Land Use & Code Enforcement Issues Dominate Great Valley Town Board Meeting
Land Use & Code Enforcement Issues Dominate Great Valley Town Board Meeting
The Great Valley Town Board will begin working with consultant Sara Hermann of North by Northeast Communications of Glenwood, NY to help draft a Comprehensive Plan update and assist with other development issues in the town.
Town Supervisor Dan Brown informed councilmen during the June 13th Town Board meeting that Hermann had experience working in the past with the Town Attorney Peter Sorgi and had recently met to discuss the position with the Planning Board. She will consult with town officials on an as-needed basis and attend six meetings a year.
Planning Board Chairman Chris Schena said he found Hermann knowledgeable about "tiny homes," building codes and issues facing the town. He added that she will meet with officials again on June 23rd.
The Board voted to approve her consulting contract. The vacant position was held by Ellicottville Planner Gary Palumbo on a shared consulting arrangement until his departure late last fall. Brown explained that the Cattaraugus County Planning Department did not engage with the Town's request for guidance with the Comprehensive Plan update and other land use-related issues, in part because it may present a conflict when some planning referrals are sent to the Cattaraugus County Planning Board for review.
In another matter, Schena and Code Enforcement Officer Richard Rinko reported a request from County Road 18 resident Dana John to set up as many as four 8'x40' shipping containers that would be converted into "small houses" or cabins on foundations with shared water and sewer infrastructure. These would be used as Airbnb-style alternative lodging units on his property.
Schena said John was advised that permission was not needed for one container, but 2-4 containers would require local approval. Five containers or more will trigger state Health Department involvement and they will be regulated as a campground. He said John raised the question because he had an opportunity to obtain one container and he wanted to know if he should start with the first, with a possibility of setting up four more.
Board members questioned a small container set up on Route 98 and officials said it is considered a camper because it's on wheels and has to be moved every six months and stay off the property for at least 30 days.
Schena also reported on some of the items he learned at a recent government officials training sponsored by Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Authority. He said officials there recommend against using private emails for correspondence because if information is subpoenaed, all private communications would have to be turned over. He asked the Board for guidance in setting up a government email address.
In addition, he learned the Comprehensive Plan update information, along with meeting agendas and documents to be discussed or voted, must be published in a newspaper of record or posted on the Town's website, GreatValleyNY.org, in advance of meetings. He added that the reason given is it's helpful to provide as many opportunities as possible for the public to engage in meetings and hearings.
Currently, the website is managed by Southern Tier West and officials will inquire how to post notices and materials. Brown suggested asking Acme Business to provide email addresses.
"We should have been doing this for years," said Schena, adding, "In a perfect world when we have a public hearing, I'd rather have a roomful of people."
The Board met behind closed doors for a 10-minute phone conversation with Sorgi. Afterward the Board voted to authorize Sorgi's legal representation in an Article 78 lawsuit filed by an Ellicott Street property owner who had proceeded with a 14'x14' building construction without a permit and located within setback boundaries. The project was subsequently denied a permit by the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Board member Rebecca Kruszynski said she will assist Rinko as the first member of a new "Property Management Committee" to help identify properties that are out of compliance. Rinko explained that as a part-time CEO he could use help from the committee to agree on which properties are in line for enforcement action when they are out of Building Code compliance. He said he is looking for more volunteers to sit on the committee and who could help identify violators and provide notice to owners.
Property management to eliminate junk and debris is covered under state law and also in the Town's zoning ordinance.
Rinko promised to follow up after Councilman Gerald C. Musall questioned whether certain properties had submitted engineering plans, received building permits for extensive expansions and construction, and whether certificates of occupancy had been issued on several more which were visibly incomplete. Brown commented he would like to "play hardball" to let it be known that Great Valley is not a "free-for-all."
Board members then agreed to send to Tietsworth Auction an old tractor and a fire truck, stored in the Town highway barn, and to use the proceeds to purchase a trailer to move the Town's highway construction roller.
The six-week Summer Youth Program will begin July 11th and will run four days a week; participants should plan to meet and review the program rules from 4:00-6:00pm June 20th-22nd.
Brown said he expects the Youth Camp transaction may take shape in July, and he displayed a drawing of the layout of improvements being planned at the Town Hall and said he will be meeting with an architect to go over the plans. He also reported East Aurora is purchasing new soccer equipment and will donate its old equipment to Great Valley's recreational facilities. Board member Lori Finch will be ordering bases for an updated softball field in Killbuck Park. There were compliments about the appearance of landscaping at the Memorial Park and officials will come up with a plan to improve the appearance of the Town Hall sign.
The meeting was held in honor of nine local residents who have passed away: Bob Earley, Orvil Foster, Freida Hicks, Mike McGraw, George Metzler, Bob Rockwell, Gary Wilson, Vincent Worster and Cindy Zimbardi.
The Great Valley Town Board will next meet July 11, 2022 at 7:00pm.
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