Planning Board of the Village of Aurora

Aurora, New York 13026

Minutes (Draft)
Regular Monthly Meeting, July 8, 2009

Present: Board Chair Nancy Gil, Pat Bianconi, Bill Maloney, Sara Wells, and Alan
Connors
Also Present: Village Attorney Andrew Fusco and Village Clerk Dee Nance
Members of the Public: David Brooks, Deborah Brooks, John Place

Gil opened the monthly meeting at 7:00 PM and introduced the planning board members
to those present. Gil asked for approval of the June 10, 2009 minutes. Bianconi moved
approval; seconded by Connors. Motion carried 5:0.

Announcements – Gil reported that she is nearly finished with the index of the Village
Law. She passed out copies of the index through the letter “T.” In response to an email
from Nance requesting a master copy of the Village Law, Attorney Fusco replied that his
office would be sending out a CD of the Village Law in the next day’s mail. Nance
passed out copies of the long and short SEQR forms and 911 house number maps for
each member of the board.

Visitor Recognition

Old Business – Application #09-03 from John Place for a home occupation. Attorney
Fusco reviewed the long-form SEQR with the board, noting that it was unfortunate that
Place was required to submit the long form. Attorney Fusco stated that according to the
NY State SEQR regulations, long form SEQR forms must be filed when an applicant is
within, or contiguous to, the historic district and attempting an action that is
environmentally sensitive or significant. Bianconi stated that answers to some of the
SEQR questions struck her as unnecessary. Attorney Fusco agreed and recommended
that the board be somewhat lax when reviewing SEQR forms as not all of the questions
will pertain to every situation. He also said that it is unfortunate that we have a litigious
situation in this community and a historic district, but cautioned not to hold applicants’
feet to the fire on every little question.
Bianconi moved to establish the Planning Board as lead agency for the SEQR; seconded
by Wells. Motion carried 5:0.
Attorney Fusco stated that if the board were satisfied with the responses given on the
SEQR it would not be necessary to read through all the questions. Attorney Fusco
recommended that the board declare a negative impact on the SEQR.
Bianconi moved to declare a negative impact on the SEQR and to authorize the Chair to
complete the front page of the SEQR form; seconded by Wells. Motion carried 5:0.

The board turned their attention to reviewing the merits of the project. Attorney Fusco
reported on complaints received from an abutting neighbor regarding front yard parking
at the Koepp/Place home. These complaints were received through emails and
photographs.

The board reviewed and discussed pertinent sections of the Village Law, specifically
section 407 regarding off-street parking and section 901 regarding special use permit
criteria.

From examination of the site plan, Attorney Fusco determined that the turn-a-round
(a.k.a. hammerhead) was located in front of the house, and due to the village law
prohibiting front yard parking, it could not be used as a parking area.

Place provided a historic overview of the evolution of the parking situation going back to
the time when the front yard was a parking lot for Lake House and raised the question of
his front yard parking possibly being “grandfathered in.”

Discussion ensued, and Wells noted that the application provided for ample parking (two
spaces in the garage and two spaces outside the garage) and did not include parking in the
hammerhead as part of the application. This satisfied the requirements of Village Law,
Section 407.B. Maloney stated his agreement with Wells.

Attorney Fusco advised the board to approve the application on the condition that there
would be no parking in the hammerhead. Place could then request that the Village Board
change the front yard parking law, or he could request a variance from the Zoning Board
of Appeals.

Attorney Fusco added that the variance they should seek is an “area” variance and not a
“use” variance as one might think, because the question is dimensional in nature.

Gil recommended the special use permit be granted with the proviso that parking would
be confined to the four spaces listed on the application and that there would be no parking
in the turnaround as per Village Zoning Law, section 407.B.

Wells made a motion to approve Application #09-03 for a home occupation/therapeutic

massage and counseling practice with the condition that there would be no parking in the
turnaround (a.k.a. hammerhead) as per section 407.B of the Village Zoning Law;
seconded by Bianconi. Motion carried 5:0.

New Business – Attorney Fusco said that he had received a letter on July 8, 2009 from
Mr. Tim Cappucilli, Esq. asking him to recant statements he made at the May 13, 2009
Planning Board meeting, where he stated that Laura Holland was opposed to the home
occupation applications put forward by Mr. Todd Zwigard and Mr. John Place. Attorney
Fusco said that he had told Mr. Cappucilli that he was in possession of two letters from
Ms. Holland that expressed her opposition and had thought the matter was settled.

Attorney Fusco read the two Holland letters to the board, both dated May 10, 2009.
Attorney Fusco stated that he believes he is correct in saying that these letters express
opposition to the home occupations and he refuses to recant his statements. He would be
sending a letter to Attorney Cappucilli stating his refusal to recant and would enclose
copies of Ms. Holland’s letters.

Gil reported that she had received an email letter of complaint from Laura Holland
regarding front yard parking in front of the Place residence. Gil told the board she had
sent a reply where she explained that the Village Planning Board is not an enforcing
agent. That duty lies with the village’s code enforcement officer.

Attorney Fusco told the board that several Aurora Village Board members had expressed
interest in striking the prohibition on front yard parking from the village law, as there are
so many instances in the village where front yard parking has been grandfathered in.

Maloney expressed his opinion that the biggest problem in the village is lack of code
enforcement, and that this has been a problem for the past five years.

Gil asked if the Place parking issue would be considered a “self-imposed hardship.”
Attorney Fusco said that self-imposed hardship would not apply to an area variance.

Bianconi asked if there would another training session. Attorney Fusco said that there
would be. He would like to spend an hour discussing the SEQR process and the
remainder of the session with Carl Staley, or whoever the next code enforcement officer
may be.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 7:00 PM.

A motion of adjournment was made by Maloney; seconded by Connors. Motion carried

5:0.

Respectfully submitted,

Dee Nance
Village Clerk