THROOP - The town's comprehensive plan is moving forward as the Throop town board unanimously approved it Wednesday night. Amendments to the plan draft eliminated the words “all income ranges for senior housing” and deleted “low-moderate income” describing seniors.

The board also rejected the county's suggestion that it

support any proposal for non-recreational uses of county-owned property within the town. The county did not want the town to preclude potential development of hydropower usage, but town attorney Norman Chirco suggested this was moot point since the county owned the property anyway. The board decided to leave the wording alone.

A zoning commission of five members was tentatively formed, pending the appointed members' acceptance. The commission is comprised of two members of the planning board, Richard Stabinsky, newly appointed chairman (Paul Vitale stepped down) and Steven Welzer; chairman of the zoning board of appeals, Brian Chuttey; Tom Weed, zoning officer; and Edward LaDouce, code enforcement officer. While the board settled on a five-member commission, they left open the possibility of adding more members if interest is shown.

Chirco said that Section 266 of town law makes no provision for either the make up or number of members needed on a zoning commission, except that town board members could not be included.

Amy D'Angelo, former Cayuga County senior planner, will be chairing zoning commission meetings on a regular basis.

The zoning commission will use the comprehensive plan as an outline to develop new zoning laws, which still have to go through a SEQR, public hearing process, and a vote before the town adopts them.

All the problem spots in the town will be examined by the commission, and they will put a map together. This will be followed by a public hearing and, ultimately, new zoning laws.

The town is hoping to have everything in place by the end of the year.

While the commission is free to make preliminary reports, the town board cannot hold a public hearing before their final report, Chirco said.

“They are going to spend a lot of time on this,” he added.

In other news:

* A local law for a uniform fire prevention building code passed unanimously, setting time limits for building to begin at three months from the time the permit is issued and completed within 12 months. The time can be extended if necessary by applying for a building permit extension.

* The town denied the county's survey requesting possible approval of a proposed county-wide assessment procedure rather than having individual municipalities assessing their properties. The incentive for this procedure is funding from the state, that wants to make the statewide assessment procedure more uniform.

* Projected figures for the water project, which is being developed in three phases, were informally discussed, with $875 per household in the new water district being charged for those who actually receive water during phase I and those yet without water paying $50 to be applied to the project until they are hooked up. It will not affect anyone in a current water district, and if 51 percent of the homeowners in the new district agree to it, it doesn't have to go to a public referendum. As more homes are hooked up, the figure can only go down, and it's a 38-year commitment to the 90 residences in the new water district.

Chirco suggested that environmental studies being made for the water line extend to the town line the first time so they don't have to be repeated in the future at greater expense to the town.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net