Wheatfield sets public hearings on kennels, electronic signs, park

by Susan Mikula Campbell
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, March 13, 2008

The Wheatfield Town Board held public hearings at its meeting Monday on portable storage units and unsightly fill.

Three more hearings were set for its April 14 meeting. One will be on amending the zoning law on kennels and animal boarding. Another will be on amending the local law prohibiting flashing signs to allow for modern electronic signs that aren’t distracting. The third will be on eminent domain proceedings for a Witmer Road park. Supervisor Timothy Demler said the town has purchased the property from the Siegmann family, but another party is claiming interest in it.

The proposed local law on portable storage units was sent back to committee Monday after several questions came up during the public hearing. The law would set a fee of $15 and a one- to 15-day limit for putting a storage unit in a residential area and a $50 fee and a one- to 30-day limit for one in a commercial area.

Demler questioned the need for a fee. Building Inspector Jennifer Caldwell wanted more direction on the difference between a portable storage unit and a shed.

Councilman Arthur Palmer said large portable storage units are becoming an unsightly problem in the town, with some being in place so long they actually had awnings and people were running businesses out of them.

“That’s what we’re trying to eliminate,” he said.

In the discussion on possible regulations on unsightly fill, Timothy Walck of Wendel Duchscherer Architects and Engineers noted that new storm water control regulations, fencing and groundcover for fill at sites of more than an acre should take care of some concerns about dust and tracking mud.

Demler said that there are still concerns about the height of piles and whether they are aesthetically pleasing to neighbors. He cited a high pile currently at Loveland and Shawnee roads.

In other matters:

•Ed Sturgeon, recreation director, reminded residents that the town’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. and the St. Patrick’s Dance at 6 p.m. at the Wheatfield Community Center. Both events are free.

•Walck reported that plans for the Brookfield Subdivision at Ward Road, south of Brent Drive, now has 84 instead of 85 single family lots and the developer has been notified that potential property owners must be advised about air traffic overhead. The development is being built in five phases with the first being frontage lots along Ward Road. Preliminary plat approval was okayed.

Walck also reported that the Planning Board still has not taken action on a request for permission to have two pigmy goats as pets at a residence in the 6900 block of Townline Road.

•The board held an executive session to discuss the self-insurance buyout with the county.