Village Planning Board
Village Planning Board
Village Planning Board Grants Permit For Cigar Store and Private Smoking Lounge
The owner of the future Cigar Lounge of Ellicottville, a planned retail cigar store with an adjacent private lounge, has received conditional approval for a Special Use Permit from the Ellicottville Village Planning Board. Before opening at 5 Washington St., however, Planning Board members said an effective method to contain stray cigar smoke and odors must be verified by the Village's Planner and Code Enforcement Officer.
The approval was granted following a public hearing held Aug. 10th in the Town Hall. There were no comments except one emailed from a neighboring long-term resident, who raised the issue of containment of smoke and odors, as well as the possibility for litter from cigar wrappers. While littering is not covered in the village's Zoning Ordinance, the Board members agreed smoke and odors should be a condition of the special use permit. There were no other comments and applicant Bradley Hurley of Watson Road was not present to explain his plans for odor control.
The Cigar Lounge will occupy two commercial suites covering 4,000 square feet - one side for retail cigar sales and the other side for a members-only smoking club where beer, wine and spirits can be purchased. The two will be separated by a humidor.
In another matter, a proposal to alter the foundation of the Michelle and Craig Winters family residence at 9 Elk St. was tabled following a lengthy discussion.
The 20x20-foot home is considered a pre-existing nonconforming building that is part of a three-unit property, located in a zone where only two residences are allowed. It may not be expanded according to zoning regulations. The proposal to raise the foundation 7 feet 8 inches was the Winters' second application to remedy drainage issues and mold in the crawl space and heating system. An area variance was needed to go ahead with an earlier proposal. The Planning Board had denied that proposal, which was later withdrawn from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Officials had expected the Winters to return with a plan for repairs to raise the foundation only 22 inches to ease access to the crawl space, but sought the Village attorney's review when a full basement became part of the new design.
"(The Winters') plan was always to put a basement in to access the utility space under the structure," said Engineer Jacob Alianello, adding his clients showed that plan to the ZBA.
"We can't approve this project as it is because a full basement is an expansion," said Chairperson Nancy Rogan, explaining that the Board's decision is limited to denial or tabling according the the attorney's advice.
The Board then voted to table the application in anticipation of further revisions. Mr. Palumbo said with the Village attorney's approval he will forward the legal recommendations to Mr. Alianello.
In other business, the Board set a public hearing for 5:30pm Sept. 14th to take comments in a site plan review for a two-story single-family residence at 19 Parkside Dr. An attached garage with 627 feet of upstairs area is a part of the plan for the 2-1/2 story Jen Courtney and Bill Stoll residence. After some discussion between the project engineer Aaron Tiller and Mr. Palumbo, it was decided that the upstairs area is to be counted as living area but the downstairs should not be counted in the floor area ratio for living space.
The Board then issued denials for two projects.
Peter Kreinheder sought a special use permit and short-term rental license to convert a former restaurant/retail building at 37 Washington Street to an inn with three bedrooms, to be rented as one unit. The project was denied because the zoning regulations do not define "inn" and within the Commercial District the first floor must remain commercial, with rentals limited to the second floor.
The Loud Underground (Loud Performance) projecting sign application by Dee Dippel of Bemus Point was denied because it is hanging from another sign at 16 Washington St., which is against the regulations. In addition, Mr. Palumbo pointed out, “The sign has been attached illegally for three weeks and the application came as the result of notification of the code violation.” Board member Sean Cornelius recused himself from the vote due to a conflict.
Finally, Mr. Palumbo reported that Greg Dekdebrun will be dropping his request for a minor subdivision at his 18 Washington St. retail location.
In other matters, the Moratorium Committee will meet at 4:30pm Aug. 24th. The Committee includes representatives of the Village Planning Board and the Village Board of Trustees. Also, Board members discussed the need for upgraded virtual meeting capabilities to enable interested parties to participate in meetings that could continue to be held in person. Chairperson Rogan will discuss the request with the Village Board of Trustees.
The Planning Board will next meet at 5:30pm Sept. 14, 2021 in the Town Hall.