LeRay studies zoning revision

EVANS MILLS — The LeRay Town Council and Planning Board held a special work session on Thursday to discuss the much-debated proposed zoning law changes.

The law has created discontent among several property owners and developers in LeRay and they shared their concerns with the board during a public hearing on Aug. 14. On Thursday, the board discussed responses to each concern voiced at the hearing.

"There was lots of confusion and misinformation," said Jessica L. Jenack, the town community development coordinator. "Some of the basic ones were more interpretation. Like the outdoor activity — that's part of a permitted use that is already on the site, something commercial in nature."

Those at the public hearing were most concerned with a mandatory setback of 300 feet for 13 kinds of development — specifically construction equipment sales, storage facilities and truck rental.

Mrs. Jenack went through all the comments made at the public hearing and, with the help of Planning Board Chairman Frederick C. Tontarski, had prepared a response to each matter. Responses can be found on the town of LeRay's Web site.

During the special work meeting, Mr. Tontarski talked about changes, potentially more favorable, that could be made to the law. He discussed the option of creating a tier of land uses — by which different kinds of development could happen at each level as the property went farther from the road.

"If we pass this law as is, in my mind, we've ignored those who were here two weeks ago," Mr. Tontarski.

There would be three levels of uses, with the first level at 40 feet, the standard setback. That is where restaurants, businesses or commercial stores would be allowed, just as they currently are.

At 150 feet, storage facilities, truck rental and highway recreational vehicle sales would be authorized — which under the first draft of the proposed law would have not been permitted.

At 300 feet, 10 different uses would be allowed. Those include construction storage yards, medium- and heavy-duty truck sales, vehicle storage facilities and a car impound facility, among others.

The board's concern, and reasoning for the 300-foot setback, was to create space along the state highways in the town for people-engaging activities, such as stores, restaurants and hotels. Those who attended the meeting were concerned that 300 feet is too much space and would decrease the value of their land as developers move into the area and realize there are limits on what can be built or would prohibit them from building on it themselves.

As part of the discussion, John J. Behan of Behan Planning Associates LLC, Saratoga Springs, discussed how the proposed zoning changes are compatible with the comprehensive plan that is being conducted by the town and carried out by his company.

"The big idea when you look at the corridors and land uses is to add some order for growth and change," Mr. Behan said. "The struggle you have is trying to accommodate change while you are going through the bigger picture issues like land use."

Mr. Behan suggested that the town be sensitive to developers with plans already on the table and who could be affected by the change in the law. He also suggested that instead of calling it a setback, to refer to it as a subzone where certain kinds of development can take place.

Members from both boards thought the idea of layering the uses and creating levels of development, which would be monitored and enforced through site plan reviews, was appealing. There was no decision at the meeting on Thursday night and the Planning Board said it would discuss the law at its next meeting, at 6 p.m. Thursday at the town offices.