Ellicottvillas

At the town planning board Monday night Mark Dean, architect for the Ellicottvillas shared ownership complex, presented revised plans for the new clubhouse.  The drawing presented had height dimensions indicated on the elevation drawings.  The highest point of the building is the roof of the turret located at the back of the building.  The height as measured from the center of the cone is exactly 35 feet.  Mr. Dean said he would “try to pull it down just a bit,” to allow for any mistakes during construction.  If by chance the final constructed height exceeded 35 feet the project would have to apply for a variance, which could take some time.  Mr. Dean indicated that some interior ceilings are fairly high to create ambiance and that “there is room” to make adjustments.  He said he could adjust some ceilings four or five inches to create some leeway in the height.

Parking was the next issue to be discussed.  The original plans for the project called for 182 parking spaces, and the revised plans now show 190.  The architect explained he had increased the number of spaces to allow for events in the clubhouse.  There was a suggestion from the board about adding extra landscaping to soften the look of the complex and help hide parked cars.   One of the board members suggested adding windows to the ground level of one side of the clubhouse building to soften its look.  In making a close review of the plans the board noted that there seemed to be plenty of room for snow storage after plowing.

There was some discussion about when the sewer and water lines had been laid out according to the complex’s original plans.  With the elimination of one building and addition of the clubhouse, some of the water and sewer leads will not be used.  They had been inspected and approved by the town, but with construction of the new clubhouse some of the old lines will be unused.  The town had to go back move, refit and re-inspect the new lines at a cost of $3500.  Town Engineer Mark Alianello felt it was appropriate that the complex reimburse the town for the expense. A suggestion was made to stripe a crosswalk in front of the clubhouse to facilitate a crossing area for pedestrians.  After more discussion the board came up with a list of changes for the plans and stepped through the next stage of plan filing for the architect.  A motion was made to conditionally accept the plans also long as other drawings are presented with the changes and the project pays any outstanding PIP fees.  The motion passed.

Buffalo Ranch Development

Mr. Sal Iadicicco presented the board with a plan to develop the old Buffalo Ranch on Horn Hill Road.  He showed the board plans to create thirty-five, five acre lots for single-family homes and a section of town homes along Horn Hill Road.  He plans to build out the development in stages, starting first with just to or three of the five-acre plots.  First he will build model homes for project, as the first houses sell develop the town homes, and build out the rest of the single family homes as the market allows.  During discussion with the board many variations of build-out to accommodate his plans were discussed.  The board pointed out that there are differences in sub-divisions and minor sub-divisions, and that it might be better if he began by proposing a minor sub-division of just three lots.  They also pointed out the problems in building dense housing (the town houses) in that area.

Water and sewer were two of the primary concerns of the board.  The single-family houses could be put on septic systems with no problem.  There is no town water service to that area as it is well outside the water district.  Town Engineer Mark Alianello pointed out that all the water service to the developments in town were installed by the developers.  He said that trying to extend the town water supply over to and then up Horn Hill Road would be impracticable.  However it should be possible to install a well for the houses on the five-acre lots.  He said building the model homes would be a test to see if the wells could supply enough quality water.  It was pointed out that wells and septic systems would be inadequate for the town homes.  The board concluded that the best way for Mr. Iadicicco to pursue his plans would be to build his model homes first as a minor sub-division, and, as the market allowed, build the rest of the single family homes, and the town homes last.   They said he would need special use permits for the model homes.  When asked about the purchase of the property Mr. Iadicicco replied, “we’ve nearly finished our deal,” and stated he expected to have a contract by the end of the week.  The board did not grant formal approval of the plans, but the developer will submit further drawings as he has them ready.