Petersburgh Planning Board Takes Two Matters To Court

by Alex Brooks
Brian O’Donovan came before the Petersburgh Planning Board on December 28 with an application for site plan review for a shaving mill he operates next to his gravel mining operation on Church Hollow Road. At that meeting the Planning Board indicated that it had two concerns about the operation – the access road and the noise. They felt that the road between Church Hollow Road and the mill was not adequate for the large trucks that are using it and that it would need to be improved. Secondly, they had received some complaints about the high-pitched whine of the milling equipment, which can be heard by some on neighboring hillsides, and they indicated they would require some mitigation to muffle the noise, which probably meant enclosing it in a building.
O’Donovan’s attorney, Ken McGuire, then said that he was withdrawing the application, and he now maintains that it is part of a logging operation, which is exempted under the Petersburgh Site Plan Review law.
The Planning Board met January 4 and looked carefully at the law and came to the conclusion that the exemption is for operations conducted between the stump and the place the logs are loaded onto trucks (commonly known as the header) but does not exempt operations where the logs are trucked in for processing except in the case of firewood, which is exempt. They have communicated to O’Donovan’s attorney that the shaving mill must be approved by the Planning Board to continue in operation. McGuire replied that he disagreed and did not intend to submit an application.
The Planning Board is now seeking an order from the Town Court to require O’Donovan to cease operations at the shaving mill until he gets site plan approval from the Planning Board.
O’Donovan’s mill, which has been in operation since the beginning of December, is apparently the only one operating in the immediate area, and a number of farmers, who buy the shavings for animal bedding, are concerned about where they would find a new source of supply if his mill were to shut down. Dave Green, a dairy farmer from North Petersburgh, came to the January 4 meeting of the Planning Board because he was concerned about losing his supplier of shavings. He said if O’Donovan’s mill is shut down, the ones who will be hurt most are the farmers who depend on it.
There was a shaving mill in Stephentown which was shut down late last fall because it was a non-conforming use in a residential zone, and a shaving mill operated in Petersburgh by Mike Smith ceased operation recently when Smith ran into financial troubles and had to shut down. Smith’s operation had been approved by the Planning Board, according to Planning Board Chair Dave Miller.
Star Ridge Way
The other matter taken up by the Planning Board at this meeting was that of Star Ridge Way, the private road serving the five residence Star Ridge subdivision. The Planning Board approved the subdivision in 1988, and the road was supposed to be turned over to the homeowners as soon as all the lots were sold. All the lots were sold sometime in the late 90s, but the road was not turned over. According to Dave Miller, the developers, Joan and Michael Buzerak, came to the Town to see if the Town would take over the road in late 2000, and the town considered it during 2001 but never agreed to take the road. Miller was asked at that time to look at the road, and he said it was not 20 feet wide and the turnaround at the top was not big enough for emergency vehicles.
Litigation has now commenced between the Buzeraks and the owners of the homes over whether the road needs to be repaired or improved before the homeowners accept it.
Planning Board Chairman Dave Miller said the Town needs to enforce the deed covenants agreed to as part of the Planning Board approval, which are that the road be 20 feet wide and there be a 30 foot radius turnaround at the top. Miller said the Code Enforcement Officer already sent the Buzeraks a letter asking them to come to the January 25 meeting to work out a plan for bringing the road up to specifications. When they didn’t come to the meeting or call to make alternative arrangements, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to ask the Code Enforcement Officer to bring them to Town Court to try to compel them to do so.
One of the homeowners in the subdivision, Brandon deWaal, is a member of the Planning Board. When this matter came up, he recused himself and didn’t take part in the discussion. In addition to deWaal and his wife, there was one other couple present who owned a house in the subdivision. They said the rains this week have opened up a large hole in the road right at the entrance from Route 2, and the situation at the moment is not safe.