Cortland Standard .net

By TYRONE L. HEPPARD
Staff Reporter
theppard@cortlandstandardnews.net
CORTLANDVILLE — Residents dealing with unsightly junk piles on neighboring properties can expect the town to crack down on the long-standing problem since the Town Board is in the final stages of developing a new junkyard ordinance.
On Wednesday during the board’s regular meeting, Town Attorney John Folmer said he and Code Officer Tom Williams have been working to draft a new law that would help regulate large junk piles in the town.
Folmer will submit a draft of the law for the Town Board’s review at its next meeting at 5 p.m. March 4.
“Hopefully, we can ameliorate some of the concerns that people have had in this regard,” Folmer said. “It appears that there are probably five locations that would qualify under the general, generic definition as a junkyard.”
Folmer said even with the new law, existing junkyards would be considered non-conforming uses and allowed to continue under Town Code, which is why the town also plans to add a provision requiring landowners to acquire a license to keep junk on their properties.
“We are planning to include in our regulation a licensing provision,” Folmer said. “In order to operate, they will have to have a license and there would be certain requirements that without doubt the (Town) Planning Board would put into place.”
Town Supervisor Dick Tupper said after the meeting residents have been complaining about the same one or two sites in residential neighborhoods for years and the new law is the product of the town and the codes office working to resolve the issue.
“They’ve (Folmer and Williams) come up with a junk ordinance from some place else which they’re modifying for our use,” Tupper said.
He added that by making landowners get a permit for their junkyard, it would likely result in the yard being cleaned up a bit because of various rules they would have to abide by in order to get the permit.
In other business, the Town Board voted to allow Hamilton Building Services to build a 3,600-square-foot office building and a 3,120-square-foot warehouse on the west side of Luker Road in Cortlandville.
A public hearing was held before the vote with no questions or concerns voiced by residents. The board also performed the required state Environmental Quality Review, or SEQR, and determined the project would not have a significant impact on the environment.
The residential and commercial construction business is relocating from Groton Avenue. After the meeting, Tupper said he is optimistic that the company’s expansion will mean more jobs for residents.
“He’s (company President Eric Barden) just expanding, and if he’s successful, I’m sure he’d have to hire a lot of people to build buildings and houses, so we’re very pleased,” Tupper said after the meeting.
The town planning board approved conditional and aquifer permits needed for the project last month. The county Planning Board had a long list of recommendations project engineer Tim Buhl said had been met except for a lighting plan, which was nearly completed.
The town board Wednesday also voted to hold a public hearing at the March 18 meeting on a proposed zoning change for properties along Route 13 on the south end of town. The board will also perform a SEQR review of the change at that time.
Last year, the landowners who hold the 75-acres of property along the east side of the Route 13 corridor, asked the town to consider changing the zoning from a B-1 neighborhood business district, to a B-2 highway commercial business district.
The zoning changes would allow for larger buildings and more development on the parcels. That part of the town has seen an increase in commercial development in recent years, but specifics on how landowners plan to develop their properties are still unclear.
Initially, both the town and county planning boards had concerns about the change, but Folmer said Wednesday the county has recently indicated it approves of the proposal. The Town Planning Board in December recommended the town approve the changes.