Go-cart petition presented to town

NORTH EAST — The Town Board was presented with a petition signed by 182 people at its business meeting on Thursday, June 10. The petition stated, “We urge the town supervisor and the Town Board not to support a zoning change or special use permit to include go-carts anywhere on Route 44.�

The petition noted that those who signed their names were from throughout the town, including neighborhoods close to the proposed go-cart site like Traver Place, David Road, Country View Road, Fish Street, Maple Avenue, Century Boulevard, Hy-Vue Terrace, Legion Road and Kimball Way, as well as from addresses further away, like Charlie Hill Road, Budd Lane, Gun Club Road, Boston Corners Road, Silver Mountain Road, Red Cedar Lane, Skunks Misery Road and Winchell Mountain Road.

Also noted was the fact that visitors to the village, “people who seek the bucolic setting of our town and who come to use the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and patronize our shops and restaurants,� also made up a small number of petitioners.

“I knew there was opposition,� said Councilman Tim Shaffer later during the meeting, “but I didn’t realize there was quite a bit.�

“It is notable that every neighborhood in town is represented by these signatures,â€� said resident Jim Murphy during the public comment portion of the meeting, as he read the letter that accompanied the petition. “The go-cart idea has  been proposed a number of times in the past.... Every town body that has ever considered the go-cart idea, including the Planning Board, the Town Board and the Zoning Review Committee, has rejected it, more than once.â€�

Attorney to the Town Warren Replansky previously was asked by the Town Board to draft a local law on allowing the use of a go-cart track in the BD-3 zone for its consideration. Replansky was on hand to discuss the proposed ordinance last week; it was based on what had  been submitted by the applicant, attorney and local developer, Robert Trotta, and Trotta’s planner, Art Brod. Before that discussion got underway, town Supervisor Dave Sherman made a statement to the public present at the meeting that the board had simply been following standard protocol.

“We had at the last meeting asked Warren to do some work on the go-carts based on what had been submitted by the applicant,� Sherman said. “We are not flying in the face of anything [presented tonight], we’re just working with what we had.�

“In accordance with the board’s instructions at the last meeting I prepared a local law,� Replansky said. “What I did was I took what was submitted by Mr. Trotta and his planner, Art Brod. The first provision of the law amends the definition and adds terms of a go-cart track.�

That definition describes a go-cart track as a type of outdoor amusement facility. In the proposed law it’s declared a permitted use, pursuant to site plan approval by the Planning Board and a special use permit by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Go-carts are listed as prohibited in the Boulevard District zones of BD-1, -2, -4, -5 and -6, but allowed in BD-3, with the appropriate approvals.

According to the law Replansky drafted, the track can be no longer than 1,200 feet, and no more than 16 go-carts can operate at the same time. Also, only electrical  go-carts will be approved by the town, no gas-powered carts will be permitted.

Additional requirements include: an emergency response plan, the anticipated season and hours, establishing an anticipated noise level, safety measures, anticipated use of facility and parking, plans for off-season storage, design data, lighting layout, earth and berming plans and a full Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) as part of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process.

Replansky said the ZBA and the Planning Board, as well, as the Town Board, will be involved in the review process. Concerns about noise, fumes and lighting pollution as well as the impact on neighboring homes and businesses will have to be addressed.

Sherman spoke following the attorney’s presentation.

“I’m not prepared to proceed at this point in time,� he said.

Shaffer expressed his concerns and also said the board should consider all of the implications of such a proposal and the fact that so many residents oppose the idea.

“Perhaps it’s appropriate for the board to table this tonight,� he said.

“I would like a full board, as well as the Planning Board to take a look,� Councilman Carl Stahovec said, referring to Councilman Dave McGhee’s absence that night.

“The board should have time to review what was presented this evening ... before deciding what to do or to not do anything,� Sherman said, alluding to the petition. “At this point it’s in order to have time to reflect on what’s been submitted and it’s appropriate to see if there are any thoughts [regarding that]. We can revisit this at our meeting in July.�

“I respect everybody’s concerns and I know it’s a sore thumb,� Stahovec said. “But at the same time, I’m not going to turn a blind eye on one of the most prominent businessmen in our town.�

“I need time to think this over,� Shaffer said.

“I picked out roughly 45 people who are nonresidents who signed [the petition],� Councilman Steven Merwin said. “I think we should keep that in mind.�

The petition’s authors, meanwhile, requested the board keep something else in mind.

“Over the past nine years how much precious Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Review Committee time and taxpayer money has been expended on this recurring proposal that is inconsistent with the existing zoning plans and opposed by so many local taxpayers?� they asked. “We urge you to save your own valuable time and the town’s resources. It is your prerogative not to consider this idea any further. In light of the widespread opposition to this idea, we respectfully request that you exercise this prerogative.�

Among those who signed the petition were Ellen Adler, Steve Evangelista, Mary Herms, Bonnie Hundt, Ryan Marshall, Jim Murphy and Anne Veteran.

The board, meanwhile,  moved to table the discussion until all five members are present; it’s hoping to revisit the subject at its July business meeting.

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