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Planning board conditionally approves Wallman site plan, asks for slope and fire-access clarifications
Summary
The town planning board approved the Wallman site plan as a SEQRA Type II action subject to standard conditions and requested written fire‑access recommendations, clarified steep‑slope annotations, and updated plan contours before final sign-off.
The town planning board voted to conditionally approve the Wallman site plan on Feb. 19, finding the proposal a Type II action under SEQRA and requiring standard follow‑up reviews and approvals.
At the start of the item, a staff member said the State Historic Preservation Office sent a Feb. 5 letter stating it had "absolutely no concerns" about historic impacts. The board then reviewed a resolution that would grant plan approval subject to addressing outstanding engineering comments, review by the town attorney, any required easements and any approvals required by the Monroe County Water Authority.
"I'm here on behalf of Joshua and Courney Howy," the applicant representative told the board, summarizing a standalone 10‑acre parcel created in the Sacket subdivision in 1963 and the applicants' plan to site a five‑bedroom house off Pitts Mendon Road. The representative said the barn on the property will be removed and the driveway has been located along a tree line to minimize yard and site disturbance.
The applicant reported sandy soils and successful percolation tests supporting in‑ground leach fields, and noted a 12‑inch water main and measured pressure of about 80 psi at the road. Staff and board members discussed pressure loss along the proposed 1,500‑foot service run and suggested a booster pump or upsizing the line to preserve first‑floor pressure.
A major focus of discussion was driveway geometry and steep slopes. The applicant moved several features (driveway alignment, sewer lateral) to avoid mapped steep‑slope zones; the board and the Environmental Conservation Board noted localized spots that visually appeared steeper than the survey contours indicated and urged care in grading and erosion control. The applicant said a sealed topographic survey shows average grades near 27–28% in the steeper areas but offered to let the town engineer review survey shot data if the board wanted further validation.
Board members also asked the applicant to submit written recommendations for emergency access to the Fire Marshal, add required turnarounds within 500 feet of travel, and annotate the updated plans to show revised maximum driveway grades (the applicant agreed to target roughly 15–16% in the steepest sections). The applicant said it will seek any necessary waiver from the town's design and construction standards for driveway slope as part of the final submittal and will take the matter to the zoning board if relief is required for frontage.
A motion to approve the site plan as presented and per the resolution was made, seconded and carried; the board congratulated the applicants. The approval is conditional on completing the items listed in the resolution: addressing outstanding engineering comments, coordination with the Fire Marshal, obtaining any required Monroe County Water Authority approvals, recording easements as required and final review by the town attorney. The applicant is expected to return with updated plans and documentation after incorporating those items.
