Lloyd to consider open development

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 1/22/20

Lloyd Building Department Director Dave Barton asked the Town Board to consider granting an Open Development designation for a 17.7 acre undeveloped parcel that is located at 380 Rte. 9W, in front of …

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Lloyd to consider open development

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Lloyd Building Department Director Dave Barton asked the Town Board to consider granting an Open Development designation for a 17.7 acre undeveloped parcel that is located at 380 Rte. 9W, in front of the future Wine Village project and just south of Blue Point Road.

Barton said the owner, Raffaela Coppola, approached him about what he could do with his property. Barton told the board that the parcel has no road frontage.

“It does not directly abut an improved state, county or town road, so therefore according to NY Town Law Sec. 280-a, I am unable to give him a building permit because building permits cannot be issued on properties that do not directly abut state, county or town roads,” he said.
Barton said the NYS Legislature has offered towns, “the option of awarding properties what is called an Open Development Area.” Barton said there is an old house on the property that he feels should be bulldozed, “but for him [Coppola] to do anything on the property whether it be a rehab, bulldoze or rebuild, he would need an Open Development Area.”

Barton said if the Town Board approves this designation, the board would be granting Coppola a waiver from the requirements. Presently Coppola has access to his property via a driveway easement with Central Hudson but Barton stressed that the main stumbling block is that he has no road frontage.

Supervisor Fred Pizzuto said Barton’s presentation was for “informational purposes only” and there was no action taken by the Town Board at last week’s meeting.

Barton said there are other properties in town that have similar issues such as a land-locked parcel by Applewood South, which after litigation, the owner was granted an Open Development designation.

“There are many properties alongside the rail trail that don’t directly abut a road and if ever they want to develop them, the Town Board would have to grant them an Open Development Area.” He indicated that the board also has the authority to deny this type of designation.

Barton brought the board up to speed on RTH Holdings that is owned by Designer Cathy Hobbs. She has proposed to construct an interior home staging set in a green technology, passive warehouse on Upper North Road.

“I have a letter here asking for the water district to be extended. Typically this would require some engineering and I talked to Adam Litman [Water & Sewer Administrator] and Andrew Learn [Town Engineer] and they say no feasibility study or map plan report [is needed], “because all of Altamont Farms, which surrounds it to the rear, is in the district. The last hydrant is directly in front of her property on the opposite side [of the road]. It is an easy tap, there is a 1 inch line there already and it’s a warehouse. It is a condition of her approval that she gets the water line extension from you guys.”’

Barton noted that the Planning Board had approved her application and a public hearing would need to be scheduled, after which the board will vote on the extension. Attorney Sean Murphy noted that the cost to tap into the line would be borne by the owner and not the town.