Car wash returns for land use change

Warwick Car Wash (M&L Auto) was back in front of the Warwick Village Planning Board on August 13, continuing its quest to annex a neighboring residential lot and obtain a zoning change to enable them to use that area for business purposes. At earlier planning board meetings, the representative for the applicant explained that Warwick Car Wash has a long-standing agreement with the neighboring residential property located at 42 Orchard Street to use part of that property for traffic flow, stockpiling snow in the winter and maintaining easier access around the back of the building. Under current village code, however, that property is zoned for residential use only.

At the meeting, the board discussed how to best maintain privacy between the business and neighboring property. The board noted that there was a wood guard rail along the property line, but it did not provide sufficient screening. They discussed the benefits of using evergreen trees versus fencing and concurred that while fencing is more substantial, trees enable storm flow. Concerns were raised about the impact of the site plan on an existing body of water in the area.

During the public hearing held regarding the application, a resident of 44 Orchard Street, which neighbors 42 Orchard, claimed she was not informed about the related Zoning Board of Appeals meeting held in March, as legally required. She shared that she felt overwhelmed by the information and did not have enough time to consider the suggestions on how to mitigate potential impacts on her property.

The board agreed to keep the public hearing open until September 10 and asked the applicant to provide options for screening in its next submission. They also reiterated that the site plan is still contingent on the zone change. Planning board counsel explained that this was not an easy matter, as this area was in a flood plain that would impact how that boundary was set.

Flood plain management

On the issue of flood plain management, a survey prompted a discussion on whether the Warwick Village Planning Board should maintain its role as manager of this issue. The board received a survey, along with every flood plain manager in the county, to assess their needs and determine what additional training may be needed. The issue, the planning board found, was that this survey was geared toward individual managers and not whole boards.

While the board decided against filling out the survey, noting it would not impact their ability to receive grants or other benefits, they did discuss whether flood plain management would be better served under another’s purview. To this end, the counsel noted that most codes designate the building inspector as flood plain manager. The engineer for the planning board added that this would alleviate the need for certain applicants from having to come before this board if they wanted to develop on the flood plain. The board also noted that they do not understand the nuances of the building code as well as the building inspector. They agreed to continue the discussion at the October meeting.