Glens Falls planning board tables 156 Maple Street restaurant site plan pending drawings and grease-trap records

The Glens Falls City Planning Board on April 2 tabled site-plan review for a proposal to open a restaurant at 156 Maple Street, citing missing site plan drawings, grease-trap specifications and confirmation of ADA-compliant parking striping.

The board’s zoning and planning coordinator, Deborah Rosella, told the board staff had not received grease-trap specifications and that water/sewer staff had inspected the lateral and found it “sufficient for continued use,” but that the city engineer requested a record drawing and details on drainage and the grease-trap. The applicant said the grease trap was preexisting and that he cleans it monthly; the applicant and staff disagreed about whether a formal spec had been supplied.

Board members repeatedly told the applicant the planning board needs a site development drawing that shows the building footprint, parking layout, dumpster location, drive aisles and dimensions before the board can approve the work. The board said an aerial photo and informal sketches are not an adequate substitute for a scaled plan. Planning staff said the city is treating the proposal as a new site plan because the building has been vacant for several years.

The applicant also noted discussions with neighbors about a fence and said he would put a fence in place if requested; staff responded that any fence must meet zoning code requirements for height and placement. Planning staff also reiterated that if the applicant had already repainted parking lines he had been told to stop work until the planning board approved changes.

Motion and next step: A motion to table site-plan approval for project S P 25-001 (156 Maple Street) carried; the board set the item to return on the May 7, 2025 agenda. The motion recorded at the meeting did not include a roll-call tally in the transcript.