Update on the Faith Bible Church Zoning Variance Application

It would be highly peculiar if the Zoning Board doesn't approve all of the requested variances tomorrow night, 10/24/13.  I was shocked they didn't last time. 

To bring you up to speed on the latest, I present my written comments to the Zoning Board from August.  I like to think it had something to do with their thoughtful deliberation of the application and their surprising postponement of their decision.

Dear Zoning Board Members,

Thank you for your continued diligence reviewing the instant variance applications.  I will continue to thoroughly examine, in my professional capacity, the instant application in attempt to vet it for full compliance and conformance with all applicable laws.  It is my hope that I can save the applicant, town, and myself additional time that will be required if all the “I”s are not dotted and “T”s crossed.  Faith Bible Church (FBC)  is on their 4th ZBA application in 3 years; I think all parties agree that we don’t want to be before the board on this matter, ever again.  

Simultaneous Ocupancy: "It's for a growth pattern."

There was a lot of new information at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting for Faith Bible Church on 6/27.  There were some amazing revelations too.  For example: I'm not crazy.  I've been jumping up and down, screaming that it's incredibly wrong  for the Planning Board to consider the ENTIRE first floor of the new church as "non simultaneous occupancy."    It's literally a made up concept; they can't cite any reference to it in our code or zoning, yet the town has been entertaining it.

I recommend that you try and catch a rerun of the hearing.  It is repeated on channel 20 Cablevision until the next hearing on 8/8/13;  the video is clocked and the hearing runs approximately 8:15pm to 10:15pm (note: ZBA meetings are replayed at various times throughout the day, not just at that time).

To begin my commentary on the last zoning meeting meeting, I present to you a segment of reverend Zotolli explaining the occupancy of the proposed church.  He clearly states that the occupancy of the 2nd floor sanctuary, of up to 344 people, would be simultaneous with the 1st floor children's church program.  There's nothing wrong with that, except that for years they have been arguing, on signed and sealed documents, that the 1st and 2nd floor would be "non-simultaneous occupancy."



That's a big deal because it proves the applicant's willingness to bend the law and make false statements.  

The stated goal of the new development is enlargement.  The land simply can't sustain the parking required for the proposal.  For the record: Lakeland Jewish Center moved on and built nearby in a Commercial zone with tons of parking and a smaller occupant load than Faith Bible is proposing.  Just make it smaller if you want to use this site. Why not look at the 5 acres across from the winery; for sale, off route 6 and in a residential zone?

Unfortunately, things can never be that simple. 

Community

I hope you were able to watch the simulcast of the 3 hour long hearing that took place two weeks ago. If not, it will air again every Thursday until August 11th, 2011; that night they will simulcast the next ZBA hearing, in case you can't make it. Channel 20 Cablevision in Yorktown [that includes us up here in Mohegan Lake :)].

Here's two sequential excerpts from the last hearing.



I would like to note that while FBC certainly has a special community distinct and apart from the Mohegan Highlands Property Owners Association, they are also--de jure--a part of our community as well.



Mrs. Gordon spoke most directly to the concern over the proposed zoning variances: there are too many cars and not enough parking--even after two single family homes are converted to part of the church and a parking lot. This has nothing to do with the proposed new development being a church or its people. This has everything to do with zoning, planning and a unique, lake/hill-side community. More on that later.

Annnnd...We're Back

Objection: Allowing an encroachment of 15 feet into a required 30 foot rear yard will allow the developer to build some portions of the building approximately 33% more than what Yorktown's zoning allows. The present structure accommodates--legally--less than one-third of the population of the proposed new development.

Granting a variance to allow such a major increase in occupiable space is imprudent, especially considering the current parking load already exceeds the proposed development's parking capacity.

According to the architectural plans on file with Yorktown, section B-B (above) is 60 feet wide. Section B-B requires the 15 foot encroachment. Hence, if the developer was not allowed this major zoning variance, the building would only be 45' at that point; 33% less space.

An Epic Yorktown Zoning Board Of Appeals (ZBA) Hearing

Gentle Reader:

It's not often something so seemingly banal as a ZBA hearing can be described as epic. Last night FBC's application alone took 3 hours to hear and it was adjourned to August 11th, 2011. Save the date. It's still open for public comment.

You can catch reruns on Channel 20, Cablevision in Yorktown. It will rerun every Thursday until August 11th from approximately 8:30pm until 11:30pm.

I will be uploading portions of the hearing with commentary consistently until the next hearing. Below is one of my favorite moments from last night. Al Capellini, attorney for the developer, backs me up and corrects the Yorktown special counsel to the ZBA and the acting chairman of the ZBA, Gregg Bucci, who didn't know the zoning had changed to require special permits for churches in R1-10 zones.

At one point, Mr. Capellini rightfully notes that the law requiring the special permit was put on the books 4 or 5 years ago. Neither special counsel, nor the board chair had a current copy of the Yorktown Zoning Ordinances. The entire Town Code and Zoning is available online and, luckily, I had a copy with me last night. I make a motion that the ZBA have a current copy of the Town's zoning on hand at all hearings. All in favor, leave an "aye" in the comment section, below.

You may want to turn your speakers up, the audio is not the best.

Yorktown Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing June 23rd, 2011, 7PM

It's going to be a hectic week leading up to the public hearing. I wanted to mention a couple things as we kick the week off.

1) We are not opposed to the Faith Bible Church, or their right to redevelop the site. However, to redevelop the site, the applicant does NOT need major zoning variances. It's a matter of scale. There is not enough parking to support the development in its current form. Granting major zoning variances to increase the degree of non-conformity that leads to overcrowding the site is not prudent.

2) Hello there. Thanks for paying attention and getting involved in the discussion. Below you will find some of the metrics for SaveMoheganLake.com for the last 30 days. Mohegan Lake had a respectable 28 unique visits with an average of 4 minutes, 40 seconds spent on the site 3.36 pagers per visit. However, Somers wins the the paying attention prize with an average time of 29 mins, 28 secs, with 13 page views per visit; impressive. Leave your name in the comments and I'll email you a gift certificate to Auggie's Prime Cut.

A School For 172 People

Perhaps the large swath of land being cleared toward Lakeside Drive will be used as a recreation area for the new, proposed occupancy for a school for a 172 people? Based on the sewer design criteria the school would be able to operate daily (I'll get to the sewer issues, shortly). Mohegan Avenue is already deficient in clear width--not to mention sidewalks--to accept the added traffic load to support such an operation.

Mohegan Avenue runs directly through the outfall of Mohegan Lake. This spring it was actually shut down by State Trooper's for about a week because the lake and wetland merged and the road was under more than 2 feet of water. Without significant upgrades to the existing road infrastructure, it is irresponsible to approve such a major new development.

Click on the image below to view Site Deign Consultants' engineer's report for FBC.

Not much has been discussed about the new school use. It's important to note that a school has never been established as a legal use or occupancy. The current legal occupancies and uses are two single family residential homes and small house of worship. We can glean some details in the Youtube video below.

Part One:



Part Two:

Today In Euphemisms: Tree Inventory Plan

Below: A couple details from Site Design's tree inventory plan. Looks like that 55,000sf of woodlands they need to clear and grade will come within about 15 feet of Lakeside Drive. Wow. It's unclear what that area will be used for. Though as we've noted previously, preserving steep slopes in single family neighborhoods is one of the duties of the Planning Board.

Below: Those are the 12 trees they are required to inventory before they kill because they are over 7 inches in diameter; at least I believe that's the threshold. Many more trees and vegetation will have to be killed to make this new development happen.

Increasing The Degree of Non-Conformity

I object to the major zoning variances because they will increase the degree of non-conformity. The bulk, height, area, an lot coverage will all be increased substantially if these variances are approved.



Please note that the applicant correctly dropped the phrase "legalization of existing structures" from the application. It now reads "construction of a building." There's a major difference how zoning laws will be applied to a new building as opposed to an existing structure.


There are existing structures that do not conform to zoning currently. Some have argued they are "legal non-conforming," I disagree because the non-conformity is for a single family home, not ancillary church uses.