-A town board meeting was held last night (04/02/2018) where both Ordinance 2018-01 (changing the verbiage in §211-29D from "gross unladen vehicle weight in excess of 10,000 pounds" to "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 'GVWR' in excess of 14,000 pounds") and Ordinance 2018-02 (adding a definition of "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 'GVWR'" to the Town Code) were voted on and passed.
---Ordinance 2018-01: Passed 4-2, Counsellor Bick and Counsellor Hess Opposed. The verbiage was not updated from the verbiage presented at the at the public hearing on 03/19/2018. The Town chose not to define the terms "Business or Commercial Vehicle" prior to passing this resolution. The Town also chose not to modify §211-29C so that it would apply to the updated section and allow for "deliveries or temporary parking of vehicles for servicing purposes" prior to passing this resolution. Both of these points were raised in the public hearing and documentation sent to Town Hall. One such letter I authored to oppose 2018-01 is included here.
---Ordinance 2018-02: Passed 5-1, Counsellor Bick Opposed. The Town did not publically state their definition of "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)" prior to taking the vote. Supervisor Ulatowski stated that the Town looked at the federally accepted definition of the term as defined in United States CFR 49 (Transportation) and that the Town does not concur. He indicated the definition the Town will be adopting is better aligned with "NYS Law". As of 04/03/2018, the definition the Town voted into law is still unknown to the public. This concern was also raised during the public hearing and documentation that was send to Town Hall. The letter I authored to oppose 2018-02 is included here.
-Of other interest last night was the potential addition to our Town of three businesses (more details on the agenda).
---The Brooklyn Pickle is proposing to open a restaurant near the intersection of Buckley and Taft. The town and residents have seemed fairly supportive of this throughout multiple public hearings. There have been some tough questions about traffic flow and a couple other issues, but all parties seem to welcome the addition.
---Abbott's Custard proposed to turn a vacant bank building on Wetzel Road into an Ice Cream eatery. Prior to last night's meeting they were met with many concerns from the Board about parking, the High School nearby, traffic, pedestrian safety, and a host of other questions. It was announced last night that the petition for a zone change to allow for the project was withdrawn by the filer.
---U-HAUL would like to convert an old strip mall (Seneca Mall) on Rt. 57 into a storage facility that also offers all the rentals and services U-HAUL has become famous for. There appears to be a bit of push back from the Town on this one. Of particular concern is reoccurring comments and questions about displaying the rental vehicles in view of the road. The Town Supervisor made a point to say he's not as concerned about "Vehicles" being parked near 57 as he is about "Large Vehicles" being parked there (seems like a reoccurring theme lately...).
-Also, the working meeting to discuss the impact of last year's change to §211-29A, which prohibited the parking of trailers over 22' (campers/boats/utility trailers, etc) from being parked on residential property, has been postponed. According to the Town Supervisor it has not been rescheduled as of last night's meeting. I will blog a whole new "Issue" on this, which will include links to all of the documentation I've found during my research, in the near future. Stay Tuned!