Cheektowaga Zoning Board tables two fuel-tank requests, tables or denies several variance requests

The Town of Cheektowaga Zoning Board of Appeals on April 3 reviewed multiple variance and use-permit requests and took separate actions: it tabled two proposals to install above-ground fuel storage tanks pending town-board/code review; tabled a homeowner heat-pump placement for further documentation; denied a request to allow parking in front of a converted garage at 35 Ruth Drive; and deferred a developer parking-variance request for Midtown Apartments to the planning board for revised site review.

Why it matters: several items raise public safety, traffic and neighborhood-impact questions. The above-ground fuel storage requests implicate state and fire-code standards now memorialized in DEC and NFPA guidance, the converted-garage decision affects a property-maintenance and zoning enforcement case, and the Midtown Apartments parking request drew concerns about traffic near a nearby elementary school.

Above-ground fuel tanks: two applicants asked to replace existing underground tanks with above-ground, double-walled storage. David Piercy of JD2 Environmental spoke for Hertz Realty Corporation at 4193 Genesee Street and described a 6,000-gallon, double-walled, continuously monitored tank with secondary containment and electronic alarms. He said the design follows industry practice and the New York State fire code; he also said monthly inspections and annual testing records would be kept. The board and staff noted the town’s current zoning code requires tanks to be underground and that the building department recommended a special-use permit and town-board review…