by David Flint
Two things the Stephentown Town Board is focusing on lately are reviewing and updating the land use regulations and getting started on doing something to encourage business development in the town.
Upgrading The Land Use Regulations
At the Board meeting Monday evening, Councilman Bill Jennings reported that plans for establishing the Land Use Upgrade Committee are moving forward. It is expected that the Committee will be formed and start working next month. One member of the community committed at the Board’s last workshop meeting to serving on the Committee along with members from the Code Enforcement office and the Planning and Zoning Boards. Another person has expressed interest and will be at the next workshop meeting.
The existing land use and subdivision regulations, in effect since 1991, need to be updated because of law and code changes that have been made since then. Jennings said the intent is to get the local regulations in compliance with the International Building Code by the end of this year. The Committee will also be tasked with making recommendations to change or improve the regulations on a local level, and that may take longer.
A matter that came up at the meeting highlighted one area where changes are needed. That was the recurring issue of Robinson Hollow Way. Residents on that road in North Stephentown have appeared periodically at Town Board meetings over the years requesting that the Town take over the road because they have not been able to maintain it adequately. Apparently, when the development was set up they, along with residents on Nora Way, were led to believe that the Town would take over the road. The Town had never agreed to that, and it never happened. But recently, with the Town having taken possession of Nora Way, now known as Nora Lane, the residents of Robinson Hollow have renewed their efforts to get help from the Town. The Town Board recently agreed to pursue the matter if residents could gather the necessary information regarding deeds. One of the residents appeared at Monday’s meeting with the information they had collected. Eckhardt acknowledged that he had already received the information via email and that he had passed it on to the Town’s attorney.
The existing Land Subdivision Regulations specify that developers in their preliminary plat must indicate “the width, location, grades, street profiles and construction specifications of all streets, roads or public ways proposed by the subdivider.” The Regulations continue, however, that “The approval by the Planning Board of a Final Plat shall not be deemed to constitute acceptance by the Town Board or require Town Maintenance of any street, road, way, easement facility, open space or recreation area shown on such Final Plat.” So apparently the Town is not committed to taking over any road constructed by a developer, but if it chooses to do so there are no guidelines to follow.
Brian Baker, a local attorney, said that in the Robinson Hollow subdivision, like others in the Town, the landowners have title to the center of the road and an easement in the development grants use of the road to all residents. This becomes very complicated, he said, if there is no homeowners association established from the beginning. The residents are like tenants in common with common rights and responsibilities. But if some don’t care to carry out their responsibilities, they don’t have to do anything unless somehow compelled to do so by the other residents. It’s not a problem if the development parcels all front on a public highway, but with an interior subdivision, “It’s a mess,” he said, and not unlike three or four other places in Town.
Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt pledged that the Land Use Upgrade Committee would address this problem among others. In the future, he said, the Town would not have residents relying on promises by developers.
Economic Development
Jennings said he also wants to get started soon with an Economic Development Committee. This Committee will be charged with developing ideas on building a business base, determining what types of business should be encouraged, what legal and infrastructure barriers are hindering development, what needs small businesses have, how the Town Board can be a catalyst for development and what Stephentown ought to look like in ten or twenty years.
The Board is looking for people interested in serving on either one of these committees. Anyone interested should contact any member of the Town Board.
In this same regard, Jennings reported on a business seminar held on March 8 at the Stephentown Memorial Library presented by the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region. It was billed as a free information session for small business owners, anyone who wants to start a business and anyone who works with small business owners. Jennings said about 25 people attended. The Community Loan Fund is a not-for-profit organization that tries to help and encourage and grant affordable loans to small businesses that are trying to start up or expand. Jennings said there appears to be lots of interest from people in Stephentown in expanding or starting a new small business.
Along these same lines, Jennings reported that the Library has submitted a proposal for a grant to do some data gathering on small businesses in Stephentown, to identify how many there are and what their needs are. Such information, he believed, would also be of great help to the Town Board in their planning efforts.
Meeting With The BCS Superintendent
Eckhardt reported on a meeting held in Petersburgh arranged by the Interim Superintendent of the Berlin Central School District, Dr. Brian Howard. It was attended by Eckhardt, Highway Superintendent Aldy Goodermote, Assessor Tom MacVeigh and his assistant and wife Joan and by the Supervisors and other staff from Petersburgh, Grafton and Berlin. Eckhardt saw the basic premise of the meeting as Howard wanting to know what is going on in the towns, what is important to them about the School District and how they view the District as interacting with the towns. It was a very interesting meeting and a good dialog, he said, with Howard appearing very willing to listen and taking a lot of criticism as well as suggestions.
This generated a good bit of discussion among those at the Town Board meeting especially regarding the expense of school transportation, the long hours children must be on the buses and the possibility of redistricting or combining with other school districts. Eckhardt noted that kids living in the Garfield section of Town are being bused to New Lebanon while kids living closer to New Lebanon are going to Berlin. In Grafton children residing close to the Tamarac School are bused to Berlin, and some of the kids in North Petersburgh, who are closer to Hoosick Falls, must ride the bus down to Cherry Plain. Eckhardt said he learned at the meeting that the Berlin District is the seventh or eighth largest geographically in the state. Regarding redistricting, he was told that it’s very difficult and complicated but that “Nothing’s impossible.”
Eckhardt said that Howard asked about the possibility of having a similar meeting for just Stephentown. He replied that would be possible and hopes to schedule such a meeting for sometime in the early summer.
The Alternate Member
The Board is considering revising a law passed in 2007 that provides for the appointment of alternate members to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The purpose was to alleviate delays in the business of these boards caused by members being absent because they are ill, on extended vacation or have conflicts of interest on a specific matter. James Ayling was appointed the Alternate Member, and he at different times served on both the Planning and Zoning Boards. Ayling was appointed in January as a full member of the Planning Board, leaving a vacancy in the Alternate slot.
Jennings said they had left that position vacant because they are now discussing a different version of the law that would designate the Alternate more as a “member in training” and provide more opportunity to participate and be trained for the job. Eckhardt added that they also want to stipulate in the law a protocol according to which the Alternate member is seated. Currently it is up to the discretion of the Chairman of the Planning or Zoning Board. The intent in the new law would be to make it more definitive and specify the conditions that would require the Alternate to participate. They may also want to designate a separate Alternate for each of the two Boards. Eckhardt said the Town Board expects to hold a public hearing on this in late April or early May.
Brian Baker questioned the need for an Alternate, seeming to think that the Town Board might be bailing out poor performing persons or entities by providing an extra member. In the democratic process, he said, when a government entity falls down on the job the people should get angry and let their feelings be known. The Town Board, he said, needs to take more responsibility regarding who on these Boards are showing up or not. He noted that the Town Board has the legal power to remove a board or an appointed person if they are not doing their job. Jennings replied that they are discussing the attendance problem but first they must address the Alternate situation.
A Mess In The Village
Baker also had a concern about what he termed some sort of “open air car maintenance shop” that seems to have appeared right in the midst of the village of Stephentown on Route 43. “It’s got transmissions hanging down, trucks being repaired with wheels off…I don’t know what that is, and it’s been that way for almost a year now,” he said. “It’s our town, it’s everybody’s town, and it’s really quite a sight.” Baker said he understands that complaints have been made to the Code Enforcement Officer but did not know what if anything had been done. Eckhardt said he was aware of the situation and would make note of Baker’s concern.
Deposits & Spending
The Town Clerk reported she had turned over the sum of $412.48 to the Supervisor for the month of February. The distribution from the office of the State Comptroller, Justice Court Fund to the Town was $3,470. The Transfer Station deposited a total of $2,661. The Board audited and approved claims in the amount of $9,664.94 from the General Account and $24,415.31 from the Highway Account.
In Other Business:
Eckhardt said he had not received any word yet from NYSDOT regarding what they plan to do about the partially dislodged tree in the middle of West Brook near the Route 43 bridge. He noted that debris is now building up upstream of the tree and it’s looking worse.
Eckhardt acknowledged a letter received from the Historical Society thanking the Board for their support for the year in the amount of $5,850.
The Stephentown Seniors have set their trip schedule for the year which can be seen at the Town Clerk’s office.
Eckhardt acknowledged a letter from the Town of Nassau seeking coordination with neighboring towns in marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. To start with they would like church bells across Rensselaer County to toll at noon on April 12 “in recognition of the thousands of our ancestors who were lost during this bloody conflict.”
Eckhardt noted that information is available at the Town Clerk’s office from USDA Rural Development, the economic and community development arm of the federal Department of Agriculture. Rural Development provides lots of loans, loan guarantees and grants through its housing, utilities and business programs.
The Town Board has submitted an application to the Berlin Central School District to use the Stephentown school building and grounds for this year’s Youth Summer Program. The School Board is expected to consider the application at their regular meeting in April.
The Board set their next workshop meeting for Monday, April 11, at 7 pm and their next regular meeting for Monday, April 18, also at 7 pm.