The Clay Planning Board spent part of its Jan. 8, 2025 meeting recommending a zone change for a Morgan Road property, then turned around and heard the town's own Codes Department say the building the owner actually wants to put there isn't allowed. The case involves Marc Lebiedzinski's 3.09-acre, triangular parcel at 7895 Morgan Road, which has 514.58 feet of frontage on the road and backs up to railroad tracks belonging to the NY Central Line, with residential development to the north and south. Tim Coyer of Ianuzi & Romans, representing the applicant, told the board the request was to rezone from Residential/Agricultural RA-100 to One Family Residential R-1 rather than R-40, because R-40 would trigger variances under a highway overlay district that covers Morgan Road. The plan splits the property into two lots — one of roughly one and a half acres holding an existing structure, the other 1.6 acres to the south. That existing structure is what Coyer called a "barn dominion": a pole barn with living quarters built above it. Chairman Russ Mitchell asked directly whether the same type of structure would go up on the new lot; Coyer said yes, the current owner wants to build the same thing again. That's where the Codes Department stepped in. According to the minutes, the department told the chairman that Mr. Territo, the town's previous planning and development commissioner, had already determined that no structures of this type are permitted anywhere in the Town of Clay, because they count as accessory structures. No building permit would be issued for one, the Codes Department said, even if the zone change goes through. Chairman Mitchell said he wanted the property owner to understand that before moving into site plan review, and said no referral would be granted that evening, suggesting the applicant instead seek a determination from the ZBA. Deputy Chair Michelle Borton separately noted the residential portion of the property should be at 51 percent, which Coyer accepted; Mitchell said that also matched Territo's recommendation. Karen Guinup added that the pole barn, as an accessory structure, would not meet town code on its own. Despite the chairman's stated reluctance, the board did not send the applicant away empty-handed. After closing the public hearing, Borton read a motion recommending the zone change to the Town Board, with the condition that any structure on the parcel comply with town zoning code and with the town planning department's prior interpretation of that code, subject to the applicant's right to appeal to the zoning board. The motion, seconded by Jim Palumbo, carried 6-0. The zone change now heads to the Town Board for a final decision, while the fate of the "barn dominion" itself remains an open question the applicant will have to take to the ZBA. The rest of the night moved briskly. The board opened 2025 by adopting its meeting calendar, reappointing Borton as Deputy Chair, Marie Giannone as Secretary and Kathleen Bennett as Planning Board Attorney, and acknowledging CNS Engineering as the board's engineering firm for the year — all 6-0, with the December 11 minutes approved 5-0 (Al McMahon abstained, having been absent that night). The board recommended a special permit for Summit Federal Credit Union to build two drive-thru lanes with five-car stacking at 5047 W. Taft Road, tied to closing an existing Summit branch farther east on the same road, and recommended a zone change for Seneca Savings at 5332 State Route 31 — the Clifton Recycling facility site — even though the applicant didn't show and county comments came back mixed. Five other matters were pushed down the calendar rather than decided: Emerald Lawn Care's site plan moves to March 19, Amerco Real Estate's amended site plan to February 12, Equipment Share-Syracuse's site plan to March 19, and the proposed hotel at the Wegmans Great Northern site to February 26. The Whitestone Apartments site plan, where attorney Kathleen Bennett is still reviewing an access-road agreement before sending it to town board attorney Robert Germain for signature, was adjourned to January 29 after the board reviewed updated tree plantings and an Army Corps of Engineers letter dated the day before the meeting. The board closed the night approving four routine sign permits, for Little Italy Pizza & Pasta, Bayberry Seafood, Stewart's Shops and Bryant & Stratton, each within the square footage the code allows.