Petersburgh Planning Board Action – Used Car Lot Approved

by Alex Brooks
After a public hearing in which no one made any comments, the Planning Board granted approval for a used car lot at 572 Rabbit College Road to Josh Smith. The approval was for a sales area not to exceed 7 vehicles on a lot described as “less than a tenth of an acre.” The Board waived all fees except the $25 public notice fee.
[private]Jim Danforth was granted a waiver of the requirement to survey the entire property being subdivided. He wants to split 10 acres off of a 25 acre lot at 270 Rabbit College Road. Danforth will have only the 10 acre plot surveyed.
Bill Johnston and Jim Dunigan came to discuss splitting off land from property owned by Dunigan’s company, Brimmer Farms, Inc. on Route 346. He wants to convey two small lots to Rob and Karen Nixon and about 21 Acres to Bill Brundige. The Board waived the requirement to survey the main parcel, so only the parcels being conveyed will be surveyed. The original lot had 259 acres.
Engineering Consultant
The Board held some discussion with Civil Engineer Lance Yerdon about work he and his firm will be doing for the Planning Board. Yerdon presented an outline of the work proposed, which is primarily about creating road specifications for the new Planning Board regulations. The Planning Board does not yet have a contract with Yerdon and his firm, but they expect to work that out this week.
Frustrated
Planning Board Chairman Dave Miller said he and his Board are frustrated that the Town does not seem to be enforcing the Site Plan Review Law. He said businesses are started without Planning Board review and entire houses are built with no permits. Miller said he gets phone calls all the time about unpermitted building going on in Petersburgh, but he said enforcement of building laws is not the Planning Board’s job. He said he has passed along some of the information received in these phone calls to Code Enforcement Officer Doug Hull but they have not always been followed up.
Frank Sheldon said he believes a detailed job description for the Code Enforcement Officer has to be created which makes clear the full scope of his duties. Sheldon also urged better information flow between the Planning Board, the Code Enforcement Officer and the Assessor so that unpermitted building activities are reigned in.
Meeting With Supervisor Krahforst
Petersburgh Town Supervisor Siegfried Krahforst said he would like to convene a meeting of a couple of Town Board members, a couple of Planning Board members and the Code Enforcement Officer to discuss these matters.[/private]