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April
18, 2002
Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes
Southwest
Community Center |
Chairman:
Randy Pratt
Board Members: Greg Auleta, Robert Baker,
Brad Livesey, Greg Mills |
Call
to Order
The meeting of the Oswego Town Board of Appeals was held on
Thursday, April 18, 2002. Greg Mills, Acting Chairman called
the meeting to order at approximately 7:00 PM.
Attendance
Those in attendance were:
Greg Mills, Acting ZBA Chairman
Kevin Caraccioli, Legal Advisor
Greg Auleta, ZBA Member
Brad Livesey, ZBA Member
Margaret Mahaney, Town Council Member
Shelley Rahn - ZBA Secretary
Randy Pratt, ZBA Chair/Absent
Robert Baker, ZBA Member/Absent
Marcella Gibson, ZEO /Absent
Don Dowd, CEO/Absent
Acceptance of Minutes
A motion was made by Greg Auleta to accept the minutes from
the February 21, 2002 meeting. Brad Livesey seconded the motion.
All ayes. Motion carried.
First Order of Business
Public Comment Session
There was none as no one was present. The Public Comment Session
was closed at approximately 7:05, however if a member of the
public was to show board members agreed to reopen the session.
Second Order of Business
Margaret Mahaney, Oswego Town Board Liaison
Council person Mahaney reported Randy Pratt has been re-appointed
to the chairman position on the ZBA. She will have a copy of
the letter sent to Mr. Pratt sent to all members of the ZBA
along with copies of the minutes from the March Oswego Town
Board meeting.
Council person Mahaney reported that a copy of the Oswego Town
Comprehensive Plan was available, however because of the size
of the document, the Oswego Town Board is waiting for the Oswego
County Planning Boards' final approval before distributing the
document. She will distribute copies of the plan at that time.
An organizational meeting for the Ordinance Revision Committee
is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, 2002 at 7:00 PM at Oswego
Town Hall. Greg Mills and Randy Pratt had expressed their interest
at being on the committee at the last ZBA meeting. They are
asked to attend the organizational meeting. The Oswego Town
Planning Board has requested two (2) members of the public also
join the committee. Council person will provide members of the
committee with the new maps. It is hoped that the topics discussed
at the committee will be brought back to each of the boards
for discussion and input and vice versa.
Council person Mahaney presented the Planning Boards' concern
with the flow of the application process in the town. They wish
to address how an application goes from building permit approval/denial
to the Planning Board and the ZBA. They wish to address this
issue at the committee also.
Council person Mahaney advised that part of the outcome of the
formation of the committee may result in changes to the meeting
schedule for the board. She advised members to be prepared for
such a change. Douglas Malone, member of the public, interjected
his opinion that the town needs more rules. He pointed out that
he waited 11-12 months for a building permit and felt it was
wrong for him to have to do so. Greg Mills advised the ZBA,
in general, concurred with his opinion however there are currently
rules in place and the rules are not being consistently enforced.
Third Order of Business
Review ZBA Forms
At approximately 7:35 the board began their review of the revised
ZBA forms. Kevin Caraccioli will provide, at a later date, a
revised initial review notification letter. The Review Process
checklist was the first form to be reviewed. Kevin Caraccioli
suggested a "Date of Review" area was put on the top of the
form along with an area for the signature of the chairman. The
next form to be reviewed was letter advising the applicant of
additional information needed by the ZBA and the date of the
Public Hearing for their application. No additional changes
were needed. The next form was the Public Hearing Checklist.
Board members agreed to eliminate the secretary reading the
newspaper notification verbatim at the Public Hearing, as indicated
in step #3. The Secretary will, instead, be asked to confirm
the ad was placed in the official town newspaper. Greg Auleta
suggested step #4 be changed to read: "Is all required paperwork
completed that was asked for as a result of the review process.
If no, action to be determined by the board." Greg Auleta suggested
the board secure a copy of the City of Oswego's standard decision
form to use as a guideline for developing something similar
for use by the Town of Oswego ZBA. Kevin Caraccioli suggested
changing step #12 to read "Summarize and enter appropriate data
for the record".
Kevin Caraccioli suggested step #14 be changed to read "Vote
(state reasons for decision)". Board members felt the reasons
for denial/approval should be part of the motion and that more
opportunity for interpretation was created. Greg Auleta again
stated his desire for a decision form. Kevin Caraccioli stated
that all proposals should be stated in the affirmative (i.e.
the motion to approve the application as submitted). Greg Auleta
challenged that statement in that during his tenure on the City
of Oswego board, motions were made with the inclusion of the
reasons for approval/denial. Mr. Auleta felt that voting for
the motion was acting in the affirmative. Mr. Caraccioli stated
that the record needs to adequately reflect the consensus of
the board on the decision. Greg Mills felt it was better for
the board to vote on a motion and let the motion speak for the
acts of the board.
The board also decided to change step #18 to read the permit
is issued by the Building CEO within 10 days. Greg Auleta felt
that the issuance of a permit should not depend on the availability
of someone else. Kevin Caraccioli will research whether the
Building Inspector is the only authorized permit issuing agent.
Fourth Order of Business
Kevin Caraccioli Issues/Comments
At approximately 8:30 PM, Kevin Caraccioli advised he felt a
letter addressed to Vicky Mullen regarding the need for revisions
to the Land Use Ordinance was no longer needed due to the formation
of the Ordinance Revision Committee.
The next issue addressed was Frequently Asked Questions for
the town website. Kevin stated he wished to present user friendly
information such as: What is Zoning? What is a special permit?
What is a variance? What do I need to get started building in
the town? Kevin was not prepared with this information, however
he will work on it for future meetings.
Fifth Ordinance of Business
Training
There was no training slated. There was no discussion.
Sixth Order of Business
Open Board Member Discussion
Kevin Caraccioli was asked to look into the DeMent application
(application # 2002-15) by Ms. Mullen to see what, if anything,
could be done in response to a letter sent by CEO Don Dowd to
the applicant. Kevin Caraccioli was of the opinion that the
authority to grant or deny the permit rests with the ZBA. After
lengthy board member discussion it was decided to table this
issue until the May 16, 2002 ZBA meeting at which time all members
of the ZBA should be present to discuss the issue.
Seventh Order of Business
Old Business
Greg Mills presented the board with an opportunity to subscribe
to "The Zoning Bulletin". Board members felt this was not a
worthwhile expense and decided not to subscribe. Greg Mills
advised the board Tom Irwin had applied for the alternate position
on the ZBA.
Adjournment
A motion was made at approximately 9:05 PM by Greg Auleta to
adjourn the April 18, 2002 meeting. Greg Mills seconded the
motion. All ayes. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Shelley A. Rahn
Town of Oswego Zoning Board of Appeals Secretary |
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