Tonight (2018-02-13) was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls Planning Board.
There was also a School Board of Education meeting, but from the agenda, that was going to be only executive session. As I would have been unable to observe the session, I went to the Planning Board meeting held on an unusual day of the week (for them).
Agenda was Mathstone‘s mini-storage project on the corner of Norton and High. They finally received approval. I’m sure Ryan is happy.
Most of the meeting was going through the tedium of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process. Although even in that there were some details of note.
One of the questions was about disturbing the natural land. While there is a fair sized amount of disturbance planned, it is of the old railroad bed. And a former railroad embankment is man made, thus the opposite of natural. Although does bring to mind the Arborist that once said chainsaws are part of a trees natural life cycle (not at this meeting, was years ago).
Apparently there is a 30 timer for part of this process. I think it was the ‘Lead Agency‘, but might have been something else. Only relevant in that the timer doesn’t end until tomorrow. So all approvals were conditional on no one jumping in before the clock runs out. Considering it’s SEQR, seems like a very safe assumption.
Chatfield Engineers, the village’s engineering firm, had an engineer at the meeting. Not the first time someone has come out, but not a frequent occurrence. He was there to help with the SEQR forms and process. After the Board was done, he shared with them how impressed he was with their thoroughness in going through the forms. He did offer the alternative of, should the Board so choose, using the form as submitted by his firm, instead of going through it line by line during the meeting. I was glad to hear the Board say they would take the idea under consideration. Streamlining the process seems to be of value to everyone. Even if, considering the history here, I doubt anything will change.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the February 13, 2018 meeting of the Honeoye Falls Planning Board.
Link to agenda on Village website.
Link to agenda stored on this site, should the village lose their copy.