Clay Planning Board Delays Vote on 61-Lot Lawton Road Subdivision, Debates Traffic at Proposed R&F Plaza Bank

Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

APPROVED

The Regular Meeting of the Planning Board of the Town of Clay, County of Onondaga held at Town Hall located at 4401 State Route 31, Clay, New York on the 27th day of May 2026. The meeting was called to order by Chairwoman Borton at 7:30 p.m. All joined in the Pledge of Allegiance and upon roll being called the following were:

PRESENT:

Michelle Borton Chairwoman Russ Mitchell Deputy Chair

Karen Guinup Member

Paul Graves

Member

Jim Palumbo Member

Al McMahon Member

Hal Henty

Member

Marie Giannone Secretary to Planning Board Brian Bender Commissioner of Planning & Development Amber Dillon Planner II – Planning & Development Department

Kathleen Bennett Planning Board Attorney

Caitlin Choberka C & S Engineer

OTHER:

ABSENT:

Ron DeTota

Planning Board Engineer

Motion made by Mr. Graves to approve the minutes of the May 13, 2026 meeting. Seconded by

Mr. Palumbo.

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Public Hearings:

New Business:

#2026-025 Community Bank N.A. (R&F Plaza Community Bank) 4000 State Route 31, Site Plan Ms. Lisa Wennberg, Keplinger Freeman Associates, Mr. Trevor Edkin, Raymour and Flanigan, and Mr. Erik Turner, Community Bank N.A. are present to address the board.

Ms. Wennberg said they are proposing to construct a 2,717-sf bank with a drive thru and ATM lane on a 1.056-acre portion of the Raymour and Flanigan Plaza in a RC-1 zoning district with Highway Overlay Type A. This bank will be located along the eastern parcel site boundary of the site between the multi-tenant retail building and the Smokey Bones restaurant located in the northeast corner of the site. There will be drive thru lanes circulating along the rear of the building adjacent to the eastern site boundary. The bank will have ten parking spaces at the front of the building, five spaces along the south side and three spaces behind the drive thru Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

lanes (used primarily for employee parking) totaling ten spaces dedicated for bank use. Sidewalks are shown on the drawing along two sides of the building. The bank will be leased from R&F Plaza. Special permit and variances have been approved. Coordination has begun with OCWA for a water line relocation. Comments have been received from Onondaga County Planning Board. A parking variance was not needed because required spaces for the entire lot is 580 spaces and after the bank is constructed there will be a total of 585.

Chairwoman Borton addressed the applicant with comments:

✓ Case Numbers and date for the variances received should be put on the plan for reference.

✓ Architectural plans stated a wall sign variance will be requested. Mr. Edkin said this will be submitted separately as it is in process.

✓ Schematics are not acceptable for the architectural plans when approved.

Chairwoman Borton said comments have been received from Onondaga County Planning Board (OCPB) as follows:

• The town is encouraged to work with the applicant and the owner of the shopping plaza to add sidewalks and crosswalks to connect the proposed bank to existing or planned pedestrian walkways in the rest of the plaza. Ms. Wennberg said their plans have been updated and the comments received from the board this evening will be incorporated in their revised plan for submittal at the next meeting. Chairwoman Borton asked if a connection could be provided to the R&F building. Ms. Wennberg said this will be addressed.

• The Board advises the applicant to work with the shopping plaza to secure access agreements and easements for shared parking and driveways. Ms. Wennberg said the site is community parking. Chairwoman Borton said to have something in writing for the file would be sufficient. Ms. Bennett, town attorney, agreed.

• Per the Site Preparation Plan dated 3/13/26, multiple easements cross the planned bank area:

o 20’ wide town right of way along a portion of the eastern parcel boundary o 30’ wide OCWA easement crosses the southern portion of the bank parcel o 30’ wide town owned drainage right of way containing stormwater infrastructure crosses the area in multiple locations o Water easement crosses the west to east area and the site drainage and utilities plan dated 3/13/26 shows a portion of the water pipes under the proposed drive thru which will be relocated to accommodate the drive thru lane. (Note: the Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

exact location of the relocation will be provided to the board when the work is complete).

o Connection line for the use of water to be approved by OCWA o Capacity assurance from OCWA for sewer hookup o SHPO is disturbed area and the applicant will contact NYS SHPO • Title Sheet showing original date, revision date is needed Chairwoman asked the board members for the comments/questions.

Mr. Henty said the height, description and types of lights need to be shown on the plan. Ms. Guinup asked the location of the HVAC. Mr. Turner said it is on the roof, but will be relocated to the ground with proper screening. This will be provided and shown on the revised plan. Ms. Guinup addressed the stacking lanes as shown on the plan taking away part of the loop (ring) road. This loop/ring road goes in front of R&F over to Smokey Bones, Chick Fil A and out which keeps traffic from cutting through drive thru lanes. Mr. Wennberg said there is a bypass lane adjacent to drive thru and ATM lanes. This is so no one will be stuck in the drive thru or ATM lanes. Mr. Edkin, R&F, said this traffic pattern could alleviate some problems and R&F owners would not do anything to create unsafe traffic flow within the plaza. Mr. Edkin said the parking is underutilized and the bank is in an ideal location within the plaza. Ms. Guinup addressed the three parking spaces in the proposed bank area. Ms. Wennberg said these are for employees only. The total bank parking spaces will be 18 plus the 567 community parking totals 585 parking spaces for the entire plaza.

Mr. Graves asked about the truck traffic within the plaza. Mr. Edkin showed the traffic pattern used for the truck traffic. The loading dock is at the end of the building (as shown on the plan) and the truck only exits in one direction as the Burlington store. The truck direction was shown on the plan for clarification.

Mr. Palumbo had some concerns as discussed by Ms. Guinup as to the tight corridors which used to be the ring road. Taking the ring road out can cause problems for the fire trucks maneuvering around. The 11 ft bypass lane seems tight for a fire truck to make turns. With angle parking the 11 ft is adequate to pull in and back out. Mr. Palumbo said in looking at the plan for this area shows the difficulty in maneuvering around. Ms. Wennberg said the area is for employee parking only and this can be eliminated. Chairwoman Borton said the fire department will be contacted for their input for fire truck access.

Mr. Mitchell had the following questions/comments:

Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

✓ Where is the trash disposal. Mr. Turner said it is inside the bank building and the trash is removed by the janitorial staff.

✓ What are the dotted lines shown on the plan. Ms. Wennberg said that is the sanitary tie ins. This will be cut and tied in and then repaved.

✓ The bank building could be reworked as a peaked roof would be better than a flat roof. The town has tried to eliminate the use of a flat roof. The newer properties have peaked roofs. Mr. Turner will take this under advisement.

Ms. Choberka will send an email on the drainage to the applicant.

Mr. Bender said when the board agrees on a date to return that we schedule a pre meeting to go over that everything requested has been met before the next board meeting.

Chairwoman Borton said this is a public hearing and asked if there are any questions/comments. Ms. Janet Rathburn, 4760 Freestone Rd., said it is difficult to turn in and any additional traffic will make it worse.

Chairwoman Borton asked if they considered any directional signage at the plaza for ease of traffic. Mr. Edkin said directional signage is painted on the asphalt. More signage could help and this will be further addressed.

Discussion followed on the difficulty getting in and out of the plaza at the location of the Chick Fil A and where the bank will be constructed. Chairman Borton asked if the turning radius could be modified to help with this. Mr. Edkin will address this.

Chairwoman asked for a motion to adjourn this case.

Motion made by Mr. Henty to adjourn this case to July 8, 2026. Seconded by Mr. Mitchell.

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Change Referral Mr. Tim Coyer, Ianuzi & Romans, is present to address the board on behalf of the applicant. Mr. Coyer said the applicant is proposing a zone change referral on .78-acre parcel from an NC-1 to HC-1 to expand the parking. This is located in the front of the West Herr dealership. Chairwoman Borton said the OCPB had the following comment:

Per the Onondaga County Health Department, any future onsite construction will require a connection to public water. The submitted project is located within the Oak Orchard Wastewater Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

Treatment Plant service area. Additionally, unless it can be demonstrated that anticipated sanitary flows will not exceed previous flows in excess of one sewer unit over prior uses, the applicant must develop a 1 gallon to 1-gallon sanitary flow offset plan/project in coordination with the municipal engineer. Chairwoman Borton said the health department has been very strict adhering to this.

There were no questions from the board members.

Mr. Bender said it was noted at the town board meeting this zone change will alleviate the parking issues at the dealership.

Chairwoman Borton said this is a public hearing and asked if there are any questions/comments. Hearing none the chairwoman closed this case and polled the board.

Mr. Henty – yes Ms. Guinup - yes Mr. Mitchell – yes – helps to keep cars off the road at the dealership Mr. Palumbo – Yes Mr. McMahon – yes Mr. Graves – yes

Chairwoman asked for a motion for zone change referral

Motion made by Mr. Graves: Mrs. Chairwoman: In the matter of the application of planning

board case No. 2026-030 for West Herr Automotive Group, State Route 31, I move to recommend to the Town Board using standard form #50 Zone Change Recommendation, the petition be recommended with comments that it is in keeping with the area uses and including comments from the board. Seconded by Mr. Palumbo.

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Mr. Tim Coyer, Ianuzi & Romans, is present to address the board on behalf of the applicant. The

applicant is proposing to change the zoning of the site from RA-100 to R-7.5 to allow 61 single family residential subdivision. Per the town code, the R-7.5 is to preserve existing high density, single family uses and supportive non-residential development in areas served by both public water and sewers. This area is compatible and appropriate to the affected lands and the surrounding neighborhoods. The proposed area (as shown on the plan) will have 61 lots arranged around a loop road, split by two smaller roads. The loop road will be an extension of Harriet Fisher Drive which will connect to Lawton Road in the northeast corner of the proposed site. Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

Chairwoman Borton stated OCPB had determined that this referral will have no significant adverse implications, but had the following comments:

• Any extension of public waste water construction must be approved by the county health department and OCWA.

• Integrating the project with surrounding areas to create more people oriented walkable environment. Chairwoman Borton said this could help Lawton Road as this is not very walkable. This is not so much for the zone change but for future development. • Stormwater areas should be located on their own lots (which will be addressed later in the planning process).

Mr. Bender spoke with Mr. Nicoletti, highway superintendent, and he is aware of a pending project at this location. Mr. Nicoletti said he had no concerns about impacts on Lawton Road. Lawton Road tentatively will be repaved in 2027. Chairwoman Borton said Lawton Road is also in the town of Cicero. The planning department has reached out to town of Cicero for any comments but has not heard back from them. A follow up will be made. Chairwoman Borton said we will not be voting on this case this evening as we would like to have town of Cicero’s comments.

Mr. Mitchell asked if the ingress/egress will affect the other residents across the road. Mr. Coyer said there are no problems with driving out from across the street. Chairwoman Borton said part of her recommendation would be long term planning as this is a very heavily travelled country road.

Mr. Bender said he has heard from a few residents and their concern is traffic, the loss of the green area with surrounding trees, Micron buildings, and just adapting to the changes in the area. Chairwoman Borton said this is a public hearing and asked if there are any questions/comments. Mr. David Yates, 5404 Brisbane Trl, and is located two houses from the corner of Harriet Fisher Drive asked if RA.100 could be used rather than changing to R-7.5 whereby some of the trees could be kept. His concern is also traffic on Lawton Road. Mr. Coyer addressed his concern and said the R-7.5 will match the adjacent and surrounding homes in the area.

Mr. Nick Gallipeau, 3201 Harriet Fisher Drive has concerns with the Lawton Road traffic and losing the surrounding trees which neighbors had for privacy.

There were no more questions.

Motion made by Mr. Mitchell to adjourn this case to June 10, 2026. Seconded by Ms. Guinup.

Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Old Business.

(Adj. 6) AND

1) Mr. Donald Gabor is present to address the board. Mr. Gabor said he would like to subdivide this property and sell the lots.

There were no questions from the board. Chairman Borton closed these two cases and asked for a motion.

Motion made by Mr. McMahon: Mrs. Chairwoman: In the matter of the application of the

planning board case No. 2026-009 Gabor Subdivision, I move the adoption of a resolution using standard form #10 SEQR, that the proposed action is an unlisted action and does not involve any Federal Agency. It is further determined the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the environment and the resolution shall constitute a negative declaration for the following reason. It is in keeping with like use. Seconded by Mr. Graves.

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Motion made by Mr. Mitchell to move to final plat. Seconded by Mr. McMahon.

Motion Carried: 7-0

Motion made by Mr. McMahon: Mrs. Chairwoman: In the matter of the application of planning

board case No. 2026-046 for Gabor Subdivision, I move the adoption of a resolution using standard form #40 final plat, be granted based on a map by David Bardoun dated 5/19/2025 revised 5/5/2026 and File No. 24.068-R5. Conditioned upon approval of all legal and engineering requirements of the Town of Clay. Seconded by Mr. Graves.

Motion Carried 6-0, 1 opposition.

The applicant asked for an adjournment.

Motion made by Mr. Mitchell to adjourn this case to June 10, 2026. Seconded by Mr. Graves.

Planning Board Regular Meeting May 27, 2026

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Non-Public Hearing Items

The applicant asked for an adjournment.

Motion made by Mr. Mitchell to adjourn this case to July 8, 2026. Seconded by Ms. Guinup.

Motion Carried: 7-0.

Motion made by Mr. Henty to adjourn this meeting at 8:55 p.m. Next meeting is June 10, 2026.

Seconded by Mr. Mitchell.

Motion Carried: 7-0

Respectfully Submitted:

Marie Giannone Marie Giannone Planning Board Secretary