The Ancram Planning Board scheduled a December public hearing on a proposed short-term rental on Cottontail Road, approved a lot-line adjustment on Skyline Road, and discussed preliminary plans for a home on a 50-acre property in Ancramdale at its Nov. 5 meeting.
Michael Friedberg, who owns the 5-acre property at 218 Cottontail Road with two houses, told the board that he and his partner, Michael Galbe, use the house closer to the road and want to rent out the other, which has a swimming pool, as a short-term rental.
The property was previously owned by Charles Olbricht and Charles Hewett, known locally as “the Chucks.”
Friedberg and Galbe live primarily in New York City and are part-time Ancram residents. Friedberg designated Josh Nathanson, a full-time area resident, as the property’s local representative in their absence.
Under the town’s zoning code, a short-term rental property’s owner, operator, or designated representative must be able to reach the property within 30 minutes of receiving a complaint from the town’s code enforcement officer, an elected town official, New York State Police, or the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Friedberg said his parents, who are also part-time Ancram residents, may help manage the rental.
The board scheduled a public hearing on the couple’s special-use permit application for 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3.
The board also approved a lot-line adjustment for a 148-acre property at 153 Skyline Road owned by Tim Murphy, who grew up in Stanfordville and now lives in Connecticut.
The property consists of three parcels measuring approximately 128 acres, 8.5 acres, and 12 acres, according to surveyor Wesley Chase, who represented Murphy at the meeting.
The smallest parcel has no road frontage, which would be required for future subdivision or development, Chase said. The approved adjustment reconfigures the boundaries to give each parcel road frontage without creating any additional lots.
The largest parcel contains a 19th-century farmhouse that Murphy said he is restoring.
“We’re starting with three and we’re ending with three,” Chase said, explaining that the proposal does not involve constructing driveways or clearing trees.
Chase said the adjustment would bring the parcels into compliance with the town’s zoning code and could pave the way for future development proposals.
“Eventually, someday, I bet you these parcels are back in front of you,” he told the board. “I don’t know when that is, but this is really the first step to bring them into compliance with the town zoning code.”
In other business, the board held an informal discussion with Francis Rodriguez and George Lally, who are considering purchasing a vacant 50-acre property on Route 82 in Ancramdale.
Rodriguez and Lally, who currently live in Clinton, hope to build a house near the top of the property, portions of which fall within the town’s ridgeline protection overlay district.
Rodriguez said the land has a considerable slope and asked whether an existing logging road could be converted into a driveway.
Planning Board Chair Joe Crocco cautioned that obtaining a variance for a steep driveway could be difficult. He said driveway approvals fall under the fire department’s jurisdiction rather than the Planning Board’s and that, in his 20 years on the board, he has seen little flexibility in requirements governing steep driveways.
Planning Board member Jessica Lovelace said the board could not determine whether the proposed construction would be permitted without reviewing a formal application. She encouraged the prospective buyers to familiarize themselves with the town’s zoning code before purchasing the land.
“I would read the code and look at the zoning. That’s what I did when I moved out here,” Lovelace said. “You know what you’re buying, you know what you want to do with it. You have to take ownership and educate yourself.”