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Home My WebLink About20220202 31-33 Marion Ave Public Comment (2) Maple Ave, Marion Ave, Maple Dell Neighborhood Association Tracy Millis III, President John lacoponi, Vice President March 4, 2024 Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals Cc: Aneisha Samuels-Sanford, Senior Planner Patrick Cogan, Zoning Officer City of Saratoga Springs 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Re: Stewart's 31-33 Marion Ave Proposal (#20220202) & ZO Sect 5.0/ 6.3.3 requirements. We have previously brought up the issue of the Zoning Ordinance sect, 6.3.3 requirements. Attached at the end of this letter is the correspondence from April 20, 2023 for your reference. Those issues have never been satisfactorily addressed by the applicant. This project, when viewed in it's entirety, constitutes a redevelopment of the gas station onto land that does not included the grandfathered non-conforming use. Also, by combining multiple parcels for this project, the property line associated with the gas station must now be construed as being the perimeter of the project, and is therefore required to be no less than 250' from an adjacent residential zone. In addition to the requirements of sect 6.3.3, we also believe the requirements of section 5.0 NON CONFORMING USES come into play. Zoning Ordinance Sect. 5.0 NON CONFORMING USES 5.3.4 EXTENSION OR EXPANSION OF USE A non-conforming use shall not be extended or physically expanded. Extension or expansion of a non-conforming use shall include expansion of the area or volume occupied by a non-conforming use, including expansion into previously underutilized, vacant or newly constructed space, or the increase of any parking related to the use. Since this project constitutes an expansion of the area or volume occupied by the non conforming gas station use (per the zoning ordinance definition of a gas station), it SHALL NOT be allowed. Period. If the city planning department is of the opinion that these sections of the Zoning Ordinance do not apply to this project, then an official determination by the zoning officer to that effect is called for. Thank you, Jo n lacoponi Maple Ave, Marion Ave, Maple Dell Neighborhood Association Tracy Millis III, President John lacoponi, Vice President April 20, 2023 Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals Cc: Aneisha Samuels-Sanford, Senior Planner Patrick Cogan, Zoning Officer City of Saratoga Springs 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Re: Stewart's 31-33 Marion Ave Proposal (#20220202) & ZO Sect 6.3.3 requirements. With this Area Variance relief application back on the ZBA agenda for 4/24/23, we want to revisit one of the key issues that was raised in 2022 about this application. Namely, the requirements of Section 6.3.3 pertaining to property lines associated with Vehicle Fueling Stations. In the 2012 Zoning Ordinance a Vehicle Fueling Station is a defined term, as follows: VEHICLE FUELING STATION: A facility that is used for the sale of motor vehicle fuel and accessories, and shall not include a car wash or motor vehicle repair. And section 6.3.3 states that: 6.3.3 Vehicle Fueling Stations In any district where vehicle fueling stations are permitted, the following shall apply. A. No fuel pump shall be located closer than 20 feet from any property line B. No property line associated with a vehicle refueling station shall be located within: 1. 500 feet of a school, park, playground, fire station, public library, theater, religious institution, or other place of public assembly as defined by the NYS Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code 2. 250 feet of ingress or egress ramps to limited access highways 3. 250 feed of an abutting residential district Under the current proposed project, Stewart's is now proposing to a) Combine parcels for the purpose of this project, and b) Construct structure(s) directly associated with sale of motor vehicle fuel and accessories that span the property line between the Mobil gas station and Car Wash parcels. At the September 26, 2022 ZBA meeting Stewart's was directed to address the questions raised about the property line associated with the gas station under the current proposal. In their letter to the ZBA dated December 2, 2022, Stewart's completely fails to address the question about property lines at all. Rather, they make reference only to the placement of gas pumps, and incorrectly quote section 6.6.3, confounding ZO Sect 6.3.3-A with 6.3.3-B-3, which speaks to the property line associated with the gas station, not the location of the pumps with respect to an abutting residential district. The property line currently associated with the Mobil gas station is the boundary around parcel 166.5-4-1.3. It is acknowledged that the 1969 approval for this parcel (at that time referred to as parcel 4-13-213) was granted before the requirements regarding proximity to abuting residential areas was enacted. Once the property was subdivided into separate parcels for the gas station, car wash, and residential parcels, any grandfathering claim onto parcels other than that of the gas station would have been severed. Recombining separate parcels under single ownership should not allow a property owner to assert broader grandfathered use rights that were previously severed. A historical review of the language of the Zoning Ordinance dating back to 1973 shows that the general definition of a vehicle fueling station is NOT limited to the location of pumps and fuel storage. 1990 Zoning Ordinance (which was in effect at the time Stewart's bought the separate gas station and car wash properties). VEHICLE REFUELING STATION: Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or any other motor vehicle fuel and oil and other lubricating substances, including any sale of motor vehicle accessories, and which may or may not include facilities for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles, but not including the painting thereof by any means. 1973 Zoning Ordinance GASOLINE STATION — Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or any other motor vehicle fuel and oil and other lubricating substances, including any sale of.motor vehicle accessories, and which may or may not include facilities for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles. While the wording of the definition of a vehicle fueling station was slightly modified (simplified) in 2012, the fundamental definition did not change. Further, a review of the language of the UDO clearly shows a different meaning, with a change of wording from "sale" to "stored and dispersed". The definition was also substantially altered to include ancillary retail uses. UDO BBB. Gas Station 1. Definition An establishment where fuel for vehicles is stored and dispersed from fixed equipment into the fuel tanks of motor vehicles. A gas station may also include ancillary retail uses, and solar and/or electric charging stations. Stewart's is welcome to submit their project proposal under the UDO, but they have chosen to submit under the ZO, thus the definitions of a vehicle fueling station under the ZO must be used for this application. To quote Stewart's "Every word of the Zoning Ordinance matters", and the fact that the wording was substantially altered for the UDO highlights the inclusion of the term "sale" (all prior versions), and "structures thereon" (1990). It is our position that the requirements of section 6.3.3 expressly forbid the proposed project to be approved, and should be rejected by the City Planning department as not allowed. For these reasons we respectfully request that any consideration of the area variance request from Stewart's be adjourned until such time as the question of the property line associated with the vehicle fueling station is resolved. Thank you, John lacoponi