VILLAGE HALL Village of Colonie 2 THUNDER ROAD COLONIE, NY 12205 PLANNING COMMISSION (518) 869-7562 ALBANY COUNTY FAX (518) 464-0389 e-mail: NEW YORK ahart@colonievillage.org MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 6:30 P.M. The regularly scheduled meeting of the Village of Colonie Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, February 19, 2019. ROLL CALL: Chairman Chris Dennis Commissioners: John Martin Ann Krause Mike Tommaney (Absent) Peter Chudzinski Kenny Hart Dan Judge Village Attorney: Victor Caponera Village Engineer: R.J. Laberge (absent) Code Enforcement: Mike Cerone Chairman Dennis opened the meeting at 6:30. Commissioner Hart lead the Pledge of Allegiance and asked that all phones and pagers be silenced. The meeting minutes from February 5, 2019 were discussed. Commissioner Hart made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. Commissioner Martin seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous to approve the minutes as amended. 1 PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 19, 2019 APPLICANT: AIROSMITH DEVELOPMENT 1762 CENTRAL AVENUE (Telecommunications) Airosmith Development representatives Ryan Lockenvitz and Rebecca Rivera came before the Planning Commission to seek approval for upgrades to the existing telecommunications towers at the AT&T building located at 1762 Central Avenue. Mr. Lockenvitz and Ms. Rivera stated the 9 existing antennas will be swapped out for 9 new antennas, with 3 being the same models and 6 being the newer models. Ms. Rivera stated there will also be small black remote radio units installed along with the antennas. Mr. Lockenvitz stated the purpose of the upgraded antennas is to increase the densification of the network in support of First Responders. The applicant stated that there will be no increase in tower height or foot print. Commissioner Martin made a motion to approve Airosmith Development for the telecommunication antennas located at 1762 Central Avenue. Commissioner Hart seconded the motion. VOTE: All in favor of the motion. APPLICANT: CAPITAL BUSINESS ADVISORS 1520 CENTRAL AVENUE, SUITE 120 (Change of Occupancy) Real estate broker Mr. Brent Tague and business owner Mr. Carl Cusano came before the Planning Commission to request approval for a change of occupancy for 1520 Central Avenue suite 120. Mr. Cusano stated he is a financial broker and provides clients services to facilitate the buying and selling of small to medium businesses. Mr. Cusano stated he will be out on the road for most of his business but needed an office work space for administrative duties. Mr. Cusano stated it will just be himself in the office, no other employees. Commissioner Martin made a motion to approve Capital Business Advisors for 1520 Central Avenue, Suite 120. Commissioner Hart seconded the motion. VOTE: All in favor of the motion. APPLICANT: AROMAS 1614 CENTRAL AVENUE (Dance Floor – Change of Existing Approval) Ms. Neelima Mallela came before the Planning Commission to seek approval for a night club dance floor in the Aromas restaurant located at 1614 Central Avenue. The hours of operation requested for Friday and Saturday are until 1:00AM, however Ms. Mallela was hoping, this request with the new dance floor, Friday and Saturday hours could be approved until 4:00AM. Chairman Dennis stated she would need to change her application to reflect that request. 2 PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 19, 2019 Attorney Caponera stated that the requested use of a night club is an allowed use in a Commercial A zone, however, the Planning Commission must also consider the health, safety, and public welfare of the Village of Colonie, as there has been some problems in the past with establishments along Central Avenue open until early morning hours. Attorney Caponera stated to the applicant that the Commission will need to see a more detailed floor plan, one plan detailing the restaurant, and one floor plan detailing the space as a night club. Code Enforcement Officer Cerone stated that the current maximum occupancy is 160 persons and that fire codes are different for restaurants versus night clubs with respect to maximum occupancy. Commissioner Martin suggested the applicant contact a professional engineer to help plan a detailed floor plan for the space and the usage. Commissioner Martin also identified the need to potentially upgrade the parking requirements if a night club is proposed. Attorney Caponera stated the professional set of plans for both uses should depict: linear bar frontage, the accurate square footage of usable floor space, location of DJ and/or live music, table layout for both dining and night club activities and the path for waiters and waitresses. Attorney Caponera suggested Ms. Mallela rework the application and have Village Engineer Laberge review the updated floor plans once completed. Commissioner Judge asked Ms. Mallela if there would be any live music, with the applicant responding with yes, they would have both DJ’s and bands. The applicant may return to Planning once she has obtained professional floor plan sketches. APPLICANT: HOBBY LOBBY 38 WOLF ROAD (Site Plan Approval) The Planning Commission reviewed a letter from Engineer Laberge regarding the proposed Hobby Lobby. Engineer Laberge’s letter indicated all previous Commission comments had been adequately addressed. The current submitted plans show “no parking” signs located in the green space in the front of the building. The Planning Commission agreed they would rather see the “no parking” striping in the fire lanes than in the green space. Commissioner Martin made a motion to approve Hobby Lobby for 38 Wolf Road on the condition they submit plans showing the removal of signs and the addition of the pavement striping. Commissioner Hart seconded the motion. VOTE: All in favor of the motion. APPLICANT: HIXNY 80 WOLF ROAD (Change of Occupancy) The applicant was not present, however a discussion was held regarding the current occupant, HIXNY, expanding floor space to facilitate the addition of 19 employees. Parking for these additional employees was identified on the submitted site plan. 3 PLANNING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 19, 2019 Commissioner Judge made a motion to approve the expansion of floor space for the current occupant of 80 Wolf Road. Commissioner Krause seconded the motion. VOTE: All in favor of the motion. DISCUSSIONS: A discussion was held regarding both 36 Vly Road and 54 Vly Road, both are proposed multi- family projects in the Town of Colonie that are adjacent to the Village. The Commission concluded these projects had no impact and a letter would be sent to the Town for each project stating as such. A discussion was held regarding the Village of Colonie Code Book. There will be meetings Tuesday mornings at 10AM to review and revise the current code. Code Enforcement officer Cerone stated the Commission should review their code books and communicate any suggested changes. The Commission approved and signed plans for DePaula Maserati at 1586 Central Avenue. Commissioner Martin made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:20PM. Commissioner Hart seconded the motion. VOTE: All in favor of the motion. Respectfully Submitted, Julianne Okun Asst. Planning Coordinator 4