TOWN OF BRANT PLANNING BOARD WORK SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006 1294 Brant-North Collins Road Brant, New York 14027 Planning Board Meeting Joseph Gardyjan, Chairman IN ATTENDANCE: Joseph Gardyjan Thomas Gerace, Jr Also present: Gary Brecker (Code Officer) Martin Rosiek and ?Gateway Materials? representatives as follows: Richard Rusiniak Patricia Rusiniak Ian Rusiniak Leah Rusiniak Daniel Lee Due to lack of quorum, the Planning Board held a work session. The session started at 7:00 PM. Present were the Rusiniak family members, operators of a recycling company ?Gateway Materials? who is in the process of clearing a piece of property on Route 20 near Hammond Road that for years had been operated as a Junk Yard. The new owner presented his case before the two planning board members present. Rick Rusiniak presented a rough drawing that depicted his intentions with the property. It showed landscaping, a gate blocking the driveway and evergreen trees planted in an effort to block the business being conducted on the property. Evergreens do not go bare in the winter was the reason he was gave for choosing to use them. The drawing showed that a berm would be put in along the I-90 side of the property to further camouflage the business. He then went on to describe what their company has planned for the property. He explained that his company is a recycling business that handles everything from aluminum to copper to cars. He went on to say that one thing they were not going to be is ?quote, a junkyard, where we sell car parts?. When questioned by the board as to exactly what he will be doing as a business, he replied ?All the guys in the area currently have to take their cars into the City with their flatbeds and trailers?? Mr. Gardyjan interjected saying that the locals usually take their cars to Brant Auto on Rte. 249. Mr. Rusiniak replied ?Yes they?re another one, they do the same thing as what I?ll probably be doing, but I will get more into recyclable products like copper, brass, aluminum and then down the road I?d like to get into the glass, paper, plastics?? He also mentioned that as a recycler, his company could offer to pick up the large metal items people put by the curb for pickup. Or allow BFI to drop these items at their location for disposal. Also, they would purchase these items from the general public for recycling. Mr. Gardyjan noted that the Freon would need to be removed. Mr. Rusiniak replied that his company was certified to do the Freon removal. Mr. Gardyjan asked what he charges to remove the Freon and Mr. Rusiniak replied ?right now we charge $10.00 a refrigerator.? Mr. Rusiniak continued that it costs him to do this service but it is worth it because then people bring other recyclables in at the same time. Mr. Gardyjan asked what he was doing with the piles of debris and he replied that he is having the debris hauled out a dumpster load at a time to BFI. He explained that they had already pulled out 300 ton of scrap already, and two to three thousand tires. He added that it took approximately twenty dumpster loads to remove the debris from the area that led to the pond. He stated that the pile next to the pond now contains steel and wood and that he was going to get a magnet in to separate the debris. Mr. Gardyjan asked if he had run into any buried building materials yet and Mr. Rusiniak answered no but that he did find some barrels of glue. He said there was also a tanker in the back that was filled with driveway sealer. He added that the previous owner?s son had opened the tanker to let some spill and then threatened that he was going to contact the DEC to turn him in for it. This was because Mr. Rusiniak had issued a warrant for his arrest for an incident that occurred previously between Mr. Rusiniak and the son. He then said that he had since put the sealer into barrels for safe keeping. He then went on to say that once the business is up and running, he would put 5 to 10 local people to work at the establishment. Gary asked if this proposed business would be run like the business currently located on Como and Union Road in Cheektowaga. Mr. Rusiniak replied that it would but this would be a larger scale because he is only operating on 4 acres in Cheektowaga. He mentioned the work they put into landscaping in Cheektowaga in an effort to be invisible. He stated that he also donated land to the Town for a bike path on his location in Cheektowaga. He then continued to describe the building they would want to use for their scrap recycling operation. ?Fifty by One Hundred building, big door in the back, side doors to handle the material coming in, putting it in boxes for compacting for bricks. And a good alarm system?. Truck scale for weighing.? He then stated that he welcomes anyone to stop in and see the operation. Gary then mentioned that the town got excited when they saw that the property was getting cleaned up and that the town got even more excited when they saw him bringing stuff in. Mr. Rusiniak acknowledged that he had acquired a couple antique fire trucks that he didn?t have the heart to recycle because they are too nice. He stated that they still run and that he would also donate one to the Town if they wanted one to use it for training, practice, etc. He then mentioned that he has a couple tractor trailers on the property. Some were full and some were empty. He added that the property had a lot of antique cars on it so they are taking the parts off of them and putting the parts into the trailers for storage until they could get a building to handle the material and move it. He explained that he would continue to scrap the material currently remaining at the location and keep removing it from the property. Gary stipulated to Rick that before operating any business on the property, he must first obtain approval from the Town. Rick replied that he wants to do complete the clean up and run the business in an environmentally conscious way. He offered to fund a Phase One Environmental study to determine the level of contamination on the property. Gary stated that he would need to submit the long form of ?Environmental Impact? to the Town, since the property was in such bad shape when he took it over. Mr. Rusiniak then stated that he would then like to determine if the property was worth his time and investment. Also, he didn?t want to continue if the cost of clean up would exceed the value of doing business at the location. Mr. Rusiniak then went on to explain the level of precaution they use when recycling a vehicle. He explained that all the oils are drained from the vehicle, engine, transmission and rear end, etc. Special spill kits are available to reduce the level of contamination in the event of a spill. He said they are here to do it right, not make a mess. He then stated that cars will not be the focus of their business. He added that if they have 30 cars at a time, it would be a lot. But he stipulated that he would not be a parts yard. He also stated that he would boost the junk price for locals to bring their cars instead of going to the city. Gary then stated the fact that since the town has no permit available for a recycling facility, the application would be considered a ?Special Use? application. Gary gave Mr. Rusiniak an application for a site plan review. He said it would be up to the Board if he was going to need a full blown environmental assessment, or the short form. When the forms are filled out, Mr. Rusiniak was instructed to return the plans to the Planning Board for review so that they may submit their recommendations to the Town Board. After this, a Public Hearing would be required for the Special Use permit. Gary noted that the board may elect to create a special permit for recycling. Mr. Rusiniak reiterated that he would NOT be dismantling vehicles at this location, but they would be shipped from the establishment intact, thereby eliminating his need for a Dismantler?s License from New York State. Then Gary stated that considering the history of the property, he will need Mr. Rusiniak to complete the Long form environmental impact study. Mr. Rusiniak then said that if this turns into something that?s a real problem, he would rather walk away from the property. He reiterated that he wanted to get a phase one environmental study as soon as possible to determine the level of contamination. If the cost of the clean up is too much, he will drop the project immediately. OLD BUSINESS At this point, Mr. Gardyjan gave the Planning Board secretary instructions to re-submit the recommendations made by the Planning Board during their August 2006 meeting. Those included: ? Gary wants to make sure the new law included marine and aircraft items. ? Vehicles and equipment used for maintaining property are exempt. ? Joseph Gardyjan suggested that the new law require that applicants follow the dismantling law as established by NYS municipal law. ? Applicant must provide a completed environmental impact study at the cost of the applicant. Also, any future cost incurred by the Town (ie., cost of engineer, etc.) must be reimbursed by the applicant. The Planning Board noted that their request to increase fines imposed had been raised to $350 from the $250 previously stated but that no other changes requested were considered for the law draft. Also, Mr. Gardyjan stated that he wished to reiterate to the Town Attorney to add that Agricultural vehicles were to be exempt and that auto dealers are exempt from having inspections or registrations on vehicles while being processed for sale. Auto Rebuilders too were to be exempt. ADDRESSING VISITORS. Martin Rosiek asked about the new signs that were erected during the moratorium on signs in Brant. Mr. Gardyjan asked where these signs were and Martin said one was on the corner of Versailles Plank and Cain Road. It is advertising off site services, ?Ag Resources?. Martin requests that the law stipulates that the Agricultural exemption is for farmers that are selling a product generated by their farm. Mr. Gardyjan noted that the Town Attorney would take care of that. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Gardyjan then instructed the Planning Secretary to attach a copy of the previous Planning Board minutes listing the recommendations to the copy of the law draft. This is to be submitted to the Brant Town Board for review. Also, a copy of these minutes are to be submitted to the town Attorney to advise that the Planning Board wishes to proceed with the other laws in progress including the Noise Ordinance, Motor Driven Off-road Vehicle Use, Windmills, and billboards and signs. The Work session concluded at 8:12 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Barbara Daniel Planning/Zoning Secretary