn or grain. He moves his cows to new fields daily. Flocks of chickens scratch around open fields, spreading cow droppings, eating flies and larvae, and laying eggs in the Salatin-built eggmobile. Hogs forage in the woods or in a pasture house where they root through cow manure, wood chips and corn. The resulting compost gets spread back over the fields, fertilizing the grass for the cattle. That completes the cycle.

“It’s completely counter to current agricultural wisdom,” he says. Current agricultural practices often encourage using technology — petroleum-based fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics — to spur growth and reduce costs as much as possible.

Judge blocks ‘robo-calls’ selling car warranties

By MIKE ROBINSON – 1 day ago

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has issued two temporary restraining orders designed to stop what officials describe as a wave of deceptive “robo-calls” warning people their auto warranties are expiring and offering to sell them new service plans.

“Today the FTC has disconnected the people responsible for so many of these annoying calls,” Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz said Friday.

“We expect to see a dramatic decrease in the number of deceptive auto warranty calls, but we are still on high alert,” Leibowitz said in a statement posted on the agency’s Web site.

The FTC filed suit against two companies and their executives on Thursday, asking a federal court in Chicago to halt a wave of as many as 1 billion automated, random, prerecorded calls and freeze the assets of the companies.

Senate Rejects Limit on Credit-Card Interest Rates

By Carl Hulse

Despite complaints that banks and credit card companies are gouging customers by charging outrageous interest rates, the Senate on Wednesday easily turned back an effort to cap interest rates at 15 percent.

The effort by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, drew only 33 votes and needed 60, with a bipartisan group of 60 senators opposing it as the Senate pushed its credit card overhaul toward the finish line. Some Democrats and consumer groups have said that an interest cap is needed to put real teeth into an otherwise solid bill.

Other backers of the measure calculated that an interest rate ceiling would doom the popular legislation. The banking industry, which had some heavy-weight representatives monitoring the vote off of the Senate floor, warned that an interest rate limit could cause a sour reaction in the financial markets.

Freedom in the 50 States

…We find that the freest states in the country are New Hampshire, Colorado, and South Dakota, which together achieve a virtual tie for first place. All three states feature low taxes and government spending and middling levels of regulation and paternalism. New York is the least free by a considerable margin, followed by New Jersey, Rhode Island, California and Maryland. On personal freedom alone, Alaska is the clear winner, while Maryland brings up the rear. As for freedom in the different regions of the country, the Mountain and West North Central regions are the freest overall while the Middle Atlantic lags far behind on both economic and personal freedom. Regression analysis demonstrates that states enjoying more economic and personal freedom tend to attract substantially higher rates of internal net migration.

Read the study here

Kent TB Agenda – May 18, 2009

Jeff Green — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:00:43 +0000

TOWN OF KENT

Town Board Meeting

May 18, 2009 / 7:00 PM

Public Hearing – NYC-DEP Land Acquisition

Stormwater Presentation by Bruce Barber, Town Wetlands Inspector

Meeting

Salute to the Flag
Roll Call
Approval of Vouchers and Claims
Recycling Center Master Plan/Improvement
Budget Transfer – Gate Valve
Lake Carmel Fee Schedule (IDs and permits)
Introduction to Local Law – Amend Chapter 10
Introduction to Local Law – Amend Chapter 77
Accept Resignation (effective Mar. 6) of Maria Thomas, P/T Clerk to Justice Court
Highway Equipment Repair – Trucks # 27 and 21
Release Erosion Control Bond – Shirley & Steven Lapidus $3,339.00 TM#19.12-1-12.1 & 2
Amend Resolution # 221 – Voice Recording Equipment
Letter of Support – Stormwater (Phosphorous)
Landfill Bid
Correspondence

Kent TB Agenda – 3/23/09

Jeff Green — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:04:13 +0000

TOWN OF KENT
Town Board Meeting
March 23, 2009 / 07:00 PM

Public Hearing – Local Law on Codification
Supervisor’s Term of Office
Meeting
1. Salute to the Flag
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Vouchers and Claims
4. Local Law – Blasting Code
5. Local Law – Zoning Code Exemption
6. Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (Getty)
7. Return Erosion Control – Barbara Adams
8. Accept Erosion Control Bond – Ribiero Construction TM #9.-1-67 $$3,675.00
9. Accept Erosion Control Bond – Ralph Rosenfeld (KBD Realty) TM#12.-1.50 $7,953.00
10. Recreation – Use of Facilities Policy
11. American Red Cross
12. Putnam County Real Property Tax Services Agency Contract
13. Lake Carmel Fire Department
- Accept New Members
- Authorize Supervisor to Sign Contract
14. Public Sector HR Contract
15. Cemetery Maintenance
16. Announcement – Kent Clean-Up Day
17. Correspondence