Town Board seeks Planning Board input on zoning change

The Town Board has asked the town Planning Board to comment on an updated draft zoning amendment that would allow Ruge’s Automotive to move its vehicle service center from the village business district.

If the amendment is approved, the service center would move to the town’s Office Research Park Zoning District along state Route 9G.

The Town Board expects to hear back from the Planning Board ahead of a Sept. 14, public hearing on the matter.

Town Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said the proposed zoning amendment was updated at the request of Ruge’s and that the change is relatively minor.

“We’re hoping that it’s so similar to what they (the Planning Board) previously approved that ... they’ll turn it around quickly,” she said. “The only change is that we’re considering automobiles not as product, so they can be placed outside.

“There’s something in the law that says that product can’t be put outside,” Spinzia said. “The applicant wanted us to agree that automobiles [being repaired] are not product so they could be parked outside.”

Other changes included giving the Planning Board the authority to allow service doors to be at the front of the building, as long as they are visible from the road.

The proposed amendment already included allowing a motor vehicle repair and service establishment in the zoning district, as well as allowing the sale and installation of lubricants, tires, batteries and similar products necessary for auto functions.

Ruge’s is seeking the zoning amendment in exchange for giving up most automotive repair operations at 6444 Montgomery St. (Route 9) in the village and moving them to 3718 Route 9G. The town’s Office Research Park Zoning District runs along both sides of Route 9G, just north of the intersection with U.S. Route 9, which is in the Crossroads Business Zoning District, where Ruge’s currently has a dealership.

Under the agreement to amend the zoning law, Ruge’s also would be prohibited from parking its vehicles on Chestnut Street, West Chestnut Street and “all other village ... streets adjacent, or in close proximity, to the village parcels.”