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Residents upset with Town Board measures by Karen Keefe
Monday’s Town Board meeting was a packed house, and one filled with frustration and confusion, as residents aired concerns over proposed zoning changes on trucks and churches. It even took a second meeting – following the regular Town Board meeting – to clear up misunderstandings that arose for members of Harbor Lights Fellowship, who showed up to support a change allowing churches within Grand Island’s business districts. In the end, the entire law proposing zoning amendments was tabled; but the church congregation may soon have a good word on the particular change they seek, according to Supervisor Peter McMahon. Vehicle Section to be Rewritten McMahon announced right off the bat that the vehicle section of the proposed law would be pulled back for a rewrite. He explained that the public had already told the Town Board the language on parking commercial vehicles was too confusing. That section said commercial or recreational vehicles that exceed 18,000 pounds couldn’t be parked in the front or side yards of a residence. “We’ll have to have another public hearing to address it,” McMahon said. “But if you’re here and you want to make a comment, please do, so as we go about redrafting it … we will have the benefit of your comments.” Businessmen, RV Owners Object Nearly a dozen small businessmen and RV owners took him up on the offer, expressing concerns that they couldn’t park their work vehicles or motor homes in their driveways. One by one, contractors, a landscaper and the owners of RVs, a refrigeration company, an auto repair shop and a horse stable appeared and asked the Town Board what they were thinking when they wrote up the new rules. Robert Mesmer wondered why the proposal mentioned boats and how town officers would go about weighing them. “It’s not as clear as it could be,” he said of the overall language on what could and could not be done. ‘I’ll probably See You In Court’ Bob Soluri said people should be able to park RVs by their houses. “I only have a 35-foot RV, and I’m pushing close to 18,000 pounds,” he said. “Who’s the zoning officer to come and tell me that my vehicle is not parked by the house?” He added, “Everybody in the RV field knows that once you buy one, you always go bigger.” “I’m going to park my motor home in my driveway; and, if you pass the law, I’ll probably see you in court every week, ‘cause I don’t have another place to park it,” Soluri said. Definition Called Too Broad “A person has a right to advertise on his vehicle,” said Terry Freiermuth of Wheelfind Automotive Repair. “You’re classifying that as a commercial vehicle, and it’s not going to be allowed to take that vehicle home,” he said. McMahon replied: “Whether there’s advertising on it or not isn’t the issue. The issue is the size or the weight … If it weighs 17,999 pounds, it’s not covered.” Freiermuth countered that there’s a difference between the law as written and as it can potentially be applied. “The zoning inspector can take this very broad definition and apply it to any vehicle that has an advertisement.” Who Pays to Fix the Code? Dan Drexelius of Double “D” Construction wanted to know why so many vehicles were described in the code, if weight were the only significant factor. “I’ve never seen a taxi ... that weighs over 18,000 pounds. So why is it in the code?” he asked. Drexelius said interpretation is a key thing to all the small businessmen on the Island. “The zoning code takes us to state Supreme Court. Who’s going to get out the scales?” He also wanted to know if taxpayers would foot the bill for reworking of the Zoning Code, which was adopted in July 2004. “I hope we’re not getting charged again for this fix.” Church Members Miss Having a Say
Even though the proposed zoning changes dealt with both vehicles and churches, church members in attendance never had the opportunity to comment in the course of the regular meeting. The format of the public hearing was so confusing to many in the audience that McMahon called a second meeting just to deal with those who believed they had been skipped over. Members of the Harbor Lights Fellowship listened to the litany of complaints over proposed parking rules, waiting patiently for a sign that it was their turn to talk about being evicted Feb. 1 from their church at 1821 Grand Island Blvd., in a district zoned for business. A clear sign never came. “What happened to the one about the churches?” Harbor Lights members asked each other. They apparently did not realize their chance to speak in favor of rezoning for churches preceded the portion of the same public hearing in which the truck and RV owners spoke in opposition to their part of the local law. Town Evicted the Church Several from the congregation took the opportunity to speak during the public comment period at the end of the meeting about the hardships generated by the eviction notice sent to their landlord Jan. 3. The congregation is currently worshipping elsewhere, while awaiting town action and continuing to pay rent on the property. “Why not allow people to have a church?” said Joe Lukasiewicz. “Let’s just, please, work together.” Church member Francine McMahon suggested another method to settle zoning problems, “Maybe you need an office of reconciliation.” She said that currently, Harbor Lights is “paying for a building we can’t use.” County Has To OK the Change At the post-meeting session, Supervisor McMahon informed the Harbor Lights congregation members that only a formality – Erie County’s expected OK – stood in the way of the board approving churches in town business districts. He said once the county signs off on the change, the town only has to provide 72 hours notice, then can meet and adopt the measure. One member of the congregation wondered why a resolution couldn’t have come “$15,000 ago” – money already spent to address church building code violations. Zoning, Building Code Violations Harbor Lights Fellowship had experienced a setback when Code Enforcement Officer Douglas Learman sent the eviction notice saying the site the church rents could not be used as a house of worship because it violated the town’s Zoning Code. McMahon has since explained that the town has intended to clear up the zoning loophole that excluded churches from business districts. But he said the greater concern was always in having the church clear up building code violations. A Catch-22 For the Church But the Rev. Gerard Haberstro, Harbor Lights pastor, claims it’s a Catch-22. He explained Monday night that the church has been advised by its attorney not to proceed with plans to buy the building and spend money to correct building code violations until the town passes the law allowing them to have a house of worship in a business district. Referring to the $15,000 figure, he said the church has spent close to that just cleaning up the property and two buildings on it. The site formerly was used as a dog kennel business. “We took 14 Dumpsters out – there was not the willingness to even discuss that.” Haberstro also said he was told by a town official that Grand Island would never approve a change in use at that site for the church. “It will remain a dog kennel as long as I’m a code enforcement officer,” he quoted the official as saying. Haberstro pointed out the town is in violation of a federal law while its Zoning Code restricts where churches can go. He said the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 protects individuals, houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws. Haberstro said he’s confident the town will enact the zoning change. “We’re really willing to work through the process,” he said. Appointments Made; Hearing Set In other action, the Town Board: •Adopted Local Law 2 rezoning the southwest corner of East River Road and Whitehaven Road. •Appointed Robert Westfall as assistant municipal engineer. •Authorized the supervisor to send a letter of support to lift the commercial vehicle restrictions on South State Parkway (Beaver Island Parkway). •Accepted with regret and a certificate of appreciation the retirement of David Stamler as deputy highway superintendent and appointed James Tompkins to the position. •Set a public hearing for Monday, April 3 at 8 p.m. to consider an application by Russell A. Certo to rezone the property at 1282 Stony Point Road from R-1E to R-3 to allow for apartments. The building previously was used as a physical therapy office, and before that a medical practice. Currently, a wine shipping business operates on the site. •Authorized the town engineer to advertise for bids for the Bike Trail Connect Project, upon the approval of the plans and specifications by the state Department of Transportation. •Granted a special use permit renewal to Christine Weaver of 1501 Ferry Road for a 4-acre excavation to create a pond. •Approved a special use permit renewal for Carol M. Merckel of 2324 East River Road for housing two agricultural animals on 3 acres. |
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