New Lebanon Zoning Re-Write

by David Flint
The New Lebanon Town Board heard residents’ comments and concerns at a public hearing on Monday regarding the long awaited proposal for a revised zoning law. About 65 residents and business people attended the hearing at the Fire Hall.
The 99-page proposed law was the result of close to three years work by the Zoning Re-Write Committee that included as members former Town Supervisor David Katzenstein, current Town Supervisor Margaret Robertson, ZBA Members John Dax and Tony Murad and Planning Board Members Jim Dixon and Matt Murnane. According to a memo from Dax read at the hearing, “An overarching goal is to minimize the devotion of large open space areas to single residences and to identify areas that are appropriate for denser, pedestrian oriented mixed-use development.”
In the draft law the six categories of zoning districts in the old law are retained including Agriculture/Conservation, General Commercial, Commercial/Recreation, Industrial – which is renamed Commercial/Industrial – and two levels of Residential/Agriculture. There is also an overlay district for the hamlet and six new overlay districts defined but not yet mapped to cover hilltop, steep slope, flood, historic, agricultural and scenic areas. The draft includes new and more detailed Use Tables for the districts. It also provides for Special Use Permits that may require a greater level of detail from applicants and, according to Dax, “probably the single most important addition,” the requirement that certain uses go through Site Plan Review by the Planning Board. In the case where both a Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review are required, the Planning Board would do both instead of having the applicant go to the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Special Use Permit.
District boundaries remain pretty much the same as before except along Route 20 between West Lebanon and the Route 22 intersection where some commercial areas are changed to Residential and vice versa with the goal according to Dax being to consolidate districts “to reflect long-existing use patterns” and to deepen these districts further back off the main road.
It was the changes in this area that drew the most expressions of concern and criticism. People with commercial properties in Commercial districts that would be changed to Residential were concerned that they would lose the option to change or expand or might lose their livelihood altogether. To make a change or expand their business they would have to apply for a use variance, which some pointed out can be a long and costly process. And although pre-existing uses are grandfathered, it became clear in the discussion that that right could expire if the pre-existing use has been discontinued for over a year. Stuart Geraldi commented that in the area to be rezoned Residential from Commercial there are more businesses and potential businesses than there are residences. Chuck Geraldi added that on the other hand there are stretches of purely residential land nearby that are zoned commercial and apparently will stay that way. Larry Benson said that the area to be rezoned Residential has always been commercial and should remain so. He thought it would be better to rezone the Residential land there to Commercial and grandfather the residential uses. “I don’t believe that section of zoning is broke,” he concluded, “and it doesn’t need to be fixed.”
Further out on Route 20 there is an area around the CeramTek building that will be zoned Commercial/Industrial. But a little further on, the area around the Country Squire Supply hardware store would have its zoning changed from Industrial to General Commercial. Country Squire proprietor Robert Weber wondered why the change. He said he purchased the property because it was zoned Industrial. He wanted to know what he now would not be able to do with the property and why he was being asked to give up options that he had. Weber was also critical of the changes to Residential from Commercial closer in on Route 20 that he said would remove a large chunk of commercial property for no good advantage and would just make things more difficult for businesses. He suggested the zoning districts be left as is. He acknowledged that it took ten years to get the Comprehensive Plan passed and that the zoning law probably needs to be changed to reflect its goals, but, “Don’t complicate things and make life more difficult and costly for people in the process,” he said.
Bill Black and Howard Commander expressed concern about the area out by the race track where rezoning will change some Industrial, Commercial/Recreation and Residential property to General Commercial.  Given existing uses and plans they have for these properties, the changes, they said would cause them severe economic harm.
Although Re-Write Committee members defended the reasons for making the zoning district changes, both John Dax and Tony Murad as well as Town Supervisor Margaret Robertson pointed out that nothing is written in stone yet and this is the time when changes can easily be made.
Trina Porte, a member of the Planning Board, noted that the new law would allow for “Adult Use” in a Commercial/Industrial zone, albeit with a Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review required. She had earlier requested that adult businesses be removed from all Town codes as a permitted use because they are not compatible with the goals of the Comprehensive Plan and, she presented the Board with a petition to that effect.
Dax explained the new Site Plan Review Process as a tool to give the Planning Board the ability to work with commercial and industrial applicants to come up with a use and layout that meets the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. It allows for a more thoughtful process, he said, allowing businesses to go ahead with projects that will be more attractive to the Town and better for the business applicant too. He noted that most towns now have Site Plan Review as a modern land use tool
Katzenstein agreed saying that currently the process is not spelled out. With Site Plan Review everything will be laid out clearly, the process will be more streamlined and there will be no surprises. Tony Murad was a little less sanguine about it, saying it gives a lot of discretionary power over an individual’s right to use his property to people who might not be capable. He acknowledged, however, that presently there are very reasonable people on the Planning and Zoning Boards.
Others were not so sure. Chuck Geraldi said it would not make it easier to attract business to the Town to know that five people on a board, who may very well not be qualified, get to make arbitrary decisions about how their business should be set up. Kathy Murnane noted, however, that both Zoning and Planning Board members must, according to State law, complete some rigorous training.
Several people brought up the question of the time required and the cost to the Town to go through the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process which will be required to institute the new law. The Board was not able to give any cost estimate on this. Dax said that an Environmental Assessment Form would have to be completed but it was unclear whether an Environmental Impact Statement would be required. Regarding the time to complete the process, Robertson was not willing to guess but Town Board Member Monte Wasch said he hoped the new law would be passed by the end of the year. “We need to bring this matter to a conclusion,” he said.
Robertson said the Board would take all the concerns expressed into consideration. The Board has been waiting a long time for this, she said, but, “We can rearrange things. If some holes need to be patched, we will do so before making anything permanent.”
Because notices about the public hearing had not been sent out to abutting towns and to Rensselaer County, the Board did not close the meeting but adjourned it to be continued at a later date.